Unlike MBA and Undergraduate admissions, PG or MS admission (Graduate admission) deadlines are dependent on each department or program within a college. Hence, it is very important for students to look closely at the program they are interested in applying to and keep a list of upcoming deadlines.
Many top universities in the U.S. such as Stanford, UC Berekely, UCLA, UT Austin, Univ. of Michigan, Georgia Tech has their MS deadlines coming up soon in December of January.
Other universities have the deadlines in Jan and Feb and a few even going into March/April of 2018.
NAME OF THE UNIVERSITIES Fall 2018 Application Deadlines
MS Massachusetts Institute of Technology December 1/December 15/Jan 1
Stanford University January 2, 2018
University of California December & January
Georgia Institute of Technology Deadlines vary with course. General deadline Dec 15-16. Check website for more information.
University of Illinois Dec 15/Jan 15/Feb 15 (Data Science)
University of Michigan 15-Jan-18
Cornell University December 5, 2017
Purdue University December 15, 2017
Texas A&M University 1-Mar-18
University of Southern California 15-Dec-17
Columbia University December 15, 2017
Pennsylvania State University 1-Feb-18
University of Washington December 15 2017 Document deadline: Dec 19, 2017
California Institute of Technology  Deadlines vary with course from December 1 to 15.
Ohio State University May 1 2018
Rice University Department dependant
February 15, 2018 1-May-18 LSU 15-Jun
University of Wisonsin Jan 1 2018
Virginia Tech Jan 15 2018
Oklahoma State University Feb to April (Department)
How to get a Letter of Recommendation from your Employer?
When you are applying to Graduate School for Admission, you are telling the school and admission committee about your intent and interest to further your undergraduate education with further specialization i.e. you know what you are interested in pursuing, why and you want to develop more technical subject matter expertise in the area. Hence, the admission committee at the colleges will look at the following in your application to gauge this interest, aptitude and attitude:
1) Your Coursework and GPA from your Undergraduate college
2) Test Scores to get a better idea on your aptitude
3) Letter of Recommendations that support the above and your interest/attitude
4) Statement of Purpose
5) Other work in that field i.e. papers, courses, experience
Given the importance of Letter of Recommendation in your application, how do you get a powerful LOR from your employer or faculty?
1) Reach out to your manager or manager’s manager for Recommendation – Key is to have someone you knows you well and is glad to be your biggest supporter as you move to the next phase of your journey to join a graduate program. You can also have a LOR from one of your team member to complement a manager’s LOR.
Don’t go for title, go for someone who will spend time providing an insightful LOR to admissions team and can show they know you well over the last few years to make that recommendation. If it is not for the above, the value of LOR holds little meaning even if it comes from a senior CEO, owner or a polictical minister.
2) Tell them about your goals and what you would like them to write to support your goals. Letter of Recommendations are confidential so you may not have a full grasp on what is written, but providing a direction helps. Provide them of a few examples to show them how you have taken steps and done work to achieve towards your goals over the last few years. Help them understand why you are looking at pursuing your MS degree and what you want to focus during your studies.
3) Make sure they write examples to support the good recommendation they are providing. There are thousands of LORs with just general words like “good standing”, “hard working”….make sure your LOR highlights only a few of your personal strengths but shows clear examples to support it. Most of the Letter of Recommendation do not do much to help an applicant’s admission chances because they are too general in nature.
Have your recommender write what you have done at work and how your work supports your aspirations of the graduate degree and interest.
Here is an example of a Letter of Recommendation:
4) Lastly, give your employer enough time to write your Letter of Recommendation. – A good LOR always takes time to write….so give enough notice to your recommender. If you do not receive it within 2 weeks, remind them of it.
Good luck! Send us an email if you need any further guidance and help.
A few other blogs by this author:
What do Top Colleges in the World Look for in Successful Applicants?
I am graduating from College in a few months….How do I land my dream job post graduation?
Scholarships and Aid for International Students Applying for Undergraduate ProgramsÂ
Interpreting Your GRE Percentile Score and Creating College ListÂ