My admission process – things to know about GRE and CGPA

Syed Angkan Haider

The whole admission process for higher studies abroad is complex and unpredictable. There is no sure-fire way of predicting an applicant’s outcome with so many factors in play! However, there are a number of development processes which I believe worked in my favor, and helped me become successful in getting fully-funded opportunities in foreign universities. Everyone’s journey is unique and so will be yours – so there’s no need to worry if yours doesn’t match with mine. You know how the old saying goes: There’s more than one way to skin a cat!

When applying to the universities abroad, there will be a few things that you will need. The most common are your academic transcript (which shows your semester and combined GPAs), standardized test scores (GRE and TOEFL/IELTS), CV/resume, statement of purpose (SOP) and letters of recommendation (LORs). There might be other necessities depending on the university and program you are applying to.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when applying abroad is clear planning and time management – you cannot catch a train that has already left the station! When you are in your last semester, you can begin thinking about applying to universities abroad. A good idea is to begin shortlisting possible universities you will apply in: try to make a list of about 8-10 universities (usually your GPA and research background will give you an idea about likelihood of admission) (check out our video on University/ Professor selection for quick and short overview!). Contacting seniors and looking up different rankings (e.g. US News, QS, etc.) are also good ways of knowing about your chances. Your list should contain roughly an equal number of universities of the following categories: “ambitious”, “sure-shot” and “uncertain” which can also be rephrased as “রাখে আল্লাহ মারে কে”, “১০০% গ্যারান্টি”, and “ঠিক বুঝতে পারতেসি না”!

The “ambitious” category will contain the universities where you probably won’t get admitted but are willing to take a risk, perhaps even ivy leagues if your profile is decent, to see what happens. The ivy league universities, however, are very highly-reputed and prestigious universities – they are very selective and have low acceptance rates (<10%) – they only pick the best and the brightest in the world, so unless you have a stunning profile, you have little chance of getting admission here. The “sure-shot” ones are where you will have very high chance of admission. And the “uncertain” ones are where you might or might not get admitted – but these “uncertain” ones will be the ones you realistically target with your particular profile. It is very important to have this list ready by the time you graduate. This list will be different for different people depending on individual profiles.

Right after you graduate (i.e. after you complete you Bachelor’s or Master’s), it is a good idea to collect all the certificates and transcripts first up. Once you have all of them with you, you can have them scanned and keep the scanned files in both image and PDF formats with you. Next, you can talk to potential recommenders, i.e. the people who are likely to be willing to write letters of recommendation (LORs) for you – if you apply to 8 universities you will need a total of 24 (8*3) LORs. When you meet with your recommenders, they might ask you to send them electronic copies your certificates, transcripts and research papers (if you have any), or maybe even a rough CV – so make sure you have these ready. Ideal recommenders are your thesis supervisor, faculty advisor and teachers of courses you have excelled in.

A common mistake among most people is that they ask their recommenders for LORs at the very last minute – this can cost you severely. If you rush them, they will either not agree to write the LORs for you, or they will not be able to write the best one possible due to time restraints. Some might even ask you to write a draft of your recommendation letter by yourself and give it to them so that they can make slight modifications before uploading it – this gives you the freedom and opportunity of writing good things about yourself! For those who are lucky enough to get this chance, use it wisely, but be honest – with great power, comes great responsibility! Faculty members are busy people – despite what we might think, they have lots of different responsibilities to attend to, other just than taking classes – they are often involved with several consultancies, research projects and companies. And like us, they have families and personal lives too! So, you can’t expect to tell your recommender today and get your recommendation letter tomorrow. You have to give them ample time to compile a good LOR for you.

This process of collecting certificates and talking to potential recommenders should ideally be done within the first 1-2 months after you graduate if you want to stay ahead. Once this is done, you have to begin preparing for standardized tests i.e. GRE and TOEFL/IELTS. It’s smart to get these tests out of your way as soon as possible. The GRE in itself is truly a very challenging and exhausting exam. It is the First of Its Name, The Unburnt, King of the Exams, the Breaker of Students… sorry, got carried away! With the right kind of preparation, you can do well. Try to allocate no more than 4 months for the GRE preparation – don’t fall into the trap of aiming for that dream 330+ score and spending months trying (I am not discouraging anyone from trying, but in my opinion, it is important to understand one’s own capabilities and limitations). Instead, prepare hard for 3 months, sit for the exam and be done with it. The reason I say this is because while the GRE is an important part of your application, there are other things which are just as important (e.g. resume, SOP, GPA, etc.). If you spend all your time on your GREs, you might not have enough time left to apply in the upcoming semester. Even if you do have time, you might not be able to prepare your best overall profile. Remember, the admissions committee will make their decisions based on your overall profile, not just the GRE scores – you will need to have all bases covered. So, don’t put all your eggs in one basket! Also, if you sit for your GRE exam early, you will be able to re-sit the exam if your scores aren’t satisfactory – so it’s nice to have some extra time in your hands.

Right when you start preparing, sign up for the exam and get your exam date. Exam seats and dates are limited, so try to get your dates early and have one less thing to worry about. Also, many people tend to not study seriously unless and until they have an exam date looming over them. If you want to apply in the upcoming semester, your time is limited. Instead of losing time in the beginning and rushing at the end, it’s better to have an exam date from the start of prep so that you can plan your preparation accordingly and have the date to give you that extra push forward.

The GRE has three areas of assessment: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). Quant is easy: just finish the syllabus (content is only up to that of class 10) quickly and begin practicing problems. For Verbal, instead of focusing on difficult words and long word lists (1000+ words), try to practice reading and focus on understanding sentence structure – mere knowledge of the meanings of thousands of words will do you no good unless you understand the correct usage of those words. For vocabulary, reading the “high frequency word-lists” is enough to begin practicing. Spend ample time for GRE AWA as well – most people don’t take this section seriously enough, but this is just as important as Quant or Verbal. I had a video conference with a professor where he asked specifically what my GRE AWA score was – I was surprised and asked him why he was so interested about AWA scores rather than Verbal or Quant. He explained how analytical writing skills are of utmost importance when writing papers and dissertations, which are part and parcel of higher study abroad. Publishing papers in reputed conferences and journals demands solid writing skills, and good AWA scores might end up being a big factor in swaying the decision of the admissions committee in your favor.

In the end, the key to the GREs is practice – practice as much as you can and solve lots and lots of problems and mock exams. Mock exams will give you and idea about your strengths and weaknesses, and help emulate a real test experience. You need to sit for complete mock tests (AWA+Quant+Verbal) to know how well you have prepared. Moreover, the GRE exam is very exhausting, and will test every inch of your patience, concentration levels and time management skills. The only way to be fully equipped is to sit for lots of mock exams. If you want to leant how to swim, you have to jump into the water – merely practicing the exam content won’t be enough unless you test your learnings in mock exams to see where you actually stand and where you need to be.

Take the TOEFL/IELTS exam date about 1-2 weeks after your GRE exam. Unlike the GRE which is a test of your analytical skills, the TOEFL/IELTS is an English-proficiency test: they will only assess how well you can use the English language. The Reading and Writing sections are usually quite straightforward, and getting good scores isn’t that hard. Most people struggle with the Speaking and Listening sections (the important sections!): it’s understandable seeing how English isn’t our first language. Try to practice as much as you can (Notefull videos on YouTube helped me out a lot)– with the right preparation nothing will stand in your way.

Now, there are some things about your GRE and English-proficiency exams which you should know – you can send free scores to 4 universities for each exam (i.e. 8 free scores). For the GRE exam, you will get to choose your free score recipients at the exam center right after your actual exams ends. But you can choose your TOEFL score recipients any time before the actual exam. Sending GRE and TOEFL scores costs $27 and $20 respectively: convert that into Taka and you will see that it’s a lot of money! This is one case where having your university list ready will come in handy: if you already know which universities you will definitely apply in, you will be able to send your scores to 4 of them for free. Don’t waste your free scores by selecting universities you won’t apply to.

Many people try to get a head start and start prepping for the GREs even before they have graduated, some even in their 3rd or 4th year. I personally do not recommend this – instead, you should focus on improving your GPA and try to get involved in different projects and research activities. Try to focus on departmental subjects and potential research (thesis, independent publications, etc.) opportunities to strengthen your profile. I have seen many people lose focus on their academic and research activities in the attempt to focus on GRE preparation, causing their GPAs and research quality to drop. Before graduating, I think all the focus should be on ensuring that you academic and research profiles are top notch. Unless you are in a rush to go abroad right after you graduate, you will have ample time to prepare for GRE and TOEFL/IELTS.

With transcripts and certificates scanned and ready, LORs secured and GRE and TOEFL/IELTS scores with you, you will have made substantial progress in this journey towards higher study abroad. But your job is only half done! There are many more factors left for me to discuss, but all that will come in later blogs. So, stay tuned for the next one!