Archive for June, 2007

Harvard Essays for the Class of 2010

Thursday, June 28th, 2007

  1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
  2. What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)
  3. Please respond to three of the following (400-word limit each))
  • Discuss a defining experience in your leadership development. How did this experience highlight your strengths and weaknesses?
  • How have you experienced culture shock?
  • What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
  • What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
  • What global issue is most important to you and why?
  • What else would you like the MBA Admissions Board to understand about you?

Source: Harvard Business School website: www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/writtenapplication.html

Posted in MBA and GMAT, Admission News | No Comments »

2008 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship

Saturday, June 23rd, 2007

Applications are now open for the 2008 Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarships. The scholarship pays upto US Dollars 25000 to study abroad. The best feature of this scholarship is that there is no restriction on what you have to study.  You cannot use this scholarship to study in your own country or in a country where you have lived in the past for more than six months. The scholarship criteria include a brilliant academic record and an awareness of international affairs. Ability to be able to explain one’s own culture is an important criterion. 

This scholarship is awarded only in those countries where there is a Rotary Club, but most countries of the world have Rotary clubs. China recently allowed Rotary clubs!

For more details, see the link to the Rotary Foundation website: http://www.rotary.org/foundation/educational/amb_scho/index.html

Visit www.app2us.com for more funding information.

Posted in Funding | No Comments »

Honesty with your MBA admission essays

Thursday, June 14th, 2007

The essay writing is the most challenging part of the MBA application process. The applicant may end up writing anywhere between 10 to 25 essays on different topic. For a non native English speaker the task can be daunting and one may get tempted to ‘look at’ good essays from friends, books or the internet.

Business schools have a high focus on ethics and it is needless to say that the applicant should be honest in writing the essays in their own words. It is ok to look at a few good examples but the essay should be original and should reflect consistency with your GMAT verbal and TOEFL score. If you have a poor GMAT verbal score and have submitted essays which are too good for your proficiency of English, you are headed for trouble.

Here is a very good reason to write your own essays. The essays that you write for the Analytical Writing section of your GMAT Test are available to the admission committee. Although written under intense pressure of GMAT and strict time limits, those essays give a very good idea about your English grammar proficiency and your style of writing. So the essays that you write for the MBA admission should be in your own words.

Keep checking www.app2us.com for more information.

Posted in Applications, MBA and GMAT | No Comments »

Private and Public Universities

Monday, June 11th, 2007

Before you finalize the target Universities to apply, it is very important to understand the difference between a public and a private University. There are both private and public Universities which are very well known and the respect for a degree is mostly determined by the academic reputation, and has nothing to do with public or private.But for your application and tuition cost, it may make a difference. The tuition cost at a private University is typically higher as compared to a similarly reputable public university. Also the application fee is higher. It must be very easy to decide then - apply to public Universities. Not exactly.Our goal is to guide you towards the best quality education at minimum cost - TO YOU. Private Universities of similar reputation and ranking pay more to research and teaching assistants. So if you are funded, you might be better off in a private Universities, assuming all other academic factors are equal.

Here are the advantages of public Universities, in terms of funding. Application fee is lower and we know that application cost itself is a big factor for international students. If you are not funded initially, lower tuition helps. Public Universities are typically large, so the chances of getting funded later are brighter. Also many public Universities have a concept of in-state-tuition.

Harvard, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford Universities are private Universities and are among the best in the world. However if you are not exactly the next Einstein and are planning to apply to low ranked Universities, then going for public Universities is a risk free option. In lower end of the spectrum a private University may not have even basic facilities or accreditation and it is difficult to find out because all Universities have awesome websites. If you are admitted to a lower ranked state University, the chances of extreme disappointment is lower and the degree is likely to carry some value compared to that of an unknown private University.

Academic quality, research interests and your admissibility should be the main criteria for University selection, but it is good to know the public private concept for a better decision-making.

How to find out: As a rule of thumb, public Universities include the name of the state. But if the name of a state comes with a “direction”, then the University is not necessarily public. Example: University of Southern California is a private University - a very reputable one.

Posted in Univ Selection | No Comments »

Applying in Fall or Spring

Friday, June 8th, 2007



For Undergraduate and MBA programs, fall is the best time and in most Universities the only time to start your education.


For MS and PhD programs, the bulk of admissions are offered for fall semester. Most of the funding is also available in fall. However if your personal situation requires you to apply for spring, by all means go ahead. Fewer students apply in spring, so you will be competing with a small group of students and that may work in your favor.


The most important point to remember is that all Universities have there own rules and you must read the websites carefully about the spring intake.


It makes no difference to your chances of getting a visa if you are starting your education in spring.


It also makes no difference to your chances of eventually getting a good job after your education. For MS and PhD degrees, there is no fixed timetable. If you take more courses per semester, you may complete your degree program earlier than someone who joined earlier than you.


Posted in Applications | No Comments »

How to study in US free of cost

Tuesday, June 5th, 2007

The US education system is expensive – so expensive that a good percentage of people in US cannot afford to pay for college. Yet this is one of the few countries where you can practically study free of cost.

The Universities employ graduate students, as teaching and research assistants and pay them a salary, in addition to tuition waiver or reduction. An assistantship income enables a student to pay for the education and lead a modest lifestyle.

There are not enough people who are interested in pursuing MS and PhD degrees in Science and Engineering fields. So the Universities rely heavily on international students to join the MS and PhD programs in technical fields.

The main reason a University is willing to financially support students is to increase its research output and paper publication, which in turn drive the University rankings. So maximum funding is available for research based degrees, particularly PhD.

Most Universities employ teaching assistants who help the Professors with teaching, grading or lab supervision. Preference is given to PhD students for teaching assistantship, and some proficiency in English is also expected in some cases.

Masters degree programs which do not have a research component do not offer a high number of assistantships or fellowships. For example, MBA programs or non-thesis based MS degrees.

If you are planning to apply to a department which offers Masters Degree with both thesis and non thesis options, it is always better to apply for thesis option, if you are interested in getting funded.

It is very important criteria for international students to get funded. The key to funding is to apply to a University who will consider you to be good enough for an assistantship or funding. If you are good enough to get admission to a 20th ranked program without funding, there are good chances that a 40th ranked program will admit you with funding. So to enhance your chance of getting funded, you may consider applying to a few lower ranked Universities in addition to your top choices.

Posted in Funding | No Comments »

MS, PhD Applicants, checklist this month

Tuesday, June 5th, 2007

For MS and PhD Applicants targeting for fall 2008, this is a good time to decide on the Universities. Take the GRE and TOEFL appointment if you have not done so. If you are from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, you will need a passport to appear in the GRE and TOEFL, so it is high time to apply for your passport.

If your GRE is round the corner it is the time to put in some efforts for preparation and take practice tests. You should be finalizing your target Universities soon, at least four Universities, so that you may be able to report your GRE and TOEFL score free of cost on the test date.

This is also a good time to do some interesting work during the summer either with a Professor or a company to improve your profile. A publication based on your work would go a long way in differentiating you from other good candidates.

Make a list of the potential recommenders. It is a good time to contact the people you are expecting the letters of recommendation from and let them know your plans for studying in USA. If they have forgotten you, remind them who you are!

Posted in Applications | No Comments »