MS ABROAD

PART I

1.    Field and Focus

            Have a clear idea about what you want and what is your preference when it comes to pursue a career in the same. One field is a very wide platform, research in it and combine the results with your interests and you’ll have your answer! Personally, I would suggest not to have just one aim. Be realistic and have more than one, because after your degree when you enter the market and try to get a job, the market may change.

2.     Selection of Entity

            The selection of the country, academic institution(s), and intake is a key factor. It decides what kind of environment you will lie in, the quality of education you will get, and more.

·        Selection of Country

This may not be as impactful as other criteria, but definitely is a factor worth some attention. Ask yourself questions like, will I be able to survive the climate? (Severe cold in Northern Canada or European Countries etc.)  Is my body adaptable enough?

·        Selection of Universities/Colleges

Once you have decided a focus in your favorable field, respective course needs to be taken while pursuing the degree. Look up the internet in order to search the institutions which provide that course(s). Not every academic institution will be providing the course(s) you need, are looking for.

Note: Every institution has its own way of naming the subjects/courses. Simply do not decide by reading the name of the subject/course while researching. Read the description provided by the intuition on it and make your decision.

·        Intakes/Admissions

An intake is basically a time period for which an institution opens up the course/program for students to get in. For e.g. Canada has three intakes, Fall/September, Winter/January, and Summer/May. Look out carefully for the intakes, as not every program is opened up for every intake of a particular institution. Your concerned program should be open for the intake you are planning to go for.

Note: If you have more than a year gap between your latest degree and application, you are supposed to explain what you did due that time and not waste it, this is helpful for application and Visa too.

3.     Competitive Exams

These are the exams one needs to give in order to study abroad. Once you decide your country of interest, this point should be taken into consideration. They are GRE, IELTS, TOEFL, etc. Different countries have different requirements. This not limited to the country only but on the institution as well. For e.g. Canada, in general, doesn’t require GRE unlike the USA, but some universities for a particular course(s) mention it as a requirement. In that too there will be certain numeric marks mentioned for the corresponding exam(s). Please check that carefully as that will be the minimum requirement for the candidate in order to be eligible to get in.

4.     Degree Type

            Primarily the degrees can be classified as Thesis and Non-Thesis. Depending on your preference, you enter one. The admission process is quite similar but getting a degree is totally different.

·        Thesis

This broadly known as research-based. Where you research on a particular topic. You are awarded a master’s degree only if you’re able to defend your thesis in front of a panel at the end of the program. Along with this, there is the requirement of a certain credit you have to achieve too. In my current university, the thesis degree is known as MSc and MASc. Check the same with your institution of interest.

Also, in such a degree you will be working under a professor. Many institutions will ask to fill that professor info (if any) during the application itself. Even though it may or may not be a compulsion, but is always preferable to be in touch with a professor of your concerning research topic. So, what I am about to tell is an intermediate step and should be done after deciding your academic institution(s).

Accumulate all of your research data together and then search the institution website for a professor of your field. Once you find the proper personality, contact them, and convey that you want to work under them for your degree. As you build your rapport, show them your research and findings, why do you want to work with them? (may sound like buttering, but that’s how it works sometimes). The reason being, that professor may play a role in you getting an admit and might increase your chances as well.

Note:

a.     Your research should be along the lines of theirs/your degree major. Also, the professor assigned to you will be specified in your offer/admit letter from the institution.

b.      Understand, the professors are extremely busy, they may reply in days or even weeks or even have their assistants reply you, be patient

c.       There will be other types of courses as well, look it up.

·        Non-thesis

Most commonly known as a course-based degree. In this, in order to get a degree, you need to complete a certain amount of courses to get certain credits. The number differs from university to university and will be mentioned on their website.

Note: Both the degree types have a time constraint, usually mentioned in terms of semesters during or before which you have to meet the degree requirements.

5.     Use of Social Media and Internet

            The internet is your best friend. It can answer any question you have, but here I will ask you to do something different. Use the apps we have on our phones to get better knowledge.

·        Facebook and other social medias

Once you have decided on a country and /or institution follow their Facebook or other social media pages. Moreover, lookup of pages that guide students on their quest for admissions in a particular domain. There are a lot of pages on FB itself to help you out.

·        LinkedIn

This is a key factor, I hope you all know about LinkedIn and if not, get yourself on it. All it takes is a google account signup and 20-30 mins of your day. Once you are on LinkedIn follow the academic institutions of your liking. Go on the institution's LinkedIn account where you will find alumni from the same, try talking to them. Get to know them, as well as about the institution from them. You will get a good insight into how’s the academia there, the study quality, scope, and more.

6.     If you’re in the final year of your undergraduate study

            A lot of people decide to do a higher degree just as they finish their current one while some take a year(s) gap/job before going for further studies. Just like any other thing in the world, this has its own pros and cons too. To keep the neutrality of the situation, I won’t incline towards any of the sides but will put in my two cents for what can you do if you plan to do consecutive degrees.

Profile and Studies: Building a profile is very important. Make sure your CGPA is good enough to make you eligible for the admissions. For e.g. For a master’s degree in Canada 70% is considered as a benchmark, and is not recommended to do so, if otherwise. So make sure you stay above certain benchmarks.

Projects: if a student is doing a project, be it their final year engineering project or a personal project, it is always better if it has some mutual ground with their field of preference. Make sure you document whatever you’re doing. Its scope and requirements are a special consideration. If you can work on something which will be in demand in the near future, good!

Paper Publications: As you are planning to apply for further studies, it will be beneficial if you have a paper published. It will compensate for the lack of professional experience (if any).

7.     Admission Documents

·        Letter of References/Recommendation (LORs)

All the institutions you will apply in will ask you for LORs and if not all, most will. LOR is basically a recommendation form a person who knows you and sees that you have the potential to go for further studies. Minimally, the institutions as for 2 LORs but they can ask for more, make sure that you obtain them from someone you know/have worked with in the past year or so from the date of application. What I mean is, do not submit a LOR from a teacher who taught you 5 years ago, the latest the better. It can be your employer, Dean and/or Head of Department of your college, project guide etc. Try to get a LOR from the highest of authorities of the relevant entity.

·        Statement of Purpose/Intent (SOP)

This is basically yourself described in a form of an essay of 2 pages. Points like what instigated this interest in you? why you want to pursue it and do a degree? why only that (the institute in which you are submitting the SOP) institute? etc. should be addressed. Be clear about your intentions with that course and how you will use it for the betterment of society!

·        Backlog Certificate

Yes, this is a thing in real life. It’s a record of how many backlogs you have in your undergrad degree. Do not worry, not every institution asks for it, and if they do, your undergrad college knows about it. Depending from college to college, either they will have a draft where you have to fill in or make one from yourself. If you have to make from yourself, those FB groups I mentioned come in handy, and of course, Google!

·        Transcripts

You all must be knowing about them, so won’t say much. Just keep more than once copies with you before submitting them to institutions abroad. Also, while requesting transcripts from your undergrad college, request for an online copy too will come in handy while sending data to applying institute.

·        World Education Services (WES) Evaluation

This is an important part of the abroad application. Your applied institution, if they want, will clearly specify that WES evaluation is required. This is basically, a certification that your degree is from an authorized university/academic entity. The process sounds tedious, but don’t worry the internet and those FB groups will come out helpful. Try getting in touch with people who have done it and get to know what all are the primary requirements and more. WES isn’t the only one, there are others as well for e.g. ICAS for Canada. Check it out if you need this first from a senior/consultant, as this evaluation takes a significant amount of time and costs one money. Not sure if it will be even required or no, ye mentioned this as some might require and I knew about it.

8.     Tips

a.   Once you are determined about studying abroad and decided a country and bunch of institutions, make sure you keep a tab on the admissions. Some institutions may open the admissions prior to others and cases like these arise

b.   In reference to point a', some institutions open admissions for first come first serve (FCFS) basis, in such a case the faster you apply the better are your chances of getting into

c.   Use Yocket, an app for monitoring the admits. You can enter the group of the institutions (the app guides you, don’t worry!).

d. While doing your research on institutions, prepare an excel sheet with columns like name, ranking(optional), GRE requirement, IELTS requirement (any other exam requirement), Fee per sem/year, Program i.e. your choice of program and what is called in that institution, Links i.e. links to the fee estimator, fee, course and application portal of the institutions etc.

e.   THIS IS NOT A MOTIVATING POINT, but I think it holds importance, hence putting it here. Be in touch with your parents/sponsor. What I mean is, concern them before finalizing the institution for applying. The reason for this point being, it might happen that a particular institution is high in rank and academia, but charges sumptuously, a humongous amount which may be out of your sponsor’s/parent’s financial capacity. Most of the ambitious academic institutions are in a higher economy as compared to your home country and a unit of their economy will be multiple INRs. Please, do not be disheartened by this, but this is a practical dilemma one may lie into. I am just mentioning as I went through it.

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PART II

The possibility of obtaining a master's degree abroad must at least have crossed the minds of students once. There are some students who are trying to turn this thought into reality, and this blog refers to all the queries that a student may face during this process, right from the best time to apply till one receives a letter of offer.

When should I start applying?
Well, the best time to start the application process is during your final year of graduation. That is because even if the deadline stated on the university website is a long way off, it is always smarter to complete the process beforehand.
The explanation for this would be,

• Sending your application well before the deadline means that now the university has fewer applications to go through around that time, and more time is spent on your application. 
• Universities have limited seats, and I really don't think anyone should take a chance.
• The earlier you submit your application, the quicker you get to hear back from the university, and it's always good to have time at your disposal during the visa application process to prevent rush.

For those who have already 

course due after 12 months. This will certainly increase the chances of being shortlisted.

How do I decide which country to apply to?
Now, just as universities play a part in shaping your future, so does the country where you want to pursue your masters. It is also helpful to pursue master's in a country that has immigrant-friendly policies. Because this is the place you will be studying for at least one year, so you can also plan to have a work visa in the following country after you have completed your graduation.
However, this does not mean that you should select universities on a country-based basis, but the decision should be the best choice to balance all aspects.
Of course, this does not extend to those who have a priority of immigration to a particular country, rather than education.

Should I apply for Colleges or Universities?
Colleges are typically smaller in scale than universities. Owing to their small scale, colleges offer minimal study resources for students wishing to pursue higher education. On the other hand, universities are large in scale and offer a range of options to their students. It is also observed that it is much easier to enroll in a college than it is to enroll in a university where the fee structure is far higher due to the number of facilities and services available to students. So it's a preference whether you're able to trade in research incentives for money or not. I will personally advise against doing so.
When it comes to colleges vs. universities, universities are probably a much better alternative.

How do I get a shortlist of universities/colleges?

It is very important to choose the right universities to apply, as making an incorrect choice could lead either to a rejection of the application or missing out on better opportunities. The shortlisting of universities thus becomes a very important move.
You can figure this out simply by keeping the following points in mind:

• There are several websites that offer you university rankings, such as the QS world ranking or the world ranking of times higher education. It is also useful to go through these rankings in order to get an overall overview of the universities.
• After you've been through the lists, visit the University websites that you want to attend. Go through the specifics of the post-graduate course you're interested in.
• Go through the eligibility requirements for each university. This is because not all universities will offer you a master's program with 3-year graduation. (Universities in the United States and most universities in Canada will expect to present 4 years of graduate studies in order to qualify for their Master's program. For students with a 3-year degree program, you must also complete a 1-year postgraduate diploma if you wish to qualify for such universities.)
• Now, the thing to be noted is to shortlist certain universities only where you can comfortably complete the eligibility criteria. This is because when you choose a university where you barely meet the eligibility requirements, you have reduced your chances of being selected.

Once all of the above steps have been followed, you will have a list of universities that you should apply for.

(This is the time when you are considering your university choices together with the country in which it is based.)

     

Whether to apply for a teaching program or a research program?
Unlike masters at Indian universities, where there is no better difference between an industry-oriented degree and a research-oriented degree. Universities abroad will give you two choices, either a taught program or a research program. There is a big contrast between these two kinds of Masters, and one type can be more appropriate to your objectives than the other.

Taught Masters Program: These are a lot like what we've been through in our undergraduate studies. You will complete a series of modules following a set schedule of workshops, lectures, and other activities. You will be much more responsible for studying individually in your private time, but you will be led by the professors in charge of the course.

Research Masters Program: These are of a more independent nature. You're not going to have a fixed schedule here, as you're going to have to focus on one or more thesis. Of course, you will still receive support and guidance from an expert supervisor, but the focus of your program will be on your own research work.

What documents do I need for this?
Here is the list of documents that must be kept ready before beginning the application process:

1. 10th & 12th Mark-sheet and Passing certificate
2. Semester-wise graduation transcripts. (The transcripts are totally different from your transcripts, do not confuse them.)
3. Degree Certificate (In case the degree certificate is not yet issued, you can apply the passing certificate)
4. Passport front and back page.
5. IELTS, GRE, TOEFL whichever credential is valid according to the requirements of the university.
6. 3 Letter of Recommendation, preferably from the professors in charge of your undergraduate studies.
7. Statement of Interest.

(Documents 1,2,3&4 should each be notarized)

How many days does it take to hear back from the university?
It could be a matter of days or months before you hear about your application from a university. It all depends on when you apply and whether the university course decides to make an offer. For students who are yet to complete their final year, the university may provide a conditional offer letter allowing you to complete the final year with a required GPA.
Remember that patience is even more important after your application has been submitted.

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CONCLUSION 

For a master's degree in physics, considering the fact that a future career in physics (Ph.D., Postdoc) is not that lucrative monetarily, it makes sense to not spend too much money on your master's degree (unless you are super rich). And in that case, a master's degree in India would be a much better option. 

Keep in mind that in most top US universities, terminal MS programs are not even offered and all you can apply for is an integrated MS PhD program. And in the few American universities that offer MS in physics, it is quite expensive and getting a scholarship is pretty hard. In Europe, there are programs which are less expensive and even offer scholarship sometimes (look up the institutes online), but the cost of living and other things catch up soon to make things expensive.

On the other hand, Indian universities tend to be much lighter on the pocket. Also, if your aim is to go for a Ph.D. later, the Indian institutes would be no less in giving you the required platform. You would get the standard master's level coursework, and in a good Indian university, you would find plenty of good professors to do research under. So an MS in India is a really good option, especially in one of the top IITs or other central and state universities apart from the IITs.