One of the most daunting tasks in an MS application is writing the Statement of Purpose (SOP). Compiling your entire background, experiences, and overall thought process in a single document that summarizes your persona and yet makes it an interesting read, is a challenge in itself. You will have to introduce yourself, give your profile, brag about yourself but not brag too much that it appears unreal and at the same time, convince the faculty to give an admit. Some students have problems even beginning one. Some get a few samples from various sources and do a blotchy job of copy and paste, while many students use a senior’s SOP and just change his/her name. Very few take the time to actually prepare a good Statement of Purpose.

Whatever is your method of preparing a statement of purpose, you can use the following checklist to make sure your SOP looks good and convincing.

• Is the length of the essay neither too short ( less than 500 words) nor too long (more than 1000 words)
• Is there a logical flow in the essay and divided into paragraphs?
• Is the essay spell proofed and grammar proofed?
• Does the essay use positive language and avoid any possible negativity?
• Is the essay concise? Does it avoid going into some unnecessary details or too deep into some technical explanation?
• Does the essay highlight all the relevant work experience, extra-curricular, co-curricular, projects?
• Does it avoid referencing unrelated work or activities that do not directly connect to your graduate studies (for instance too many details about your childhood days)
• Does it include your future plans and goals
• Does it make it clear how you are a good fit to the university and the university a good fit to you?
• Did you proof read and solicit feedback from people familiar with the process
• Avoid giving excuses for shortcomings in grades, scores etc
  Is it convincing?

Many students base their university selection on the rankings provided by various agencies. While rankings offer a good benchmark to compare universities, they should not be the only parameter to base your university selection on. The rank of a university may be used as an indicator to assess the overall standing of the university but not as an absolute deciding factor. While one can make a general assessment that a university ranked 10 would definitely be better than the one ranked at 40, it need not be better then a university ranked 14; not necessarily better for every applicant. Reason being the inherent problem with all rankings: ‘They do not measure what is important to you - the applicant’

When an agency ranks universities, they use their own set of parameters to determine the rankings. Each parameter is assigned certain importance and based on the overall score of the university, the rankings are determined. Now all factors that the agency considers while assigning the ranks, may not be important to you. Also their order of importance of the parameters may differ from your order of importance. Say for instance, ‘funds available within the department’ and ‘starting salaries of graduate students’ might be the most important factors for you, while they might be of least importance to the ranking agency.

Rankings tend to hide unique strengths and specialties. For instance the computer science department of a particular university might be exceptionally good for its research and courses in computer security, or an MBA program might be well reputed for its courses in Entrepreneurship, but overall program rankings do not convey such specialties.

Finally data collected to compile the rankings may not always be accurate. Schools report data that is available with them and it need not be complete. Some ranking agencies collect information directly from alumni of the programs and from current students. Some also collect data from recruiters at the program. Thus there are chances that the information thus collected may have been reported inaccurately (some times intentionally) or incompletely, thereby causing the rankings to reflect a skewed picture.

Thus as a student applying to a program or finalizing a university to join, it is recommended that you research the program’s strengths and weaknesses, courses offered, opportunities that the program would offer you during and after graduation, review admitted student’s profiles, and then finally look at the rank and reputation of the program.

When it comes to building a career, nothing works like a good network. Whether you plan to take a job after graduation, start your own business, or plan to take on further studies, a good network always comes handy. But unfortunately networks are not built in a day; they take time to develop. Here are some tips for graduate students to build a good network

1. Be in good terms with your professors
There is a high possibility that your professors are well connected with the industry and could be a good source for referrals. So it is always a nice idea to take advice from your professors. Start off by discussing your career plans with them a little early in your semester, and seek advice on ways to accomplish it. It is very likely that they have ideas that you might not have thought about. Keep them updated about your progress (not a daily status update – but maybe once a month), and see if they can refer you to some of their industry contacts or ex-students working in the industry.

2. Start networking with peers and seniors
Most of your seniors who graduated, would have managed to find themselves a career in the corporate world. It is also possible that some of your peers from school and college have already made their mark in the industry you desire to venture into. Get in touch with your old schoolmates and collegemates. Get to know the friends of your friends. You don’t have to party with all of them, but do keep in touch, so that you could tap into these networks when the need arises.

3. Explore - avoid the conventional path
You may think you know what you want to do in life, but chances are you don’t. So use your time in grad school to explore various options. Just because most of your classmates desire to pursue a particular career, doesn’t mean that it is the best thing to do in life. Attend career fairs, presentations by industry personnel, talks by corporate speakers and use these opportunities to find out things that happen in various industries and positions. Explore. Do not be afraid to try out new things. If not anything, you will sure get to meet a lot of interesting people this way.

4. Be ready to work for free
It you fail to get a paid internship, it might be a good idea to take up a voluntary project/assignment with a company you are interested to work with. If you build a good connection with them, if you manage to impress them, you just might have an offer from them by graduation. It’s always better to get some experience rather than have no experience at all. You will at least get to meet people and build good relationships.

5. Be Professional
Orkut is fun, and so is Facebook. But besides the fun part, they are extremely powerful networking tools as well. Use these and other networking sites like Linkedin to create your ‘net’ presence. Be active, but be sensible; be yourself, but be appropriate. Avoid putting stuff on your page that would be sensitive or might be considered offensive. Avoid ruining your ‘net’ image because you never know who is watching you.

Finally, you need to understand that networking isn’t distress call. Your contacts aren’t obliged to help you. When you get in touch with someone and ask for a job referral, there is a high chance that the person doesn’t have anything to offer. That’s fine. Don’t pester them. At the same time don’t be annoyed because they couldn’t help you. The idea of tapping into your network is just to make them aware that you are on the lookout for an opportunity and that any assistance in that regards will be most welcome.

PS: Eventually when you get a job and start your career, be sure to help others with their careers as well. Pass on the good work.

Sheetal Doshi, a final-year engineering student from Mumbai, spends her day catching up with term-work and assignments, and her evenings studying for her GRE. She plans to appear for her GRE and TOEFL some time in September. Like many of her classmates, she plans to pursue her MS from the US.

Rajesh Nair graduated with an electronics engineering degree in 2005. During his final year, after appearing for the GRE and TOEFL, he applied to a few of universities in the US. He had an average academic record in his bachelors (aggregate of about 60%) and his GRE score was 1250. He managed to secure admission into an MS program at a university in Chicago, USA. Rajesh finished his MS in May 2007 and currently works at a leading telecommunication company in Chicago earning about $75,000 per year.

Rajesh never applied to any master’s program in India. Like Rajesh, Shetal has no intention of applying for the ME degree offered by Mumbai University or MTech program offered by the IITs or for that matter, any equivalent Master’s program offered by any university in India.

Sheetal and Rajesh are no exceptions. Scores of Indian students prefer pursuing MS programs in the USA, rather than doing equivalent programs from India. But is this really feasible? How much sense does it make to apply abroad, especially considering the heavy costs involved? Is a foreign degree really better? What about the returns on investment and job placements?

Why students opt to pursue an MS from USA
“I considered the option of doing an MTech from the IIT but found the GATE exam difficult to crack. Also, admissions in India are very competitive. The GRE was much simpler and I didn’t need to be an outstanding performer to secure admission to a US university. “With so many options, securing admission abroad was a much more ‘doable’ task,” informs Rajesh. When asked about the money he spent on education abroad, he says, “I spent nearly a lakh rupees only on my applications, visa fees and air tickets; another ten to twelve lakhs on my MS program fees and living. I had to pay my first two semester fees out of my pocket, after which I got funding from the university. But it was worth it. I made the right choice. I actually got to learn a lot during my MS”

Rajesh makes a valid point. You don’t have to an outstanding performer to secure admission in a US university. This is what makes the US degree popular. In addition, the quality of education and the resources available to students are far better than what gets offered at colleges in India. While no doubt there is competition in the US as well, and performance does matter. However even academically average students, manages to seek admission and decent career opportunities – provided they take their MS seriously, study sincere, and are willing to put in hard work.

Returns on Investment of an MS degree in India
Not all students who go to the US for higher education plan on settling there. Gautam Pandit, after completing his MS in computer science from the US, made a conscious decision to return to India. Today, he works as a software engineer with a leading IT company in Bangalore. Gautam joined at a starting salary of about Rs 35,000 – which was about Rs 5K higher than his colleagues who were recruited around the same time from various engineering (BE/BTech) programs in India. He says “I don’t think the fact that my MS was from a US university helped me in any special way. I would have got an equally good job had I done my MTech in computer engineering from a reputed university in India.” Recruiters and HR managers in India agree. Most hiring managers in India do not give added preference to candidates having a foreign MS as compared to those holding an MTech from India. “We consider the candidate’s overall profile. A Master’s degree is always a plus. We treat a foreign MS on par with the Indian ME/ MTech,” says the HR manager of a leading IT firm in India. “Salaries that we offer fresh MTech/ MS graduates are only slightly higher than what we offer fresh BTech/BE graduates. Experience counts more than mere additional educational qualifications”, he adds.

A continued discussion with many students and industry personnel made one things quite clear:
When looked at it from a pure Return on Investment (ROI) perspective, the ROI of a foreign degree is much higher for students who preferred to pursue a career abroad. However in the long run, having a master’s degree adds boost to one’s career growth.

The Bottomline
It would be unfair to gauge the returns from higher education just by comparing the salaries after graduation. There are many intangible and long terms benefits of education - change in the individual’s outlook being vital. In conclusion, this discussion leads to an interesting debate: Students like Sheetal and Rajesh, after a US education, ended up with great careers aboard. Can they be cited as success stories or as classic examples of the brain drain?!

Many students applying to an MIS (Management of Information Systems) or the Engineering Management program ask us if the programs are equivalent to an MBA. Our answer to that is a point blank ‘NO’. The MIS or EM programs are neither equivalent to, nor are they substitutes to the MBA.

Often the term ‘management’ misleads students to believe that the MIS and EM programs are synonymous to an MBA. Unfortunately that’s not the case. In the US, an MBA is typically designed for a mature audience (students with prior work experience). The objective of a MBA program is to expose students with all areas of management such as accounting, finance, marketing, strategy, operations, technology, and give them a fair understanding of the functioning of various business and industry sectors. Students may then opt to specialize in specific areas of interest. The MIS and EM programs on the other hand, are designed to equip students with skills specific to the IT and the engineering industry respectively. While many MIS and EM programs require students to take up few basic courses in areas of management, they do not offer a wide spectrum of management related courses as an MBA does. Nor are these programs designed to give students a bird’s eye view of various industry domains.

A master’s program in MIS, as well as in EM, is designed in a way to prepare students for careers in the IT and engineering domains respectively. They are not research oriented, but rather techno-functional in nature where the focus is on concepts prevalent in the industry. For instance, in any MIS program, a significant amount of courses would be related to technology which would include a fair amount of programming as well. The remaining courses would cover concepts related to managing of information technology. Same is the case with an EM program, except that courses offered in an EM program are not confined to information technology, but would encompass a wide range of technologies and processes used across the engineering sector.

So in conclusion, do not opt for an MIS or EM program assuming that they are substitutes to an MBA; the MIS or EM programs are not equivalent to an MBA. These programs will not offer you careers equivalent to those of an MBA graduate. In all probability, few years ahead in your career, when you feel the need for career advancement, you will choose to pursue an MBA – even if you hold a master’s degree in MIS or EM.

PS: A degree in Financial Engineering (FE) is also NOT equivalent to an MBA degree with specialization in finance.

When you think of studying abroad at a master’s level, the first question that comes to your mind is ‘Which country should I go to?’ Let’s try to tackle this question by taking an objective look at some of the countries and discussing their pros and cons.

USA
USA is by far the most sought after educational destination amongst students from India, and is expected to remain so at least for the next decade. Reason being that the education system in the US is highly recognized across the globe, and the opportunities that students get during and after their US education make it worth the investment.

Facts about USA education:
- Most master’s programs are 2 years (20 months) in duration.
- Most universities insist on students having a 4 year bachelor’s degree to qualify for admissions. (Some universities have now started accepting students with a 3 year Indian degree as well)
- Taking the GRE or GMAT and the TOEFL examinations is required by most universities.
- While studying, students can work up to 20 hours/week on campus and are allowed to do an internship in the summers
- Students by default get a 1 year work permit after their education (can be extended by another 17 months for students with a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics degree provided they have a job with a company registered with the government e-verify system). Following this work permit, students have to opt for a work visa (H1B) to continue working in the USA

UK
UK is the most sought after destination by students with 3 year bachelor’s degree and who want to complete their master’s program in a year.

Facts about UK education:
- Most master’s degrees are of 1 year duration (except for a few high end MBA programs which are 16 to 20 months)
- An Indian 3 year bachelor’s degree is acceptable by most universities.
- Most programs do not require the GRE/GMAT but only the IELTS
- Students can work up to 20 hours/week during their education
- Most programs qualify students for a Tier-1 Post Study Work Visa that would let them work in the UK for 2 years after their master’s degree.
- To work beyond 2 years in the UK you are required to have a job with a salary of above £20,000 per year.

A word of caution about UK: There are many colleges and universities in the UK that offer admissions to almost any student who applies. Many of these are not recognized by the British High Commissions. Through a network of agents and through trade fairs, they try to recruit Indian students for their programs. Be careful before you select a university, because if your university is not recognized you may be denied a student visa. Even if you get a student visa, your degree may not qualify you for a post study work permit. Finally the quality of education at many of such programs is pathetic.

Ireland
Ireland is emerging as a popular study destination amongst Indian students. With the medium of education being English and the government of Ireland promoting the inflow of skilled immigrants into Ireland, getting job as well as permanent residency in Ireland seems comparatively easy.

Facts about Irish education:
- There are not many universities in Ireland, but they offer high quality of education
- Most master’s degrees are of 1 year duration (except for a few high end MBA programs which are 16 to 20 months)
- Most Irish universities accept a 3 year Indian degree but prefer students with good academic records
- Most programs do not require the GRE/GMAT but only the IELTS
- Students can work up to 20 hours/week during their education
- Many employment opportunities are available for students especially in the science, technology, an engineering category
- Most master’s program allow students to stay in Ireland for an additional six months after completion of the degree.
- If a student finds an appropriate job from an Irish based company, they can apply to live and work in Ireland under an Irish work permit or by applying for an Irish Green Card.

Australia
Australia is definitely a good place to study and has some really good universities and programs.

Facts about Australian education:
- Master’s degrees come in a range of 1 to 2 year duration
- Most universities accepts a 3 year Indian degree
- Many programs do not require the GRE/GMAT but only the IELTS
- Students can work 20 hours/week during their education
- On completion of a master’s program, students have to leave the country within 28 days or may apply for work visa and stay in Australia for an additional period of 18 months, following which your employer has to sponsor your visa.

A word of caution about Australia: If you intend to work in Australia after your master’s degree you will have to obtain a work visa known as the ‘Skilled Graduate Temporary Visa (485)’. This visa is issued only if you have completed at least two years of study in Australia. Hence if the duration of your master’s degree was less than 2 years, you won’t be eligible for the work visa. In such cases you might be required to complete an additional diploma or graduate level certificate program to compete the 2 years of education in Australia.

There are many other countries that students opt for; most common of them being New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, and Germany. Singapore as such is a small country with only a handful of institutions worth investing in an education. New Zealand on the other hand offers a fairly large choice of programs and ample opportunities to work in the country after graduation. Germany offers good quality education especially in areas of technology but having a good knowledge of the German language is essential to survive and work in the country. Canada is a good option too, but there are few good universities in Canada and admission procedures are pretty stringent with these universities.

In conclusion, each country has its own merits and demerits and the choice of which country suites you best depends on your individual aptitude, educational background, career goals and your financial capabilities. So before you decide on which country (and which universities within that country) should you opt for, find out more about the various options. A good counselor (who isn’t operating as an agent for a specific country or universities) can help you make a well informed decision.

“Is this the right time to go to the USA for higher education?”; “Will the recession affect my education and will I get a job after graduation?” As study abroad counselors, off late these are the questions we get asked most frequently by students. We understand the dilemma that students (and their parents) are going through. The significant investment required for US Education, current recession in the US economy, reports of job cuts all over the media, H1B visa restrictions; all these can make one really nervous. But before jumping to conclusions on whether it’s advisable to go to the US or not, let’s take an objective look at the situation, its impact on you as a student, and what’s your best way to combat it.

As a student about to finish your bachelor’s degree (or currently working and planning for higher education), you generally have three options. First, take up or continue your job in India, second, pursue higher education in India, and third, to study abroad. At a broad level I cannot advocate which of these options is the best choice, because it would vary based on each student’s individual backgrounds, career preferences, capabilities etc, However what I would definitely like to emphasize is that if you have already chalked out your plans and made up your mind about pursuing your master’s abroad, and have the financial capability to afford it, let not recession be the reason for change in plans. You need to understand that education is not a momentary fling, but an investment for lifetime. The returns are not just your ‘job after graduation’ but instead the benefits of your education would continue for life; throughout your career and even otherwise. So be careful before you shelve your plans for higher education; let them not be shelved forever. You can maybe, and that’s not recommended either, postpone your plans by a year, but make sure that you don’t procrastinate and completely miss out on the opportunity to pursue your higher degree. If you think that this is the right time for you to pursue higher studies, then just go for it. Let not fear of the recession stop you. After all the economy will improve in a year or two, and you don’t want to regret later for having missed out on an opportunity.

Having said this, let’s take a look at how the recession would impact an Indian graduate student in the USA. To begin with let’s consider how things were in a good economic scenario (say for instance, the case of students who went to the US in 2005 and graduated in 2007). On an average 60% of these students got some form of graduate assistantships (RA/TA) that included at least a partial tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. 30% of the students got a student job, which paid them enough to cover their living expenses (they still had to pay full tuition), and the remaining 10% of the students got no financial assistance (so they had to bear the cost of their entire education and living). Given the current economic scenario, of the students going to pursue their MS in Fall 2009, about 20% will get graduate assistantships, 30% will manage to find student jobs and the rest 50% will have to pay for their entire education. (The numbers would vary from university to university, but these are just rough estimates). What it means is that the competition is going to be tougher, and you will need to work hard (your luck counts too) to find a job on campus. You have to be on the lookout for opportunities, pursue them aggressively, meet professors and demonstrate (through class participation, through your projects and assignments, and of course your exam grades) that you can add value to the department as graduate assistant. Not trying is not going to get you anything.

When it comes to finding a full time job after graduation, you need to understand that recruitment in the US works differently than it works in India. Recruitment is an elaborate process which starts with companies collecting resumes, followed by a telephonic interview, followed by several rounds of personal interviews. Your first step is to understand how the system works, and prepare yourself to excel in it. Here are some guidelines for job search in the US.

Resume
The most vital step in your job search process is to have a presentable resume. For some strange reason, most Indian students have extremely unprofessional resumes, and are unwilling to improve it. A resume is like an opportunity to make your first impression with the employer, and if your resume isn’t impressive enough, you may never get a second chance to make that impression, however smart and qualified you may be. Understand how a professional resume should look like. There are enough samples and lessons on resume writing available on the web that you can refer to. You may also consider taking professional help in preparing your resume. Most universities have career centers where they offer resume critiquing/editing services. Use their services.

‘Job Search’: Your full time job
For about three months before you graduate, make job search your full time job. What it means is that dedicate at least 4 hours a day (and maybe more on weekends) towards job search. Search for jobs on various job portals and company job sites and apply to every job that meets your requirement.

Network
Yes it works. Talk to your faculty, friends, acquaintances and make them aware that you are on the lookout for job. Ask them if they could refer you to someone who might help you find a job. Ask for help. Most people you know will be willing to help you out if you ask. But at the same time don’t be too pushy and irritate them. And most important - ask with a smile. Don’t sound desperate, pessimistic, suicidal, or threatening 

Communication Skills
Improve your communication skills. Learn how to face an interview. Again, there is ample material on these topics over the net. Read it. At the same time many universities offer courses on improving your communication skills. Enroll yourself in them. They generally aren’t very expensive and it’s really worth the investment.

And finally the MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember is

Don’t Give Up
A lot of your friends and colleagues will try to scare you and demoralize you, saying that the situation is bad and getting a job is an impossible thing. Remember that it’s not true. Your key to success is to have faith in yourself and keep trying. Getting a job is not at all difficult if you give it a sincere try.

In short, Be Positive and Be Proactive

Before I get into details about the whole visa application procedures, here’s the first thing I want you to understand about the visa. ‘Obtaining the US F1 (Student) Visa is a very simple and straightforward procedure’. So please don’t get paranoid about it and don’t go overboard preparing for it.

To begin with, read this document ‘Things to do for your US F1 Visa’

Now lets talk of the most frequently questions that bog student’s minds:

What are visa officers looking for?
Visa officers are looking at two main aspects. First, is the student genuinely interested in education and second, does the student have sufficient financial resources available to pay for his/her education.

Do I need all the funds in my sponsor’s savings account?
No, you do not need all your funds in your savings accounts. It could be spread over various investments. The point is that these funds should be accessible to you and your sponsor without any restrictions.

Will showing an educational loan affect my chances of getting a visa?An educational loan will NOT affect your chances of getting a visa. So if you are planning to take a loan for your education, do not hesitate to disclose it to the visa officer. In fact an educational loan will only make your financial situation stronger.

Can I show my property as source of funding?
If the property is a house where your family is currently staying, then avoid showing it as source of funding. Showing your current home would mean that you are planning to sell it (and render your family homeless) to pay for your education. However If you have investments in real estate, you may show it but you might then require proper valuation such investments.

Can I show my family jewelry, car as source of funding?
Avoid doing so.

What if my brother, sister, father, mother is in the US?I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about. Feel free to openly disclose about any immediate family members being in the US.

My parents are retired. Will this affect my chances of getting a visa?No it won’t affect your chances at all. As long as your family’s financial condition is stable enough to pay for your education and support them too, that’s perfectly fine.

I am sure you have many more questions. Feel free to email us and we will be glad to answer them for you.

Jay Rege jayrege[at]academyone.net
Jothsna Rege jothsna[at]academyone.net

Here are some of the myths about the US Student Visa.

The chances of securing a visa are higher on Mondays and Fridays because the visa officers are happier on these days.
Well it doesn’t matter which day of the week you go for your visa interview. All days are the same. Your chances of getting your visa are solely dependent on how well prepared you are for the interview and not on the visa officer’s happiness index.

July 3 and July 5 are the best days for getting a visa. Since the consulate has a holiday on July 4 (US Independence Day) the visa officers are in a very good mood a day prior and after the holiday
Again this is just another myth. All days are the same.

Greeting the Visa Officer in traditional Indian style by joining hands and saying ‘Namaste’ would make a good impression and indicate that I have strong ties with my tradition and homeland
I don’t think that would help. So just stick to the regular ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Afternoon’

Speaking in an American Accent would help?
Again – ‘Not Recommended’. Speak the way you normally speak. You don’t need to put on an accent.

Even if you have full funding from the university, you still need to show funds from your parents/sponsor side for the 2nd and later years of your education because the I-20 only shows the funding amount for the first year.
If you have full funding from the university you do NOT have to show any funds from your parent’s/sponsor’s side. Although the funds shown on the I-20 are only for the first year, it is understood that the funding is renewable every year. So you don’t need to show funds for the remaining years.

Showing a ‘Bank Loan’ as funding reduces the chances of getting a visa as the visa officer then assumes that you would work in the US to payoff this loan
This is again nothing but a Myth. Visa officers are not bothered about the repayment part as much as they are bothered about ‘does the student have funds available to pay for the education’. A bank loan is guaranteed money available to you for your education (your sponsor can back out, but a bank wont). So a bank loan only strengthens your financial credentials.

Having a brother/sister in the US will reduce my chances of securing a visa
No it won’t.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to write to us

Jothsna Rege - jothsna[at]academyone.net
Jay Rege - jayrege[at]academyone.net