Applying to graduate school at US universities and getting admitted with financial aid

Noureddine Tayebi, PhD in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University

Diplome D’Ingenieur from Ecole Nationale Polytechnique (ENP)
Distribute to whomever might be interested in pursuing graduate studies in the USA

1. Brief background
Each year, tens of thousands of students apply to graduate school in the US from around the world in all fields
of study and many get admitted for the MS and PhD programs with financial aid from the admitting university.
In fact, over 50% of graduate students in US universities are foreigners/international students who come from
all regions of the world. Most of whom get such financial aid. Financial aid can be in the form of a research
assistantship, teaching assistantship or a fellowship. There is no special or additional application for financial aid
which is usually offered at the time of admission.
This document details a step-by-step process on how to apply to increase one’s chance to be admitted with
financial aid. This is a process I followed when I was a student at ENP and with which I helped many Algerian
students get admission with financial aid at a US university. I, myself, received admission to the best US
universities with financial aid including Stanford University, MIT, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Cornell University, among others. It also allowed students in non-engineering fields, such as linguistics and
political science, as well as students with average as low as 10/20 get admission with financial aid (although not
necessarily to the best universities). Note that although this is valid for many fields such as Engineering,
Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, there are still exceptions which can include Medical school,
Law school and MBA programs.
In what follows, I will first describe the various financial aids available. This will be followed by the application
process and requirements. I will then give tips on what one can do to increase his/her chances.

2. Forms of financial aid

All forms of financial aids described below pay for all the tuition fees (frais d’inscription), which are very high for
international students. They also provide a monthly stipend (bourse) that the student uses for living expenses
(room and board).
Research Assistantship: The duties of a Graduate Research Assistant (RA) primarily involve pursuing research for
a research group that is led by a faculty/professor. This research usually goes towards the MS or PhD thesis of
the student. Most often, RAs are a mutual agreement between the faculty/professor and the student. So it is
important during the application process to contact faculty/professors directly to inquire about possibilities to
join their groups. I will expand on this subsequently.
Teaching Assistantship: The duties of a Graduate Teaching Assistant (TA) are to primarily support a
faculty/professor in teaching his/her class. Such responsibilities include: teaching classes, grading homework
and exams, leading lab sessions and offering office hours. TAships are usually offered directly by the
department in which the student is enrolled in.
Fellowship: This is the best form of financial aid for graduate students as it allows them to
pursue graduate studies without associated teaching or research responsibilities, i.e. RA or TA. This means they
have the flexibility and time to choose their faculty research advisor, not be dependent on availability of
research funds, or teaching availabilities. Fellowships are merit-based and are decided either at the
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departmental or college levels. They are usually given to the very best applicants. There are also external
fellowships but these are usually a few for international students. Among these are Fulbright scholarships but
those come with strings attached during and after graduation such as not having a choice on which university to
go to and returning right after graduation for at least two years. Having said that, one should pursue those kinds
of programs actively in parallel.

3. Application process
Each year, at the start of the academic year (around September), all departments in US universities start the
application process for the following academic year. For example, in September 2016, the process for the 2017-
18 academic year will begin. The application deadlines, i.e., the last day by which all application items
(described below) have to be received, varies from a university to another and sometime even from one
department to another within the same university. It is usually sometime in December to early February. So it is
important that the applicant checks and makes sure that these deadlines are met as non-complete applications
will be immediately rejected no matter how promising a student might be. You will usually get a response
sometime between February up to as late as May. Most responses (acceptance or rejections) are made by
March 15.
I suggest applicants check the graduate school ranking by US news which can be found in the following link:
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools. Choose your general field of study
(e.g. Engineering). There is also departmental ranking that goes by specialty. If one clicks on the
university/department, it will take him/her to their website with details on the application process. I always
recommend students apply to 3-4 top schools (top 20), 3-4 schools in second tier (between Top 20 and 40) and
3-4 schools in third tier (between Top 40 and 60) so to increase their chances to be admitted with financial aid.
Then choose the best option from what they got. Note that the highest ranking schools such as MIT, Stanford,
Berkeley, Caltech, etc are very competitive and usually students that get admitted in such schools are in the top
10 of their schools, with great recommendation letters, GRE and TOEFL scores, as well as extra
accomplishments such as research experience (ideally with conference or journal publication), internships,
extracurricular activities, e.g., involvement in student clubs, social activities, etc. I will further discuss this
subsequently.
There are five elements to the application: (1) Transcripts (relevés de notes), (2) TOEFL which is a standardized
English test required for all foreign students whose mother tong is not English, (3) GRE which is another
standardized test required for all students including US students and that tests your verbal, math and analytical
reasoning and critical thinking, (4) 3 recommendation letters and, (5) finally the statement of purpose. I will
discuss each element in more detail below.
As I mentioned above, there are additional elements that are not required but can significantly help in getting
admitted such as prior research experience, publications in conference and journals, internships and
extracurricular activities such as leadership positions in students clubs or socially driven organizations.
The admissions committee will look at the application as a whole and will decide on whether to admit or not
and if admit whether to provide financial aid or not. Ideally, you want to maximize your chances by having the
best elements especially if you are shooting for the best US universities.
Finally, note that there is an application fee that needs to be paid for applying. This varies from university to
another and is usually between $40 to $120 (around 4000DA to 12000 DA) per application. So if you apply to say
10 universities, this can be VERY COSTLY. For those who cannot afford it, we (some Algerians currently living in the
US) can help pay for such fees but that will be a case-based decision based on the attributes of the student.

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(1) Transcripts (relevés de notes): Transcripts (relevés de notes) from all undergraduate studies (first year and
up) up to the point of application are required, e.g., if you are in a 5-year engineering school (Ecole), and you
want to apply for the year after graduation, say the 2017-18 academic year, that means you should start the
process in September 2016 and submit Transcripts for the first 4 years. If you have completed your degree, you
should submit transcripts from all years.
Note that you need to send an official transcript to each university. Copies are usually not accepted. Sometimes
they will accept certified copies but they will require you give them official transcripts before you start in case
you get admitted. You also need to send official transcripts in the original language joined with officially
translated transcripts into English. You can do it at a certified translation office, but that can become very
expensive especially if you are applying to say 10 universities and each school might request up to two official
ones. I suggest (that’s what I did) you translate them yourself and have the studies office at your university
stamp them with official seal. That way you have official English transcripts from your university. You need to
insist on that with the studies office as some are reluctant to do it. If this does not work, you can always
translate them in a certified translation office.
Also, if you are very well ranked, I suggest you get a ranking form from your department or university stating what
that ranking is. What I did is that I wrote a letter myself and had the department head read it, make sure it is true
and sign/stamp it.
Finally, I want to mention that the grading system in the US is very different than the Algerian one which follows
the French system. The US system uses letter grades (A, B, C, D). Many students try to convert grades to this
system but I say they should not do that. Sometimes, one can get 12/20 and still be first in his/her class. In the US
system, that would correspond to an A because the student was ranked first (i.e., grades are curved), whereas a
12/20 if literally taken could be at best a B in the US system. So I say keep your grades as is and include ranking. It
also helps if you get a letter from the department head or director of studies mentioning how the grading system
works. I, in fact, did that with a letter I prepared which was read and verified by the department head who
signed/stamped it.

(2) TOEFL: which stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. This is a test required for all foreign students
whose native language is not English and Algerians are obviously no exception. More information on the test
can be found in the ETS website through the following link: http://www.ets.org/toefl. This is currently offered in
Algeria a few times a year and the link above can help you find where and when these tests are administered.
The cost of the test is ~$200 which is about 23000DA. This can be very expensive on many students. Again for
those who cannot afford it, we can help them pay for it.
The minimum score varies from university to another and the US news link I gave above which, by clicking
appropriately, will take you to requirements of each university/department and the minimum TOEFL score they
require.
Ideally, you want to shoot for at least a score of a 100 if not more especially if you are shooting for one of the
top schools. Note that the minimum score won’t guarantee you admission but will only guarantee that the
admissions committee will look at your application.
I suggest if your English is not good is to start taking English classes. There are many English private centers in
Algeria that do that. Again these can be pricy. If you cannot afford it, we can help.
Once your English level has improved. You should start studying for test. There are lots of preparation
resources especially today on the web. A simple google search for TOEFL preparation resources can get you
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bunch. ETS also has bunch (Click on the hyperlink): Quick Prep, Sample Questions, TOEFL Talks, registration,
TOEFL TV, TOEFL Planner
There are also preparation books from, e.g., Barron’s, Princeton review, Kaplan, that one can buy, but those can
be expensive and might not be available. If there is a large interest. I’m willing to buy them with the condition
they are made available to everyone interested.
Note that even if your English is very good, you should still prepare for the test as it’s also a timed test and speed is
very important. So even if your English is very good, but are slow, your score will be low because you would not
have answered all questions.
My recommendation is that you start preparing for this test two years before you graduate if not before especially
if your English is poor. In my case my English was poor. I started at the beginning of my fourth year which was a
bit tight as my tests were taken and validated right before the application deadlines.
Note that this is a test that can be taken as many times as you want and only the best score will be taken into
account. So I suggest you take it as many times as you can especially if you want to get >100.
NOTE THAT TOEFL SCORE IS ONLY VALID FOR 18 MONTHS

(3) GRE: which stands for Graduate Record Examination. Most often only the general GRE test is required. This
is a test required for all students including US domestic students. It is meant to test your verbal, math and
analytical reasoning as well as your critical thinking. More information on the test can be found in the ETS
website through the following link: http://www.ets.org/gre. This is currently offered in Algeria but I think only
twice a year (i.e. a fewer times than the TOEFL) and the link above can help you find where and when these
tests are administered. There is also the GRE subject test, which very few departments require today but you
should check. There can be one for physics, math, etc, but as I mentioned, barely any university/department
requires those. The cost of the test is ~$200 which is about 23000DA. This can be very expensive on many
students. Again for those who cannot afford it, we can help them pay for it.
There is usually no minimum score required but maximizing your score in each section is extremely important.
There are three sections: Verbal, Quantitative (math) and Analytical. Each section has a maximum score of 170
except for the analytical section which is graded on a scale of 6.
The Verbal section: is advanced English which is hard for even English speaking people. It also uses advanced
words that one usually does not use in his/her daily vocabulary. If you google “3000 list words for GRE” you will
find lots of resources. Not to scare you, but there are students from India and China that start learning by heart
the definition of these words and use them in their practice since the first year of their university. For
international students, I suggest you shoot for at least a score of 153/170 (although you can still get admitted
with lower verbal score if you do very well in the two other GRE sections)
The quantitative section: tests your highschool math (Algebra and geometry). For an engineering or science
student, you should shoot for a complete score. Having said that you should still prepare for the section as it’s
also a timed test and speed is very important. So even if your math is very good, but are slow, your score will be
low because you would not have answered all questions.
The analytical section: tests your analytical reasoning and critical thinking by giving you a topic and asks you to
analyze it in an essay. It requires some good amount of practice. You should shoot for 5/6 but lower can also be
fine. That of course depends on your field. For instance, in social studies the requirements might be higher.

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My recommendation is that you start preparing for this test at LEAST two years before you graduate if not before
especially if your English is poor. In fact, I would say this information should be given to students who are
interested and that are in their first or second year so that they work on their English and start preparing for the
GRE as early as possible especially that it is valid for 5 YEARS. Again, in my case my English was poor. I started at
the beginning of my fourth year which was extremely tight as my tests were taken and validated right before the
application deadlines. Also, when you study for it, I suggest you take a month if not two where you fully dedicate
yourself to it (ideally summer time).
Like the TOEFL, there are lots of preparation resources especially today on the web. A simple google search for
GRE preparation resources can get you bunch. ETS also has bunch with practice tests: http://www.ets.org/gre

Again like the TOEFL, there are also preparation books from ,e.g., Barron’s, Princeton review, Kaplan, that one
can buy, but those can be expensive and might not be available. If there is a large interest. I’m willing to buy
them with the condition they are made available to everyone interested.
Again, note that this is a test that can be taken as many times as you want and only the best score will be taken
into account. So I suggest you take it as many times as you can especially if you want to get to the best schools.
NOTE THAT GRE SCORE IS VALID FOR 5 YEARS

(4) Recommendation letters: Pretty much all schools require 3 recommendation letters from people that know
you very well. These can be your professors with whom you got very good grades or did research with,
managers that you worked under for internship or if you worked for sometime before you started applying, or
superiors that worked with you in organizations. Make sure you choose these people carefully as you will not see
the recommendation letters they will write (you will be asked to provide their email address and the universities
will contact them directly). You should also get their approval before using their names. I suggest you let them
know at 3 months before the deadlines. Don’t try to have more than 3 as they will not accept more than that.
The letter should state under what circumstances they knew you and mention details of that, why they think
you are fit for graduate school and should ideally use words like “exceptional”, I strongly recommend him/her,
etc.

(5) Statement of purpose: This is an essay that you are supposed to write. Each school has a length requirement.
So make sure you abide by it as you won’t even be able to submit it if it is too long. In terms of what it should
include, I like these two descriptions from Berkeley (http://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/apply/statement-
purpose/) and Stanford (https://ed.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Statement-of-Purpose.pdf). I suggest, once
you finish writing it, have it read by other people to give you their opinion so to improve it.

(6) Extra materials that can help improve your chances to get admitted: There are other elements that you can
provide in your application which are not required but could greatly help in your admissions process. These
include:
Being involved in research as an undergraduate student: Whatever your field is, you can engage in research. In
fact your “Project/These de fin d’etudes) usually requires some kind of research which I suggest you should
strive to get a publication out of it in a conference or journal even if it is a local one. I always get students telling
me that the Algerian system does not allow us to engage in research earlier. I say ASK PROFESSORS DIRECTLY AND
BE INSISTING. Don’t wait for people to spoon feed you. Take initiatives until one will accept. It will help you greatly.

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YOU CAN ALWAYS SEEK RESEARCH EXPERIENCE WITH ALGERIAN FACULTY AND SCIENTISTS THAT LIVE OUTSIDE OF
ALGERIA THAT ARE ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP.
Internships: You should seek as many internships as you can during as many summers as you can and not only
during the summer before graduation. You could also do these during winter and spring (2 week breaks). These
can be in any small or big company. Again you should be persistent here and “ ” can be quite helpful here
. This is also why one should start building a network.
Leadership experience: In my time there were no student clubs in which students can learn leadership skills but
today every university or ecole in Algeria has at least one. There are also the international ones such as AIESEC
and UN youth which have lots of chapters in Algeria. I suggest you take part of those, organize events and
acquire experience. Leadership experience could also include societal activities, such as helping underprivileged
kids in elementary/middle/high schools with their studies, or teach them coding, or organize donations,
cleaning events, etc.
Scientific and Entrepreneurship competitions: These did not exist in my time either but today there is a myriad of
them. I know so because I’m involved in bunch of them. I suggest you also participate in some of them and if
you win or are ranked among the top, it can be huge plus.
Resume/CV: you should write a resume/CV that lists your education and all the above elements if any that you
should attach to your application. You should also mention them in your statement of purpose

4. Tips to increase chances to get admitted with financial aid

There are a few more tips one can follow to increase his/her chances to get admitted with financial aid. These
are some:
(1) Contact faculty/Professors during the application process: Once you submit your applications, I suggest you
contact faculty/professors not only in the departments you applied to but also in other departments but whose
research and interests align with yours as, in the US educational system, you can pursue research with a faculty
outside your department. This is because many RA and TA decisions (see types of financial aids above) are made
by individual faculty/professors and if you do a good job at writing the letter, you can get their attention which
can help in both admission and financial aid selection. The letter should introduce you and your interests,
followed by you describing the faculty/professor research and why you are interested in it. This would mean
that you should do your homework and learn well what the research is about and get the salient points of it to
make yourself attractive. Don’t forget to also attach your resume/CV. Having said that, note that some schools
do not allow faculty/professors to intervene. These usually are the best schools such as Stanford, Harvard, MIT,
Berkeley, Caltech, etc. Even for the case of those, I still recommend you contact faculty/professors because
they might be in the admissions committee and unconsciously might influence their decision.
Also, sometimes you might get admission without financial aid. If this happens, you still have a chance to get it by
also directly contacting faculty requesting RAship or TAship. You might even be in a better position because you
already have received the admission.

(2) Apply for MS, MS/PhD or PhD program? There are a few situations here:
MS/PhD program: If you only have an undergraduate degree (Note that in the LMD program that corresponds
to both license and master but if it is the 4-5 year ecoles, then it is just that) you have to go through the MS
program first before you get to PhD. So if you are interested in PhD, choose MS/PhD program.

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PhD program: If you already have a MS degree (this is Master 2 in case of LMD program or a MS post 4/5 year
degree), you can apply for the PhD program directly. YES, these are accepted but you need to show more
experience especially in terms of research. There are also some universities allow you to do PhD directly
without MS. That’s up to the student to make the decision.
MS program: You can apply only for the MS program if you do not wish to do PhD. However, if you are seeking
financial aid, I strongly suggest you apply to the MS/PhD program even if you plan to only pursue a MS degree.
This is because financial aid is preferably given to someone who wants to pursue PhD as they are more
interesting for faculty/professors because they stay longer and get more research done. You can always leave
after your master. No one will stop you or blame you (people change their minds). Having said that, you can still
get financial aid if you are pursuing MS degree only. I also recommend to apply for the MS/PhD program for
those who want to change university after the MS degree to go to a better ranking university.

(3) When to start preparing:

If you are still undergraduate student: I strongly suggest that you start preparing as early as possible especially if
your English is poor. Improve it as much as you can and take the TOEFL and GRE as many times as you can to
improve your scores. Remember TOEFL is valid for 18 months (so has to be taken at the most 18 months before
the application deadline) and the GRE is valid for 5 years.
If you have already finished your undergraduate degree and are working professionally: You can start preparing
for it at any time you want but my recommendations are still to take time to prepare for the application process
especially with respect to the TOEFL and GRE scores. Note that your professional experience can help you in the
process and should fully be mentioned. I also recommend you get 1 recommendation letter from a manager or
co-worker that knows you very well. Also note that it does not matter how long you have been out of school.
You can be 60 years old and still do it.
If you are pursuing the MS/Master 2 degree (in Algeria or elsewhere): I would suggest you start at the most a year
before you are about to complete the MS degree. Again as with the above categories, I still recommend you
take time to prepare for the application process especially with respect to the TOEFL and GRE scores. I also
recommend you publish research work as much as possible.
What if one wants to change his/her field of study: The process still remains the same but your chances of
getting admitted and/or get financial aid might be lower as you might not have the preliminary background to
get to the program directly. However, if you are brilliant, you can have very high chances. I also suggest for
those who want to change their field of study, especially those who want to pursue a management
complementary degree, is to apply for the field of study in their undergraduate major and then, once admitted
and start their degree in the US university, change to another field or pursue two degrees simultaneously. This
is much easier because you are onsite. The financial aid, if provided, will cover all degrees. Another option is to
remain in the same field of study but take classes in the other field as there are no barriers between
departments in most, if not all, US universities. This can also allow students to obtain a minor in the other field.

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5. Final note
As I mentioned previously, the application process can be very costly. If a student cannot afford part or all the
application process, I and other Algerian compatriots living in the US are willing to help. This will be considered on
case basis. Also if you have any questions, you can contact me directly. You can get in touch with the CAP team
at ENP to obtain my email address. But before you do so, please read this document thoroughly and do your
homework well. Be as concise as possible and mention in the subject line “help with grad school application.” I
receive 100s of emails a day and even if my fulltime job were to respond to emails, I would still not be able to
reply to all. So please be considerate of that. If you do not hear from me within a week, you can send me a
reminder. Don’t feel embarrassed to do it .