ClickNSmart Team

GRE or GMAT score can be very important to improve your chance of admission to graduate school. A GRE test is usually required if you want to apply to most graduate programs, whereas a GMAT test is required by almost all top Business Schools in the country. A low GPA and a higher than average score on GRE or GMAT test score can increase your chance for graduate school admission. The ideal case is a combination of high GPA ( >3.5) and high GRE or GMAT score. Top universities like UCLA, Harvard, Standford require high GRE or GMAT score and high GPA. Some of my classmates with a relatively high GPA were not admitted to top graduate schools just because of a low GRE/GMAT score. This is so sad. GRE/GMAT test is not as easy as SAT or TOEFL test. I took one myself and got a high score on the GRE test. A combination of average GPA and high GRE scores got me into M.S. in Material Engineering program at Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA. I want to share my success experience with you all.

Below are some advices on the GRE/GMAT test preparation:

1. You should train yourself with adequate GRE/GMAT preparation. You will be confident taking the test when you are fully trained yourself. Confidence will make a difference in your test score. That’s true!

2. Get GRE/GMAT practice tests inside the GRE/GMAT preparation book and spend lots of time to practice ( ~ 4 hours a day).If you have a discipline and motivation to prepare, you will be ready for the test.

3. You should practice at least 5 months before the test day. Last minute preparation does not work for GRE/GMAT test. A lot of my friends start study 2 months before the test and they all get low score. My experience, I started 4-5 months before and got a really good score. Practice! Practice!

4. Good preparation book is very important. Some of the test question will be similar with the book. Not all the books are helpful. The three preparation books I’ve used are: Kaplan, Official GRE/ GMAT prep book, and Barron.

Suggestion: study really hard, be confident, and prepare ahead of time.

Written by ClickNSmart Team

ClickNSmart Team

Life as an undergraduate is more organize than life as a grad student. As a grad student, hours spent in the classroom is much less, but research work is greatly increased. Good life as an undergraduate, such as joining sorority or fraternity, everyday party, and so on are long gone. Laboratory becomes your new home. Even though grad student has more workload compared to undergrad student, you will find your own excitement by doing something that you like. Be creative with your idea! You don’t need to study and follow the textbook, just do research you like about, get the result and then “Boom” (publish the paper and patent your result).

Graduate school gives you a new life and freedom. Graduate school is flexible and free. You can come anytime to the laboratory. Most people spend their time to do research around 8 hours. However, I spend an average of 12 hours/ day during weekdays and zero hour in the weekend (i.e. Have fun over the weekend!). Research is not easy. you need to be patient and work hard. You don’t always get what you want. Don’t be afraid of failing! Learning from failure is the best learning method possible.

In terms of courses, grad classes are flexible. On average you just need to take 9 - 12 classes. But the professors (and your research adviser) have high expectation on graduate students, unlike undergraduates. You really need to have more study hours for every class. No teaching assistant and sometimes no office hours available. A grad student is totally independent. They need to self-study and use your knowledge for your research. The basic idea to take class so you can use your knowledge(theory) for research purpose.

The Key : Research and Publish !!!

ClickNSmart Team

ClickNSmart Team

Going to college is becoming more and more expensive today than ever before. College education is also becoming more important than ever before as most high-paying jobs require applicants to have some college education in their resume. If you’re coming from a wealthy family, Congratulations! Your parent will pay for your college tuition and you don’t have to worry about choosing to go to public university or private university anymore because either way, you’re covered! However, if you’re like most of us that come from an average income family, then you need to find a way to pay for your college tuition. Below are some popular ways that students finance their own education:

1) Apply for Scholarships - It’s surprising that students sometimes do not take advantages of various university-sponsored scholarships or private-sponsored scholarships available to them. Go look for scholarships available at your college or university. Best way is to go to your school’s website and enter “Scholarship” in the search bar. This will direct you to various link related to scholarship search.

2) Work Part-time - some students choose to work in-school due to time-flexibility, whereas others choose to work outside for slightly higher pay. Either way, some sort of part-time work is popular among students to get additional income to pay day-to-day expenses. It would be great if you can work full-time while going to college in the evening simultaneously; however, some students may feel overwhelmed.

3) Apply for Government Grants or Financial Aids - Depending on the states of your residency, you may qualify for different government grants or financial aids. For example, in California residents with average GPA are qualified for CalGrants; however currently California cut significantly CalGrants due to state budget problem.

4) Apply for Student Loan - I put this the last option since student loan is one type of loan that is almost unforgivable, meaning it will accumulate during your lifetime until you pay it off; moreover, even if you declare bankruptcy, this student loan will stay with you. Some student loans, not all, are forgivable if you join some type of non-profit organizations like Peace Corp, Red Cross, etc. However, you should really consider your option before borrowing from student loan.

We hope that you find this article helpful when you are thinking of some ways to finance your college education.

ClickNSmart Team

ClickNSmart Team

Have you ever wondered and tell yourself ” I am a busy professional and work all day long; I have a family and kids at home and I don’t have time to continue my education even if I want to.”

Nowadays, you can continue your education while keeping your full time job. One advantage of continuing your education is that you maybe able to get promotion and a salary hike from your company. Many of the top universities offer distance learning programs that are designed for a busy professional like you. Many of these online degree programs can be completed in anywhere (from home or work) and anytime at your convenience.

The purpose of this program is to enabled employed businessman, engineers, and other professionals to enrich their knowledge beyond the bachelor education level. This program is designed for high qualified employee, who do not attend the on campus MBA or Master of Science education yet still have interests in the learning cutting edge knowledge in business and technology.

There are two prestigious online programs offered by the TOP universities like University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Columbia University of New York. Students in both of these programs have the same equivalence educational rigor and experience as with their on campus counterparts. The transcript degree will read as Master of Science degree and will have no “online designation”.

Written by ClickNSmart Team

ClickNSmart Team

Many of my classmates and undergraduate friends ask me: “Bunga, How did you find a research adviser? I am interested to do research, but I don’t know where and what to start with.”

If that sounds like you, then I would like to share few tips based on my previous experience doing 1 year of undergraduate research at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA):

1) Start by searching in the department website for any faculty members;

2) Find out about their research interests and see if you are interested in any of them;

3) Once you find the research area that you want, e-mail the professor to set up an appointment to meet and discuss about your interest in doing research with the professor;

4) Before meeting face-to-face with the professor, read again the professor’s research interest so that you can impress him/ her to clearly show your interest;

5) Send him/her a thank you note by e-mail after the meeting and don’t forget to leave your contact information.

6) Follow up with the professor again if after 1 week, you have not heard back from him/ her.

These are very practical tips for those of you looking to find an undergraduate research opportunities. Also notice that I make no mention of any specific major, because the tips above are applicable regardless the academic majors.

Written by ClickNSmart Team

ClickNSmartTeam

Business major is a top choice almost for everyone. In this bad economy, the demand for business major graduates is always higher than any other major. Business is not as straightforward as many people believe; the business curriculum in general focuses more on the analytical and the critical thinking part, which are both important skill in addition to the soft communication skill . Business knowledge is a key element for your future success. There are more opportunities by majoring in business. Business majors can choose various concentrations, such as: Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Human Resources, and  General Management.

Here’s are the average salaries for these majors, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistic (www.bls.gov)

~ Median Annual Earning ~

• Management Analyst : $68,050
• Accountant : $54,630
• Economist :$77,010
• Financial Analyst : $66,590
• Human Resources : $42,420
• Marketing research Analyst : $58,829

Management Analyst : Salaries for management analysts vary based on experiences, location, and expertise.

Economist : has the highest median annual salary, but the starting salary for bachelor’s degree was $35,752 in 2007. For master’s degree has an annual salary of $43,731. And for Ph.D, the salary starts at $52,912

Human Resources : has the lowest annual salary compared with other business fields. For human resources position with a high school degree, the average annual salary begins $26,685

Nowadays, many people are getting an additional business degree on the top of their technical degrees (science or engineering degree) in order to be competitive in the job market. Therefore, I would strongly recommend adding some business knowledge, either through traditional brick and mortar schools or through distance learning (online) business degree program that many universities offer.

Written by ClickNSmart

ClickNSmartTeam

Having my Master (M.S) at UCLA, working as a grader and research assistance at UCLA, and now working hard to publish a semiconductor research paper, I decide to write my personal experiences and advice about getting into TOP graduate school.

Graduate school doesn’t mean something that you have to go no matter what. However, it’s more like your own decision. Many people out there become successful in their careers without having a master degree. ” However !! “If you think that your knowledge that you gain during an undergraduate school is not enough and you still want to pursue your dream, then you should go to graduate school. For master, it only takes 1 or 2 years to graduate, but you get more experiences and learn about learning environment as a graduate student. You will get lots of knowledge and experience in research field especially. It is the time to pursue whatever your dream to be.

Below are the strategies to get into TOP university of your dream without having a perfect GPA score:

1) You should talk with the graduate advisor. Keep in touch with him/her by email,phone,or in person. Ask for advising on the graduate curriculum and requirement that you need to fulfill.
2) Have 3 good recommendation letters from the Professors that close with you and know you a lot. Please do not ask for the recommendation letter to the Professor who does not have a good relationship with you. It will screw you up and less chance for getting into the graduate school.
3) Write Personal statement form your heart.
When you write a statement of purpose, you should truly mean it. Explain: who you are, and what do you want go to grad school with this major, and why you choose this school to pursue your graduate degree, and your experiences that relate with your major. Please ask your friend or professor to read your essay and revise it many times.
4) Prepare all transcripts from your undergraduate institutions. Make sure you meet the GPA requirement for each school; it doesn’t have to have a perfect GPA,though.
5) Take GRE for reference. For science and engineering, Quantitative (math) part is more important than verbal or overall GPA. Don’t worry about the English part,just do the best you can.

As a graduate student , even though your grade courses are important, try publish the paper is the most important if you are considering to go to graduate school.
Publish,Publish,Publish to make yourself competitive in academia

Here’s the link about the school tips related

Motivation and tips to get a better grades
Advices for student looking for employments and other similar issues

Gutluck for your study

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ClickNSmartTeam

Technorati Profile

Earning a degree in engineering is one of students’ proud. Nowadays, engineering major become one of the most favorite majors in various universities in USA, Europe and Asia . Many students study hard so they can get in to the University with Engineering degree. Based on recent survey conducted by students in the Department of Statistics at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), many people think that an engineering student is relatively smarter compared to students with other majors. Of course, they have to study hard ( no doubt ); feel free to argue about this.

In addition, companies generally pays high salary for engineering majors. Here’s the salary survey report for engineering jobs (updated 9 November 2008):

Q : Which engineering major pays the best and  the least with a bachelor degree?

A: I would agree that Chemical Engineering has highest paid. Civil Engineering has the lowest salary.

Q: Which engineering major has the most job opportunity?

A: I would say Electrical Engineering offers more universal opportunities. Most of companies look for EE degree, because almost every technology company, and even in biotechnology companies need engineers with electrical engineering background. Even though the entry level pay is not as high as chemical engineers, but electrical engineers with 10 or more years of experiencs can surpass the equivalent earnings of engineers in the other field

Q: Which one is the hardest and easiest degree?

A: Although all engineering majors is hard, but Electrical Engineering is the hardest major i would say. And the easiest major is Civil Engineering and Industrial Engineering (based on the student survey)

Overall :

Chemical Engineering has the highest paid with a bachelor degree. However, when you choose a major, do not only based your decision solely on the highest salary; however,  you should also consider other factors such as : job opportunities in the market, work load, and your passion.

If you want to complain about your major, this is your chance. Feel Free to argue and leave comments.

Written by ClickNSmart

ClickNSmart

Many students start to think after they finish undergraduate program “Master Vs PhD ? What’s the difference?”

1) In terms of knowledge and time

Master Degree : they teach you a specific knowledge in a specialized field. A master’s program usually takes you about 1 or 2 years, sometimes 3 years to complete depending on your field and your adviser. Pursue their life to get more knowledge or a better job.

PhD Degree: they teach you an extensive knowledge in a specialized
field. For PhD, it usually takes you about 4-6 years depends on your field of research and how tough your adviser is. Pursue their life as a professor or researcher.

2) In terms of the Program (taking courses are required for both)

You have an option between Thesis or Comprehensive Test

Master Degree:If you choose thesis, usually it takes longer to finish the program (about 2-3 years). Again this depends on your adviser. Some advisers only require their students to publish 1 research paper, others require their students to publish 2-3 research papers. However, if you choose to take comprehensive test, it only takes you about a year to graduate. But Remember, the test is extremely hard. You have to really know the material well. The professor will test you whether you really understand the Concept or not; Some people fail the test.

PhD Degree:First you choose your advisor and write a dissertation proposal. Then you need to take preliminary test to demonstrate you qualification to continue with Doctoral Degree. After completed test, you more focus on writing your dissertation. The dissertation has to be well published. Usually PhD requires you to publish 4 or more research paper. After you finally done, you require to defend your work in front of your committee (professor) called a dissertation defense. most of them pass their dissertation defense.

3) In terms of Financial Aid

Master Degree: usually you need to pay your own tuition. The program does not offer as much aid to master’s students. However, you can be a teacher assistance and get paid.

PhD Degree: financial Aid is available for students. The schools pay  for your tuition. Also they get more money to be a teacher assistance. The most important for PhD is be of publishable quality.

4) In terms of Career Options

Master Degree: People usually choose to go for a Master degree with a goal that they would like to go out in the industry and gain more advanced knowledge in a particular field; for example, people seeking an MBA degree to gain business knowledge needed to become a manager in a company or start their own businesses.

PhD Degree: I would say that do not apply for PhD unless you are absolutely clear on “Why you need a PhD?” As I mentioned above, a PhD education requires relatively long time and lots of dedication. Therefore, unless you really need a PhD education to advance in your choice of career, then you should not go for PhD. Do not apply for PhD program just because you like to go to school; this is wrong reason. What is next after PhD? Ask yourself this question and try to find a definite answer that suits your career goal, before deciding to apply for PhD.

Hope this article helps.

Written by ClickNSmart

ClickNSmart

The first thing i notice that many students have a problem when it comes to understanding the basic of science. They struggled even with the very basic concept like the concept of temperature and pressure They know only the surface; not dig it into the very base such as where those things come from and how these could happen. Most students just jump to the question and answer it without having the complex thinking. ” Do this and then that happens”. Unlike scientists, students like to think in a simple way rather than critical way. This can be a huge problem and cause average or even below average grade.

Even though simple sometimes works for understanding the concept-people still can graduate and get barely enough GPA-but the true scientists requires more critical thinking - not only you drop the glass and it falls, That’s why many students get a degree and know nothing. Ask yourself ” How much money do I spend in order to pay for tuition to good university?” Don’t you think that it is a waste of your time and money if you only aim for the grade but not the knowledge?

Einstein said, “I am just an average student that is passionately curious about things”. Einstein himself did not get a good grade, but he learned even much more physics than even his former teacher

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