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Part 3: DECIDING WHERE TO APPLY

Start with a larger list:

Categorize universities into

  • Ambitious – where you have a low chance of getting in. These would be universities say only 20-25% students with profiles similar to yours have got in.  
  • Moderate – Where almost 60-70% of the students with profiles similar to yours have got admits in the past 
  • Safe – Where you are almost certain to get in (80-90%) chance.

While evaluating your profile at this stage, look at ONLY the key factors of your profile (GPA, GRE, TOEFL). Look at the broad indicators on GPA and GRE requirements of the universities and data of past students who got into these universities. Prepare a list of

  • 10 Ambitious Universities
  • 8 Moderate universities
  • 5 Safe universities

Narrow it down:

Once this is done, the next step would be to narrow down the list. Applying costs you money and time, so ideally it is recommended that you apply to about 8 to 10. Here is how an ideal split should be

  • Ambitious: 4 to 5 universities
  • Moderate: 3  to 4 universities
  • Safe: 1-2 universities

While narrowing down this list consider all other factors such as:

  • Reputation & Rank of the university
  • Location
  • Faculty profiles, Curriculum, Research, Co-Op options  offered by the program etc
  • Talk to past and current students from these universities to get a better sense of the program and environment
  • In case you are applying to a research program, write to faculty whose research interest matches with yours. Seek their feedback.
  • Consider the tuition and living cost at the university
  • Other factors that are important to you – Weather, Family/Friends already studying at the university

Note: If you decide to apply to more universities, apply to more in the ambitious category. It is always better to get an admit from 1 top university,  rather than admits from many Safe universities.  

Specialized programs:

Consider applying to specialized programs. Admissions to specialized programs (e.g. MS in Machine Learning) are easier than admissions to generic masters degrees (e.g. MS in Computer Science)   

The X- Factor:

Personal recommendations at times do work. If you have a family member or a friend working as a faculty at the university, or your sibling graduated from that same program you are applying to, they could write a personal recommendation to the admissions committee (it could be an informal email) recommending you to the program. Even a current or past student can recommend you as a friend (a recommendation from a current or recent PhD student works better).  

Campus Visits

This may seem a little farfetched, but if you are in the USA or planning to visit USA for some reason, it is definitely recommended that you visit the department of the university you intend to apply to (at least the ones on the top of the list). Do so by making a prior appointment with the department head or senior faculty at the department. During the visit, discuss you profile, your interest etc and after the visit when its time for applications, do keep them in the loop.

Resources to refer to :

 US News Graduate School Rankings – gives department wise rankings and admissions stats

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools

Masters Portal – Lists general rankings

https://www.mastersportal.com/ranking-country/82/united-states.html

QS World

https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/top-universities-us-2020

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