Gre edited

Prof. Anish Goel Prof. Megha Nagpal

Higher Education in USA

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Contents M.S. Degree University and Education System M.S. Options Costs and Expenses GRE General Test TOEFL Exam Application Procedure VISA Procedure Earning in $

2 Higher Education in USA ANISH GOEL

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M.S. Degree Information M.S. (Master’s of Science) is a graduate level

degree that is awarded by the respective college in a USA university.

A student holding a bachelor’s degree equivalent of a USA B.S. (Bachelor’s of Science) degree is eligible to apply for M.S.

M.S. is a master’s level course that is related to advanced field of study in the chosen area.

Candidate can pursue PhD directly after the M.S. degree has been awarded.

Interested student may apply for an integrated program in M.S. PhD right from the beginning.

Higher Education in USA ANISH GOEL

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M.S. Degree Master’s of Science can be pursued in the

following areas of engineering: Electrical and Computer Engineering Civil Engineering Computer Science and Engineering Mechanical Engineering Industrial Engineering The degree requires 30 credits to be completed.

Each course/subject is for 3 credits and hence the degree requires 10 courses/subjects to be completed.


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Why to go for M.S.? Quality Institutes offering Technical Master’s

education in India are limited with very few seats. M.S. seems to be a good option for those who are

interested in technical master’s education but are not able to crack GATE and admitted to IIT’s or top NIT’s.

Education system in USA is very flexible. All USA universities are world ranked well above

IIT’s. It opens door to fetch a job abroad.


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USA Universities All the universities are excellent as far as the

teaching, research and infrastructure is concerned. Rank is decided on basis of Ph.D level research.

(Generally) Out of top 20 universities in world 13 are US

universities. Harvard, Yale, MIT, Cornell, Caltech, UPenn, Stanford,

Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Duke etc…


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University and Education System One university is a single geographical area and will consist of

a single engineering college. Very few universities have multiple campuses. Like

Arizona State University (Tempe, West, Ploytechnic, Downtown Phoenix)

Rutgers (New Brunswick, Newark, Hoboken)

For application you have to apply to the respective department/college in the respective university.

Most of the university follow same set of rules and procedures. Universities are classified as private universities and

public/government universities.


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Education System (Engineering) Cont… Some universities follow semester pattern while others follow

quarter pattern. Normal duration of Semester will be around 14 weeks (3 and

half months) Normal duration of Quarter will be around 10 weeks (2 and

half months) An year would consists of 2 semesters Fall and Spring with

period as Aug-Dec and Jan-May respective For quarter, an year will have three sessions as Fall, Winter

and Spring with respective periods as Sept-Nov, Dec-Feb, Mar-May.

All universities follow a credit based system to award degree.


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Education System (Engineering) Cont… Credits define the number of hours spent on a

course per week. Each course/subject has been allocated a specified

number of credits. Generally a semester pattern course has 3 credits

while a quarter pattern course has 4 credits. M.S. Degree requirements: In semester system 30 credits for graduation. In quarter system 40-45 credits for graduation.

So for getting an M.S. degree approximate of 10 courses are required.


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M.S. Degree Options Course Based: In this case one takes all 10 courses and

completes M.S. Project Based: Here 9 courses and a Masters Project is

required. Thesis Based: Here 8 courses are required and an M.S.

Thesis is required. Choosing one of the options determines the time required

to complete M.S. degree. The duration can vary from minimum time as 1 year

(Exceptional) to as long as 4 year.


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Flexible Education System in USA The education system is quite flexible in two senses:

It is time flexible and Course flexible.

Time Flexibility: All you are required to do is complete required number of credits/courses spanning over multiple semesters/quarters. Like courses taken in sem pattern can have combinations

like: 3-3-4, 3-3-3-1. As an international student you are required to take

minimum of 3 courses per semester to maintain your F-1 visa status.


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Flexible Education System in USA Cont… Course Flexibility: You are required to take maximum

4 courses as mandatory courses in the respective field of study, all the others are elective. Out of these others you are allowed to take maximum 2

courses outside your department provided the outside course has some relevance to your intended field of study.

Example, a student with ECE major can take Management course from School of Management or Robotics course from Industrial/Mechanical Department.


Test of English as Foreign Language TOEFL

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Section Time Limit Questions Tasks

Reading* 60–80 minutes 36–56 questionsRead 3 or 4 passages from academic texts and answer questions.

Listening 60–90 minutes 34–51 questions

Listen to lectures, classroom discussions and conversations, then answer questions.

Break 10 minutes — —

Speaking 20 minutes 6 tasks

Express an opinion on a familiar topic; speak based on reading and listening tasks.

Writing 50 minutes 2 tasks

Write essay responses based on reading and listening tasks; support an opinion in writing.

Higher Education in USA MEGHA NAGPAL

Graduate Record ExaminationGRE

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Measure Number of Questions Allotted Time

Analytical Writing(One section with two separately timed tasks)

One "Analyze an Issue" task and one "Analyze an Argument" task

30 minutes per task

Verbal Reasoning(Two sections)

Approximately 20 questions per section 30 minutes per section

Quantitative Reasoning(Two sections)

Approximately 20 questions per section 35 minutes per section

Unscored¹ Varies VariesResearch² Varies Varies

Higher Education in USA MEGHA NAGPAL

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Procedure to Go Appear for GRE. Appear for TOEFL. Complete Applications: Fill up applications to universities. Get your SOP’s, LOR’s transcripts and other documents. Sent the documents to universities.

Once you get a I-20 (Acceptance) from the university: Apply for your VISA.

Once you get the VISA: Pack up your bags… Get going.


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Costs and Expenses Cost for exams and application (to approx. 8-9

universities) process is : Rs. 80,000 – 1,00,000 Approx.

Expense for VISA and preparation Rs. 1,00,000/-

Cost of Attendance: Rs. 10 to 25 Lac. (Varies widely)

Cost of living: 350$-750$ per month. Including everything.


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Application Procedure Short listing of universities. Preparing personal documents like SOP, LOR’s,

Resume. Gathering formal documents like Transcripts, Bank

statement etc… Filling online application for each university. Sending application packet to each university. Ordering scores from ETS to each university. Checking status of application. Requesting for I-20.


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VISA Procedure Payment of VISA fees at HDFC bank. Filling online F-1 VISA form (DS-160 form) at the

respective consulate and taking appointment for VISA interview.

Submitting documents to the consulate. Payment of SEVIS fee online. Preparing all required documents. Preparing for VISA interview.


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F-1 VISA Rules and Regulations F-1 is students VISA for international students who

wish to study in USA. F-1 VISA is generally given for 5 years. Your F-1 VISA status is valid as long as you are a

registered students under any university or on OPT/CPT.

You cannot stay back in USA for more than 3 months after graduating unless you are in OPT/CPT.


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Earning in $$$ On-Campus part time Jobs

Universities have plenty of on-campus jobs. You can cover your cost of living by working part time. Part time jobs will be like a library assistant, computer

assistant, shift work in cafeteria etc… TA/RA/CCA may also fall into the category of part time job.

Internships You can apply for internship or any job only after 1 year/2

semesters. Internships can be converted into full time job if your

employer has a post.


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Earning in $$$ cont… Full time jobs During your final semester of graduation you may apply

for full time jobs through respective company website. Every semester/quarter university organizes “Career Fair”

where interested companies come to campus on same day and shortlist students on basis of resume for telephonic interview.

Full time job requires H-1 VISA (Work permit in USA) Filing for H-1 VISA will be taken care by your employer. Package for a full time job will be 55K USD to 120K USA

per annum.


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*DisclaimerAll information contained in this presentation are purely based on

experiences of the authors besides some have been directly takenfrom internet.
