How to Apply for a Graduate Programme

Here are some tips to help you apply for a Graduate Programme in the US - 

• Make sure you and/or your education counselor do an extensive survey of various universities' websites to shortlist the universities you apply to. Apply to as many programmes as possible, according to what you can afford.
• Make sure your research interests match with the research strength of the Department and there are experts in your area in the Department.
• Choose your recommendation letters writers carefully - they may or may not be famous, but they should be in academics, or your superiors if you are in an academic job and they should be able to comment positively on your academic and research abilities. Also, they should send the letter before deadline.
• Write your SOP carefully, review it several times and proof-read it carefully. Ask another person to proof-read it as well and give you comments. Be very direct about what you have done, what you want to do, how you have prepared yourself to do it and how this Graduate programme helps you to achieve your goals.
• Before you begin to prepare your applications, contact potential advisors, tell then briefly about your profile and what you want to do and ask them if it is advisable for you to apply there.
• Explore the ranking of the programmes in US News, NRC list, Times Higher Education and QS Ranking lists. Apply to as highly-ranked programmes as possible, considering the strength of your application. 
• Remember that a candidate from a higher-ranked university than yours will almost always top you in the job market. Ranking matters a lot in the US academia. 
• Hence, if your education advisor offers you guaranteed admission in a low-ranked non-funded programme, don't fall into the trap. Such programmes will leave you nowhere in the job market after you get your degree.
• Provide the best writing sample you have and see that it relates to the field you are applying in. Check it several times and proof-read it yourself and get it proof-read by another person as well.
• If you will go for funding, check the websites to confirm that there is funding available. If this information is not there on the website, write to the Department and ask if there is funding in this programme. Tell them your citizenship and residency status while asking about this.
• Make sure you have taken at least 4-6 courses in the discipline in which you are applying. Most US universities require prior training in the discipline, unless their website specifically says that they don't require it. MBA and Masters in Social Work programmes are exception to it, but they are mostly not funded.
• Check the success rate of the alumni of this department in last few years. Write to the department yourself to find out.  
• Don't get tempted by your education counselor to go for a low-ranked non-funded programme, if the success rate of the students of this programme is low. Chances are your degree from this department will not be valuable in the job market. So, it's really a waste of money to go for such programmes by paying a lot of money.
• Especially if the payment of a lot of money is involved, find out the ranking and success rate of the alumni of this programme. 
• Don't presume that this US degree will open doors of success for you. 
• Please know that many candidates have fallen into this trap before you and have suffered because their non-funded and low-ranked programme didn't get them success in their field.

Contact - artandheritage@gmail.com

How Important is the GRE?

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is a standardised test comprising of verbal, quantitative and writing skills testing sections. In the current format, it scores between 130 and 170 on the verbal and the quantitative sections and 0-6.0 in 0.5 increments on the writing skills section. It is a required test for admissions applications for most US universities and also for some European universities.

Candidates place a lot of importance on the GRE scores and work very hard to score very well on this test. However, a look at the admissions trend of the various US universities shows that the GRE is actually much less important than the other parts of the application. The Statement of Purpose (SOP), the Writing Sample and the Letters of Recommendations (LORs) are the three most important parts of Graduate Admission process. The next comes the previous GPA. The most important aspect for the American universities appears to be the prestige of the institution from where a candidate has got the previous degrees. A candidate with a lower GPA and lower GRE score from a prestigious institution can be accepted over a candidate from a average-ranked institution, if the SOP, Writing Sample and the LORs are good in both cases.

As for the GRE scores themselves, they have varying importance in different disciplines. In Sciences, Technology, Economics and Mathematical disciplines (STEM), the Quantitative scores o the GRE matter a lot and a score lower than 160 out of 170 can jeopardise the admissions chances of the candidate. On the other hand, verbal scores are not very important and a score of 150+ is treated as acceptable. In contrast, in the Social Sciences, both verbal and quantitative scores are important and one should ideally get closer to or above 160 on both sections in order to get admitted into a good Graduate programme. In the Humanities, only the verbal section is important and the candidates are expected to get a good score on the verbal section. Quantitative scores are not regarded as important in the Humanities disciplines even in the most prestigious universities.

This said, as said above, prestige of the previous institutions, SOP, Writing Sample and the LORs are more important than the GRE in all disciplines and if all of these are strong, then a somewhat lower GRE score can get a candidate. But if these are not strong, then a high GRE score can't get the candidate admission. It seems that the GPA is linked with the prestige of the previous institution.

So, a good strategy is to keep all parts of a Graduate application strong and to get the high GRE scores on the sections important in one's discipline. 

Some universities specifically write on their website that GRE is only a requirement and they give importance to the whole application package. In some places, where funding does not automatically guarantee admission, GRE scores can play a role in funding. Some Programmes specifically mention the minimum GRE scores required by them. 

So, it is a good idea to explore the universities' websites thoroughly and enquire from the Programmes about what role the GRE plays in admission. In most cases, it plays a less important role than what is imagined by the candidates.

Email - artandheritage@gmail.com (Art & Culture Centre/Overseas Education Counselling Division)