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Dear Friends,

When I was applying to universities, I believed that
low ranked universities are the safest bets (like most of you do
now). As a result, despite a very good GRE score, an excellent AGRE
score and decent academic standing, I applied to Vanderbilt,
Connecticut-Storrs, Tennessee -Knoxville, Rochester, etc.
These were all ranked below 40 in my discipline at that time.

I always wanted to get into the top universities. So, unlike
my friends, I applied to Carnegie Mellon, Brown, Drexel and Penn
State, all of which were ranked above 20 in my field. CMU, in
fact, was in the top 5.

Guess the result: Straight fellowships from three of the top
universities and surprisingly, direct rejects from the lower
universities!!!

Now this is where I want you to learn the lesson.

"Just like you are very anxious about getting admission, the
university is also equally anxious about getting the student to
accept the admission."

So if they feel that you have a bright chance of getting
admission in a university better ranked than them, they will not
take the risk of offering the admission to you as, most probably,
you will reject it.

But in most cases, this ends up being a disaster.

We do not apply to good universities even though we have a
bright chance there. The lower placed universities do not give
us an admission thinking that we must have applied to good
universities and will get admission there!

So it is very important to apply to a university that fits your
background perfectly.

But, it is not as straightforward as it looks as, unlike most Indian
universities, US universities consider many factors for admission.

-The Standard Tests: GRE, TOEFL, AGRE, TSE, TWE scores

-Class Performance: Rank in the class (more like in
the top 2%, 5% or 50%) and the reputation of your
college (IIT, REC, etc.)

-Others: The number of projects you have done, recommendations,
work experience, of course, your statement of purpose,
and also extra-curricular activities
(like outstanding performance in games, etc.)

are all the criteria that they examine.

Obviously it is a difficult and tricky process to identify the
universities based only on these criteria.

There are three approaches:

-Consultants

While consultancies are an option, all the consultancies I know of are
very expensive for many students. But if you wish to spend the
money and receive consultation, ensure that your consultant has
significant academic experience/preferably work experience in the US.

Some of the consultants I know divert the students to rock bottom
universities. Getting a degree from there will be of no use. Just
ensure that you apply to only accredited universities (you can find
this out through the Web).

-Asking the seniors

The problem is that seniors just may not have done the right thing.
True, they have got an admission there. But, are you sure they
got into the university that they deserved (OR) have they just
followed
their seniors?

You see, none of my seniors applied to CMU and they laughed at me
when I said I would. But then, I thought I had the background to give
it a try. My fellowship prompted many of my juniors to apply to CMU.
None got in. So it is not your senior that determines your chances
(though their presence sure helps). It is the above mentioned
factors.

So, just don't go by what your seniors say either. But be sure take
their advice.

-Software

University selection software can be a good and inexpensive way
of spreading your risk. Basically, several organizations rank
universities. The selection software comes up with a cumulative
score for you based on all the factors mentioned above, and suggests
a distribution that minimizes the risk.

There are some free resources available on the net for this purpose.
I have compiled them all at

http://ats.neoveda.com/univrankresources.htm.

Feel free to use them.

Most of them will give a much bigger list than you can apply to. So
use as many of them, take out the common factors, use your knowledge
of your background (based on the above factors) to come
up with your own list.

If you are finalizing on your own, without the help of any of the
above factors, decide your merit based on all the factors I mentioned.

Just an average GRE score may not harm you if the
other factors are exemplary.

You must realize that choosing the right university that fits your
background is very, very important to get an admission in the US (as
much as your GRE scores!!)

All the best,
Dakshinamurthy
NeoVeda

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