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Deciding
if Graduate Study in the U.S. is right for you
Can I
do a graduate degree in a field unrelated to my undergraduate degree?
An undergraduate degree in your intended field of graduate study
is recommended and usually required. However, if your undergraduate
degree was in an allied field or was inter-disciplinary and you
took, for example, one-third of your courses in political science,
you may be admitted into a graduate program for political science
upon the completion of a designated number of undergraduate courses
at the institution in which you want to enrol. For graduates applying
for professional degrees in subjects such as business (MBA), education
or hotel management, the above rules may not apply. Relevant work
experience may be important for MBA admission.
Can I
do a Master’s Degree in one year?
Some universities allow students to complete a master’s degree
in one year. However, if you are asked to complete a master’s
thesis, you may find it difficult to finish in les than 18 months.
Additionally, if you have a teaching assistantship or research assistantship,
you may find that your duties take up so much time that it would
be difficult to complete your degree in one year. Some professional
degrees have prescribed coursework which does not allow you to accelerate
your time of study to one year. If you are applying for an MBA degree
and you have work experience you may find that the business school
as a special grogram which would allow you to finish in one year.
When am
I too late to apply?
Application deadlines at US universities range from November 30th
to August 15th. If you start the process very late, you may still
be able to find a university that offers your field of study and
is willing to consider your application. Whether or not this is
the university you really want to go to is another matter. If you
have not taken the necessary standardised tests for admission, you
need to plan on taking the tests and submitting the scores before
the application deadline. You can use the Peterson’s Guide
to find out about deadlines at US Universities.
What if
I have missed the university deadline?
US universities, particularly the major ones like Harvard, Yale
and Stanford receive hundreds of applications each year, so deadlines
are firm and you will need to ensure that the application form,
test results and recommendations have reached the university before
the required date. Other universities have rolling admissions which
means that the deadlines are flexible and students may be admitted
in the fall, spring or summer terms. In most cases, though, early
application is advisable.
Can I
work in the US once I have finished my degree?
US Immigration law allows international students to gain academic
experience for 12-18 months upon completion of their degree from
a US university. The work done must be closely affiliated to your
field of study and each possible job placement will be closely scrutinised
by immigration. After this period, your US university degree will
not entitle you to a work permit to remain in the USA.
Requesting
Application Materials
Do I request information and application materials from the
universities directly?
Yes, each university has its own application process and you need
to contact each university separately to obtain that information.
How should
I communicate with the US universities, may I phone, fax or e-mail?
All three methods are perfectly acceptable. If you start the process
close to the application deadline, you may want to call because
that will be the quickest method. E-mail is also a quick and inexpensive
way of requesting information.
When I
request information from the US universities, what do I need to
ay in the letter?
You may use the Request for Application Material included in your
Graduate/Graduate-Business information package as an introductory
letter. Do not attach documents or any kind of payment at this stage.
Simply fill out the form (print/type your answers) and mail to the
“Graduate Admissions Office” of each university. You may
photocopy this form as many times as you wish.
Who do
I write to for applications?
Prospective international graduates should write to two locations:
1. Graduate School Admissions Office and 2. the particular department
where they wish to pursue a degree. The Graduate School will provide
the application forms and information for international students
and the department will be able to provide the course offerings
and institutional financial aid details.
US Standardized
Tests – General Information
Which
tests do I have to take?
If English is not your native language and you have not completed
a degree in an English speaking country, you will be asked to take
the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam. If you are
pursuing a graduate degree in the Arts and Sciences, you will also
be asked to take the GRE (Graduate Record Examination); if you are
pursuing a graduate degree in a business related field, you will
be asked to take the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test);
for Law it is the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) and for medicine
it is the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test).
When should
I take these tests?
The US universities will not consider your application complete
until they receive your score report from the ETS. Since it takes
between 6-8 weeks for your scores to be reported, and since many
schools and departments have January/February deadlines, you should
take all tests one year before your intended date of study, i.e.
October or November of the year preceding your study in the US.
You can send your scores well in advance of the application deadline
date; the university will hold onto the scores and will expect your
application in due course.
What are
the GRE and GRE Subject Tests? How do I register for them?
The Graduate Record Examination is a 3.5 hour multiple choice aptitude
test. It tests verbal reasoning, analytical skills, and quantitative
ability and is required by the majority of graduate schools. Some
programs also require a subject test to be taken in your proposed
area of study i.e. Literature, Computer Science etc. The GRE is
offered three times a year at test centres throughout the world.
Registration and preparatory study materials are available from
advising offices. Application deadlines are two months in advance.
How important
is the GRE and how well do I have to do?
Although it may be required, your performance on the GRE becomes
less important the better the other elements of your application,
i.e. your undergraduate degree, transcripts, academic/professional
references ad written statement of purpose. Graduate Schools do
sometimes impost cut off scores, although a university is unlikely
to reject an application for a poor GRE score alone. It will be
examined objectively within the context of the entire application.
Should
I take the GRE more than once if I don’t do well?
Yes, but keep in mind that the universities will get all your scores
for the last 5 years. You cannot prevent the universities getting
a score you may not be happy with if you have taken a test less
than five years ago. Once the universities have your scores it is
up to them how they interpret them. The admissions officers may
want to only concentrate on the highest scores, or they may even
average the scores. Studies show that students only increase their
scores 15% when they take the test again. If you are not strong
on standardised tests and you score quite poorly the first time
you take it, keep in mind that taking it again could result in an
even lower score and just make your record look that much weaker.
If you did fairly well on the exam but you are concerned and want
50-100 extra points, keep in mind that you may not do as well the
second time you take it as you did the first time.
The Application
Should
I type the application?
Although it is preferable to type the entire application, many times
it is difficult to obtain a typewriter so neat printing in black
pen would be acceptable.
The application
asks for a health certification, what should I do?
This is not unusual, ask your family doctor to fill one in.
Recommendations
Who should
write my recommendations?
If you are applying for a professional degree, you should ask someone
who knows you such as your supervisor in a work setting as well
as your professors. If you are applying for an academic degree of
r Ph.D., recommendations from individuals who have extensive experience
with your abilities academically would carry more weight than someone
you have worked with.
Do I send
the recommendations myself?
Most US university applications will include instructions as to
how they want the recommendations sent. They may ask that your referees
fill in the form and put in a sealed envelope and then return it
to you to send on to the universities with your completed application
materials. Some US universities may request that your referees send
the recommendations directly to the, so you may need to provide
postage.
Financial
Assistance
What are
my chances of getting financial aid?
It is to the universities that you must realistically look for funding.
Keep in mind, however, that about 30% of international students
in the US receive major financial aid from university departments.
Of the remainder, the majority are self-financed, while a small
percentage are recipients of awards such as the Fulbright Award.
The Directory of Graduate Programs indicates which departments offer
scholarships to graduate students.
What are
my chances of being fully funded?
Financial aid does not always cover full costs so you should apply
to other sources for assistance. First year students are less likely
to receive assistance. There are three main forms of financial aid
available. Teaching Assistantships which are usually awarded to
students in the arts, humanities and social sciences. For 20 hours
a week you may help a professor with lectures, lead class discussions,
grade exam papers or teach freshmen undergraduates. Students in
the sciences and engineering fields are often awarded Research Assistantships
whereby a student will help with departmental or professional research
projects. An Assistantship will typically cover the cost of tuition
and fees for a year and sometimes a stipend is added for living
expenses. Fellowships are normally awarded to students admitted
to Ph.D. programs. They entail no work responsibilities and may
cover the cost of tuition and fees plus a stipend. Full fellowship
support for the duration of a program is rare and will generally
be combined with an assistantship. All aid is awarded on a year
by year basis, but should be forthcoming if the minimum GPA is maintained.
Can I work as a graduate student?
International students are not permitted to work in their first
year. After their first year, you can work on campus for up to 20
hours per week as long as you do not displace an American citizen
or permanent resident. This work would probably not pay very much
and would not pay enough for your tuition and cost of living. Under
the terms of the student visas, teaching assistantships and research
assistantships do not fall under the category of work.
Adapted from:
UK/US Fulbright Commission’s
“Over 100 of the most commonly asked questions about Postgraduate
Study in US” – and their answers
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