A guide to your Master’s Degree in USA

Rohit Subramanian1

Higher Education in the United States of America

Some Statistics…

Rohit Subramanian2

Over 40 people went to Universities in USA for Fall 2011 from SSN

12 of our own Mechanical seniors in various Universities

10 in USA, 2 in Germany9 applying for Fall 2012 in USA5 applying for MS in European countries

The Six Questions

Rohit Subramanian3

Why to go for it? The MotiveWhere ? The right destinationWhat to do ? Available Options.When to do what ? The Ideal TimelineHow ? The ProcedureWho to ask? Resources at disposal

Why ?

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Intellectual Reasons Advanced study opportunities in your area

of interestResearch prospects Career Reasons Global ExposureGood Career growth prospectsOther ReasonsAnyone can aspire for it“American Mapillais” in demand

Where ?

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United States of America Europe, notably Germany

Great for broad areas of study

Great for core mechanical areas

More generalized approach Highly specialized

Closer to our educational system

Application oriented as opposed to a theoretical approach

Easy to gel into the lifestyle

Comparatively tough life – German language must

Better career prospects – So Good Return on Investment

Relatively tougher finding jobs after MS

Expensive (20 – 50 lakhs)

Relatively cheaper(5-15 lakhs)

What ?

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Options available to Mechanical EngineersMechanical Engineering Fluid Mechanics Mechanics, Vibrations, Acoustics Thermal ManufacturingIndustrial Engineering Operations Research Manufacturing Systems Production Systems Logistics, Supply Chain Management Quality Engineering

What ?

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Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Systems Aerodynamics Propulsion StructuresMaterials Science and EngineeringManufacturing Engineering

When ?

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Time can be a valuable resource in MS applications

Many Universities have Rolling type admits – They process applications as and when they arrive rather than waiting for the deadline to begin processing all at once

Hence, applying soon can help increase your competency

It also gives you more time to plan your next move once you have finished applying/ received admits

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Month What to do Also do

October- December

GRE Classes

January

February

March Self Preparation •Intensive Search on Universities

•Try to find profs in univs who share research interests

•Write to them “Prof Letting”

•Do some networking to identify profs who have worked with people you know

April

May

June GRE & TOEFL

July Shortlist Universities

August SOP/ LOR

September

October Apply to decided Universities

December Deadline for Applications

How ? GRE

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Requires about 5-6 months of good preparationVerbal section requires systematic

development of languageProgressive augmentation of personal

communicative lexicon through employment of proficient recollection routines

Important change in pattern: Questions with multiple right answers The destruction of the “Antonyms” and

“Analogies” devil – Good and Bad Sentence Equivalence questions

GRE

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Important to acquaint oneself with American English eg. the New York Times Editorial page

Try reading abstruse passages on Philosophy and literary critiques – the all-time GRE favourites

Quants is far less threateningImportant change from previous pattern – Questions with multiple right answers Questions with no answer choicesStudy from any online material – widely

availablePowerPrep is the most important tool available

Choosing appropriate Universities

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Prospects of admission in univs depends on:1.A good GRE Score2.A great academic profile3.Relevant projects4.Good Recommendations from professors5.Tons and tons of research on area of

interest – translates into a kick-ass Statement of Purpose

It’s a combination of all factors that gets you an admit.

Number of Universities

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Several practices on number of universities to apply to

Cost per univ : Rs. 6000 – 7000/university Identifying universities before you write GRE

and TOEFL can help save $40 per university (Rs. 2000/univ)

Ideal number of univs : 10Princeton method: 4 Ambitious, 4 Reach, 2

SafeSafe Method : 4 ambitious, 3 reach, 3 safeThe Lean Method : 5 ambitious, 2 safe

Importance of Projects

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Projects show that you are a person who can apply knowledge

For people interested in core areas, internal research projects can add great value

Try getting a summer fellowship at IITM – the IIT tag really helps

Convert as many projects as possible into publications – publications are the biggest endorsements of your research ability

The Statement of Purpose

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Most important document in your applicationThe Make or Break of any applicationA Good Statement of Purpose shows Why you are doing somethingHow that something defines youHow your research focus matches with the

profs at the UniversityAn SOP is your marketing proposition. You can

paint your entire profile in any desired colour with a great SOP.

Letters of Recommendation

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LOR’s are very important ‘cos that tells the university what your profs think about you.

Get LOR from faculty members under whom you have worked

Get LOR from faculty members who have handled relevant subjects for you

An LOR from the HOD gives you added weightage

Some IIT professors have very good reputation there. So your IIT project can help here too.

Start making your professors happy

Who ?

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The Most Valuable Resource – edulix.comA close second – US news rankingshappyschoolsblog.com“Natala Lukina’s homepage” for SOP and

LOR preparation“SSN Mech MS Abroad” Group, Facebook.USIEF – Membership for Rs.2000, Free

consultancy and access to all their libraries, etc.

Private consultancies – Princeton, etc.

Ideating

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Currently working on profiling the students who have made it from SSN and other colleges in the past few years – Inferred data will give us better picture on what kind of students can apply to which university

Mentoring from students who are already there – “SSN Mech MS Abroad” group on Facebook helped the present batch greatly

We could try to introduce the concept of teaching assistants in the department – where students can handle classes for junior years – adds weightage to the students’ profile

To Sum Up…

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The MS will be a critical phase of your lifeConvince yourself of all aspects of the

decision you will be making – Ask yourself the Six Questions

Its never too early to start preparing – Slow and Steady still win the race; Only, Don’t start after the fast ones have already left you behind

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Thank You