So you slogged it out for your GRE. And how you are done! Some happy with their GRE score, others not so happy - so now what?? What do you do now? Well many people think the toughest part is over, and i actually tend to agree. But what is not over, is a period of uncertainity. You are still not sure about which universities to apply to - your SOP still needs work (or hasnt even started) and recos are yet to be taken from profs. So a lot is still hanging in the air. Here is where kaalEDGE is trying to help you guys out with university recommendations. We just started with another project - that of allowing students to enter their academic profiles and we match those profiles with previous year students and then recommend universities they could apply to. Please check out univ-recommendation product here:

http://www.kaaledge.com/univ-recommendation/

But what are the key aspects one needs to keep in mind while applying to univs. Here is what we think should be the essential criteria when applying. Let us know if you agree.

1. Placement - At this point in the world economy - the question should be - how easy will it be to get a job after your MS?

2. Research in the area of your interest in this university

3. University brand name

4. Tuition and cost of living - possibility of fundind

5. Faculty - and their contacts/collaboration with industry - and how much funding they have - or how much funding the university has - this decides whether the students get funded or not

6. Acceptance rate for students applying from aborad

7. Diversity

8. Location/Weather

Some of the other things you must keep in mind while applying is you should talk to some people who went to US universities from your university. This will give you a fair idea of what kind of schools are giving admission to people with a similar profile as your.

In case you need help with university recommendation - please fill in your profile here: univ-recommendation and we will get back to you within 48-72 hours with recommendations about universities.

Discussion about this post and univ recommendation is here.