Of MS/PhD Applications and Research Experience

Posted by the Monk as Academic, GRE, Uncategorized

Warning: long post ahead.

This is my first post on this forum, and before I start rambling on about some arbit topic or the other, let me introduce myself, particularly for the benefit (or otherwise) of those who don’t know me/are not from my batch. I’m Varun Ramamohan, Batch of 2007 and according to my degree certificate, a Production engineer. I’m currently working at Oracle Solutions Services India, although I shall be quitting soon to pursue a PhD in Applied Operations Research at Purdue University.

Abhijith has prepared a very useful document for those of our juniors interested in applying to US universities for their specialization, and I figured I would prepare a similar one for those applying for a PhD in IE/OR, as Abhijith’s document seems to target (although it is not mentioned explicitly anywhere) those who have already received an admit and the steps that follow.

Since most NITTians looking to study further opt for either an MBA or an MS, let me explain, as I perceive it, the difference between the exams involved thereof*. First of all, there’s the CAT- a two and a half hour exam, and those 2.5 hours can make or break your dreams of pursuing an MBA in the IIMs. There is no avoiding this first hurdle, and clearing it is, as is obvious, a must. And that’s the basic difference. All your other preparation- the extracurriculars, religious reading of the Economic or Financial Times, can go down the drain if you don’t make the cut-offs in CAT. This is not so in case you’re looking to do an MS/PhD in the US. The GRE is just one part of your profile, and an easily compensated part if you don’t do too well in the profile. I personally think the Graduate Admissions Committee pays attention to your GRE score only if your score is too high or too low- for example, if your score is below 1200 or close to 1600. Even then, it will not make too much of a difference if the other features of your profile compensate or are not too impressive. If your Quantitative ability score is less than 770, though, it might hurt your chances.

What, then, are the other features of your profile? First, and by far the most important, will be your research experience. Suppose you have a 1100 GRE score, a 6-point CGPA, but you have published two papers in your area of specialization in IEEE journals (or even moderately reputed international journals), or have a couple of patents, you can safely go ahead and apply for, say, two universities out of the top ten in your field. On the other hand, replace the 6-point CGPA by an 8/9-point one and the 1100 score by a 1300+ score, I think you can give Caltech, MIT, Stanford, etc a shot. And there’s a fairly decent chance you’ll make it as well, with funding. This, I think, holds true for both an MS and a PhD.

How do you build up research experience? That’s easy: you conduct research. In general, if you are applying for a Masters immediately after you finish your B.Tech, you should have decided on doing an MS by the end of your fourth semester. At the latest, by the end of the fifth semester. It is not necessary that you decide your specialization by then; that can be done by mid-sixth semester. Two research projects are in order now: one during the summer break after your fourth semester, and the other after your six semester. The former can be done in any area that has interested you so far, but the latter should be done in the field you want to specialize in, which may or may not be the same as the field you worked on during your second-year project.

Where do you do these projects? It will be difficult for second years to find a project in one of the IITs/IISc/CSIR-Labs immediately without pulling strings, but it can be done if you meet one of the professors personally and express genuine interest in working with him/her. In case you do not get a project anywhere, try our own college. Find out which professor is doing good work, talk to him/her and, again, express genuine interest in working with him/her. It is unlikely that you will be refused. What do you do after you land a project? Work hard. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get good results immediately; you’re probably not expected to anyway. But if you work hard and show genuine interest, you will most likely be invited to return to the lab next vacation, which you can do if you find the work/field interesting. Perhaps the best thing about working in NITT is that you can continue the work even after the break’s over; also, you may get more time at home precisely because you can work during the semester itself.

The post-third-year project is a very important one. By now, you should have decided on the field you want to specialize in, and look for projects in the same. Again, you can try the IITs and IISc. Of late, most IITs and IISc- at least, IITK and IITM that I know of- have set up summer research fellowships which are awarded to a few students from each department from the NITs. Unfortunately, most of these fellowships are awarded on the basis of only one criterion: your CGPA. But then, IISc itself offers three fellowships- JNCASR, YEFP and IAS-IISc joint fellowship. All details can be found on IISc’s website. These are the best- get one of these, and you can rest assured you will be able to work with people doing good research, and it will add a lot to your resume.

Ideally, the work you do in this project should build upon on what you have done in your previous project. However, it is not easy to do this, especially if you find other subjects you’ve come across in your third year have now caught your interest. In this case, you can start afresh, but keep in mind that the amount of work you can get done in two months will not be much, unless you start preparatory work during the semester itself. One major advantage of having done your project at NITT is that you can easily continue the work done as your post-third-year project provided, of course, your field of interest does not change. Even if it does, you can still start early by approaching and talking to the professor early on in the semester.

If you’re lucky, your work will result in a publication or two, or perhaps a patent if you’re working on an experimental project or you’re developing software. This will boost your chances of making into any university by a huge margin, as this is tangible proof of your being able to conduct research. Keep in mind that the universities evaluate your potential for research from a distance- they haven’t met you, and neither have they spoken to you, so a paper/patent is independent, objective evidence of your potential for research. It is, in general, easier to publish quickly if you’re doing experimental work, or if you’re working in the chemical or biological sciences. It takes a lot more time and work to publish theoretical findings, as validation may involve generation of data previously not available. This is one of the reasons why people working in the biological/chemical sciences generally have more than 100 publications while people working on the theoretical side have less than 50.

Now, for those applying for a PhD immediately for the Fall semester immediately following the summer after you pass out, you will not be able leverage much out of your final year project for research experience. This is a pity, for I believe it can do a great deal for your profile if you do good work in your final year project (FYP). The most you can do in this case is state that you’ve begun work in- this is important- the field you’ll be specializing under so-and-so guide, and that you’ll have close to six months worth of experience by the time you pass out of college. Nothing like it, though, if your FYP is a continuation of the work you have already done. For those who are applying after, say, a year or two of working (like me), your FYP will be your holy cow, and I suggest you milk it for all it is worth (and then perhaps some more).

I think I’ll wind up for now with research experience; I’ll touch upon the rest in my next post. Keep in mind that these fundae are based solely upon my own experience, and please do let me know if I’ve left anything out or if I’m mistaken on some point. Vikhram, Shriram, etc have already done a great job in preparing ROTGAD, but I thought I’d chip in with my two cents.

*I think I can talk a little bit about the CAT in general, as I scored a percentile score of 99.30 this year, and was shortlisted for GD/PI by IIMs I and K. However, I’m not at all qualified to speak about how to prepare for the CAT, as it was an arbit attempt.

 

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April 3, 2008 | Filed Under Academic, GRE, Uncategorized 

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One Response to “Of MS/PhD Applications and Research Experience”

  1. That Four Letter Word » NITTians.com on April 25th, 2008 3:52 pm

    […] that we’re done with research experience, I’ll deal with the dreaded C-word: the CGPA, or your academic record. Yup, that three digit […]

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