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Journey to the centre of "Masters in US"
Here's a post on my entirely overwhelming, bitter-sweet ride with respect to Master's in US application. Grab some 🍿 and read it should you have time!
Somewhere around the later half of my sophomore year, I interacted with a lot of people and I understood that education in other countries is less doctrinal and more liberating. I wanted freedom in the education that I take. So a Master's seemed like my best bet.
Brief nitty gritty about applications
Most US MS applications have some standard ingredients required.
- GRE Score (sometimes atleast)
- TOEFL | IELTS | (Maybe Duolingo too) Scores
- Transcripts | GPA
- Letter(s) of Recommendation
- STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Having a good GRE score is a nice add-on, but it's not the only factor at play in one's application. A good TOEFL speaking score will make you eligible for TA in most schools. A good GPA ensures that your application has water. A lower GPA does not mean the opposite, however.
The two more important aspects of the application are LORs and SOPs. Great LORs and killer SOPs can almost guarantee admits. Both of these take time, and a lot of effort to shape them well. But it's worth it!
Back to Journey
Admission season means wherever you are, you're likely to check the application portal of each school through your laptop, or phone (if you're out). It was a nail-biting couple of months for me. I had my admits and rejects. Having a great companion through the process helped me stay level-headed and hope for the best. One fine afternoon when I was having lunch (it was April 8th, 2022. Yep, I'll never forget), and I receive an email that I have an update on the portal. I open the browser to check my portal and to my astonishment, I received an admit from UC San Diego MSCS. It was a fun blast for 5 whole minutes, after which my naturally overthinking brain spiraled into What's next? Little did I know that getting an admit is the beginning, and that there was an even more frightening process following up!
Enter VISA appointments, where we have no idea why officers might reject applicants. VISA dropbox people have it little easier because there's usually no interview. Finding an appointment date using the CGI Federal portal involved a lot of Ctrl+Shift+R. Eventually I found an appointment, and I got my VISA approved as well.
A couple of months pass by and I go for shopping and start packing slowly. Before I could really comprehend what's going on, I landed in Los Angeles and drove to UCSD.
Directed by yours truly :)