Educational Testing Service (ETS) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board, announced plans to introduce two new question types in the GRE General Test from November. Here is what ETS has to say about the new question types.

“Test takers may encounter one of these new questions in the Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning sections of the computer-based GRE General Test. The new Verbal question type is a text completion question that requires the test taker to fill in two or three blanks within a passage from separate multiple-choice lists. Currently, the Verbal section contains text completion questions that require test takers to fill in one blank within a passage from a single multiple-choice list. The new Quantitative question type will be a numeric entry question that requires test takers to type their answer as a number in a box, or as a fraction in two boxes. Test takers can review sample questions and additional information about the new question types on the GRE website.”

Most students, applying for an MS, make the mistake of selecting universities based solely magazine rankings such as US News Ranking. Though these rankings do provide a good starting point especially if you do not have any clue about universities, they should not be the only criterion for selection of a university. Rankings use their own standard for evaluation of universities which may or may not fit your background, needs and goals. So it is important that you spend some time reflecting on your goals and interests and carefully research schools that fit you.

There are many sources which can help you identify and research graduate programs. Some of the online sources include:
http://www.usnews.com
http://www.gradschools.com
http://www.petersons.com
http://www.phds.org/
http://gradschool.about.com/cs/programdatabase/

Once you have a broader list of universities using the above sources, you can narrow down the list. Some useful contacts to narrow down your list are:

• Alumni - Identify Alumni of your alma matter who are currently enrolled in graduate studies in your subject area. Even if you don’t know them very well, they might be more than willing to help you and offer advice.
• Personal Contacts – Poll all your personal contacts to see if they know anyone or have any information on the universities in your list. May be your dad’s friend’s nephew might have gone for higher studies and he might be able to offer some advice on good graduate programs in your area of interest.
• Professors at your college – Since most of the past students would be getting recommendations from your college professors, they might be a good resource to tap into to find out which universities do most of your alma matter prefer going to and they might even be able to provide some contacts of alumni.
• Professors at the school, you want to apply to – You might want to contact professors in target schools to find out more about the research and curriculum in your area of interest

Talking to past or present students not only provides you with a clear idea of what to expect during and after graduate studies and also enables you to make an intelligent and informed decision regarding the schools you want to apply. As an additional bonus, they also might give you good content to add to your SOP especially where you address “Why are you applying to this particular school”.

Unlike MS admissions, foreign MBA admissions are a laborious process which involves writing a whole bunch of essays for each school and getting personalized recommendations (generally a Q&A format specified by the university). So finding the right number of schools to apply is a little tricky aspect. If you apply to too few schools, you might end up without an ‘admit’. If you apply to too many, you may go crazy with all the essays you might have to write which in turn might affect the quality of the application.

Though there is no ideal number to apply, around 6 to 7 schools with a good mix of safe (will definitely get in), probable (good probability of admit) and reach schools (difficult to get in). The mix itself should depend on your profile and risk tolerance. However, don’t apply to schools that you don’t really want to attend even if you get admitted.

Try to target the reach and few of the probable schools in round one and the remaining in round two. Don't be discouraged from applying to a program that you feel is perfect just because your GMAT score or GPA falls slightly below their stated/average requirement. If all other aspects of your application are strong, you might still have a good chance of getting admitted. However, if your GMAT is way below their average, your GPA is an entire point below their average, and you don't have any real work experience or other credentials to strengthen your profile, then you might want to focus on schools to which you’re better suited academically.

A resume or CV (as it is called in India) is a brief written account of your educational, professional and extra curricular experiences in a one page document.
Most Indian students applying for study abroad, especially for an MS degree, do not understand the importance of a resume. A resume is a primary sales tool which consolidates your achievements so the admission officers can learn about you in a glance. It also helps you to stick to word limits your statement of purpose (SOP) by providing a second platform to list your achievements that do not fall in the SOP theme. Your resume should also reflect your academic interests and research abilities and an objective stating your goal of entering that school’s program.

Some of the common mistakes which students make while applying with regard to a resume are:

• Since many schools do not list the resume as a required document, many students do not send a resume along with their application. Make sure that you do send a resume even if it is not listed in the required documents. As mentioned, Resume is a sales tool that you cannot ignore.
• Most students send the same resume which they have been using for applying to jobs. Make sure that you use an US style Resume which is different than the traditional Curriculum Vitae that you used to get a job in India. An American Resume has a different layout format and does not include personal details like your father’s name, sex, date of birth, passport details, sibling details, semester wise academic table. You can check school site for resumes of their current students to get an idea of the layout to use.
• Most students also make the mistake of having a resume running into multiple pages. Let your resume be confined to 1 (max 2 pages)

Most MBA applicants face the dilemma on which admission round should they apply to. Applicants often wonder is there is a difference between the first (or early admissions) and second rounds? My answer to this is

“YES there is a difference between the First/Early and Second rounds of MBA admissions. It is EASIER to get admission in the First/Early Rounds.”

This might sound contradictory to what some other consultants or B-School admissions committees say. I have often heard them making statements that ‘there is no difference between Round 1 and Round 2 and applicants should apply when they think they are ready’. While I agree that you should apply only when you are ready with all application components, but if you can get your application in by the Early or First Round, then you should definitely do so. My personal experience over the years has been that getting admitted in the Early/First round is comparatively easier than getting a call in subsequent rounds. This apparently is true with almost all categories of MBA programs, be it Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 schools (for that matter any school that has more than one admission rounds). For schools that don’t have admission rounds but have rolling admissions, the early applicants are always at an advantage.

So if you are done with your GMAT and have you think that you can meet the Round 1 deadlines then don’t procrastinate. Get your applications in early.