50% Aid Granted. Need 100%. Can You help? (MS CS) : Neha

[Preeti_Sinha]

Hia Everybody,

If you just wish to offer some help without reading all this tremendous hoard of words, por favor, El Señor just move to the profile and questions, quitting the rest. This maybe a long post, but you don't need to give a big reply (although you are sooooooo welcome to give one ). Even a simple one liner would be of immense help as I am in midst of my anxiety stricken moments.

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I have been a member for quite a time and here's my story.

I graduated in IT (B.Tech) in 2008. Applied to North Dakota State University for an MS in CS. VERY late (My TOEFL score reached the CS department on March 24th!). I guess no surprise, that I got an Admit (with full standing) but did not have a TA. They however agreed for 50% aid as an out of state tution waiver,promising the rest after I arrived. However , as it turned out, due to some reasons, the rest of the funds couldn't be arranged. Also, I was a bit spectical if spending at this univ. was right enough. As I had applied without a GRE, I decided to give it a shot so that I could apply to other universities for fall 2009. When I took up barrons, I can tell you, I felt dead! I had to learn almost every word of those lists! But after 4 months, I did it! That end of four months will be 31st Jan 2009. Which means I have to yet give my GRE. However what is troubling me is the answer the following questions which I will fire in a min. My basic problem is that I need 100% aid with a TA/RA since I can't rely (or trust) my dad for the funds that I will need when I apply to Univ. for fall 2010. So, here are the questions:

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First my Profile:

B.Tech[I.T.] Percentage: 71.2% Topper:76.1% [Indian Univ. 'A' grade accredited by UGC]

Publications: 6:: International: 1
Internationally refferred: 2
National: 3 (I Journal/2 Proceedings)

National PPT Awards: 3:: [1st, 2nd and 3rd in the three papers
(Paper Presentation) presented respectively]

Articles: 1 published on NASA's website in some
contest. Didn't win anything.

Industrial Projects: 3 months. in Reliance Energy
3months in sum XYZ small company.

Volunteer Work: Served for 2 years as the Placement
Coordinator of my I.T. Batch
2 more cert. for volunteer work in college
Techn. and Cultural Fests.

Of Course I have my College project and stuff.

TOEFL: 114/120

GRE: Yet to be Taken

LORs (If all goes right) 1. From Dean Of Engineering/Former Head of Deptt. and Chairman (Prof I have all my publications under)

2. Placement Cell Head (Dr and Former HOD and Chairman)

3. Current HOD and Chairman
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Questions:

1. Can you por favor, El Señor advice some universities that could offer me a TA/RA with the kind of profile I have. I don't want to daydream but I am expecting 1450+ in GRE. No kind of ranking matters to me. If Fin. Aid is more from a particular university, will go there! (Reason: Financial Status not in the best of situations.) Is it POSIIBLE for me to get 100% aid with an RA/TA from any university? If it matters, my preference: 1. Ranking; 2.Should be located in a place close to the industry. Preferably, but not limited to New York, California, Florida...

2. Does the GRE score matters if my research credentials are good?

3. I have quit all my jobs and am preparing just for GRE at the moment. So I have no work experience. I hope to have it after finishing with the GRE. Will it matter. How much?

4. Are there specific forms to apply for aid? Or do you mention it in your statement of purpose/letter of reference? Where?

5. My TOEFL is 114/120, which I guess is in the good category. I took it on 24th Feb 2008. Got the score on March 24th 2008. How long is it valid for? Do I need to retake it for fall 2010?

6. What kind of Min. GRE in your view should I have to be dreaming about 100% aid?

Finally, Some of the Univ. I shortlisted based on my research of final aid savvy universities are the following. Am I going right?

University of Alabama
Florida State University
Stony Brook University
State University of New York, Albany
North Dakota State University
Louisiana Tech University+ Lousiana State University
Idaho State University
Wayne State University(MI)
University of Southern California (Viterbi)(CA)
State Univ of New York-Buffalo
University of California

I can't afford a councellor at the moment or maybe, I need none as I still have to take my GRE. But sitting at home, fighting this battle of GRe is making me nervous and worrisome.. Your advice would rid me of a lot of anxiety sticken moments..

I know this is LONG post, but I said, even if you can offer your input in a line or word, I would be Grateful. Please help If you can..

Thanks,

Neha

[jaycee09]

hi Neha,

You have quite a promising stuff to go in to your resume! and hopefully if u get a decent gre score, you might as well get an admission offer from your favorite school. What wont happen with your gre is to get enough funding. But the good news is that you can work your way out to get one! There's no one stop solution for it. For you to get real good funding, here's what you could do, starting right away (while you're preparing for thy gre)...

1. First of all, build an impressive CV (i am sure u have impressive credentials in your side, but u have to make it look equally impressive to others).

2. Building an e-portfolio will sometimes help a lot to reach out to people, especially to professors and faculty. Everybody has an e-portfolio these days and you are assumed to have one!

3. Keep visiting your shortlisted universities and look for the kind of research they are into. You can have a lot of idea on how good they are with funding, just by the amount of research they do. More research means more funding. Also, find out the sponsors.

4. Cut down your univ list to a max of 5-6. Make sure you select the universities you have more chance of getting admitted. Start mailing a few professors regarding TA/RA assuming you have an admission offer at hand, look for jobs available in their college websites and start applying right away!

These are some of the things you could do to market yourself. Always remember, selecting right university (in terms of program, funding etc) is extremely important, so proceed accordingly.

A small note on your shortlist: I saw univ of southern california in thy list. FYI, this univ is known to admit a lot of international students. And this is a very good school for CS. They also are good in terms of funding. So I recommend you to apply here. Also, you could try Univ of Wisconsin, Madison, and ASU.

Those are some of my recommendations.

Good luck for your GRE and career ahead!