SSESA Interactive Session 26/8/2015

How to Apply for MS/PhD/PostDoc/Internship

Opportunities?
By

Mudasir Ahmad Yatoo

(Imperial College London, UK)

Organised by Sir Syed Emerging Scholar Award (SSESA)

www.ssesa.us
Contents
A. How and When to Apply?

B. General Requirements
1. Academic Qualifications
2. English Proficiency
TOEFL
IELTS
3. Standard Examinations
GRE
GMAT

C. The SSESA Program

1. Selection Process
2. Financial Support
3. International Summer Research Award (ISRA)

D. Scholarships
How and When to Apply?

Most of the US/European schools admit students for MS/PhD programs in Fall
semesters. The best time to apply for Fall semesters is usually October early
December (i.e. 6 months before the semester start date).

Application deadlines and requirements may be specific for your school of

interest, the best way to look for relevant information is to browse graduate
school website and check FAQs: frequently asked questions.

The official website of almost all universities/institutes contain the pages like
Prospective Students, Graduate Schools, Graduate Programmes, Graduate
Admissions and other similar pages.

There are several useful websites, which can provide you with important
information regarding the graduate programs: one example is www.phds.org
How and When to Apply?
Here is the example of my graduate school, Imperial College London (UK) detailing
the application process, application deadlines, scholarships, and entry requirements.
You can also reach out to me, if you are interested in applying to Imperial College.
www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg
General Requirements
Academic Qualifications
In the United States, the entry requirement for MS/PhD is a 4-years bachelor
degree (BTech, BE, BArch, MBBS) or 5-years BA/MA (BSc/MSc) program.
However most of the European schools accept 3-years bachelor degree for a MS
program.

For Post-Doctoral positions, a PhD with relevant research experience and

publications is required. Post-Doctoral positions are usually offered by
Principal Investigators (Professors) and doesnt involve graduate school
admission office.

Strong research skills, past research experiences, and publications are very
helpful in securing admits in Science/Life-Science related programs. Most of
the European schools prefer candidates with past research experience and top-
rated US graduate programs usually admit student with good research
exposure.
English Proficiency
In almost all places, you will be asked to provided the proof of English language
proficiency. In the US, TOEFL is mandatory for international applicants!

In few European and Asian countries, a document from your previous university
(AMU, in your case) certifying that your BS/BA or MS/MA program was
conducted in English language might exempt you from tests like TOEFL, IELTS.

Here is the example from Faculty of Science, AMU:

TOEFL and IELTS
For the US schools you need a minimum of 80 score on TOEFL-iBT (some schools
ask for 100 score). Graduate schools based in UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand
do accept TOEFL as well as IELTS scores.

The TOEFL iBT is an internet based test of English proficiency. There are four
sections (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) which take a total of ~4.5 hours to
complete, including check-in. Here is a short description of internet based TOEFL:
www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/about
TOEFL and IELTS
IELTS is the International English Language Testing System which tests English
proficiency across the globe.

This again consists of four sections. Here is the concise description of this test:

Listening (30 minutes) Writing (60 minutes)

You will listen to four recorded texts,
monologues and conversations by a
range of native speakers, and write your
answers to a series of questions.
Reading (60 minutes)
The Reading component consists of 40
questions. A variety of question types is
used in order to test a wide range of
reading skills. These including reading
for gist, reading for main ideas, reading
for detail, skimming, understanding
logical argument, recognising writers'
opinions, attitudes and purpose.
The Writing component of IELTS
Academic includes two tasks. Topics are
of general interest to, and suitable for
candidates entering undergraduate and
postgraduate studies or seeking
professional registration.
Speaking (11 to 14 minutes)
The Speaking component assesses your
use of spoken English. Every test is
recorded. The Speaking component is
delivered in such a way that it does not
allow candidates to rehearse set
responses beforehand.
Standard Examinations

A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or

"standard", manner.

Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions
for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and
are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) created and administered by

Educational Testing Service (ETS) is one example of such examinations.

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) administered by Graduate

Management Admission Council (GMAC) is another example which is
required for management courses like MBA.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
The GRE is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for
graduate programs in the United States.

The GRE General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning,

critical thinking and analytical writing skills, skills that have been identified
as critical for success in graduate and business school. Here is the structure:
www.ets.org/gre
Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
The GMAT is a computer adaptive test (CAT) intended to assess certain
analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and reading skills in written English for
use in admission to a graduate management program, such as an MBA, EMBA
etc.
www.mba.com
The Sir Syed Emerging Scholar Award (SSESA) Program

SSESA is dedicated to the mission of empowerment through education: helping

AMU students with their higher education.

SSESA is MERIT BASED scholarship awarded to academically outstanding

students from AMU to pursue higher education in the North America,
particularly in the United States.

15 20 SSESA awards are given every year.

Students who qualify for SSESA awards are expected to take the GRE and
TOEFL tests and apply for MS and PhD programs.

Selected candidates are mentored by volunteers, who are experts in their field of
interest and guide them through the application process.
Selection Process
Academic Excellence forms the core of selection process!

Formal Application

Resume, Scanned documents, certificates,

SOP

Application Evaluations by three independent reviewers (US, UK, Europe etc.)

-Shortlisted students

GRE-styled test and personal interview at AMU

Final Selection
Financial Support

Online GRE training program - ~$120

Financial Assistance - GRE/ TOEFL ( about $360 total)

Applications fees - $50-200/ application (up to 5 universities)

Score reporting fees - $100 - 150

Total expenditure: $1000-1200/ student

Fees are directly paid from SSESA account in USA

No cash is given to the Awardees

List of Successfully Placed SSESA Scholars
1. Adil Masood (2007) PhD; Univ of Ghent, Belgium.
2. Asif Alvi (2007) M.S; Boston University, US.
3. Asif A. Khan (2007) PhD; Ben Gurion Univ, Israel.
4. Beenish Zia (2008) M.S; Portland State University, US.
5. Mohsin Raza Khan (2009) PhD; University of Maryland, Baltimore,
US.
6. Savita Singh (2009) PhD; Cleveland State University, US.
7. Abdullah Ahsan (2009) MS; University of Maryland, College Park,
US.
8. Syed Murtuza Abbas (2009) MS; University of Cincinnati, US.
9. Ali Shoeb Moon (2009) MS; Yeungnam University, South Korea.
10. Mustafa Ali (2009) PhD; UAE University, UAE.
11. Dr. Ruchi Dana (2011) MBA; Stanford University, Sloan Institute of
Management (MIT), US.
12. Supriya Jindal (2011) PhD; Cleveland State University, US.
List of Successfully Placed SSESA Scholars
13. Moin Khan (2011) PhD; Turku Biotechnology Center, Finland.
14. Amena Arif (2011) PhD; University of Massachusetts, Worcester, US.
15. Abdul Haleem Kidwai (2012) MA Program, University of
Massachusetts Amherst, MA.
16. Musfira Jilani (2012) Ph.D Program; Portland State University &
University College of Dublin, Ireland.
17. Amra Ismail (2012) Ph.D Program; Cleveland State University, OH.
18. Mustafa Ali Khan (2012) Ph.D Program, University of Maryland
Baltimore, MD.
19. Haji Mohammad Saleem (2012) MS Program, McGill University,
Canada & University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
20. Meraj Khan (2012), Ph.D Program, University of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, US.
21. Utkarsh Goel (2012) MS Program, Montana State University, US.
List of Successfully Placed SSESA Scholars
22. Danish Ameer Khan (2012) MS Program, Youngstown State University,
OH.
23. Shah Kamran (2012) Ph.D Program, University College London, UK.
24. Zainuddin Quadri (2013) Ph.D Program, ICGEB, Italy.
25. Quamar Niyaz (2013) University of Toledo, US.
26. Mohammad Anas Anis (2013) University of Cincinnati, US.
27. Mohammad Sarim (2013) MS, University of Toledo, US.
28. Mohsin Jahan Qazi (2013) MS Chemistry at University of Eastern
Finland.
29. M. Sameer Khan (2013) MS Power Electronics at North Carolina State
University, US.
30. Mudasir Ahmad Yatoo (2013) MS at Tohoku University, Japan; PhD at
Imperial College London, UK
31. Qambar Hasan Rizvi (2014), PhD program at the Satellite Stem Cell
Research Lab of School of Biotechnology, Yeungnam University, South Korea.
List of Successfully Placed SSESA Scholars

32. Mohd. Tabish Siddiqui (2014), MS Electrical and Computer

Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, US.
33. Ali Muzaffar (2014), MS Engineering Management at the California
State University Irvine and MS Electrical Engg at University of Minnesota
Duluth US.
34. Haris Shamsi (2014), MS program at the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology (KIT) Germany and the University of Edinburg, UK.
35. Aqib Raza Khan (2014), MS program (Biotechnology) at the National
Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan.
36. Mr. Ameed Hashmi (2014), PhD program (Bioengineering) at the
University of California, US.

Many students are in the process of obtaining visa &/or

applying to different schools
List of SSESA Scholars Session 2015-16
International Summer Research Award (ISRA)

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AMU and SSESA

Under the MoU, SSESA will arrange the summer research internship of AMU
students in laboratories at top US institutions such as University of Maryland
(Baltimore), Boston University and University of Chicago, Loyola Medical
School Chicago, among others.

Up to five students can be supported each year.

The program started in 2014, with Mr. Sabahuddin Ahmed. He was placed as
Summer Intern at Loyola Medical School, Chicago, US.

This year two students, Mr. Sk Abdus Sayeed and Mr. M R Wani are pursuing
summer internship at University of Houston, US and University of Alabama,
US respectively.

Financial Support: All major expenses for the internship are covered.
Scholarships
Generally you can find about scholarships from the website of particular
university/institute you applied but there are some scholarship websites which are
highly helpful. Here is the list:

http://www.scholarships-links.com/
http://scholarship-positions.com/
http://www.internationalscholarships.com/
https://studyinsweden.se/scholarships/
http://www.studyinholland.nl/
http://www.fastweb.com/college-scholarships
http://www.jpss.jp/en/
http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/global/australian-education/scholarships

Alternatively you can also sign up for SSESA Facebook Page

(https://www.facebook.com/groups/ssesa/) to get the information about relevant
scholarships.
 SSESA Team

Mohsin Khan; MS, PhD (contd.) Chair-SSESA

Saif Sheikh; PhD, MBA (University of Pittsburgh)
Rehan Baqri; PhD, Post-Doc (Harvard)
Shaida Andrabi; PhD, Post-Doc (Harvard)
Syed Ali Rizvi; BSc (Hons.), MBA (Montclair State University)

SSESA Office Bearers

Mr. Ali Muzaffar, MS (University of California, Irvine)

Mr. Mohd Saleem, PhD (University of Houston-Main Campus)
Mr. Mudasir Yatoo, PhD (Imperial College London, UK)
Ms. Musfira Jilani, PhD (University College Dublin, Ireland)

Sir Syed Educational Society of North America (SSESA-NA)

A 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of empowerment through education
Contact Details

For further details about SSESA, please check the following web links:
http://ssesa.us/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ssesa/
https://www.facebook.com/ssesapage
https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=4838201

ssesa.apply@gmail.com
Who am I?

I am an alumnus of Chemistry department and currently pursuing PhD in United

Kingdom. I am also coordinator (communication) of SSESA Program.
If you have any query, please feel free to contact me (through Email/Facebook) or any
other member of SSESA Team.

Mudasir Ahmad Yatoo

PhD Student at Imperial College London, UK
Material Science and Engineering
Email: muda.amu@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mudasir.yatoo
 SSESA at AMU

Prof. Shahid Jameel, ICGEB-New Delhi

Prof. Suhail Sabir, Chemistry, AMU (Aligarh)
Prof. Asadullah Khan, Biotechology, AMU (Aligarh)
Prof. Arif Suhail, ZHCET, AMU (Aligarh)
Prof. Badar Iqbal, Commerce, AMU (Aligarh)

For local mentorship, guidance and help, please contact Professor Suhail
Sabir (SSESA Interview Panel):
Here are contact details:
Email: drsuhailsabir@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 8791713363

Sir Syed Educational Society of North America (SSESA-NA)

A 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of empowerment through education
Thank

You

!
Interactive Session Starts Now!

This presentation was just the

minor part (introduction) of
this interactive session. Major
part will form your queries,
questions and doubts. Please
feel free to participate!