Choice of University today, changes your life tomorrow

<p style="text-align: justify;">If you are in the process of deciding the which Graduate School to attend, this article will give you an insight on how the University you decide today will impact your career, life, and everything else in your life.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />I'm trying to highlight the importance of selecting the right University to attend. By now most of the students should have got <img style="border: 3px solid black; margin: 3px 4px; float: right;" src="https://images.shiksha.com/mediadata/images/1264834361phpsOol8p.jpeg" alt="" width="150" height="110">admission and will be in the process of deciding which University to attend. Don't make the common mistake typically all the students make. Mistakes like:</p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li>You might have admission in five Universities, without doing much research about two Universities, don't eliminate two universities from your choice.</li> <li>You never know one of those two universities might have very good funding opportunities or might lead to better job finding opportunities.</li> <li>Always try to find the policy of the University for allowing students to apply for Internship. For example, University of Texas Arlington (UTA), you can work as intern for 2 semesters in CPT. There is no conditions like, you will have to be enrolled in thesis track or your internship work must be part of your thesis. Some universities like North Carolina State University (NCSU) - will allow internship only if your thesis work is similar to your internship. Kansas State will not allow student to do internship during Fall and Spring semester, students can work as intern only during Summer. There are some universities that don't allow internship to students in CPT at all.</li> <li>So, make sure you look into all possible combinations of your choice of university will fit to your needs.</li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;">We have put together list of few questions which every student should ask about each University, before selecting any college or university. These are:</p> <ol style="text-align: justify;"> <li>Whether you can afford the cost of education in USA ?</li> <li>Can you afford to pay the Instate Tuition Fess per year?</li> <li>What kind of RA/TA/ Scholarship you have been offered by the university? (Is it 100 percent Scholarship, partial Scholarship or No Scholarship)</li> <li>Before selecting the university, try to get in touch with the current students at the campus (though Indian student Associations) and ask them several questions such as availability of part time jobs in the area etc?</li> <li>You have to find if the university you have the admission allows students to do internship and how long. Such as Kansas State University will allow students only in Summer in CPT. Were as UTA will allow students to do internship for 2 semesters (like Summer and Fall or Fall and Spring or Spring and Fall).</li> <li>Next you have to ask if the internship is under CPT or under OPT (Optional Practical Training). If the school allows internship under CPT then you are ok. If the school allows internship under your OPT, then it's NOT ok to attend that school. For example Clemson University, internship is under OPT, which is not good. </li> <li>What is the job scenario after completing Masters Program? Majority of the colleges have Career Fair, where companies will visit campus and collect resumes. But the numbers of companies that usually come are very less. Some universities like NCSU have very high profile career fair.</li> <li>Also, check out what is the length of the Masters Degree program?</li> <li>Whether you want to MS with Thesis or Non Thesis option? In Master's program you will have 2-3 options to take course. In thesis, you will have to solve a problem and present a paper. Students who don't like to do research, or PhD, apply for Non-Thesis Option, which is just courses and graduate with Masters Degree.</li> <li>You should check out the International student's Population also before selecting the university or college. This has both advantages and disadvantages. You will fell at home with large number of Indian students around, but fewer chances to find part time jobs and scholarship. Some colleges have very less International Students, but I'm sure you will feel very lonely; you might have to stay with students from different county. </li> <li>Next is the quality of education in any university. Let's say you have admission from TAMUK, University of Alabama, Birmingham and NJIT. I would decide to go with UAB. Reason, it's cheap, much better than TAMUK with more professors and more choice of courses and cheaper then NJIT with courses almost similar to NJIT.</li> <li>Climate/ Location are also important factor. Here, you have to weigh the options according to your preference. Good college vs. Cold Temperature. If you get really good college admission in North, and ready to deal with the cold, te go ahead otherwise chose according to your preferences. </li> <li>Also, ask the current students to rate their college experience in the scale of 1 to 10 and make sure you ask at least some 5 students and take an average before making deciding on to the university. </li> </ol> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Always remember, you may have more than one Dream University to attend. But if you take the time now to carefully consider your choices, you'll be happy wherever you go. You will be comfortable with your decisions because you asked yourself the right questions!!!</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Source: http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/choice-of-universit/</strong></p> <p><strong>Date: 30th Jan., 2010</strong></p> <hr /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>For further details about related courses and colleges please click below:</strong></span></p> <p><a href="../../../">Related courses and colleges</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>