Undergraduate and Graduate School Admissions deadlines for the USA

If plan to study in the US either for Undergraduate courses (bachelor’s degrees) or Graduate courses (MS or MBA, MD, LLM etc.) you must meet the application deadlines for each school. International students (such as students from India, Asian countries and other countries that do not have English as their mother tongue), need to write the TOEFL or IELTS that are standardized English tests recognized by the American college boards.

 Some schools might give you an IELTS/TOEFL waiver if you can prove that you have studied all your primary, secondary and high school courses in English.

Basic certificates and test requirements:

1.  Undergraduate courses- High School certificate, SAT scores, TOEFL/IELTS.

2.  Graduate Courses-

                        

•   MS - Undergraduate college leaving certificate (most schools consider only 4 years of  graduation and not 3 years) with marks card, GRE general or GRE subject scores, TOEFL/IELTS.
•   MBA- Undergraduate college leaving certificate, GMAT scores, TOEFL/IELTS scores.
•   MD-  Undergraduate college leaving certificate (some schools insist on American     undergraduate degree),MCAT scores, TOEFL/IELTS scores.
•   LLM- Undergraduate college leaving certificate, TOEFL/IELTS scores.

Additional requirements:

• Resumes- Student resumes listing academic achievements,extra-curriculars and additional courses such as languages or dance/music/art courses.
• Personal statement or Statement of Purpose Essays—In these Essays you should stress on your goals ,your academic and other achievements so far, your reasons for choosing your course of study and how would contribute to the school during your stay there.
• Letters of recommendation from your teachers/professors and/or professional recommendations from your boss.
• For Business schools and many graduate courses you will have to provide information on your work experience if any and a recommendation from your boss on your professional capabilities and achievements.
• For Medical School admissions you will have to provide a list of your voluntary work at hospitals and other health services related work and lab work if any with a letter of recommendation from the hospital/service center/lab.

Planning your applications:

Most schools start classes in fall, i.e. - late August/beginning September. Application deadlines for fall admissions are usually November-December of the previous year.

If you want to get into college in September 2014, you must finish sending your scores and other requirements by December 2013. Be ready with all your scores by October 2013 end.

Since almost all test scores like the GRE,GMAT,SAT,TOEFL and IELTS takes between 2-4 weeks, it is better to take all these tests by June, so that the scores are reported by July end and you can start working on your essays and recommendation letters. MCAT scores take 4-6 weeks to be reported.

It is also safe to take some of these tests as early as May because in case you are not happy with your scores, you can redo the test after a couple of months.

For rolling admissions (round the year admissions), please go to each school’s website to find out details about requirements and admission deadlines.

 For More Information refer the following websites:

1. Collegeboard.org: Offers advice to college bound students,who are currently in High School finishing their PUC, or 12th Grade.Senior students (who finished school a few years ago) who have not matriculated and are going to enrol in college for the first time, are also eligible to apply.This website has a comprehensive college search for colleges in the US and each school requirements and information about the SAT.
2. Princetonreview.com/grad/international-applicants.aspx and gradschools.com gives good information about application deadlines,choosing subjects and programs and test requirements.