Going2USA: Education - Admissions & Application Procedure

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Education in USA

Admissions & Application procedure

Contacting Universities
-Pre-application Correspondence
-Requesting Applications Material
Application & Documents that you need to send
Application form, Application fee, Transcripts, Statement of Purpose, Test scores, Letter of recommendation, work experience, Financial statement
Submitting the Application
Applying Online

Contacting Universities

Organizing yourself is the key for you to apply successfully in the colleges/ universities for admission. Make sure that you submit the application before the deadlines! Following are the steps and some tips you should follow while applying for admissions in universities:

Once you have searched and selected universities of your choice, send letters / E-mails to various Universities and Department.
Once you receive the information booklets, compile them... and identify the areas of focus in which major research is being carried out in the universities. Make a chart containing deadlines, field of research, amount of tuition required etc for all the narrowed down choices.

Pre-Application Letters/ Correspondence [Top]

Select the area and field of study that you like in each of the Universities and identify professors who seem to match your interests and further narrow down the list of universities / college. Send your request for the application material. Being an international student you should keep some important points in mind while sending your request for application material
Write letters / E-mails to those professors. Keep in mind that most professors receive 1000s of E-mails. You must make an attempt to emphasize the areas that are of interest to the professors, regarding your background and achievements.
Compile the responses and decide which Universities you would like to apply to. Since the applications cost a lot of money , you should decide which Universities you should apply to. Typically people apply to 10-15 Universities. Depending upon your communication with the professors and your budget, you should decide and choose the Universities.
If you can contact the professors, ask them or schools by sending E-mails / Letters if they can waive your application fees or defer them until you get admitted.
By the end of this process, you should know fairly well about your chances of getting into a University. Some information such as the previous years' data for the average GMAT/GRE/SAP etc scores will help you evaluate your chances, because by now you would have given the required tests for the course that you are applying to. State Universities usually have more funds for Tuition Waivers and other scholarships. However, most Universities will evaluate your first quarter/semister performance before you are awarded with scholarships.

Application:
[Top]

Prepare the SOP (Statement of Purpose) carefully. And send the application along with other documents to the chosen schools. See the package that you need to send to the universities along with the applications
It never hurts to write follow up E-mails / Letters. Don't send mass-Emails or generic letters. Be specific about why you would like to pursue your career at a particular University.

Requesting Application Material [Top]

Schools usually have different application materials for international students. So, you should keep in mind that you are international student because there are some differences which include:

The need to include certified translations of your education credentials.
No eligibility for early action and early decision programs.

Points to remember:

Allow extra time for applications to arrive, because there may be delays in international postal system.
Application requirements and deadlines are usually the same. However, you should begin the process at least a year and a half in advance of the application deadline, and no later than August of the year before the academic year in which you plan to enroll.
Send all inquiries by airmail and request an airmail reply. Even if you are able to correspond by facsimile and email, the actual application and accompanying documents will need to be sent by airmail.
For Undergrad applications your initial inquiry should be addressed to the Director of Undergraduate Admissions or to the Department Chair or Dean of the Graduate School or Director of Graduate Admissions for graduate applications.
Your initial inquiry should either include a preliminary application form obtained from the nearest educational advising center, or at least the following information:
- While sending the application your name should be spelt the way it appears on your passport. If you change the spelling of your name, some of your records might get lost. If some of your documents will contain a different spelling of your name, attach a note giving your name as it will be used on your application form.
- According to US system your date of birth should be written with the month first, followed by the day then the year.
- Your mailing address, your citizenship and the name of the country issuing your passport, your marital status and the number of dependents.
- Your past and present education, listed in chronological order, including all secondary schools, colleges, and universities you have attended. Include examination results, grades, and class rank if available.
- Your intended program of study and the month and year in which you hope to begin studying in the United States.
- A summary of the total funds you have available to meet your educational and living expenses during each year of study in the United States. Give as much detail as possible, such as the sources of these funds. Otherwise the admissions officers will refuse to issue the certificates you need to request a visa to study in the United States.
- A list of your scores on TOEFL and other admission tests. If you have not yet taken the tests, list the dates on which you are registered to take the tests. Also mention where you studied English and the total number of years of English language study.

If you don't provide this information, the school will respond with a preliminary application that requests it. Otherwise, if you meet their preliminary criteria, they will send you a full formal application for admission with instructions.

Application and Documents that You Need to Send [top]

Do not send your original documents, since they cannot be returned. Copies should be certified with the school's official seal or by a notary public.

Application Form: After you contact the universities, they may send you applications forms. If you wish to receive the final application forms in time, you must complete and return the preliminary form as soon as possible.
Application Fee: Almost all universities charge a nonrefundable application fee that covers the cost of processing your application. It must be paid in U.S. dollars either by a dollar cashier's check drawn on a U.S. bank or by an international money order. Check the school's application form, Web site, or catalog for the current application fee and possible methods of payment. Be sure to submit the appropriate application fee with the application. If someone in the United States or elsewhere is paying the fee for you, send the application to that person and ask that the fee and application be mailed together to the university.
Transcripts You will be asked to provide "transcripts", which are lists of courses taken, year by year, indicating the number of hours each course met, results in each course, and an explanation of the grading system. Transcript can be requested and issued from your university/college in India. Inquire with your college/university for transcripts procedure. Few colleges/universities may not be aware of this term, hence you might have to give them the details of your requirements. Always get some extra copies of the transcripts when ordering them from India. However, often U.S. admissions officers prefer that transcripts of previous educational work be sent with your application in an envelope sealed by your former school or sent directly from the school.

U.S. universities will either evaluate your grades and documents themselves, or they sometimes require international applicants to pay an outside company, called a credential evaluator, to evaluate your documents.

Do not send original documents unless there is no alternative; usually they cannot be returned. Copies should be certified with an official seal from the school or university, or certified by a public official authorized to certify such documents. Any document not in English must be accompanied by an English translation which you may prepare yourself and have it certified at the Commission for Educational Exchange.
Statement of purpose /Essay: Applications will also require one or more essays. The purpose of the essays is partly to see an example of your English writing ability, and partly to provide an opportunity for you to express yourself in a more open format. One of the essays may be a statement of educational purpose (SOP). Use this essay to explain why you are pursuing an education in your field, describe your experience and strengths in that field, and outline your plans for the future. Your essay should be cohesive and well-organized. Give specific examples to support any general statements. See some related links for statement of purpose:
www.statementofpurpose.com, www.accepted.com
Letters of recommendation: You will usually be asked for at least two recommendations. For Undergrad studies, these may come from the head or principal of your school, your school counselor, your personal tutor, or any teachers who know you well. Your recommenders (or references or referees) must be able to write about your work and be able to assess your potential to do well in school. Ideally, for graduate school they should be written by professors who have taught you in the past, if you are applying for an academic degree program; however, if you are not a recent graduate, one recommendation can be from an employer. For professional programs, references from employers and professors are acceptable.

Some universities send recommendation forms with the application; if so, ask your recommenders to use these forms and to follow the instructions printed on them. If there are no specific instructions, ask three or four professors, administrators, or employers who know you well to type letters on their own letterhead in English, and either place them in a sealed envelope for you to send with your application or send them directly to the university. If you need more information on writing tips, strategies to be used for writing letter of recommendations, visit the following links: -
www.about.com , www.writeexpress.com, www.boxfreeconcepts.com
Work Experience: If you are going for MBA, most business schools give preference, other things being equal, to candidates with at least 2 years of full time business or administrative experience .They are likely to be more attractive to potential employers than are M.B.A. graduates with no firsthand experience of business. Business schools that are theoretical in orientation accept more readily students straight from university.
Test Scores: In addition to completing the application and essays, you will need to provide certified copies of your original educational credentials (diplomas, grade reports, test scores, comprehensive exam scores), certified English translations of these documents, TOEFL exam scores, scores for any required academic entrance examinations. Include all the items requested, or your application will be considered incomplete and will be disregarded. When you apply to take the GRE, GMAT, SAT I, SAT II, TOEFL, or other examinations, you should know which universities you wish to apply to. In this way, you will be able to specify at the end of the test that you wish your scores sent to those universities. You will save time and money by sending the scores at test time rather than requesting separate scores at a later date (For which you need to pay extra money).
Financial Statement: Most universities include a form called a Declaration and Certification of Finances or Affidavit of Financial Support in their application packets. This document must be signed by whomever is meeting your university expenses. Keep a copy of this form since you may also need it to apply for your student visa. Schools usually need to know that you have sufficient funds to cover at least the first year's expenses, although many may also ask you to indicate your source of income for the entire period of study. The university will issue the relevant certificate of eligibility for a student visa only if you are able to document fully your source(s) of income.

Some academic departments or schools operate a policy whereby your application for admission will be considered first, and then they will consider your need for financial aid. Other schools and departments that have limited or no financial aid available for their students will give higher priority to applicants who do not need financial support from the university.

Submitting the Application [top]

Each graduate department within a university sets its own deadline date, and it is usually firm about not accepting applications after that time, particularly if a program is very popular. For the fall semester, which begins in late August or early September, deadlines are usually between January and March, although they can be as early as November or as late as June or July. If, however, an institution indicates that it operates "rolling admissions," late applicants may still have a fair chance of acceptance. In this case, a university will admit and reject candidates until the program is filled. It is nonetheless a good idea to submit your application as early as possible.
If at all possible, send all required documents, including certified academic credentials and letters of recommendation, together in one envelope that have been placed in sealed envelopes. (Some institutions require that all materials arrive together.) Attach a note to any documents that bear a different name or different spelling from the standard one that you are using, and give the same first, second, and family name you used on your application form. Again, use the name on your passport if possible.

Send your application by registered mail or by courier, or submit the electronic application and mail all supporting documents. Keep copies of your application and documents just in case your material gets lost in the mail; you will be relieved to know that you can supply another set of information quickly, if this should happen.

After you have submitted all required documents, you should confirm with the university that your application is complete. Allow a reasonable amount of time before following up, probably three to four weeks after submission of the documents. Do not correspond too often.

Applying Online [top]

Below are some of the useful links that allow you to apply for admission online. Many universities and schools have their own online application forms. You will still need to submit your credentials via airmail, but using the web-based application services can save you some time. No one service handles applications for all the schools, so you may need to visit several sites.

College Board: It is good site which creates your profile based on the basic details about yourself given by you. It prepared applications for you for the colleges that you have selected.
Princeton Review: A very elaborate website with a list of schools and universities which provides facility to apply online.

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