Universities and their rankings

Q. Which universities can/should I apply to?

A. Generally the universities are divided into the following categories:

Ivy league: these are considered to be the most prestigious universities. Stanford, MIT are some of the examples. You can get the complete list of Ivy league universities on Wikipedia. Also check out the individual pages of the universities to get their status. These are considered very costly but have the highest reputation in the world.

State Universities: These are the ones which are equivalent of Government colleges in India. Again you can find their list on Wikipedia and individual wiki pages. These universities have good funding from the Federal Government. So the fees is less than Ivy league and private ones.. They have a big campus with good research work going on.

Public Ivy: This is another term used but informally. The universities are not stated as Public Ivy but are considered lower than Ivy ones but above normal public standards. You can consider these to be ranked in between the Ivy and Public/State universities.

Private: The rest of the universities are private ones. This means that these universities have very less or no funding from the Federal Government. As you might find some of these universities are also good ranked and reputed.

Q. Where can I find the most accurate rankings?

A. As mentioned earlier don’t depend completely on the rankings. The rankings will just give you a brief idea about the university. Its not the perfect measure of the quality of that University. There are many other factors that count when one chooses a particular university.

Q. How to get a good list of universities?

A. Remember to look for rankings of computer science and not computer engineering. Generally, it is mentioned under sciences and not under engineering. To get the best idea about universities and their rankings checkout the following links:

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings

http://academic.research.microsoft.com/?SearchDomain=2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_and_university_rankings

http://www.infozee.com/channels/ms/usa/computer-engineering-rankings.htm

http://www.greguide.com/comps.html

http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/us-universities-rankings/

http://suggestor.yournextleap.com/?sr=home

A few things to be kept in mind before taking a look at these rankings:

1. Do not trust the ranking 100%. Take it with a pinch of salt..

2. They are generally ranked considering the PhD programs of the universities. So the quality of MS program is similar but not exact.

3. For Microsoft link, you get to know even the ranking of Professors which is very useful. You get their full details with regards to Citations and Papers.

4. You can also change the importance of parameters required for Ranking on the Microsoft site. That proves quite useful.

Basic post GRE FAQs..

Q. TOEFL!

A. Immediately after you are done giving your GRE you should give the TOEFL. We Indians need to give it because our national language is not English. It consists of 4 sections [reading, listening, speaking and writing] and is of 120 marks total. It is very easy. You need a score of more than 80 and for some universities more than 100. Again, this test is offered only on selected Sundays at multiple centers like MIT, VIT, etc in Pune. You get your scores after around 10days.

Q. What is the minimum score required for applying to any US university?

A. Any score above 1100 is considered fair enough to apply to US universities. A score of more than 1350 is considered ok to apply to the top 20 universities. A perfect 800 in Quant matters at least for engineering admissions. Also you need a score of above 3 in AWM though some universities require you to have more than 3.5 or 4.

But do remember that a score below average doesn’t mean that you can’t get an admit from that particular university. It largely depends on your academic record, quality of SOP and recommendation letters.

Q. Basic requirements for admission to US universities?

A. Here is a checklist of the documents that you will need to start applying to US universities- 

1. Official College Transcripts: you will get these in the Exam cell [in case of COEP]. For other colleges you need to contact the college. I think you get them from the University. For COEP students, you get them for Rs.100 each. They are sealed properly and so you don't need to bother about it. Just mail them as you get it from the Exam cell without opening it. The US universities are very particular about sealed documents. Some universities need scanned copies of your transcripts. For that it is better to take a couple of extra ones from the Exam cell and get them scanned on your own. Also some universities require 2 copies of Transcripts. So do get a few extra ones. 

2. Official Degree certificate: All degree holders need this before applying. Once again you get it from the Exam cell or University in case of non-COEP students. It is charged. All things are similar to transcripts and hence take the same care.

3. Bank statements/solvency: There are very few universities that require you to send them bank statements or solvency certificates during application. But it is better to have an idea about your funds before you finalize your university. Sending bank statements helps in a way that universities send I20 form directly with your confirmation letter. Other wise you need to send them the certificates after your admit. Beware that mostly universities need statements which are not more than 6months old. More about it in later questions..

4. Statement of Purpose [SOP]: You need to prepare a good statement of purpose or statement of intent as it is sometimes called. Some universities have a limit on the number of words or characters that you may use. You can get very good information regarding how to prepare SOPs and stuff on the internet. In short it is a document which explains you academic record, projects, everything which states why the university should give an admit to you from the large number of applicants. You should also mention you field of interest and the professors or labs in which you want to work. I will upload my SOP soon.

5. Recommendation letters: All the universities generally need 3 recommendation letters. They can be from you manager, HoD, professors, etc. There are various criteria for getting a recommendation letter. He/She must have taught you at least one subject for one semester. He should have guided your project or must be your senior in the company. If you have a work ex then it is good to get a recommendation letter from you manager or project lead. Else professors or HoDs will do. The more the influential and well known people give you recommendations more are your chances of getting an admit from the University. It is advised to get recommendation from a professor who has taught you a subject in which you plan to do you masters.

6. Resume: Certain universities also require you to upload your resume though this is not compulsory.

Q. Should I join Oak Admission Center?

A. As i had said in the Pre GRE FAQs, Oak is best for a person who doesn't have any idea about how things work! For a person like me, who is new to all this procedure, the guidance provided by Oak is good. But for people, who already know about all this, need to give a second thought! Ask your seniors who have and haven't joined Oak's Admission Center.

For me, the overall experience has been great.

Post GRE FAQs

These FAQs are regarding the admission procedure, which universities to look for, how to go about finalizing your school, etc. The questions are mostly answered from CS point of view and it may different greatly for other branches.

I have divided this post on Post GRE FAQs into multiple sections for the ease of understanding and considering the flow of the application process.

Please give you valuable suggestions and comments. Do post additional questions if you have any and which you want me to answer.

Once again, this is my personal opinion and you have the right to disagree on my views!

Hope it is useful..