Aspirants, Are you willing to Pursue your Masters in U.S.? You should possess a Visa and that can be Categorized into:
- Non-immigrant visa – Which is for a Temporary stay &
- Immigrant visa – Which is for permanent residence.
Again, the non-immigrant visa can be classified into:
F visa: for the Aspirants who are willing to choose US universities for pursuing Graduation.
M visa: for the Aspirants who are willing to Choose an US university for a vocational or non-academic discipline.
J visa: for students who are willing to choose an US University for pursuing higher education but are enrolled in specific programs such as Fulbright and so on.
To know more, visit: VISA: Requirements, Issues and Solutions
- How important is to look for the location of University and why?
The location of the university is one of the deciding factors whether to choose the university or to pass on it. Granted that it might not be the primary criteria of university shortlisting or may not be as important as GRE/TOEFL (or IELTS) score or GPA or academic achievements, but it still is a very important criterion. There has been instances that students have shortlisted and finalized on one university only to land there and realize that it’s colder/hotter than what he/she expected. Some get used to it while others suffer from ill health which ends up affecting the academic which is the only motive of traveling all the way from their native. Other than the climatic factors, there is another issue that you have to consider i.e. monetary issues. Universities located in cities are costlier than those located outside city limits. Do consider all these factors before you decide on a university. - How can we get research assistantship?? Is it based on the GPA??
Research Assistantship, simply put is a form of financial aid that makes your life in university a little easier. It provides you the extra income which helps with the much required pocket money and maybe save some for a trip back home! Basically in a RA, you will aid a Research Fellow from the faculty in his daily activities. They may include helping the professor with his literature survey, keeping track of all the data generated, working on a database management and keeping the work station and apparatus or equipment tidy. To become a RA you need to make acquaintance with the professor in question and unlike the other form of financial aids like scholarships and fellowships this is not provided at the time of admissions. Rather you are provided one only after you join the university and get to know the professor and are aware of his area of interest and see if it coincides with yours. In a RA, you will be paid out of the research grants the university or the department gets. The selection criteria for RA is based on n number of factors, one of them being your academic prowess i.e. GPA. But there are other factors such as background in research and experience of having published papers and handling literature survey and last but not the least your passion for the area of interest in question.
See also: How to Prepare for GRE? | GRE Study Guide