Brief Strategies and Timeline of

Higher Studies in the USA/Canada

Afroja Sultana Ruby
M. Ed in Higher Education (2016-17), University of British
Columbia, Canada
Lecturer, Fulbright FLTA (2015-16), Stanford University
Former Lecturer in English, BRAC University
Former Lecturer, English, BSMMU

Do dare to dream?
The future belongs to those who believe in the
beauty of their dreams.---Eleanor Roosevelt
You have to dream before your dreams can come
true.---APJ Abul Kalam
Only those who will risk going too far can
possibly find out how far one can go.---T.S. Eliot

Why studying in the USA/Canada?

For global standard education?
For studying in your dream
program/field?
To work and live there?
For doing ground-breaking research?
To establish your own company?
To help your country from your place to
rise higher?
What is your thought? Find out your motivation
first, before jumping into the water.

The To Do List for Higher Studies

Abroad
1. Do your background research

Find the program you are interested in

Find the school that fits you, and the school you fit in
Find the professors you will be interested to work with
Or, find the professor who will be interested in
supervising your work
Write to some of them expressing your interest
Consider school size, application requirements, your
possibilities of getting funds and scholarships
All these to be done before you start your
application process (Application process starts in
September and continues to December/early
January)

2. The preparation phase

Take standardized tests (GRE/GMAT,
TOEFL/IELTS)
You need to have ample time to prepare for these tests,
especially GRE and GMAT. So start very early of the year, say,
from January.
Many people prefer taking several years preparation (it only
helps)
You need your score at hand before you start applying. So
make sure you have it by early September.
Unless your schools application deadline does not allow to do
so, resist the urge to make any delay if you are serious for the
task.
TOEFL and IELTS preparation will take time too. So have at
least two months for that if you have strong English
background. Funding decisions are taken considering all these.

The preparation continues

Writing a good Statement of Purpose
Write your own story. Do not borrow someone elses voice
Some fields may require more structured SOP, than an
essay type one
Check the word/page limit and other specifications
provided by the schools
Focus on your strengths, experiences, motivations, and
dreams
Make them see how and why you are a better applicant
then others, through your accomplishments, not words
Its not a problem to be a dreamer sometimes
It may take several months to come up with a great SOP.
Have it ready by early September or at least by October.
Delaying too much will only stress yourself out.

 Writing a good research proposal (for PhD

applicants)
Try to find out your desired professors current work
Sometimes they shift their attention to a different arena, so make sure
that you are thinking right
Read some of their current papers to see if they are aligned to your
work, or somehow can fit you in. Funding as well as admission will not
be there if your do not find any supervisor.
Writing a research proposal (a good and convincing one) takes a lot of
time and energy, so start soon
Have back up plans if possible. Several ideas that you are interested in
can bring you more opportunities.
Have your writing checked by someone who has been to the same
school or studied abroad already. People from the same field (broadly)
will be more helpful.
All these are SURELY to be done before you start applying. May be
by early October? Since revision might be needed as you
progress through the process.

Application starts
Sending scores and documents
Transcripts to be sent from your universities
in a sealed envelop
GRE, and TOEFL scores to be sent from ETS
directly
You can choose four schools for your test
scores to be sent free while taking the GRE.
You can make an excel sheet (checklist) of different
deadlines and documents to be sent to the schools, so
that you do not miss any important date.

Looking for Recommendations

Request the professor who knows you and
your work significantly.
If they are known internationally, that is
always better.
If you have worked before, you can ask
your Department Chair to write a
recommendation for you.
Sometimes they may need a sample copy
written by you (because of time
constraints), so have one or two ready
with you before knocking them.

Recommendations continued
Your recommenders may need to
know how to handle the process. So
inform them early.
Usually the recommendations are submitted
online
Schools contact the recommenders directly
Have several person in mind, so that if anyone
fails, some other person can help you right away.
You can provide additional recommendation
letter(s) if you have.

Application completion checklist

Have different checklists ready for different schools you are applying to.
You need to apply for external scholarships and funds before you even start
your application process.
Departmental scholarships and funds are given to the students who have
their professors approval and/or nominations. So if you are looking for any,
let your professor/supervisor know beforehand, and place a request for that.

Submit scores, transcripts, CV, writing sample, SOP in

timely manner. Do not wait for the last week or day,
please!
Knocking your supervisor/professor early on (try to be
one of the first few if you can) only helps more to
acquire funding. If you arent knocking, someone else
will do that and grasp the opportunity.

Some other things to consider

Your Extra-curricular and volunteering
experience makes you whole in the eyes of
a department as a suitable candidate.
So try to engage in such activities,
leadership program, skill developing
workshops to be multi dimentional.
Remember, its never the education
background only, that is considered to
give you admission.
Your overall potential as a future leader of
the field is sought.

We should not forget

And sometimes, an average score even can get you
there if you have other required skills.

Great research ideas?

Passion for your work?
Leadership qualities?
Confidence to keep up to their level?
Prior work experience, voluntary and developmental work for your
country?

And what you can think off ?

Its never the scores/CGPAs only.

They say while Harvard prepares Future Businessmen,
Stanford prepares Future Leaders.

Now, lets be specific

Application deadlines varies from early September to late
December in the USA.
But to get to a good school, we need to apply soon.
The schools that waits until February are often not your
desired one (except a few)
Almost 90 percent application deadline falls in December
(either 15th December or December 31)
University of Texas system, or University of California
system may requires one single application, and
maintains their deadlines of December 15 or 31 st.
For Canada, Queens University, British Columbia, Toronto
have deadlines from early-December to January 15)

For external scholarships

You need to apply either before or while you apply for your
school
Consider Commonwealth (for Canada), Fulbright (for the USA)
and other scholarships too.
Contact the Departments Graduate Assistant for scholarship
and funds list (I found it helpful in case of my school)
Keep contacting your supervisor if you need to request
him/her for approval of any departmental funding, TA or RA
opportunities. Your commitment can get you there if you can
prove to be sincere enough not delaying and being the second
(and in worst case, the last) one to ask.

 In Canada getting funding for a Masters

degree is very difficult. Its true in case of
the USA too.
Most of the fund opportunities are for
Permanent Residents (PR), and Immigrants.
So check with your department if you are
eligible to get bursaries and student loans
But Ph.D funding in available and in
abundance. So try to apply for a PhD if you
have strong background both academic and
work (research) background.

Some university links to find

information
http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouve
r/index.cfm?tree=2,295,0,0
http://www.grad.uci.edu/admissions/ap
plying-to-uci/
http://www.grad.uci.edu/admissions/i
nternational-students/index.html
http://admission.universityofcaliforn
ia.edu/how-to-apply/dates-deadlines/

 https://www.applytexas.org/adappc/h
tml/research_your_options.html
http://admission.stanford.edu/applica
tion/
https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/
applying
https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/
degrees

Any thoughts, comments, and

feedbacks?
Get going and get THERE!!!

Thank you!

Questions