Lunile astea am fost super-prinsa cu o aplicatie si in anumite stadii mi-as fi dorit sa gasesc un articol cuprinzator si adaptat la Romania. Nu am gasit, asa ca il scriem noi acum.
(sa ma iertati dar imi e mai usor sa il scriu in lb. engleza avand in vedere ca tot procesul l-am investigat si parcurs in aceasta limba, daca aveti nevoie de explicatii suplimentare, nu ezitati sa imi scrieti la adresa de email specificata mai jos)
In general, Graduate applications in SUA cer cam urmatoarele documente:
Official Transcripts
Although US Universities offer the option of submitting these online, in my experience Romanian Universities don’t have the necessary accounts and electronic signatures to do that. Thus, you’ll have to send them in physical envelopes. Step 1: I went to the University and talked to them, in my case Babes Bolyai knows what the drill is, I just had to take my original transcripts (which had to be borrowed from my faculty) and leave it with them for 24h. It cost me 15 lei/envelope, but they authenticated 2 copies (stamped and signed them on every page), sealed the envelopes and that was it! Important: (1) one of my transcripts required translation and they required me to go to their specific translator, it wasn’t ok to go to any translation office; (2) I used the Romanian post service EMS. It was a cheap (3x times less than DHL) and safe choice.
Writing Sample
The writing sample is very topic-specific, here I would just have to say: (1) make sure you read their requirements carefully and respect them. If you have some older sample that is quite different from the requirements (too convoluted, lengthy, old), then it might be best to produce a new one. Don’t rely on past work, try to see if the person who you are today is still represented by that work. (2) If you apply to a Masters/PhD with a year of course teaching, they don’t require you to already know everything, but rather to have some healthy notions to build on. From what I read, it’s best if you take a small enough task to do it justice in the limited length (usually ±20 pag), but big enough to justify its existence. Remember: especially in the humanities, you can get away with many things if you acknowledge them. Don’t hope they don’t notice, acknowledge limitations to the research/scope, or further explorations that may be required in order to conclude. Also, the overall aspect is important. Don’t squeeze the text really narrowly, it will be hard for the reader to enjoy the lecture.
Letter of Purpose
The letter or statement of purpose is very important in the US. Imagine you had to find someone who will be a good student, likely to graduate, good for class cohesion, probable distinguished alumni, who will even teach at your university at some point… It’s a difficult task with the resources at hand, especially when it comes to foreigners who attended universities you know little about.
The sweet spot for a letter of purpose is keeping the main narrative around why graduate study? why that specific subject? why at our university? and color it with your own particular experiences. It’s important that you don’t write too much autobiography or too much self-praise. You can put in your awards in the resume and you can ask your recommenders to mention your proudest moments. In the LoR you talk about what attaches you personally to that particular path (using as few clichés as possible).
Letters of Recommendation
I had a dilemma here: do you put in the most “important” professors that you know or the ones who know you best? Ideally, both. If not, I personally opted for people who were quite accomplished (though not in the academia necessarily) and knew me well. The important thing is that they can say very, very nice things about you (e.g. XY ranks in the top 2% students I’ve ever had.).
There are numerous websites from where you can take samples as to how the letter should look like. In my experience, there should be roughly 3 parts: (1) Who the recommender is, how they know the applicant, and how long ago did they meet; (2) Paragraphs detailing accomplishments, generally good things the applicant did. Though here it’s important to give points of reference: e.g. applicant had the highest grade in the class vs. applicant received a 9 for the essay (or a combination of the two). There’s no way for the graduation committee to know whether 9 is a high grade, or an average one, in the given class.
TOEFL
This language test is not a big deal (compared to the next one, at least). Language test centers are available all over the country, as well as courses. It’s important to take into account that the test results will be ready ~10 days after the test date and be sent to the University ~10 days after that. So if you’re on a tight deadline, make sure you take all this into account.
GRE
The GRE is a graduate-level standard test (comparable to GMAT, which is a lot more common and generally required for MBAs). It comprises of 3 sections: analytical writing (graded 1-6), verbal and quantitative reasoning. The only test center in Romania is in Bucharest. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, there is little to no preparation for it in Romania.
It’s important to have specific preparation, because the GRE is nothing like our exams. Rather than testing how much you know they test how you think. They don’t want to know how smart you are in general, but how well you can perform on the GRE. Sounds weird, but it’s true. Preparing for the GRE requires (1) forget everything you know; (2) learn everything the GRE way. Of course, if you studied in the US or have experience with their tests, it might be easier for you. But I was a complete newbie and freaking out the whole time.
How did I make it then? I discovered the most amazing collection of books which truly allow you to learn by yourself. It’s the Manhattan GRE 8-book series. My score was not stellar, but I couldn’t have done it without them.
The point is GRE scores don’t matter (if not otherwise specified on your desired program’s website) unless they are verrry low or verrry high. Average scores will not get you admitted/rejected from what I know. Note: Once you pay for the GRE, you will also have 2 sample tests & 1 untimed sample test. If you want more, you can probably buy more (even Manhattan has a free one + an app with many resources).
How long did it all take me?
Well I only had 2.5 months so it couldn’t have possibly taken me longer. But I think you should be somewhat realistic, because of the financial commitment if nothing else. The two tests cost $205 each so if you’re not sufficiently prepared, you might be sorry for the waste. Not to mention the Manhattan series which is also pretty costly. (PS. I have it on my computer so if you want, email me a getitdone.ro@gmail.com and I can send it to you.)
What matters most?
What is difficult for students to sometimes understand is that the US admission process is holistic and depends a lot on the pool of candidates. If one is admitted, another 1 or 2 are rejected. So I suppose an applicant should do their absolute best and send the application. If keen on going to the US more than to a particular University, then by applying to multiple programs, the chances to get admitted increase.
However, my research pointed at:
GRE & TOEFL helping in the initial elimination stage; then, transcripts are the next step – this stage is about who will not be considered for admission.
Sample of writing & Letters of recommendation – help push to the front the applicants likely to perform well.
The Letter of Purpose can make a difference here, between someone who knows themselves really well and makes a convincing case that this is the next step, and someone who they believe should take some more time and think about what they really want.
Check this out if you want to get more specific about this last bit: [Paper on Demystifying the Admission process] https://cs.stanford.edu/people/rkarthik/DAGAP.pdf
Note: I read about times when someone in the admission committee (which by the way is formed by Professors from that department and sometimes a few students as well) absolutely loved a certain sample of writing or some particular aspect and advocated for their admission in front of the other members. Remember, those are human beings, not robots. 🙂
Georgia Bee 