Applying to MS and PhD programs Nitish Korula (2000A7TS054) Sanketh Shetty (2000A3PS150)

The Application Process  Selecting Universities  Standardized Tests (GRE/TOEFL/AGRE/TSE)  Statement of Purpose  Letters of Recommendation  Resume

Selecting Universities  First prepare a shortlist (by June)  Identify 4 sure apps  Picking a spread Ambitious Safe A Judicious mix

Criteria for Selection  Match the program to your needs  Course structure  Research  Placements and Industry Linkage  University Rankings (US News)  Funding Policy  Minor factors (Location, history with BITS, time to graduation)

Standardized Tests – GRE/TOEFL  Initial Preparation  Practice Tests  Repeating the Test  Multiple Score reports

Standardized Tests – AGRE  Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics  Computer Science Theory Heavy (Algorithms, ToC) More basic than advanced topics CDC books, Practice tests

Statement of Purpose  Difference between a SoP and Personal Statement  What are your objectives?  Why graduate study?  Why this university and field?  Avoid cliches, quotes, COPYING

Statement of Purpose  Tell a Story  Prepare Drafts early and often  Customize for each school  Proof read, format, etc.

Letters of Recommendation  Get letters from people who know you well  The letter should focus more on future research potential than on past accomplishments  Don’t write your own letter  Not more than one non-Academic letter

Résumés  Keep it short! (1 page ONLY)  Active, not passive voice  Include: awards, publications, brief project descriptions, extra-curriculars, contact information  Exclude: objective, course descriptions, excessive school information, personal info  Set up a website

Pre-Apping  Whom do you write to? Grad Students Professors  What do you write? Introduce yourself Summary of your interests and the work you have done Why does his/her research interest you? A brief resume (inline)  DO NOT SPAM  Read the professor’s website to see if he/she has information for prospective students.

Grad school - the BITSian and BITS2MSPhD angle

What BITS2MSPHD can do for you  E-group Questions on everything answered Extensive Experience Good number of Universities represented Apping Optimizer  Website Loads of advice on every stage of the process. Continually updated (we try!!!) FAQs Discipline and Research Area Specific Info

Campus Collaboration – Application Process  Good idea to meet other junta applying to graduate school in your discipline  Share University specific information  Clarify questions on procedure: transcripts, score reports  Do not READ or COPY each other’s SOPs

Campus Collaboration -- Research  Identify people with similar interests Talk, exchange ideas and problems Work in groups Organize Reading Groups and Seminars  Work on long term projects Informal projects  Learn how to do research  PUBLISH! PUBLISH! PUBLISH!

Building your Résumé  Identify opportunities On Campus PS Research Institutes: IISc, JNCSR, TIFR, IMSc, IITs etc. Abroad  Publications go a long way.  PAships on Campus  Extra currics are good too.

Leveraging the BITS Brand  Identify schools that accept a lot of BITSians  Identify faculty and grad students who are ex-BITSians

Cross-Apping  Which department do you apply to?  Do you need to write the GRE Subject Test?  What should your SOP reflect?  What else do you do?

Common Apping Mistakes  Apping Low  Apping Late  Insufficient work on SOPs, Recos and Resume  Insufficient research work  Sort out all official documents to ensure they are consistent

Statistics from Last Year  63 students with known admits Many multiple admits  Prominent Schools: Stanford, UIUC, CMU, UMD, GaTech, Cornell, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin  40 students with aid offers  Up from previous years

Q & A