The MS Process- Demystified Part - I

Okay, so here’s the follow-up help post that I promised. I’ll try to keep this on short and sweet. Let’s do this step by step.

1. MS vs. MBA
2. Counselor or Con-Sellers
3. GRE
4. TOEFL/IELTS
5. Applications
• LOR
• SOP
• Resume
• Transcripts
• Degree Certificate
• Covering letter
6. Decisions
• Funding
• Factors that matter
7. Visa
8. Sayonara India

1.)    MS vs. MBA

Now, if you’re sure and you've decided what you want to do out of the two topics that are going to be compared then just skip this part and move on to the “GRE” segment.

The common dilemma in students nowadays is, “Should I do MBA or Should I go for MS?” There are various factors one should consider before deciding any of the two options.  Students think they are oriented towards management because that’s the only/major experience they get during their bachelor's. If you're taking up MBA for the sake that you DON'T LIKE CODING, think over it; if you did not like coding why did you take up engineering in the first place. You survived four years(in some cases the high school of two years also included Computer Science which make it 6 years of CODING) and you want to flush it down the gutter because you did not ever do actual coding with a team. For this kind of people I’d suggest that they take a year’s work experience and then decide what they want to do in life. I’d put more light on the topic later on; gather some more information, I’ll post it ASAP.

2.) Counselor vs. Con-sellers:

           One of the major problems that we have, should I opt for a con-seller? My answer is no, but if you want genuine help from people coming from various fields you can opt for USIEF (United States-India Education Foundation). USIEF gives you genuine opinion about what should be done with your SOP, which colleges are good and many other things.

            Now-a-days conning students has become a new profession altogether; you see people posting various consultancies on the groups. But, do they actually help, my answer would be no they do not, I've seen my friends, juniors and seniors being given lists of colleges to apply to, with their SOPs being drafted by the consultancies, the same guys filling their admission forms, their DS-160(s), their VISA appointments and spoon-feeding them from the moment the students decide that he/she wants to do Masters from US and takes up an consultant.

           If you want spoon-fed data, the lists made, the forms filled by someone else why the f*ck do you want say that I got an admit, all you did was pay the con-seller and give the GRE and TOEFL. If you genuinely want to go to a good college look into the past results of students who have applied, network with seniors, go to websites like Edulix and get your profile evaluated.

          One more thing I've learnt about con-sellers is that they give you colleges which are way below your profile. I met a friend with a 310/100/61% profile and the con-seller told him that University of Texas,Dallas(UTD) was beyond his reach and that he should aim for University of Texas,Arlington(UTA). But, he went ahead and applied to UTD and secured an admit from there. All I want you to know is that if you cannot manage filling your own forms and writing your own dreams/goals in your SOP how the f*ck are you going to manage the assignment that'll be given to you during you Masters?

3.) Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

            The GRE is one standardized test that is an elemental requirement of almost all colleges in the United States. The GRE has three sections: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing ability (AWA). The test is divided into an hour for the analytical writing ability section which is further divided into two parts of half an hour each separated by a minute’s break. There are 5 sectional tests after the AWA which are of 30 minutes too; so the entire exam lasts around 4-4:30 hours including the breaks and the score reporting.

GRE preparation is usually started by people 5 months prior to their examination but it doesn't require putting in so much of effort. I've seen people working for more than 5 months scoring well below 300 and people with 2 months or even less preparation getting 310ish. I always feel, “It’s not the amount of hours you put in but the amount of efforts you put in those hours”. I myself scored 306 in 18 days of preparation and my best friend scored 314 with less than 20 days of preparation, thus proving my point. GRE is all about smart work, getting the formulae right, discovering new shortcuts; however, for Indian students verbal has always been a problem. Students who read less will always have to run behind Barron’s 333, Princeton Hitlist, Magoosh Words and n number of different lists which the people on Facebook groups will introduce every week. I’d suggest that start reading some books rather than the usual norm of “Do 10 then 20 then 30 and upto 50 words a day”; according to me that idea is CRAP. The words you'll learn of lists will be utter waste of your time as you won’t be able to implement it in sentences and thus, defeating the entire purpose of the popular words. There are adamant people like me who won’t take up reading books and end up studying lists, for them I’d suggest download the Memrise app which is available on the Android and iOS both. Once you download it, start with Barron’s 333 moving on to Magoosh words and then Princeton Hitlist; try implementing these words in sentences.

            Once you start with the Verbal and words, try solving some reading comprehensions because these 5 paragraph monsters will make sure you panic the moment you see them. Reading comprehensions will be easier if you have the habit of reading books as I suggested earlier for the words. For Indian students quantitative reasoning is a bit easy as we learn the majority of the topics on the test in elementary school and high school. I’d say do not waste time solving problems you already are a master at, rather trying improving the areas you lack in. GRE doesn’t have negative marking take full advantage of it and attempt each and every question. When you’re done with the initial preparation give one practice test of Manhattan, they give an insanely detailed result and from this you’ll be able to gauge your weaknesses. Two weeks before the exam start giving practice test and try not to lose marks in your area of expertise at the same time boost marks in the areas where you usually lose. Don't go on preparing from books as you will not be able to mould yourself according to the time limit. My class topper told me this, "GRE is not that tough, its just that the clock ticking on the top-right corner gets on your nerves and you need up screwing it up". Practice help you to sit for 4 hours and gauge how many question you can attempt and where you take more time. AWA is more about how to perceive a certain situation and the control over English; people usually score 3.0-3.5 in AWA. Watch Magoosh videos for AWA and you’re all set for it.

            On the exam day, don’t wear any piece of clothing with high number of pockets as it’ll increase your time taken during security checks. DO NOT TRY TO COPY; if you have a problem call the center in-charge and report the problem. GRE is all about keeping calm during the exam, the minute you start panicking you start leaking marks because you mind won’t be able to work as well as it did when you weren't tensed. If you can’t attempt say 5 questions in a section just let it go, do let those 5 marks affect the next 30.

            Points to Remember for GRE:

• You need to have a International Debit card/ credit card to book the GRE dates
• Research about the universities beforehand so that you can report your score there and save $108
• YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR PASSPORT TO APPEAR FOR THE GRE
• Don’t waste your time behind one question there 29 more in that section

4.) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

          TOEFL is an English proficiency test which is another fundamental requirement of any university which is out of India. TOEFL is divided in four parts viz., reading, listening, speaking and writing with each section having 30 marks each making the entire exam of 120 marks. Most colleges in the US having a minimum requirement of 79-80 marks but they vary from college to college. RIT has a TOEFL requirement of 88, NYU and NYU-Poly of 100 and Carnegie Mellon of 25 marks in each section; so do look into the TOEFL requirements of the colleges you’re applying to.

            TOEFL is not a VERY tough exam which involves tremendous amount of analytical thinking or quantitative reasoning; it’s just plain old English. Frankly speaking I gave one mock test by ETS and thought 'this is retarded why am I studying for an English test' and I did not prepare; eventually, I ended up scoring 103 even though my reading section was devastated. But I’d refer you all to watch the Notefull videos on YouTube or on www.notefull.com which are amazing tutorials for the speaking and writing sections. The speaking and listening will be problematic because when you're speaking there might 10 more students speaking simultaneously with you; so don't be shy and sophisticated speaking slowly be as loud as the microphone test requires to be. The results of the TOEFL are declared after 10 days atleast.

            Points to Remember for TOEFL:

• You need to have a International Debit card/ credit card to book the TOEFL dates
• Do over-stress over TOEFL
• YOU NEED TO HAVE A PASSPORT
• Speak loudly, clearly and confidently

IELTS is pretty similar to the TOEFL but according to the people’s review it is “Easier”. IELTS has a few distinctions compared to TOEFL; 1.) IELTS is scored in bands with each band of 9.0 marks, 2.) IELTS has a human scorer sitting in front of you for the speaking test which is easier than talking on the PC in limited time.

You can download the study materials from: GRE/TOEFL/Visa/Documents (Thanks to the uploader Moneka Bommasani)

I'll shortly write and upload the second half of this post, so do come back and read the other half.
KANPAI!


Specials Thanks to Moneka Bommasani for uploading the Study Materials, I found the link floating on some Facebook group, thought I'll help you spread it ;)