MS after Experience

This blog post is in response to many questions on app2us forums about possible advantages of applying for MS program after few years of work experience. Many students want to know whether they should wait for one or two years, gain experience, then apply. First of all, some facts:

Unlike MBA, work experience is neither required, nor preferred for MS admissions. Even in case of an applicant having work experience, the academic recommendation letters matter, universities do not care about recommendations from the workplace. Vast majority of students in the MS programs do not have any full time work experience.

Now we shall analyze some possible advantages of applying with, say, two years of experience:


1. Chance to improve academic record: Many applicants do not have good grades or marks in the first couple of years of their undergraduate degree program. If they apply during the fourth/senior year, their final year grades are not counted. If they apply after one or two years, they get an opportunity to focus on studies in the final year, and improve their overall record. In that case, when they apply, their entire result is available, and the improvement in the last year is something the admission committees like a lot.


2. More time for GRE, TOEFL and the applications: Even for the focused and sincere types, the pressure of handling GRE, TOEFL and application steps can be very stressful to manage alongwith college exams and projects. If you apply after getting your degree, then in the college you can focus on the coursework, and next year you can focus on GRE TOEFL and applications. Make no mistake, a full-time job where you will be during the application process can be much worse compared to your college life. But there is a profound difference. Your college grades stick with you for whole life and matter during the admission process. So overall it is easier to manage a full time job and the application process, rather than academic responsibilities and the application process.


3. Time for strengthening of profile: As mentioned work experience itself does not help much in admissions. However relevant experience, or experience in a research based job can help. Also experience at a world famous (read US based) company like Google or Microsoft can set your application apart from the crowd. As you work and gain experience, you can also invest some time in publishing a paper, and find more time to study for GRE.


4. Better job prospects: Although applicants with work experience do not get significant advantage in the admission process, at the end of the MS program, they stand much better chance of landing a coveted job. Also, the experience may help find a student worker job and internship during the study.


5. Gain More: This is a subjective statement, students with work experience can gain more out of the education and enjoy being students again after being away from academics for a while. The experience you gain at work in general can help adjust in a new country and culture.

There are no big disadvantages of applying with work experience. Unlike some people think, people with five or even ten years of experience are not discriminated against. In other words, it is ok to have ten years of experience – your application will not be rejected due to very high experience (or older age). There are minor hassles, like getting transcripts or letters of recommendation, but those can be managed.

We at app2us.com strongly recommend to apply after one year of work experience in the case where you need to and can improve your academic record by excelling in the final/fourth/senior year (case 1). In other cases, it depends on personal preferences. Hope this post helps you in making an informed decision.

If you received an admission offer with funding, you are likely to receive this document with the offer. Even if you did not get it, read it. The document states, “Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer…”

It is important to understand this resolution, your rights, and what is right and what is wrong.Here is what this means in simple language. If you received more than one offer with funding, think which one is the best, and keep on thinking till April 10th. Dont wait till the last minute, so do the needful soon after that. On April 11th, make up your mind. On April 12th, go ahead and accept the best offer. On April 13th, be sure to decline the other offers. If you receive a better offer [either from a better ranked university, or better funding], contact the university whose offer you have accepted, with your new offer and a brief reason why you consider the new offer better for you. Request them that you be allowed to take up the new offer. If possible, copy both universities in your emails. Once the universities releases you, accept the new offer.

Frequently asked questions:
Q. Can I accept two offers?
A. No, and there is no need to accept more than one offer.

Q. Will I be under any legal complications if I decide to reject a previously accepted offer?
A. No. Make sure you are honest with both Universities in question.

Q. What is a written release?
A. Permission on email or a letterhead to allow you to join another university.

Q. Should I wait till April 15th?
A. No, try to finalize and accept the best offer by April 12th.

It is already April 11th, please be sure to convey your acceptance tomorrow.

A set of transcripts is the most critical component of the application requirements at all US universities without any exception. It is also something which causes maximum tension and headache to obtain in some parts of the world – primarily because it is not known to many applicants and university officials that what exactly a transcript is.

Let us dissect a transcript. What does it look like and what does it contain. On the outside, it is a sealed envelope. The envelope could be an official envelope of the issuing university or even a simple white envelope. It may even be a printed envelope provided by your target US University. It does not matter what type of envelope as long as it is sealed and provides the name of the issuing university – printed, typewritten or handwritten. The flaps of the envelope should be signed by the issuing official. The envelope should essentially contain 3 items:
1. A covering letter explaining the grading system of the university. This letter must be on the official stationary of the issuing university and signed by the registrar or equivalent. This letter must contain the address and phone number of the university which is issuing the transcripts. This letter must be in original in each envelope, do not use photocopies.
2. All the mark sheets from each year or semester. These could be attested photocopies, obviously you do not want to send your originals.
3. Attested photocopy of the degree or provisional degree. If neither is available yet, this should be explained in the covering letter.

Universities worldwide issue some sort of official document that shows all the courses taken by the student and the marks or grades obtained. In many cases these documents are provided to the student each year and the university does not necessarily maintain a database. So the only way to get a transcript for the student is to supply an attested photocopy of his or her mark sheets back to the university to be sealed in an envelope.

A registered user of app2us.com informed us that he had a very difficult time obtaining official transcripts from his university and eventually his U.S. applications were rejected. This typically happens at newly started colleges or universities where the staff has no prior experience of issuing transcripts. As an applicant, it is your and only your responsibility to understand what is a transcript, and explain it to the university officials. If you have already graduated this could involve traveling to your university, stay for a few days and get the transcripts. But you cannot leave this to chance IF your university is not very efficient in issuing transcripts.

Transferring to another University is a complicated process, yet the steps are very well defined on University websites and many students take advantage of the process.
A full application is needed for transfer students, although you may request a waiver on a few requirements like TOEFL. You should do very well in the first semester in your current US University, preferably all A’s. This cannot be stressed enough. In your Statement of purpose you have to give a good reason on why you want to transfer. Focus on the positive aspects of your target University rather than mentioning anything negative about your current one.
Common (and acceptable) reasons to get a transfer:
The desire to graduate from a more reputable University
Better research opportunities
Better funding opportunities
Personal reasons like being close to your significant other

Even if not mentioned in the application requirements, it is a good idea to include a resume. The resume must be limited to one page, no matter how many achievements you have.

Here are some guidelines to improve your resume.

• Your name, email ID and phone number must be included at the top
• You should use simple and legible font, preferably size 11 or more. The contents should not look too crowded
• Avoid your country specific acronyms (read more here)
• List your achievements in reverse chronological order
• Avoid any achievement earlier than grade 10th, but focus mainly on your accomplishments while in college
• Divide the resume in different sections and have headings for each section
• Check your spellings
• Include a printout in black ink with your offline materials like the transcripts. Some online applications also allow you to upload extra documents

The deadlines for applying to US Universities are very close now. Most applications are submitted online, but one still needs to send a lot of materials offline including transcripts.

It is tempting to wait until last date to submit the online application because you may think it is instantaneous. Well, it is not always the case. The servers of online applications experience very heavy traffic in the last few days and are likely to be down.

Here are other good reasons why we recommend that you not only submit your online application early, but do it BEFORE you mail your offline materials.

• Your online application has a application ID which you should mention on your offline materials and envelopes.
• The last page of online application often has info on what all is needed offline.
• The payment online may fail for some reason and then you may have to include a UD Dollar draft in your offline packet.

For MS and PhD Applicants targeting fall 2008 admissions, this is the time for last minute application activities, including sending out the packets. As you may have found out by now that even if most applications are online, you do need to send one (and sometimes two) physical packets to your target Universities.

Complete your online application. Prepare to send the offline materials at least 10 days before the deadline, even if you are going to use a reliable service like DHL. Courier packets get delayed during the peal holiday season. Make sure your online and offline materials reach before the deadline. The deadlines for top Universities are in December to January. If you are still not ready, do not target one of the early deadline ones. If the deadlines for your target Universities are in February or March, this is a good time to improve your SOP and compile all your letters of recommendation.

Make sure to include a photocopy of your GRE and TOEFL score in your offline packet, even if not specifically asked. Track through ETS whether or not your official scores were actually reported to your target Universities. You can even make a phone call to ETS; it should be affordable with the falling phone charges.

We are starting a new series where we highlight the common mistakes while applying to US Universities.

Consider this hypothetical profile as written in first person: I scored 90% marks in ICSE and 95% marks in CBSE. I had been an NTSE scholar. I won the silver medal at INMO. I studied at IIT KGP and my CGPA was 9. I was active with NSS.

There is a huge problem with the above profile; none of the acronyms (except IIT) are understood in USA. The applicant is not likely to get recognition for all her achievements, because the admission committee may not be familiar with so many acronyms specific to Indian vocabulary. There are some acronyms which are widely understood in some countries but in general one should write the expanded notations while completing the application or writing the statement of purpose.

Consider this hypothetical profile again eliminating all acronyms: I scored 90% marks in class 10 and 95% marks in Class 12. I was awarded the prestigious National Talent Search Scholarship on the basis of an all-India competitive examination. I won the silver medal at Indian National Mathematics Olympiad. I studied at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and my Cumulative GPA was 9 out of 10. I served as a volunteer with the National Service Scheme.

Applicants from many countries including England, India, Pakistan, Srilanka, Bangladesh, South Africa are used to the British style of English. There are many words and usage in American English which are very different as compared to the British English. We list some of the most common words which are very frequently used in the University application process. Feel free to suggest more by adding your comments.

BRITISH – AMERICAN
graduate – undergraduate
post-graduate – graduate
course – program
subject – course
guide – advisor
first year – freshman
second year – sophomore
third year – junior
fourth year – senior
hostel – dorm
passing out – graduation
head (of department) – chair

MBA programs have 2 or 3 rounds of deadlines and they consider all applications submitted for a particular round at the same time.

For MS and PhD programs, it is advisable to apply early. Some Universities consider all applications after the deadline, while some other have a rolling application process and thus the application completed earlier has a better chance of favorable outcome.

The application is considered complete only after all components including official GRE and TOEFL scores are received by the department. Applying too early does not help. Applying 30 to 60 days before the deadline is a good range for applying early.

It is better to submit a good application with well written essays just before the deadline, rather than making an early application with poorly written essays.