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How
to Fill Out the Application?
Neatness is important.
Before filling out the original application, answer the
questions on a separate sheet of paper. You risk delay or even
denial of admission if you send an incomplete application.
University admissions committees will not review your
application without recommendations and transcripts which must
be officially authorized in English. If possible, make a
copy of the completed application for your records. |
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Personal
Data
-
Address -- Make
clear to the university your most reliable address. Permanent
address is your home address, where your parents
live. Mailing address is your current address,
for example if you are living away from home in a
dormitory. You should write the address that you want
the university to use for all correspondence. If your
mailing and permanent addresses are the same, write
the word "same". You should not translate
names of streets, rather translate the Bengali
names into English letters.
-
Telephone Number
-- international code for Bangladesh is 880. Your
number is 02-(Dhaka city code)-number.
-
Social Security
Number -- If you have never lived in the US, you can
leave this blank; you do not have a social security
number. The university will assign you an
identification number.
Visa
Types
In almost all cases,
foreign students studying in the United States are issued
visa type F-1 (F-2 for spouses). Visa type J-1 may be
issued if you are receiving support from the US
government, your home government, or private foundations.
You may prefer one type of visa over another, but the
university will make the final decision.
Test
Scores
Universities often
ask you to write the results of TOEFL, SAT, GRE, etc.
tests on the application. This does NOT substitute for
official scores sent by the Educational Testing Service (ETS)
from Princeton. If you have not taken the tests or do not
know your scores, simply put the date on which you took or
plan to take the examinations. You can still mail your
application to the university even if you haven't yet
taken the exams. (And ETS can send your official scores to
the university even if you have not yet sent in your
application. They will create a file for you and hold the
scores.)
Educational
Background
Translate directly
from Bengali to English items about your educational
background and degrees. In general, Bangladeshi degrees
should be translated as "SSC", "HSC",
and "Bachelor of Sciences".
GPA means
"Grade Point Average". The US uses a 4-point
system. You should NOT try to calculate your average based
on the American system. To calculate your grade average,
you sum the marks received, and then divide that sum by
the total number of courses. For example, a person with
the courses and marks in the table below would write:
Course
Marks
Since class rank
does not exist in Bangladesh schools, leave this
section blank.
When answering how
many years of English language study you have had, only
count formal training in an educational institution. If
you have informal training at home or with a personal
teacher, write that separately.
When describing your
knowledge of English and other foreign languages, evaluate
your ability HONESTLY -- don't be afraid to speak highly
of yourself but don't overestimate your ability either.
Rate yourself in the areas of reading, speaking, and
writing. The words most used to describe language ability
are "excellent", "good",
"fair", and "poor". Include knowledge
of any other foreign languages and Bengali. Your first
language should be described as "native".
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Academic Honors
Some examples are: Scholarships you
may have received for good results, recommendation to
participate in Student Scientific Society, and any
published work. If you have many publications, include
them on a separate sheet.
Extra-Curricular
and Community Activities
Students should be sure to indicate
all extra-curricular activities such as participation in
special clubs, athletics, theater, musical activities,
writing, etc. This is especially important for
undergraduates. Colleges and universities are interested
in "well-rounded" undergraduate students who
have other interests besides academic pursuits. If you
received awards or prizes for participating, note them.
Often high school and college
students in the US are involved in unpaid, volunteer work.
They may spend a few hours a week assisting with patients
in a hospital or serving food to homeless people in a soup
kitchen, for example. Even if you have not been part of an
official program, write anything that can be considered
service to the community.
Application for admission is
considered separate from application for financial aid,
therefore admission is not jeopardized by requests for
financial aid.
If you and/or your parents earn an
average salary, the financial section is not crucial
because you do not have enough funds to pay. Fill out this
section as best you can. When completing tables, fill in
the equivalent dollar amount, using the current taka:
dollar
exchange rate. Indicate what the current rate is and
explain that it changes daily due to inflation.
If you and/or your parents earn
dollars or a very high salary, you may have funds to
contribute to your education.
Depending on the university, you may
be asked to provide actual proof of your financial status,
either when filling out the application or after you have
been accepted. This proof can be a stamped and signed
letter from your and/or your parents' employers stating
the monthly salaries, and/or official bank statements
showing the balance in your account.
If you are unable to pay for your
education, or can only pay part of the costs, indicate
that you want them to consider you for all types of
financial aid. Be sure to check all boxes indicating
teaching and research assistantships and fellowships.
It is best to be
completely truthful about your financial situation.
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The statement of purpose
is an extremely important part of the
application because it gives the faculty
assessing your application their most
significant impression of you as an individual.
What are your motivations? Do you write clearly?
Do your interests really fit those of the
department or school? Can you communicate your
ideas effectively? Are there special things
about you that set you apart from other
applicants and make you particularly desirable
as a student?
You should probably write
a general statement of purpose as the first step
in even considering graduate school. Writing
your ideas and goals down on paper should help
you clarify your thinking. If you can get things
down in no more than 3 double-spaced typed
pages, you probably have a good idea of what you
really want to do. The statement should reflect
your own intellectual development. One way to
show that is to discuss the points in your life
when you made decisions and what influenced them
-- the decision on a college major, the decision
on a career goal, the family members and role
models who inspired you.
Once you have a general
statement, you can tailor it to specific
programs to which you are applying by talking
about the reasons you chose the program -- how
it fits your background and interests. The
application materials may give you a specific
format for the statement of purpose or ask you
to respond to specific questions, but in all
cases, faculty members are interested in your
motivation, your intellectual skills, and your
suitability for their particular program.
The general statement of
purpose is also a good vehicle to use to
approach faculty members for recommendations.
Make an appointment with a faculty member to
discuss your statement and ask for comments
before you put it into final form. Also ask for
a letter of recommendation after you have had
the discussion. You will have valuable feedback
on your statement, and you will be demonstrating
your seriousness and interest in graduate
school.
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