Some silly questions :)

[drifter]

1. Is it necessary (or is it good) to get in touch with the department or

with professor of interest, before the actual application? What should such

an contact be about?

2. What does the "record of all previous postsecondary education" means

exactly? List of courses and exams with marks or just certificates

(diplomas etc.)?

3. What are the "transcripts"?

4. What are the "academic credentials"?

5. Are there any good examples or directives on the Internet (maybe on

this particular website) or at the Center, on how to write a good

"statement of purpose" and "letters of recommendation"?

6. Is it necessary to take TOEFL and GRE before the application, or is it

possible to submit the results of these, at later point (before the

application deadlines, of course)?

7. Is it necessary to show evidence of sufficient financial funding at the

moment of application or later (but, again, before the applicable

deadlines)? In other words, when is it best to ask for scholarships?

8. What is the best way of paying taxes and fees? If it's credit cards,

which one suits these payments the best (VISA, Master Card ...)?

[elz]

First of all, it might be a good idea for you to attend a group advising session. Your questions lead me to believe that you are seeking graduate studies and we have group advising for graduate students on Wednesdays at 3.00 p.m.

You can call to reserve your place. Now to answer your questions.

1. In most cases it is appropriate to initiate contact with a professor when a student has extensively researched the work of the professor. Writing to a professor to inquire about the work of that professor and the type of research and learning experiences that occur within that particular department is perfectly acceptable. However, students need to really "do their homework" before initiating contact.

2. All previous post secondary education generally means the academic studies that students have engaged in since completing high school.

3. Transcripts are the lists of the courses and the marks that received for each of those courses.

4. Academic credentials in most contexts means academic qualifications, the level of education that a person has. One example of this is to look at the academic credentials of professors in a particular department. There is usually a brief bio that covers academic credentials.

5. There are several books at the Center on these subjects. In addition, we are planning a two day seminar, most likely 12 and 13 May on ways to find a good department and how to write a personal statement. As for letters of recommendation, we have information that we can provide to students or professors about this.

The test scores need not be submitted at the same time of the application. However, bear in mind that most universities will not formally admit students until the application package is complete. Thus, nothing is secured until those test scores are submitted.

7. This policy varies from university to university. There are some general ground rules on this. Ideally, during the course of researching universities, students develop a picture of how each insitution handles this and then students frame a strategy based on university and department policy.

8. In general, credit cards are the easiest method of payment. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and often Diner's Club are accepted. The real problem here is what restrictions the bank that issues the credit card has placed on the card. Some cards work only through the internet at "point of transaction" and other cards allow payment to be submitted off line. This is one of the most problematic issues for students.

[drifter]

Thank you very much for your answers. However, due to the fact that I'm currently out of country, I'm not going to be able to attend the advising session. Therefore, I'd like to know if you could send me any materials to e-mail, or just point on some good websites, or (preferably) both. If so, please refer to drift2end@yahoo.com . Thanx in advance.

[erol]

About that 8 th question...

I dont know how to submit 20$ application fee, for international application.

Because i know only address of college. I cant find nothing where to pay with visa or master card.

And another thing, do i have to do some "apostil" on my translated documents from secondary school?

So can you help me...

[Dule]

@ erol

Shto se tiche tih 20 dolara, ako ne mozesh da nadjesh opciju placanja kreditnom karticom, mozesh da im napishesh devizni chek (na 20 USD).

- Prvo, da bi mogao da napishesh chek, morash da imash otvoren devizni rachun u nekoj od banaka u Srbiji (kad sam ja slao chek, imao sam rachun u Komercijalnoj banci).

- Zatim, kad otvorish rachun, trazi im da ti izdaju (zapravo, trebaju da naprave) "nostro" chek. Proces pravljenja cheka traje 3 poslovna dana. Naravno, banka MORA da zna kome ide chek, tachnu sumu na cheku i koja je svrha (u tvom sluchaju je "application fee for international students").

- Poshto si odradio chek, morash da ga poshaljesh koledzu. Ne bih ti savetovao da shaljesh obichnom poshtom, jer ce trebati barem nedelju dana da stigne u SAD, a i mogu da ti zagube, pa posle da se obesish, a i ne mozesh da pratish chek. Ja sam slao preko FedEx-a; iako FedEx ne shalje novac, ako je korisnik cheka naveden (dakle, koledz je JEDINI koji moze da unovchi chek), ne bi trebalo da ti prave problem. Meni nisu...

Shto se tiche pechata:

Meni su objashnjavali da treba "apostilski" pechat, a kad sam ishao po sudovima i opshtinama, ljudi su me bledo gledali i pitali: "Je li, mali, shta ti je to?" Koliko se ja secam, apostilski pechat se jedino moze dobiti u Prvom opshtinskom sudu... Valjda... Ali, potpuno nebitno, jer meni fakultet NIJE trazio taj pechat. Zapravo, mom fakultetu u SAD-u NISAM slao uopshte originalna dokumenta na srpskom - samo sam im poslao PREVOD, koji MORA biti preveden i overen od strane sudskog tumacha (znachi, ne mozesh sam da prevedesh svedochanstva). I sve je bilo u redu, niko mi nije trazio nikakva dodatna dokumenta, niti pechate u vezi mojih svedochanstava.

Nadam se da ce ti moji odgovori pomoci. Ako ti neshto nije jasno, slobodno me pitaj. Pozdrav!

Dule

[administrator]

@ erol

Shto se tiche tih 20 dolara, ako ne mozesh da nadjesh opciju placanja kreditnom karticom, mozesh da im napishesh devizni chek (na 20 USD).

- Prvo, da bi mogao da napishesh chek, morash da imash otvoren devizni rachun u nekoj od banaka u Srbiji (kad sam ja slao chek, imao sam rachun u Komercijalnoj banci).

- Zatim, kad otvorish rachun, trazi im da ti izdaju (zapravo, trebaju da naprave) "nostro" chek. Proces pravljenja cheka traje 3 poslovna dana. Naravno, banka MORA da zna kome ide chek, tachnu sumu na cheku i koja je svrha (u tvom sluchaju je "application fee for international students").

- Poshto si odradio chek, morash da ga poshaljesh koledzu. Ne bih ti savetovao da shaljesh obichnom poshtom, jer ce trebati barem nedelju dana da stigne u SAD, a i mogu da ti zagube, pa posle da se obesish, a i ne mozesh da pratish chek. Ja sam slao preko FedEx-a; iako FedEx ne shalje novac, ako je korisnik cheka naveden (dakle, koledz je JEDINI koji moze da unovchi chek), ne bi trebalo da ti prave problem. Meni nisu...

Shto se tiche pechata:

Meni su objashnjavali da treba "apostilski" pechat, a kad sam ishao po sudovima i opshtinama, ljudi su me bledo gledali i pitali: "Je li, mali, shta ti je to?" Koliko se ja secam, apostilski pechat se jedino moze dobiti u Prvom opshtinskom sudu... Valjda... Ali, potpuno nebitno, jer meni fakultet NIJE trazio taj pechat. Zapravo, mom fakultetu u SAD-u NISAM slao uopshte originalna dokumenta na srpskom - samo sam im poslao PREVOD, koji MORA biti preveden i overen od strane sudskog tumacha (znachi, ne mozesh sam da prevedesh svedochanstva). I sve je bilo u redu, niko mi nije trazio nikakva dodatna dokumenta, niti pechate u vezi mojih svedochanstava.

Nadam se da ce ti moji odgovori pomoci. Ako ti neshto nije jasno, slobodno me pitaj. Pozdrav!

Dule

Hvala Dule! Objasnjenje iz prve ruke i, naravno, tacno.

[Dule]

Hvala Dule! Objasnjenje iz prve ruke i, naravno, tacno.

hahaha, pa valjda nas dvojca najbolje znamo kako ide sa "nostro" chekom *hihiihi*

[erol]

e pa hvala puno...

Probacu da napravim taj cek u komercijalnoj banci jer tamo imam devizni racun. Reci cu da mi treba taj nostro cek, jer kad sam bio prosli put trazili su mi ime neke banke...

A taj apostil necu praviti jer i ja mislim da ne treba, nego su mi u opstini rekli kao da treba pa su me nesto zbunili...

hvala, u svakom slucaju...

[administrator]

hahaha, pa valjda nas dvojca najbolje znamo kako ide sa "nostro" chekom *hihiihi*

ahm, da, sećam se prilično dobro.

umeju neki slu?benici samo da ti ka?u da takvo ne?to ne postoji, pa te malo izbace iz takta, jer ti zna? da to ba? i nije istina.

ali eto, Dule je već u SAD, znači "nostro" postoji

[pajicb]

First of all, it might be a good idea for you to attend a group advising session. Your questions lead me to believe that you are seeking graduate studies and we have group advising for graduate students on Wednesdays at 3.00 p.m.

You can call to reserve your place. Now to answer your questions.

1. In most cases it is appropriate to initiate contact with a professor when a student has extensively researched the work of the professor. Writing to a professor to inquire about the work of that professor and the type of research and learning experiences that occur within that particular department is perfectly acceptable. However, students need to really "do their homework" before initiating contact.

....

Dear Elizabeth,

I have additional question regarding the first issue from this list.

I did very good job with my bachelor degree thesis - It was good independant work, with some original ideas and aproaches, and it was pretty much state-of-the-art. BUT, I had many problems during my education, among them the lack of financial support which led me to get a job before finishing school etc... and all of that resulted in small GPA - a little less than 8.

From this forum, I could understand that it is very hard for someone with low GPA problem to enroll some of graduate schools, but it is not impossible. Am I right?

Now, my question is - Would it improve my chances if I address some of the professors whose works I've used ( or professors who were doing researches in the same field ) and present them my work and results?

I've already done some search and found professors at many universities including Purdue, Texas A&M, Northwestern (Chicago), Florida Atlantic, North Texas Univeristy and many others.

Can you give me some tips (here, or via e-mail, or at the centre) how to write this letter, what should I also mention beside my work, and should I immediately ask something like " ...I wondered if you needed someone to work on this reseach at your department .."?

[elz]

Dear Pajich,

Well, some programs flat out state the GPA that you must have to get into the program. However, there are other programs that are more flexible and that sounds like your target. Now here goes the same old question:

Have you been to group advising yet? That is a really good step to get the whole picture, but I must say that you sound rather well informed. (I hope you say you have been, ha ha ha!)

Now there are several ways to offset a less than sterling GPA. Before you write, get into good position. First of all, really good GRE scores can show that you are better than your GPA shows. In that way you can write to programs with your interest in your research, slip in the working while going to school, plus a great GRE score.

Also you might want to consider doing both GRE prep and personal statement seminar, which includes a lot of tips and consultations on writing to professors.

It can really help your case with a professor, if when you write, you have plenty of things to offer them to make a case for your admission that will enable them to focus on something besides the numbers. I would recommend that you get your academic credentials in order as best you can prior to making that contact.

Elz

[pajicb]

Dear Pajich,

Well, some programs flat out state the GPA that you must have to get into the program. However, there are other programs that are more flexible and that sounds like your target. Now here goes the same old question:

Have you been to group advising yet? That is a really good step to get the whole picture, but I must say that you sound rather well informed. (I hope you say you have been, ha ha ha!)

Now there are several ways to offset a less than sterling GPA. Before you write, get into good position. First of all, really good GRE scores can show that you are better than your GPA shows. In that way you can write to programs with your interest in your research, slip in the working while going to school, plus a great GRE score.

Also you might want to consider doing both GRE prep and personal statement seminar, which includes a lot of tips and consultations on writing to professors.

It can really help your case with a professor, if when you write, you have plenty of things to offer them to make a case for your admission that will enable them to focus on something besides the numbers. I would recommend that you get your academic credentials in order as best you can prior to making that contact.

Elz

Dear Elizabeth,

Thank you for your answer.

Yes, I've been to the group advising few months ago. :-) That's when it all started :-)

However, I did a lot of research myself, and still do.

I also did preliminary TOEFL test at the center ( 37/40, 50/50, and the total score of 660/675 - if it matters )

This month I'll join your GRE preparation course and really try to give my best.

I'll consider taking the personal statement seminar as well.

[elz]

Fantastic on the comittement to the GRE prep. You have done enough research so that you may be able to put your personal statement together using our resources. But GRE is what will really help you shine.

Three hours of class, three hours of practice tests each week, and a 2 hour math workshop. All of this for 12 weeks - BUT people also have to work on their own. This seems to be the BIG SURPRISE! We can't do it for you! However, you seem like a good candidate....

We really look forward to seeing you...and I am flattered that you attended the graduate advising!

Elz