Vivek’s Blog

I talked about picking the right universities in my previous post but I guess I didn’t mention how many you should apply to. It’s a tough question to answer. You could either go crazy and apply to 15 universities if you are not sure where you want to go or you could apply to a select few (maybe 5-7) if you are confident of getting into them. Of course, your choices need to be based on how good a university is when it comes to your major. I applied to 10 universities - seems like a lot but this is how I figured them out:

1. MIT/Yale/Princeton: Great schools and great financial aid for international students. Tough to get into, but you won’t have to worry about financial aid because they treat international students on par with US residents.

2. Stanford/Brown/Notre Dame/Columbia: Again, very good schools but here asking for financial aid is a hurdle as far as international students go. I was informed by Notre Dame that they didn’t have money to meet my required financial aid and I realized that Columbia would’ve admitted me if I hadn’t asked for money. These were shots in the dark, unfortunately none came off.

3. Johns Hopkins: They have the best biomedical engineering program in the country and at that time, I was quite interested in majoring in biomedical so this was a natural choice. But it is extremely hard to get into and the financial aid situation is not too good either.

4. Georgia Tech/Adelphi: These were my backup schools. I wouldn’t have applied to any US university if I didn’t have these backups. I did manage to get into both of them and so it ended up being a hard choice to make. I chose Adelphi due to the Columbia program and because I got a good scholarship whereas at GaTech I would have had to pay all the costs out of pocket. Also, Adelphi is located in Garden City which is like a 40-minute train ride away from Manhattan!

I had also planned to apply to Cornell and UPenn but decided against them at the last minute because they were pretty much the same as List 2, and probably wouldn’t give me money anyway. Based on your preferences, select a group of universities that includes those which you are sure to get into, and some that you want to get into. That way, you won’t be left stranded in case your top choices reject you.

Now coming to the applications. A lot of universities use what is known as the Common App which is a single application that you would fill out and then photocopy and send out to more than one university. It is quite convenient to use one application for several universities but there is a caveat - most places will ask you to fill out supplements to complete the application so make sure you fill those out too else your application will not be considered complete. If a university doesn’t accept the Common App, then you’ll just have to get the application off their website. Each university charges a fee for applying which could vary from $50-$80 or even more. This is one reason to avoid going crazy when applying - each application will cost you money.

Filling out the applications can be a little annoying - whether it’s the essays, or the extra-curricular activities, or simply questions that don’t apply to international students. Still, you have to get through the application and send it on time. If possible, get the essays proof-read by someone who is extremely good in English composition to make sure you don’t create a bad impression with small grammatical errors. At the same time, don’t make your essay sound like it was written by an English Ph.D because that will act as a red flag to the application reviewer.

I have been asked several times as to what qualifies as an extra-curricular activity. Let me list out a few that I think will boost your application; if you have anything other than what I listed, you can always ask me and I’ll tell you what can be done. Remember that most applications ask for activities in high school, i.e., grades 9-12. But if you had a significant achievement before that, you could make a special note of it in a separate attachment.

1. Sports: The Ivy League stresses on sports a lot and gives preference to those involved in any kind of sport. If you were a national level athlete (any sport) and have a good academic record, you have a very good chance of getting in. Even local sports participation will encourage universities to take you in.

2. Drama/Debate/Public Speaking: If you took part in such events that demanded public speaking and did them well, you are helping your application.

3. Art/Music: If you are a brilliant painter or a musician, you can send samples of your work along with the application. These samples/portfolio/demos should be your best work and truly reflect your abilities. Don’t get someone else to do these.

4. Community Service: This is a big factor for some universities. They love to see students go out and do something for their communities. So if you have ever worked with any charitable organization, or helped out the under privileged, talk about these.

Essays are often the most critical component of applications. Since for most universities, the application reviewers don’t get to meet the students in person, what you write in the essay can reflect your personality and character. Start working on essays as early as possible and keep revising them until you are satisfied. Like I said, work with someone who is good with English - doesn’t matter if you are great with your English - always helps to have someone read your work and point out mistakes and suggest additional information.

Of course, universities want your academic information too in applications. Your SAT and TOEFL scores need to be sent directly to the universities you are applying to. You will need to obtain transcripts for grades 9-12 from your school and send those too. Furthermore, you will require recommendation letters from your high school teachers. While ideally, recommendations (sent by teachers), transcripts (sent by the school), and your personal info (sent by you) would be sent in different packages, for international students it’s not economically feasible. So you need to get the reco letters in sealed envelopes with the seal signed by the concerned teacher and then stamped by the school to verify that you haven’t opened them.

I guess I have touched on each aspect of the admission application here. If I missed something, please point it out. I am going to cover financial aid in my next entry which will be sometime soon. But remember, when filling out the admissions application, be honest. You probably won’t get away with lying - so don’t even try it.