Self study is the best approach George Mason University
- AkshataIndia
- George Mason University, USA
- MS in Information Systems
- Postgraduate
- 2008
I would advise students to please choose MS electives that will help you in your future career. For example a Web designing course which will hone your programming skills etc. Please don't settle for so-called "EASY" courses just to get a good grade. Ask for help and guidance from seniors but think before you act on their advice. Do what you feel is correct. Don't get carried away by what other people say. ALL THE BEST!!!
I had written GRE and TOEFL for my admission. I prepared for 2 months for GRE. Book: Barron's GRE. GRE essays for writing section. I didnt attend any coaching classes though I highly recommend them. I didnt do that well on Quantitative Section. My GRE score: 650, 550, 4.5). I spent 10 days for TOEFL. Toefl score 110/120. I came to US on H4 visa. For first 2 semesters I was on H4 and paid In-state tuition fees. During my last semester I applied for Change-of-status (H4 to F1).
I am happy with the way the program had been structured. Professors are good. But I still believe self study is the best approach. When in doubt approach the professors. They will surely help you out. Lecture halls will be well equipped with LCD screens, podium and speaker phones. Library facilities are awesome. You'll get inter-library books as well.
College accommodation will be expensive for Indian students. It will be 12,000 USD per year.
The College has placement cells. It depends on the student academics. If the international student has at least 1-2 years of work experience from their home country then it doubles their chances of getting a job. For instance I had 2.5 years of experience in Telecom domain. I had hands-on experience in core Java, had used tools like Rational Rose, ClearQuest, ClearCase etc. I had good understanding of CDMA technologies, TCP/IP protocol suite, OOP concepts, Agile methodology, CMMI processes etc. Moreover when I opted for courses in my masters I made sure they had the use of latest technologies in the curriculum. As a part of my course work I submitted a research paper in Telecom domain (my experience in telecom came in handy). As a part of my project I implemented MVC architecture, Design Patterns etc learned Spring framework, Hibernate for data persistency, AJAX, Web services, JSP etc. I also learnt C#, ASP.Net. So at the end of my MS my CV/Resume was really impressive because of Web services, AJAX, Spring, Hibernate etc. I applied for jobs requiring 0-3 yrs experience category and out of 10 positions I applied I got interview call from all 10 companies. Even in this recession period I got positive response from 4 companies (I didnt wait for the rest 6). My MS study was cake-walk for me. Yes there is a campus placement process. Once the student registers at placement cell theyll get periodic updates on available opportunities, companies that visit university etc. They organize job fairs. Almost 60% of the participating companies will be global. However more often global companies and government jobs ask for Citizenship. Work permit process for F1 (OP) is pretty easy. However gaining a H1 visa is really difficult since scrutiny of applicants is really severe in this recession period.
Located in Virginia.
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Ranking for this institution
- SHJT: 151-200
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