Detailed Application Timeline for MS in the USA starting Fall 2021 - By Tanmay Patil

DETAILEDAPPLICATION
TIMELINEFORMSIN
THEUSASTARTING
FALL2021
By Tanmay Patil
© CuriousTanmay™ July 20, 2020

WHOAMI?
•I am Tanmay Patil AKA CuriousTanmay
•Final Year Electronics and Telecommunication
Engineering Student at KJSCE
•Received Admission oﬀers from 7 universities across
the US for MS in Electrical Engineering for Fall 2020
•I love to help international students through my
flagship show “Talks with Tanmay”, by writing
articles on Medium, and posting resources on
Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

• I have gone through the whole process of applying to
a US university.
• Right from preparing for the GRE to getting the I-20
form.
• I have had the experience for getting admitted as well
as rejected.
• Through all this process I have learned a lot about US
university application from Indian and American
friends, seniors, and counsellors.
• And I am going to share everything I learned with all
of you for free. :D
WHYSHOULDYOU
LISTENTOME?

SO, LET’S GET STARTED!

• What should be the order of events till you fly to the
US (in brief)
• When and from where should you research
universities
• What is SOP and LOR and when to draft them
• Whether you should join a counselling service or not
• When to start studying for GRE and from where to
study
• When to book the GRE date and precautions to take
while booking the date
• When to give the GRE and what to take with you to
the GRE centre
WHATWEWILLTALKABOUTTODAY
• What are transcripts and where to get them from
• When should you give the TOEFL and from where to
study
• Documents required for US university application
• When and how to apply to US universities
• Factors to consider while finalising the university
• What is I-20 and what documents are accepted for
I-20
• When should you go for visa interview and what
they ask
• When should you fly to the US

ORDEROFEVENTSTILLYOUFLYTOTHEUS(INBRIEF)
1. Research universities
2. Prepare SOP and LOR draft and simultaneously study for GRE
3. Give the GRE
4. Prepare your transcripts and simultaneously study for TOEFL
5. Give the TOEFL
6. Shortlist your final 10 universities and have all the application documents ready
7. Apply to the shortlisted universities
8. After the decisions are out, finalise the university you want to go to
9. Prepare financial documents and apply for I-20
10. Get your I-20 and give your visa interview
11. Get your F1 visa and fly to the US

WHEN - FEBRUARY 2020
WHENANDFROMWHERESHOULDYOURESEARCHUNIVERSITIES
• US News global university ranking is a great source for getting an idea of how a university
stands among other universities
• US News global university ranking can also be customised on the basis of location, level of the
degree of education, field of study and much more.
• Consult your college alumni or approach professionals on LinkedIn who have had an
education in the US and work in your industry of interest
• Check the official university website for information like the course work, professors, research
facilities, etc.
• Prepare a draft list of 20 universities by APRIL 2020

WHEN - APRIL / MAY 2020
WHATISSOPANDLORANDWHENTODRAFTTHEM
• An SOP (Statement of Purpose) is an essay in which you state why you want to do further studies in the
concerned university.
• An LOR (Letter of Recommendation) is a letter from your professor or employer who is willing to
recommend you to the concerned university.
• You should have atleast three letters of recommendations and they should come from professors or
employers who know you since at least a year.
• You should start drafting your SOP and ask your recommenders to start drafting the LOR from April/
May 2020 so that you have plenty of time to revise it.
• You can customise the SOP and LORs according to the specific university once you start the
application.

WHETHERYOUSHOULDJOINCOUNSELLINGSERVICEORNOT
• Counselling Services provide help for
A. choosing universities
B. drafting SOP
C. completing online application
D. making application courier packets
E. visa interview preparation
• Apart from choosing universities and visa interview preparation, I feel that all the other services provided can ease your
preparation if you choose the right counsellor.
• Preparing for GRE and TOEFL while managing college or work and also writing a unique SOP in high level of English can be
really difficult.
• But no other person can know you better than yourself, so keep that in mind when choosing to write the SOP yourself or have it
drafted from a counsellor.
• Also there are several free sources for visa interview preparation.

WHEN - MAY 2020
WHENTOSTARTSTUDYINGFORGREANDFROMWHERETOSTUDY
• The whole GRE syllabus can be covered in an average time of 2 months depending if you are a working
professional or not
• No need to join any coaching classes. The whole GRE syllabus can be managed by self study.
• Solving Manhattan GRE 5lb thoroughly should be enough to understand all concepts. However, if you need
more then I recommend Princeton’s Cracking the GRE book.
• I also highly recommend Magoosh’s online GRE Prep and Magoosh’s Vocabulary Flash Card.
• Solve at least 15 mock tests before the actually GRE and prepare a spreadsheet of your Quants, Verbal and
AWA marks.
• Kaplan gives 5 online and 1 in-book full length tests, Princeton give 4 online and 2 in-book full length tests
and Manhattan gives 1 free online test. Try to give as many online tests as possible.

WHEN - JULY 2020
WHENTOBOOKTHEGREAPPOINTMENT&PRECAUTIONSTOTAKE
• Make sure that while booking your GRE appointment you register with the name that
appears exactly as on your passport.
• If the name you registered with doesn’t match with that on your passport you won’t be
allowed to enter the test centre and also you won’t get any refund.
• Avoid giving the test during a festival in which there is a possibility of loud noise
around the test centre like Navaratri or Ganesh Festival.
• Book a weekend appointment so that there is someone from your family to drop you
and you don’t have to drive and exhaust yourself.

WHEN - AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020
WHENTOGIVETHEGRE&WHATTOTAKETOTHECENTRE
• Your valid passport is the main document that you require to enter the test centre. Expired passport is
not acceptable
• Take a printout of the hall ticket with you to the centre.
• Reach the test centre one hour before the test’s starting time.
• You can take only completely transparent water bottles with you inside the testing area.
• Take some snacks with you to eat in the break, preferably fruits. I recommend bananas. You won’t be
allowed to take snacks inside the testing area.
• You can take your notes with to the centre. You’ll have to keep them in the locker before entering the
testing area.

WHATARETRANSCRIPTSANDWHERETOGETTHEMFROM
• Transcripts are nothing but your mark sheets of all semesters.
• You can approach the university’s administration office who will then guide you the
right person in authority.
• There are some universities that take a couple of months to get the transcripts ready
so order your transcripts as early as August 2020.
• Some universities also charge a fee for getting the transcripts ready.
• The transcripts should have the college stamp and dean’s signature on it and also be
sealed inside an envelope with stamp of each flap.

WHEN - OCTOBER 2020
WHENTOGIVETHETOEFLANDWHERETOSTUDYFROM
• Start preparing for TOEFL right after giving your GRE
• The TOEFL syllabus can be covered within a month
• No need to join an coaching classes for TOEFL
• Free resources are available on YouTube
• I recommend these YouTube Channels for TOEFL preparation - NoteFull TOEFL
Mastery, TST Prep, and TOEFL Resources
• The TOEFL results will be out one week after you give the test

DOCUMENTSREQUIREDFORUSUNIVERSITYAPPLICATION
• Official GRE Scorecard
• Official TOEFL Scorecard
• Sealed and Signed Transcripts
• Statement of Purpose
• Three Letters of Recommendation
• Resume
• Passport Copy
• Portfolio (Optional)

WHEN - OCTOBER 2020
HOWANDWHENTOAPPLY
• Get your application documents ready and start your university application by October 2020.
• Most of the universities accept online application which can be completed through their official website.
• All the documents have to be scanned by a proper scanner (avoid scanning by mobile) and uploaded on
the portal.
• Some universities require you to type the SOP into their portal.
• Your recommenders will receive a special link only through which they will be able to upload their scanned
LOR.
• It is recommended to complete your application well before the priority deadline.
• Some universities require you to mail them your hard copies of application documents.

FACTORSTOCONSIDERWHILEFINALISINGTHEUNIVERSITY
• You will receive the admission decision from the university by December 2020 / January 2021
• You will have to finalise the university before a certain deadline given by the universities.
• I recommend to finalise the university by February 2021.
• Factors to consider -
A. Coursework
B. Type of university
C. Tuition Fees
D. Location
E. Research Opportunities
F. Scholarships/GA/RA/TA
G. On Campus Jobs

WHATISI-20ANDDOCUMENTSACCEPTEDFORIT
• I-20 is a document which states that you have been admitted to a certain university
and you have the finances to pay for it.
• It is the document required for the issuance of F1 visa
• Documents accepted for I-20
A. Savings Account
B. Salary Slip
C. Educational Loan Document

WHEN - MAY 2021
WHENSHOULDYOUGOTOVISAINTERVIEWANDWHATTHEYASK
• The visa interview generally last 7 - 10 minutes
• The question are usually general and are asked to see if you are a genuine student
• The interviewer has the right to go through your social media from the last 5 years
• If you have any racist/violent/terrorism promoting posts or criminal records you won’t
be given the visa.

WHEN - JULY 2021
WHENSHOULDYOUFLYTOTHEUS
• The F1 visa allows students to land in the US one month before the start of the
semester
• You should take advantage and land one month before the start date
• Classes usually start in August so you can fly in July
• Please check your university’s start date before booking the tickets.

THANK YOU
&
BE CURIOUS!

Detailed Application Timeline for MS in the USA starting Fall 2021 - By Tanmay Patil

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