Contents:
Top 10 Checklist For Writing Statement of Purpsoe
Unfortunately there is no one-method-fits-all technique to writing a quality college essay, every topic requires a different approach. However, that being said if you follow this top 10 checklist you can make the process a little easier.
1) Understand what is being asked.
Read the question two or three times, make sure you understand exactly what is being asked. One of the biggest mistakes students make is writing what they think others want to hear, rather than the issue being asked.
2) Plan.
Once you have read the question a few times and you are confident that you understand what is being asked, ask yourself “what do I need to do to answer the question?” Begin jotting down ideas on paper - anything that pops to mind. Start to formulate a ruff plan, then slowly an overall plan for each section will start to emerge.
3) Tell a story.
As you make your plan, try to tell a story, set the scene, and introduce the reader with some background info. Take the reader on a journey that ends with a conclusion - a conclusion that answers the question.
4)Ask yourself “so what?”
Does your story have a point? As you write your essay, after each section, ask yourself “so what?” Does this paragraph have a point, is it helping to tell the story I am trying to sell?
5) Do something different.
Take a risk. Don’t write the essay that everyone else is writing. Imagine you are the marker - after reading 30 essays, the novelty will wear off. A bit of creativity, taking a slightly different angle on even the most boring topic, may be that extra push your essay requires. Remember, even seemingly boring essay topics can sound interesting if creatively approached.
“The danger lies not in writing bad essays but in writing common essays-the one that admission officers are going to read dozens of”
- Scott Anderson, associate director of college counselling at Mercersburg Academy (PA).
6) Big words do not make good essays.
Many students think big words make good essays. Big words are fine, but only if they are used in the appropriate contexts.
7) Grab interest from the beginning.
Expect your marker to spend just a few minutes reading your essay. You must use your introduction to grab their interest from the outset. Your introduction needs to do two things; firstly create mystery and Intrigue. It is not necessary or recommended that your first paragraph give away the entire essay.
Raise questions in the minds of the reader so that they will want to read on. Appeal to their emotions so that the reader forms a personal connection with your essay. Secondly do not summarize the entire contents of your college essay in your Introduction, if you summarise the entire paper, the marker need not read the rest of your essay!
8)The body is the story.
The introduction sets the scene for the rest of the essay so make sure the body of your essay is consistent with the points raised in your introduction and make sure you tell that story.
9)Research.
Take the time to research all the information that is required for your college essay. Use a variety of sources - local libraries, teachers/tutors, and friends. With the internet at your finger tips you have access to over 5 billion web pages. Use search engines such as Google to search for information, try a variety of queries, ranging from broad keywords on the discipline to specific queries on the subject matter. Use websites such as Wikipedia and Answers.com. If you get stuck, you can find custom research for your college essay from a number of reputable websites, when using these websites; remember not to plagiarize. For guidelines of what constitutes plagiarism, visit ipassoc.org
10)The conclusion is crucial.
It is the logical ending to your essay. Students can quite often find the conclusion to be the most difficult part of an essay to write, because they feel that they have nothing left to say - hang in there, it is important to keep in mind that the conclusion is often what your marker will remember most, your conclusion should be the best part of your paper. A good conclusion should complete the essay and emphasize the importance of the thesis statement outlined at the beginning.
If you follow the above tips, you’re already half way to writing your essay. Before we finish remember that you do not need to write this masterpiece on your first attempt. It’s not possible, and all that pressure is likely to give you writer’s block. For your first draft, write anything that comes to mind. Don’t worry too much about grammar or spelling. Just get it down on paper (or computer screen). If time permits, it is also a good idea to spend a little time (a few days or a week) away from your draft to not only refresh your ideas and thoughts but also decide if you still consider your approach correct.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Samuel
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Average GRE Scores for PhD in 28 Fields
Average GRE Scores required for admission into PhD programs in 28 fields. I had good chat session during the weekend. I did meet many students planning to for PhD in various fields. but, I was really mad at few of them. They were selecting schools for PhD similar to how a student applying for Masers degree would.
Following table would really help and provide an overview about GRE Scores required for admission to PhD programs for 28 different degrees and majors including Computer Science, Physics, Maths, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, …
Average GRE Scores for PhD Admission
Mean GRE scores for Doctoral programs is average of all the schools that accept GRE scores for admission. individual department will have different requirements for GRE Exam and scores. Make sure you check that out.
Source of the data is ETS Powerprep 2002. If I find more recent data, I will post it here. Image was created by Carpe Diem. Its not just the average gre scores for PhD matters, but its more that that. There are so many factors that have to considered before applying for PhD degree program.
Universities are not going to give admission to PhD with aid with much ease. There is proper procedure that has to be followed while applying for doctorate degree program.
Coming Soon - How to apply for PhDSimilar Posts:
Questions - Transcripts, Financial Aid and GRE Scores
I have 23 emails unread about University Selection, profile evaluation, Statement of Purpose and Recommendation letter review. Vani just happened to lucky. Her email arrived when I was responding and questions were interesting and few students asked me the same questions about transcripts, financial aid and GRE scores.
Vani Asks
Q1: What does the score sound like? good enough for MS, MS/PhD in “Molecular + cell biology/Biochemistry”?
I have did my GRE and managed V690 and Q770.
Q2: The transcripts part of the Universities websites are confusing, will they accept attested (by HOD) copies till such time as I get the “originals” from the Univ (VTU, Karnataka) ?
Q3: What chances of Financial Assistance ? Family cannot afford to waste money on vein apps.
Question 1
What does the score sound like? good enough for MS, MS/PhD in “Mol+cell biology/Biochem”?
GRE Score Verbal 680 and Quantitative 770 is very good score to get admission for both Masters and PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Pharmacy, Crop Science, Clinical - Molecular Biology, …
Question 2
The transcripts part of the Universities websites are confusing, will they accept attested (by HOD) copies till such time as I get the “originals” from the Univ (VTU, Karnataka) ?
Nope they will not accept that. Transcripts should be issued directly by the university. Make copies for original transcript, take it to Universities Registrar office, pay the fees, then give your details with an envelop.
They will verify the copies you have submitted, registrar will sign each page with seal. Each set is then sealed with the envelop and pasted with seal and signature at opening. So, if someone breaks the cover, it will be visible. Universities will not attested copies from HOD.
Its better to send transcripts upto 6 semesters. Some schools require atleast 6 semester of transcript to be considered for admission. So, you have to wait till you get the original marksheets from the university and then get transcripts. To save time, find out how many schools, you are planning to apply. Some schools require 2 transcripts. Get 4-5 more that required. It’s better to carry those transcripts when you come to U.S.
Question 3
What chances of Financial Assistance ? Family cannot afford to waste money on vein apps.
I do certainly agree that its expensive to even send applications. Cost per application would include following expenses
- GRE Score Forwarding
- TOEFL Score Forwarding
- College Application processing Fee
- Cost per transcript
- Courier/Express Mail fees
I’m not sure how many universities you are planning to apply. But, students from India apply to maximum of 8 schools. Think about students from China, they apply to 15 to 20 schools. They spend during application and go to school that offers them scholarship. Whereas students form India, apply to 8 schools and decide to attend best school from that. After they reach college campus in U.S. financial Aid, Ra/TA search begins. Some students don’t get any form of aid for M.S., but get some form of part time job that will pay for living expenses.
To manage the fees, they work during summer months as interns. Save that money and pay the fees for next semester.Similar Posts:
“Wow, I’m in U.S. and I Love It”
With less then 1 month of GMAT preparation, he scored 730. He wanted to be an Investment Banker/Analyst in Wall Street. Currently at school with full scholarship for M.S. in Finance.
He Landed in Chicago, looked around and said “Wow, I’m in U.S.” Following pictures will show why there was a “WOW Factor”. Well, he looked around and found eye catching images, which words cannot describe
College Girls in Joy Source - partnspices
Chicago Downtown - Source stuckincustoms
Chicago City - Night View Source Giant Ginkgo
Its not just the pretty girls in Navy Pier, beautiful downtown and nightlife, but its that inspiration and desire to succeed, dream to reach new heights that drives him.
He’s good old friend of mine, we both went to school together and was my undergrad roomie. He was playful, funny college guy, well known for his Quantitative, Analytical skills and other off curricular skills. I really cannot include all that he’s well know for.
I remember when I had to convince him to take Maths semester exam during 3rd year. He was planning to take a back log, since he was not prepared for the exam the night before ( around mid night) and ended up getting 60 something marks.
MBA from IIT
His dream was to become a good manager and decided to attend IIM, but fell short and landed in IIT MBA. He’s not fond of programming, even though his background was in IT. He spent 15 months to find a good coaching center like NIIT, Aptech, ..that will teach him programming. “Mangers don’t write code” as his usual response. He did certainly know how to print “Hello World”
Like everyone else came to land of opportunity and freedom. I have asked him to write about MBA experience in India and how M.S. in Finance have changed the perspective towards his life and education. If you have any questions about MBA and M.S. in Finance, job opportunities and courses,.. write a comment to this article and he will be glad to include the answers in his article.
But he needs your Help
Following is an email I received from him recently
Need advice :((((
There was this beautiful sweater I bought from India coz US is soo cold here and I happily washed it in the machine today…
It brings tears in my eyes to tell you the size to which it has shrunk…( This was never in any basic IQ book I ever came across in my life) and I spent 2000 bucks to learn this news.
And now I am 1 sweater down plus i have to geta new one…
If you have any knowledge about resuscitation please mail me
Thank you with a heart full of shrunken warmth
:)))
If u can’t then wait for woolen hankies for Christmas from me…
-Sana (name changed)
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Electrical Engineering Rankings - U.S. Universities
Here’s Electrical Engineering Rankings of U.S. Universities.
I’m not a big fan of University Rankings. But, readers of this blog and wants to use the ranking system to select universities. So, here’s the rankings for electrical Engineering. If you are looking for specific areas, like VLSI, Power Systems, Embedded Systems, Communication Engineering, I don’t have the list and you can certainly browse within specific schools.
If you are looking for some form of calculator, where you can enter GRE Score, Academics, TOEFL and hit submit and it will spit out good universities with scholarship, I can say one thing - stop searching for it. You are not going to find it. It doesn’t exists. Best way to find schools is through hard way, right way - spend time visiting each schools website and talk to current students.
If you think that’s time consuming, then if you end up selecting wrong school, without proper information, your life will be at huge risk, parents money, career, job search, … so I would do my research before applying to schools, not after getting admission. I guess you would also agree.
One of the blog reader, had admission from 2 universities. I asked him to go to University of Texas at Arlington, but he selected other school. Within one semester, he ended up getting transfer to a different school. I’m trying to make students (your) life bit easier.
I don’t agree to this university rankings, but got to provide what readers ask for. Following electrical engineering ranking list is the published by U.S. News for 2007.
Electrical Engineering Graduate School Rankings
| Rank |
School |
| 1 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 2 |
Stanford University
University of California–Berkeley |
| 4 |
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign |
| 5 |
California Institute of Technology |
| 6 |
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor |
| 7 |
Georgia Institute of Technology |
| 8 |
Cornell University |
| 9 |
Carnegie Mellon University |
| 10 |
Princeton University
Purdue University - West Lafayette
University of Texas - Austin |
| 13 |
University of California - Los Angeles
University of Southern California |
| 15 |
University of Wisconsin - Madison |
| 16 |
University of Maryland - College Park |
| 17 |
University of California - San Diego |
| 18 |
Rice University
University of California - Santa Barbara
University of Washington |
| 21 |
Pennsylvania State University- University Park
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Texas A & M University - College Station
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Virginia Tech
Arizona State University
Columbia University
Home
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