Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Application Process Part I



Now to begin with the actual process which involves preparing all the necessary documents to be sent to the university for processing.

In one of my previous post I have mentioned that many universities require the students to fill up an online application. This application, sometimes, will be used to shortlist the candidates! If the university finds your profile suitable you may receive an e-mail from the course coordinator asking you to send the paper documents. Yes, rejections can happen at this stage!

Now coming to the documents that one needs to keep ready;

1. SOP (also know as Letter of Intent, LOI for short)
This is the most important part of an application. Spend considerable time on preparing, refining, proof reading this document. Think of what will go through an admission committee members mind if he/she finds silly spelling or grammatical mistakes in your SOP!! It's a clear indication of lack of professionalism on your part.
Keep it short - within a page or two. Don't write an eulogy praising the university, they know its good. Don't reproduce your CV because you need to send it separately :-)
Focus on why you are interested in that particular specialization, how your BE course has prepared you for this particular specialization (give details about your electives, projects, seminars etc.,), your long term research interests, possible research topics for your MS thesis and  what are your plans after completing the master's course.
Word of caution: Do not copy ready made SOP's available in the internet. Use it as a template but blatant copy-paste job makes it easier for the reviewers spot it and that can ruin your chances!

Here is a very good guide for writing SOP published by UC Berkeley.

2. CV
Detailed CV (one or two pages) containing your personal information, educational information (bachelor's and 12th grade is sufficient), work experience (including any internships), paper presentation in national or international seminars, publications in reputed journals and your hobbies/extracurricular activities. In the extracurricular activities section mention only about the recognition or prizes won at the state, national or international events. Do not include stuff like won inter-school dancing competition while in 5th grade or adjudged as the best singer of our apartment block!!!

Here is an amazing guide to prepare a CV published by Stanford University.

3. University Transcript
Though not all university ask for an original transcript; it's not a bad idea to send them an original transcript unless they are very specific about not wanting to receive an original transcript!
Ideally the transcript received from your university should be inside an envelope, which is sealed and carrying a seal and signature of the registrar across the flap of the envelope. A word of advice, take atleast 5-7 transcripts in one go. This saves you a lot of time at a later point as you don't have to go back to the university and spend time on getting the transcripts ready! If the university transcript is not in English, it needs to be translated to German by an authorized translator under his seal and sign. Goethe Institute offers translation services.

For VTU students of Karnataka, going to Belgaum is the quickest possible way to get the transcripts. You will get it in just one day! but if you apply through your college it may take upto 3 weeks for delivery! First copy of the transcript will cost Rs.250 and every subsequent copy will cost Rs.150. You need to take a DD in favour of Registrar, VTU, Belgaum for the right amount from a bank as cash is not accepted. VTU will give the transcripts in proper format. Transcript issued by VTU will be in English and the back side of it will contain an explanation of how classes are awarded and the hours of teaching for theory and practical classes.

If a German university asks for a notarized copy of the transcript, here is what you do: Take a good quality photocopy (xerox) on an A4 sheet (preferably a bond paper). Go the nearest district court and look for Notaries. They are lawyers who are authorized by the government to act as an authority for authenticating a document They have a seal bearing their registration number and Government of India insignia (National emblem, Pillar of Ashoka). Pay them the prescribed fee and get their seal and signature (in green ink) on the blank part of the paper so that it does not mask any important information.

If any university (TU Dresden has this absurd rule of not accepting rubber stamps) objects to the rubber seal of a notary and insists on an embossed seal, reply to them saying that the judicial system in India does not allow for the use of embossed seal on unimportant papers like photocopy of a marks card!
My enquiry with notaries of a district court revealed that the use of embossed seals are restricted to certain higher officers and notaries do not carry such seal.

To be continued in my next post....


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