Ranked the best engineering graduate school in the US, after MIT and Stanford, University of California (Berkley) offers master degree programs in all major areas of engineering including aerospace, computer science, civil, chemical, mechanical etc. As such the university offers close to 80 graduate programs in education, healthcare, arts and humanities etc.

Graduating with a master’s degree in Engineering in any field from UCB takes about two years. The students can, however, finish their masters within a year with accelerated Berkeley Engineering Professional Master’s Program.

Needless to say, the MS graduates from University of California, Berkeley command great appreciation and recognition amongst the employers. Those inclined towards research find the well equipped research centers at Berkeley great resources for their projects.

Accreditation

The University of California, Berkeley, is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Read more…

University of California, Los Angeles is a reputed university in the country, especially known for its high percentage of Asian-American students. The university had initiated the fully online Master of Science in Engineering in various areas of specialization for the employed engineers who found it tough to leave their job and pursue full time on-campus master degree programs. The UCLA claims on the official MSOL website that the courses offered online are as good as the regular on-campus courses and the degree will not state the term ‘online’, though it will state Master of Science in Engineering, rather than just Master of Science.

Courses and Accreditation

The courses and specialization available under MSOL are: Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing and Design, Mechanics of Structures, Signal Processing and Communication, Integrated Circuits, Advanced Structural Materials, Computer Networking and System Engineering. Read more…

Purdue University is amongst the oldest universities in the US and offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs and other specialization courses. Till recently, all the courses were fully residential in nature, that is the students could take these courses only on the university’s campuses, located at Lafayette, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Hammond. Purdue announced an array of online master degree programs in engineering subjects for the working professionals who are not willing to leave their job and join full time courses. The university claims that its online engineering courses are as good as the regular full time campus courses.

The University enjoys immense reputation amongst the students, both domestic and international and its on-campus courses are ranked amongst the best master degree programs in the country. The introduction of online courses gives the university an opportunity to reach out to more number of students. Employer recognition is not an issue for Purdue graduates, however, it is still early to say so about the online degree holders.

Interestingly, the admission procedure remains quite stringent and applicants are required to submit statement of purpose, recommendation letters (3), TOEFL/IELT score, undergraduate transcripts and other documents.

Accreditations

Purdue enjoys accreditation from Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It’s various undergraduate and graduate degree courses have been consistently ranked decently by the US News and World Report rankings, a veritable source of college ratings and rankings.

The most important point in favor of Purdue University is the fact that its courses are well recognized by the employers. Now, whether the credits earned are accepted by other universities or not are a different matter, because a lot depends upon the universities too.

Purdue offers online graduate programs in various engineering disciplines such as mechanical engineering, computer engineering, electrical, aeronautics etc. For complete details, visit https://engineering.purdue.edu/ProEd/credit/graduate_degree_and_certificate.

Cost and Financial Aid

Cost of online master programs at Purdue are cheaper than that of the on-campus programs, but there aren’t many differences, given the fact that the quality of education imparted through video streaming and other online media. The credit wise charges for different online master degree programs are given on the official website of the university. According to it, the cost ranges between $30,000 and $45,000, as per the credit courses required to be taken.

USP

The real USP of the Purdue online courses would be the name of the university itself and the success enjoyed by the online graduates. As stated earlier, it is still early to say much about the courses but if the students verify the university claim that the courses are as effective as the on-campus courses, then the demand and popularity of these courses would certainly increase.

New GRE revised General Test is creating a lot of sensation amongst the GRE test takers. While most of the students will miss the simple and straightforward GER verbal questions based on synonyms, antonyms and analogies, there are those who actually welcome the GRE verbal reasoning in its new and more logical format. GRE quantitative reasoning doesn’t see much change, apart from the questions with multiple answers and little variation in GRE pattern score here and there.

An important question that has perplexed the students to no end is: will old GRE scores be valid after the new GRE comes into effect?  Put it other way: Will applicants with new GRE scores get higher preference in matters of admission?

The answer to first question is: Yes, universities will continue to accept GRE scores, not more than five years old.

The answer to the second question is: No, candidates will not be discriminated against on the basis of new or old GRE exam. Score or percentile from new GRE is as good as score or percentile from old GRE (ending in June 2011).

Therefore, logically the old GRE scores will be in use till June 2016 (since old GRE ends in June 2011). If you had taken GRE in 2009 or 2008, then rest assured that your scores are perfectly valid for admission purposes till 2014 or 2013, as the case may be.

ETS has stated it very clearly on its website that the universities are to allot equal weightage to the old and new GRE scores for similar percentile range. In case, a student submits an old GRE score and a new GRE score, then the universities should consider the scores from the newer version.

Someone asked me the other day, “You think I should give GRE? Well I know GRE is must if I want to do masters in the US, but then I am confused when to give the GRE exam but I know that it has to be before the year 2011 gets over. So please help me!”

GRE is indeed must if you want to gain admission for Master degree programs in the US. In fact, the good news is that GRE scores are accepted by business schools also, which means you do not need to appear for GMAT as only GRE scores will be sufficient for admission to the management courses as well as other master degree courses.

Now, coming to the question as to when in this year should you take GRE. Given that June is almost over and you will now be appearing for the new revised format of GRE 2011 that will come into effect from August, I’d suggest taking the test anywhere between September and December. If you want the early bird advantage by taking the test in September, then also you will have access to sufficient feedback from the test takers who appeared for the GRE in its first 30 or 45 days of revamp. Taking the test before October will give you a chance to take is again in December, if you are not satisfied with your scores. GRE has even announced a discount of 50 percent in the registration fee for those who register for exams scheduled in August and September. The test scores will start coming in only after October, so if you know that you haven’t done well, you can very well start preparing for second take before the end of the year.

The application deadline for courses beginning in Fall 2012 are usually in the month of January and therefore, it will be pretty much to your advantage if you have your GRE scores in the first week of December or preferably November. This way you can dedicate at least 30 to 60 days to the application procedure. As it is, the earlier you take GRE, the better it is. That way, you can concentrate entirely on the application procedure.

GRE computer based test is not available in all the countries. ETS conducts paper based tests also for those who do not wish to appear for GRE CAT or do not live near centers that provide computer based testing. However, paper based tests are not conducted throughout the year but on specific dates at various GRE centers, the list for which can be accessed on the ETS website.

The dates on which paper based tests will be conducted in the US, Canada and other countries are as follows: October 22, 2011, November 19, 2011 and February 11, 2012. This is obviously going to be the new GRE revised General test which will come in effect from August 2011. For paper tests scheduled in October and November, the GRE score sheets will be available according to the new schedule, that is by December 2011. Read more…

If you are aspiring to finish your master’s education in healthcare, medicine, engineering, finance, education or any other field, then you have to submit GRE scores. GRE or the Graduate Record Exam is conducted by the ETS and the scores are used by all the higher education universities in the US for selecting students for 5000 programs. The exam is conducted in computer based and paper based format throughout the year but you can take it only once a month and maximum five attempts in a given year.

The students in the US, Canada and many other countries can give the computer based GRE test any time throughout the year, on the basis of availability of the test center and date combination that they want. The proper GRE test schedule can be found on the ETS website along with the testing dates available at the time of candidate registration. Please note that if you want your GRE score sheet before November 2011, then appear for the GRE exam before the end of June 2011, means only 12 days are left.

The registration is open for the new GRE revised General Test beginning August 2011. The registration is strictly on the first come first serve basis and those taking the GRE exam in August and September will get 50 percent off on the GRE registration fee. The score sheet will be sent beginning November 8, 2011 and from November 29, 2011 onwards, the test score will be available within two weeks from the date of exam.

GRE dates 2011 are slightly different for the students in China, Hong-Kong, Taiwan and Korea. If you belong to any of these countries and are contemplating giving GRE, then go through the guidelines and GRE test schedule on the ETS website.

GRE or Graduate Record Examination is the gateway to admission in universities in the US to achieve your masters and post graduate degree. To get high scores in this exam students often take preparations in different GRE training centers. There are a number of GRE test preparation centers which provide full fledge training to the students and these institutes have branches in different cities. Students often get confused which coaching center or prep course package they should subscribe to, keeping in mind their budget and the expected increase in GRE scores. There are some steps which can be followed in order to select a good and efficient GRE training center. These steps are:

1)      At first, find out which prep companies have training centers in your locality. Make sure, that it is not too far from your house, because it is more important to invest more time in training than in commuting.

2)      You can ask your friends as well as seniors to give you good and effective suggestions. An experienced senior can definitely guide you well. Read more…

This is a short summative post on the myriad ways you can prepare for the all too crucial exam of your life that will ensure your place on a coveted master’s degree program at an elite international university in the US. Everyone knows what works the best for him or her. They do not need others to tell them that perhaps self learning is the best for you and a couple of good GRE guides will see you in the 95^th or 98^th percentile group. They are unlikely to listen to anybody telling them that, ‘hey, you do not seem to be motivated enough and therefore, you should join some GRE coaching center where the faculty will be after your life to brush through a topic or appear for multitude of tests and diagnose your performance’.

We will shortly see the ways in which one can prepare for GRE, but before that let’s be clear on the point of importance of online learning in today’s world. One cannot cut off the online practice tests published on the internet, free of cost, by various GRE prep websites. Therefore, in all the study methods mentioned below, there will be an integrated online edge. Similarly, one cannot discount the importance of books and guides altogether and simply rely on the digital material. This is essentially the era of blended learning, where the conventional and the contemporary modes of study converge to form the best fit methods for the test takers.

Let us then quickly look at the ways of preparing for the GRE

Self Study with GRE Prep Books: This method is suitable for the highly motivated scholars out there who exercise discipline in their study schedule and can study for 2 to 3 hours per day for the next two months without being distracted with little things happening around them. They know their areas of strength in quantitative reasoning and verbal power, know how good or bad they are writing analytical essays and are quite capable of analyzing their practice test scores.

There are various test prep book in the market, now even for new GRE revised General Test, by publishers such as Barron’s, Kaplan, Princeton Review etc. These books contain lucid explanations on the different mathematical and verbal concepts along with 1000s of practice questions, answers, keys and full-fledge tests. Apps have also been developed to supplement the overall preparation efforts.

Online Tutoring Sessions: This is again for self motivated students who may do better with some hands on tutoring with respect to certain concepts and testing strategy. They do not have to look too far for help but just visit the World Wide Web and sign up for online tutoring sessions for GRE prep. These are on hourly basis and a good number of them are provided free of cost for first couple of hours or so. Then there are such websites as Khan Academy that provide free tutorials on various mathematical concepts and though some of them may be not oriented towards GRE prep, it doesn’t hurt to watch the tutorials which have been proved to be pretty effective.

The main advantage of online tutoring sessions is that you the test preparers can get the required help easily and without having to move out of the house and waste precious time.

In some countries, the Barron’s New GRE book has already been released while in some others, its release is scheduled to be on July 1, 2011. The book is very much available on Amazon, if you wish to purchase. Barron’s books are catechism for GRE, right? GRE test takers over the years would agree with me. Therefore, when the ETS announced some highly motivational changes in the GRE format and the question pattern, it was only natural that Barron’s would adapt the guide book to incorporate the changes.

All the three sections, GRE quantitative reasoning, GRE Verbal reasoning and GRE Analytical Writing have been modified along the lines of the changes announced by the ETS. The verbal reasoning section now includes both types of sentence completion questions, those requiring single answer and those requiring multiple answers. Same goes with reading comprehension too.

The Quantitative section now contains numeric entry, single choice and multiple choice answers in addition to the regular data interpretation questions. Moreover, there are 1000s of practice questions, a diagnostic test and two full length GRE tests for the students to practice. The answers, keys and thorough analysis are also supplied by the publishers. The book costs between $12 and $20, depending upon various offers and discounts by the dealers.