Welcome to our third podcast at educationusairan.com
Adviser: Today, we have two graduate students from the University of Maryland and would like to ask them about the steps they took to apply. Hello, dear, Zohreh. Hello, dear, Azadeh.
How did you decide to continue your study in U.S.?
Zohreh: When I completed my secondary school and Pre-university studies, I was very interested in applying to one the universities in the United States because I thought that it will open better opportunities for me in the future.
My parents did not agree at first so I started to prepare myself for the Concour exam. Now my parents and everyone realize that they had made the right decision to send me to the U.S. because students with a bachelor’s degree have a higher chance of obtaining scholarships here. During my bachelor’s studies in Iran, I researched abut how to apply to U.S. study and applied. I was accepted at U.S. university with a scholarship.
Adviser: Where did you start your research and how did you apply?
Zohreh: First [for U.S. graduate study] you have to pass both GRE and the TOEFL tests.
There are two GREs: GRE general test and GRE subject test. For students in special fields such as mathematics, physics, and biology they will have to take the subject test but for us engineering students the GRE general test will suffice. Since this is an English-speaking country you will need to pass the TOEFL with good scores. Then you get your degree transcripts, there are some universities in Iran that issue them in English but if not you’ll have to get the English translation of your degree(s) and send them along with letters of recommendation from your teachers. You will have to complete the application form online and pay the application fee online. While awaiting your answer from the university, I suggest that you contact several professors in your field who are interested in the same research and study as you are. These professors can guide you and tell you if they are willing to accept you as their students.
Azadeh: There are several important things. One is the documentation needed to apply. As Zohreh mentioned it before it consists of the TOEFL and GRE scores, one copy of your degree and the original degree…bachelor’s or master’s degree. It is important to have the original degree because at some point the U.S. university will want to see your original document.
For example there are some students that have a scholarship from their university in Iran and can’t get their original degree from the institution unless they pay the scholarship with their commitment to a period of service or there are especially for male students in Iran. They have to serve their military service before they get their degree. By any case it is important to get that document released from your institution in Iran.
One other point as Zohreh mentioned is about how you communicate with professors. One way is to find their homepage and to read their papers and publications. Familiarize yourself with their field of interest and compare them to see if they are similar to what you are interested in or related to what you would like to study. It is not going to be helpful to send all the professors of that one university e-mails about your interest because it will show that you are not a serious student.
These e-mails are very important and more important is what you ask from the professor. Ask them to recruit you to research with their group of students or if you can be part of their teaching assistant program. I also suggest that you fill out the application and apply after receiving a positive feedback from the professor. This would be much easier than applying to many programs and just adding the number of applications.
Another thing is the university’s deadline. Each university has a different deadline and you find this information in their website. The same goes with application fees which maybe different from one university to the other. You will have to find a way to pay the application fee online; either with a credit card or another way however, your application is not complete unless you pay the application fee.
I talked about different deadlines and the same is with the dates that you may receive your answer. In other words, you should be well organized in advance so that you can be ready to pass the TOEFL and know when to apply and when you can expect an answer. It is good to know for which term you are applying so you can be prepared in advance.
In the internet you can find many useful websites and there are sites that can help you prepare or answer to your questions such as educationusairan.com.
Adviser: Yes, educationusairan.com or educationusairan.org.
Azadeh: Yes, and a yahoo group that I know called applyabroad.com can help with searches and you can become a member. There are many Iranian students on this site that discuss all sorts of information which can be very helpful.
Zohreh: I just thought of this, for masters and PhDs the chances are higher. For student at the bachelor level there is no scholarships or very limited but at the graduate level you have a better chance of getting scholarship. This is important especially because the cost for university can be somewhere between 30 to 40 thousand dollars per year and some universities are even more expensive.
The same way that we prepare ourselves for the Concur in Iran which based on our grades we then get to decide our program, is the same in the United States. Some students don’t pay attention to this and would apply to up to 30 universities and pay 100 to 150 dollars for each application.
Adviser: Right, but you could ask for an application waiver from the university.
Zohreh: I looked and could not find Iran in the lists for the application fee waiver.
Adviser: If you contact the university and ask them you can get the waiver but you do have to ask for it.
Zohreh: I just wanted to say that each person has a specific situation and if you go by your grades and TOEFL and GRE scores it will be better to choose two or three universities with lower rankings and two with higher. Students with a low GPA should not apply to the very top universities. They will obviously get no response. They can start their master;s in a lower-ranking institution and work on their grades so that they can apply for a Ph.D. at a much better university.
Azadeh: Probably Zohreh can explain this better than me but with a bachelor’s degree you are not obliged to apply to the master’s only and could apply directly for PhD.
Zohreh: Yes, I applied with a bachelor’s degree and I am now studying my Ph.D. Although students that would like to do this need to have high grades but unlike Iran you can apply for the Ph.D. and will obtain a master’s on the way because you’ll have to pass an exam and you will get you master’s. If you would like to apply directly to a PhD program you will have to pass more courses and also have good grades or some sort of publications and high TOEFL and GRE results.
Adviser: Thank you, dear, Zohreh.
Thank you for answering my questions. For more information please go to our website at educationusairan.com
|
