Components of the application package

Admission to graduate programs in the U.S. requires a strong academic background,

good command of English, fine reasoning skills and strong writing abilities, together
with a steady interest in your own field of study. How will you demonstrate all this?

Your application package is the answer. The application to U.S. grad schools is very
comprehensive and is intended to offer a complex picture of the applicant, seen from
a multitude of angles.

The application package is meant to allow a holistic evaluation of the applicant's
potential for success in graduate school. Therefore admissions will depend on:
Official transcripts
Results in the standardized tests
Statement of purpose
Letters of recommendation

Official transcripts
You will need to submit official records documenting past education.
Your official transcripts (foaie matricola) - together with your
bachelor's degree (diploma de licenta), in case you have graduated
already - will demonstrate that you are eligible for admission to a
graduate program. In the U.S., an official transcript is a document
issued by the university you have attended. As a result, it will bear
the school stamp (stampila) and the dean's signature. That is why
notarized copies (copii legalizate) may fail to meet this requirement.
The official transcript will show the courses taken and the grades
obtained. The grades will appear in the Romanian format and will
be interpreted by the U.S. admissions staff. You don't need to
improvise equivalencies: a GPA (grade point average stands for media generala) of
8.6 will be the equivalent of 3.1 - according to www.princetonreview.com - and the
admissions committee will know how to handle it. Many Romanian students were
able to make English translations of their official transcripts and had them verified by
the school secretariat, signed by the Dean and sealed by the Dean's secretary. Such
a document that provides information on your academic performance, is written in
English, shows the grades in the Romanian system and bears the Dean's signature
as well as the school stamp serves as a perfect official transcript.
Many U.S. schools will prefer to have the transcripts sent directly by the school.
Romanian schools are not used to the procedure, so Romanian applicants will
commonly have the transcripts sealed in an envelope stamped by the school and
proceed from there. If you feel this type of official transcript is impossible for you to
obtain, you can always go through a notary public and submit two sets of documents:
a notarized copy of your academic record, accompanied by a notarized English
translation and a notarized copy of the bachelor's diploma, with English translation, if
you have graduated and the diploma is available

Results in the standardized tests
As a non-native speaker of English, you'll have to prove
that you can communicate effectively in a U.S. academic
environment. The TOEFL test gauges precisely this
ability. Take advantage of the opportunity to have your TOEFL score mailed to 4
schools free of charge and indicate their codes when registering for the test. You'll
save time and money! Be prepared to take the TOEFL again if the validity period is
coming to a close.

Graduate admissions tests like the GRE and the GMAT provide a standardized
criterion for comparing the applicants' abilities. Most graduate programs require the
GRE General and GRE Subject, if applicable, while MBA programs tend to prefer the
GMAT. Both the GRE and the GMAT offer a number of free score reports, just like
the TOEFL.

Statement of purpose
Both the GRE and the GMAT will require you to write
essays. But you'll also have the opportunity to prove
your writing abilities through the personal
statement which is a must of any graduate application.
The personal statement fares under many names, such
as statement of purpose, graduate essay, etc. While in
the essays that are part of the standardized tests you
write under the pressure of the time limit imposed by the
test conditions, with your personal statement you face
no such constraints. Take all the time you need to write
the best statement that you can! Use the personal statement to enhance your
chances of admission: make it clear and to the point, persuasive and most revealing
of your personality, aspirations and career goals. If you can make it memorable, so
much the better!
Be selective with the information you include and answer the question posed by the
department. A thorough knowledge of the department will help: you will be able to
highlight the match with the department you are applying to and to tailor your
personal statement to the specific program. The admissions committee will be
delighted to see evidence of careful research about their program. You'll also
demonstrate maturity and commitment, a clear vision, and much more.
The statement of purpose commonly addresses four main issues:
- your interest in pursuing a graduate education (the career goals you have in mind,
reasons for your decision to do graduate study, past experience that supports it, etc.);
- your specific academic or research interests, coupled with intellectual maturity and
knowledge of your field of study;
- reasons for your interest in a particular institution and degree program. Since you'll
write the personal statement with a specific graduate program in mind, you'll be wise
to mention research topics and professors you are interested in, courses you are
planning to take, remarkable research or teaching facilities at the institution, unique
features of the program, etc.
- your offer to the department: the specific contribution you can make in terms of your
academic background, abilities, and other talents and interests you may have.

The personal statement is also a fine opportunity to explain any inconsistencies or
weaknesses in your application. Even if a good essay won't be able to compensate
for weak credentials, a bad essay can seriously hurt your admissions chances. Will
you run this risk?
In terms of format, the following are more common:
open-ended biographical essay in which you explain whatever you think the
admissions committee should know about you;
response to a specific question, for example "Why do you want a career in
?"
Whatever its format, look upon the graduate essay as a substitute for a personal
interview with the admissions committee. Therefore show good judgment, maturity,
and a professional attitude. Demonstrate focus and show that your area of interest
and research is well defined. Be clear and realistic about your reasons for attending
graduate school. Explain your future objectives in light of your past. Use past
achievements to show that you have the academic skills, the maturity and the
determination to make the most of the graduate experience.
See what a department chairman has to say on the graduate essay: "Admissions to
our department is very competitive and essays make a big difference. After two days
of deliberation we'll be trying to cut the top ninety applicants down to fifteen. They all
have straight A averages, high GREs, and all the recommendations say, "This is the
best student I've had in twenty-five years'. All we've got left to go on is the statement
of purpose and papers they've written. That's why the statement of purpose
is SO important: it's where the student has a chance to establish a personal voice, to
appear unique in a situation where everyone looks the same." (Getting what you
came for. The smart student's guide to earning a Master's or Ph.D., by Robert
Peters, p. 84. The book, together with a rich reference collection, is available for free
in our study room.)

Letters of recommendation
The letters of recommendation are meant to shed new
light on the applicant and add to the information offered by the other elements of the
application. U.S. grad programs usually require at least two letters of
recommendation which will describe your work and potential for success as a
graduate student.
Who would make a good referee (also called recommender or reference) for you? In
case you are a recent graduate or are still in college, you'll surely ask professors who
have taught you in the past. If you graduated years ago or you're heading for a
professional program, then you'll be wise to ask for references from your employers.
Professor or employer, your referee will know you well, will appreciate you for the
quality of your work and, hopefully, for your personality, and will be able to write
convincingly about your achievements and potential for success in grad school.
You may also find eager referees who are willing to support your application but don't
really know how to write a powerful letter of recommendation. And they may not be
aware of the significant weight of recommendations in the admissions process in the
US. What can you do? Read on...
Successful recommendations in four easy steps:

1. Ask your referees to write the recommendations on their own letterhead in
English. If the U.S. university sends you recommendation forms with the application,
ask your referee to fill that in (it's usually a table in which the referees will place ticks;
it'll only take 2 minutes) and write a narrative about you on a separate sheet, with
letterhead and everything. The space available on the recommendation form is
usually very limited.

2. The first paragraph of the recommendation will include information on the referee
and their professional status, followed by information on their relationship with the
applicant. Only a professional relationship is relevant for recommendation purposes:
the opening part of the reference will include information on the type and amount of
experience the referee has with the applicant's academic work or employment.

3. The main part of the recommendation will be devoted to highlighting the applicant's
strong points that recommend him/her for admission to the respective graduate
program. Here we have a major cultural difference: in the U.S. the recommender is
expected to provide evidence of the applicant's abilities in the form of an anecdote
(the anecdote, in the American acceptation of the word, is "a short interesting story
about a particular person or event", Longman Dictionary of American English). It
is the story that will reveal to the admissions committee the applicant's strengths:
they don't need to be told that the applicant is, say, talented and has team spirit, if the
anecdote conveys precisely this message, and it does so in a much more compelling
way.

4. The final part of the recommendation will ideally attempt to highlight the
compatibility between the applicant and the graduate program. As such, it is wise to
brief your referees about your graduate study plans, where you would like to apply,
what makes the respective study programs appealing to you, etc. This information
will help the referee emphasize the match between the department and the applicant.
The match is the key to success and admission.
For more tips on successful recommendation letters join our Group Advising
Sessions on graduate admissions scheduled every month.


Make sure your application also includes:
- the financial statement. Some universities will require you to document your ability
to pay for your graduate education. You can indicate in this form that you'll need
financial assistance, but you may prefer to deal with departments which consider
your application first, and look at your financial need only after. Other departments
make it clear in their website that all admitted students are funded through one form
of financial aid or another. That's the type of school Romanian students usually want.
- the application form. Necessarily neat and clear! Most Romanian students can't
provide a Social Security Number. You can leave the section blank, or write "none" or
n/a ("not applicable").
- the application fee. This non-refundable fee that the university charges for
processing your application needs to accompany your application. The fee usually
ranges between $40-100 and needs to be paid in U.S. dollars. It can be paid by bank
check or debit/credit card, in the same way you pay to register for a standardized test.
If you are an exceptional candidate and the student profile shows that you are
significantly above the average applicant to the program, you may like to elegantly
negotiate an application fee waiver.