Your guide to University Selection (MS in USA) – Part 2

Here are factors you should consider while deciding on universities you can apply to

• Reputation & Ranking of the university
• Admission Statistics of past students
• Location
• Alignment with your career interest
• Experience of past and current students
• Cost Factor
• Other factors

Reputation & Ranking of the university

Check the university rankings. Make sure you refer to authentic sites and preferably refer to departmental rankings rather than overall university rankings.

How to use rankings: While ranking is a good indicator of the university’s reputation, you need to understand that ranking depends on several factors and as a graduate (masters) applicant you may not be affected by all of them. So a university ranked 25 is not necessarily better than a university ranked 30. From a student’s perspective, they would be the same. But a university ranked 25 is definitely better than a university with rank 55. So use rankings as a guideline to get an idea of the reputation of the university.

Admission Statistics of past students

Statistical data is a fair indicator when it comes to predicting admission trends. So look at statistics of past students of a particular university. This will give you a good idea of what profiles of incoming students does the university prefer. Again remember that there aren’t any hard rules here. Just because somebody with a certain GRE score and GPA got it last year, doesn’t mean that you will definitely get because your profile is similar. You need to understand that admission is a subjective process and your overall profile (which includes your recommendation letters, your resume, your SOPs) counts. But if few students with profiles similar to yours have got admitted to the program, it only means that you stand a fair chance of admission.

Location of the University

Location matters.Yes there is definitely an advantage of studying in a big city, especially when it comes to jobs after graduation. A lot of small and medium companies in big cities prefer to hire locally from universities close by. So does this mean that a university ranked 100 is better than a university ranked 25, just because the 100th ranked university is located in a big city? Definitely NOT. But yes studying at big city university would bring you more career opportunities than a comparably ranked school in a smaller town.

Alignment with your career interest:

• Curriculum: Look at the curriculum offered by the program. See if the subjects offered align with your interests.
• Research: If you are interested in research, find out what research is going on in a particular university. If you find some professors research interesting, do not hesitate to email them expressing your interest in their research. 
• Co-Op: If the university offers co-op options, find out what companies typically recruit students for co-ops.
• Faculty Profiles: Look at the profiles of faculty teaching the program of your interest. See how many of them are involved in active research in your areas of interest.

 Experience of past and current students

Talk to current students of the university. But don’t ask vague questions, because if you ask vague questions you get vague answers. List down specific question to ask, on factors that matter to you. For instance you can ask

• How many or what percentage of students get funding or on-campus jobs?
• How many of them get those in the very first semester?
• Do MS students get to participate in research?
• Do companies come to campus for recruitment for internships and full time jobs?
• If they don’t, how do students go about their job search?

Cost factor:

Take a look at the fees the university charges. Get an estimate of the living costs around the university. If you think you cannot afford it, there is no point in applying there even if you think you might get admission there. Apply only to those universities where you can afford to go.

Other Factors

• Weather of the place where the university is located
• Family presence near the university if any 
• Friends/classmates/seniors already studying at the university
• Alumni network of the university
• Student faculty ratio
• Career services and job fairs happening on campus
• Class size*
• Diversity*
• Extracurricular activities, sports facilities etc provided on campus.

Notes:

*Prefer universities with small class size. Smaller the class size, lesser the competition during on job searches, funding opportunities, faculty interaction, as well as full time job search. 

*Prefer universities that offer a diverse class profile – which has the right mix of students coming from India as well as different parts of the world. This would not only enhance your learning experience, but also helps you expand your personal and professional network.