We are trying to build up this apper's FAQs so that the appers can get all their apping related answers all at one place. Apper's can post your questions here and we will try to answer at our best. If you need information about the apping procedure, consider going through our most trusted apper's fundae by Nitin Bahadur CSE99.

DISCLAIMER: These are not absolute final answers and should be followed at one's own discretion.
Alumni are requested to email anoop.gupta@cse02.itbhu.org with suggestions.

Q. Is it necessary to report ur GRE/TOEFL scores in the preapp mail/letter to request application material?
A. Almost all CS schools have complete applications online, or at least they have all application forms online. You should print and use them. Do preapp only if forms are not available online, and then it should be fine to request app material without the scores, just mention the date when u are taking the exams.

Q. What are the application deadline of some high ranked univs?
A. Make sure to check the deadlines for each of the univs separately. Some of them can have deadlines of as early as 1st Decemeber. Most univs will have deadlines around 15th Dec or 31st Dec. But, especially if you need to send application by post then avoid the Christmas - New Year rush period from 20th Dec to 5th Jan.

Q. If we take GRE in first week of Nov, will we be able to apply in all univs for admission for Fall next year?
A. Earlier you finish off GRE/Toefl the better. If you have the scores, it helps you to decide your univs, and so proffing and avoiding clashes with classmates can also be more focused. Hence, lesser tension and better results. Plan to finish off exams by September or early October for a better app plan. However, it is still possible to apply even if you are taking GRE in Nov or in the worst case Dec. But, taking in Dec can be a risk at some univs.

Q. How much does GRE score matter?
A. A very high score like ~1550/1600 can increase chances for fellowships at some places. Otherwise ~1400/1600 is a good score. It depends on the school you are targetting, for some high univs verbal should be 580+ or else they don't consider your application, for other univs students with even ~520 have got aid. So, after you have your score, you may contact alumni from different univs to determine your chances.

Q. In which univ does IT-BHU guys have a chance?
A. Check the apping history database. It will much depend on your credentials.

Q. Is it ok if we apply after one year of job?
A. One year job doesn't really get you additional advantage in getting admission. It might help if you were fortunate enuf to get some project in your field of interest and that project was also of interest to some prof you contact. Best option is to apply in your senior year. If you finally plan to app after 1 year job then make sure that you maintain/improve your GPA in your 4th year at IT-BHU. Yea, one advantage is that you can earn money and then apply with that!

Q. Do u get some extra advantage if u go right after B-Tech rather than job?
A. The only adv I can think of is that once you get schol, you don't need to worry about maintaining your GPA! Also, you don't loose a year academically.

Q. How cool is cutle these days?
A. Depends very much on the school. At most places it seems to be cool though! If you want to know the cutle status of a particular school you should ask a senior from that school.

Q. When to apply, fall or spring program, for better schol chances?
A. Most schools have aid program for fall only. Many schools don't even consider applications for Spring. Usually it is possible to ask for a defer till spring or next fall after getting admit/aid for fall.

Q. By what time do we get schol?
A. March end to april. Only some univs PhD results by Feb end like Stan or UTAustin, where PhD admission is different than MS.

Q. When should I start contacting professors through email privately? What exactly should one write in the body? What is the main focus/ theme of the mail?
A. June-July, Aug end and Oct-Nov would be a good time avoiding begining semesters and exam periods here, when the profs. are too busy.
* Dont spam all profs, choose a few profs in ur field! Usually if a prof gets interested in u then he might discuss ur case with other faculty in that group. So, email only one prof from the group at a time. If you don't hear from that prof for a week, then send email to some other prof in that group.
* Say that u r interested in their project. Tell them about any related work/research/paper u have. Point them to ur papers. Avoid attachments, giving links is better. Ask them if they think that ur credentials are good and that you stand a chance to get admitted with aid.

Q. I have recos and projects in XYZ field but I want MS/PhD in ABC field, what to do?
A. For better chances of admission/schol apply in XYZ as your main field and you may mention in SOP that you are also interested in ABC. Many people switch their fields after admission, when they take courses of their interests!

Q. How much of an initial investment in terms of money?
A. Exams: GRE/AGRE/TOEFL/TSE: If u take all = ~Rs 30,000/-
Apps:
App fee: avg $50. For 8 schools = ~Rs 20,000/-
Posting: Rs 1600 per packet - with ur BHU ID card u can get 50% discount by DHL so Rs 800 per packet. For 8 schools = ~ Rs 6,400/-
Score reporting: If u report intelligently while taking the exams then you will have to report by payment at very few places. Lets say ~ Rs 5000/- for all score reposrts
PlaneTicket: ~Rs 35,000/-
Money to US: (for the 1st time) ~ Rs 75,000/-

So I would say maximum of 1.75 lakh Rs including exams + apping + plane ticket + initial amount carried to US!

Q. How does doing a summer internship in a Company and not doing a res. proj. under some Prof. at an insti. affect my chances when apping?
A. All that training under prof helps is getting a reco and may be publishing a paper if u work really hard. A publication can help a lot in apping. However, good company reco also adds to ur resume.

Q. How important are AGRE scores for admissions ? Specifically , do you know any university where it is compulsory?
A. There is absolutely no corelation between AGRE scores and admission. It depends on a lot of factors most importantly being the lot of applicants in the university where u r applying. I have seen cases of guys getting 70-80 percentile go to higher univs compared to guys getting 90+ (and the grades and GRE were almost identical)

Q. If i dont get a very good score on AGRE, is it ok not to report it?
A. If it is required by the univ then you have to report it. If it is not required or is just 'recommended' then you need not report it.

Q. I am planning to take AGRE in india only, I remember that we were adviced to take it in Nepal. Is that still valid?
A. Well the idea was that questions from Nov sometimes get repeated in April. But, given the state of Nepal's political scenario, I would strongly suggest to avoid it.

Q. The distribution of the questions from different topics in AGRE.
A. Follow the official guide. It is pretty much same.