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Bank of Baroda Agriculture Officers exam
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October 26, 2008
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Bank of Baroda (BOB), the sixth largest bank in India had recently advertised for 200 Bank Agriculture Officer Positions. The focus of this blog post is to acquaint with Bank Agriculture Officer exams and how to prepare for it. My previous blog post Bank Agriculture Officers Exam: What is it & how to prepare introduces you to Bank Agriculture Officer exams.
Bank of Baroda is the sixth largest bank in India with total assets in excess of Rs. 1.78 lakh crores and a network of over 2800 branches and offices with 1000+ ATMs. It has significant international presence with a network of 72 offices in 25 countries, six subsidiaries, and four representative offices.
Maharajah of Baroda Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad III founded the bank on July 20, 1908 in the princely state of Baroda, in Gujarat. The bank, along with 13 other major commercial banks of India, was nationalised on 19 July 1969, by the Government of India.
What are Bank Agriculture Officers?
What does a Bank Agriculture Officer do (i.e. job content of a Bank Agriculture Officer)?
The job of a Bank Agriculture Officer is to promote rural lending in general and agriculture lending in particular for various schemes of Government (e.g. Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojna, Swaranjyanti Swayrozgar Yojna etc.) and also other schemes of the Bank.
The work of Bank Agriculture Officer includes: to mobilize, process / appraise the loan proposal pertaining to Agriculture & Allied- Agriculture activities and recommend sanction thereof. This requires customer prospecting, customer acquisition, pre loan-sanction visit/field inspection, verification of revenue records, credit appraisal, loan disbursement & post loan sanction follow-up/loan recovery.
For this they need to interact with farmers at grass roots level to spread information about the credit facilities being extended by the bank as well as interact & sensitize the concerned Government officials’ viz. Revenue officials, District Agriculture Officer, Panchayat Secretaries & Village Sarpanches.
Some agricultural bank services offered by BOB can be found here. These may come handy to you in your preparation for the Interview of Bank of Baroda Agriculture Officers exam.
Important dates for Bank of Baroda Agriculture Officers exam:
Online BOB application form submission: 08.10.2008 to 03.11.2008
Last date for receipt of application print out with dd and copies of certificates: 08.11.2008 (Last date is 15.11.2008 for those hailing from Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshdweep, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Ladakh Division of J & K State, Lahaul and Spiti district and Pangi Sub Division of Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh).
Date of written test: 14.12.2008 (Sunday)
Vacancies: 200 (34: SC, 21:ST, 78: OBC & 67:Others)
Salary for Bank of Baroda Agriculture Officers:
BOB is offering an approximate salary (Pay scales due for revision) at the start of the Scale plus DA, CCA, HRA of Rs. 15,228/- p.m. in metropolitan centres. In addition, accommodation (in lieu of HRA), Conveyance, Medical-Aid, LTC, Retirement benefits etc. are admissible as per the rules of the Bank.
Exam pattern/format of Bank of Baroda Agriculture Officers:
Following is the selection process for the BOB Agriculture Officers exam:
First written test than followed by Interview.
The written test would comprise of Objective Tests on
i) Agricultural Science,
ii) Quantitative Aptitude,
iii) Reasoning,
iv) General Socio-economic & banking Awareness
v) English.
In this written test, SC/ST/PWD candidates would have to score minimum 35% marks and others minimum 40% marks in order to be eligible to be called for the interview.
Approximately 600 to 800 (in the ratio of 1:3/1:4) of those qualifying the BOB written test would be called for interview and from out of them, 200 would be selected, based on the combined marks of Written Test and Interview.
How to apply online for Bank of Baroda Agriculture Officers exam
At first check if you have the following eligibilities for BOB Agriculture Officers exam:
Qualification: (As on 01.10.2008)
Minimum 55% marks (50% FOR SC/ST/PWD/Ex-Servicemen) or equivalent in Graduation in Basic Agricultural Sciences & related subjects viz. Veterinary Science, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Technology, Fisheries and Agriculture Engineering.
Candidates with Post Graduation in Agriculture with subjects as mentioned above or Certification or Post Graduation Diploma in Rural Management / Agri Communications / Agri Business Management will be given preference.
Experience:
1 - 2 years of relevant experience of Rural / Agri-Business development through lending, selling and marketing of financial products & services in rural market. Experience in Bank / Financial Institution in the relevant field will be preferred.
Age: (As on 01.10.2008) Minimum: 21 Years, Maximum: 30 Years. Upper age limit relaxations as per Govt. rule.
If you have above eligibilities, apply to BOB Agriculture Officers exam online. Yes, BOB accepts only online form application for the BOB Agriculture Officers exam. But before going to apply online for BOB Agriculture Officers exam, you need to have following two things;
i) A valid e-mail id: This would be required for future communications with BOB.
ii) A Demand Draft for the BOB exam application fee. Application fee is Rs. 50/= for SC/ST/PWD candidates and Rs. 250/= for others. The DD should be made in favour of "Bank of Baroda - Recruitment of Agriculture Officers - Project- 2008" payable at “Mumbai”.
After entering the data in the online application form, take print-out of it and send it along with the Demand Draft and other enclosures (like photograph pasted in the given place and signed across, copies of certificates pertaining to age, educational qualifications and experience. Also Caste certificates in the case of SC/ST/OBC candidates and Medical Certificate in case of PWD candidates).
Where to send the BOB Agriculture Officers exam form?
Send it by ORDINARY POST in a closed envelope superscribed as “APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF AGRICULTURE OFFICERS - PROJECT 2008” at the following address: -
BANK OF BARODA - RECRUITMENT OF AGRICULTURE OFFICERS - PROJECT 2008
Post Box No. 7640, Malad (West) MUMBAI-400 064.
What if you do not receive the call letter for BOB Agriculture Officers exam form?
After sending the form as given above, you should receive your call letter by 06.12.2008.
If you do not receive the call letter by this date, contact the Official at the address for the respective centers (details of which will be released in Bank's website on 4.12.2008 ) between 10th December to 13th December, furnishing your Name, Address, Registration Number, production of counter foil of Demand Draft and a copy of Application Print Out.
How to prepare for BOB Agriculture Officers exam?
You can prepare for the exam using available books & online sample paper for Bank Agriculture Officers exam. However, I find that you should take the online sample paper only as an eye-opener and use the books extensively for your preparation. I could find following resources:
Recommended book for Bank Agriculture Officers exam:
Guide Book Of Bank Agriculture Officer Field Officer Exam Wcd by Gupta R Ranee Publications List Price: Rs. 470
Online Sample Paper for Bank Agriculture Officers exam:
Punjab National Bank Agriculture Officers Exam : It has 50 solved question for the exam held on 04/05/2008.
Also you may go through my previous blog post on “ SBI Probationary Officer (PO) exam Solved Question papers, Sample Papers and Exam pattern”, which gives you some more study materials for Bank Officers exam.
Hope above information on Bank Agriculture Officers and also study materials for Bank Agriculture Officers exam helps you in your preparation for the exam. Best wishes! Labels: Bank Agriculture Officers exam, Bank of Baroda Recruitment |
posted by
Prasanta Bora on
October 26, 2008
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Bank Agriculture Officers Exam: What is it & how to prepare
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October 22, 2008
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Indian Banking system seems to have captured each inch of existing market places in the urban areas of India and therefore making forays into rural areas. If this was not true, so many banks would not have been recruiting so many Bank Agriculture Officer so often.
This is good news for those specializing/specialized in Agriculture field. This blog post and subsequent few others are aimed to equip you with sufficient knowledge on how to prepare for the Bank Agriculture Officers exam with available study materials for Bank Agriculture Officers exam.
At first: What are Bank Agriculture Officers?
What does a Bank Agriculture Officer do (i.e. job content of a Bank Agriculture Officer)?
Well, the job of a Bank Agriculture Officer is to promote rural lending in general and agriculture lending in particular for various schemes of Government (e.g. Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojna, Swaranjyanti Swayrozgar Yojna etc.) and also other schemes of the Bank.
The work of Bank Agriculture Officer includes: to mobilize, process / appraise the loan proposal pertaining to Agriculture & Allied- Agriculture activities and recommend sanction thereof. This requires customer prospecting, customer acquisition, pre loan-sanction visit/field inspection, verification of revenue records, credit appraisal, loan disbursement & post loan sanction follow-up/loan recovery.
For this they need to interact with farmers at grass roots level to spread information about the credit facilities being extended by the bank as well as interact & sensitize the concerned Government officials’ viz. Revenue officials, District Agriculture Officer, Panchayat Secretaries & Village Sarpanches.
Which Banks recruit Bank Agriculture Officers? What are the eligibilities, Salaries?
Almost all Public sector Banks and also many private sector banks recruits Agriculture Officer these days. Few recent recruitment are given below for example, so as to let you know of the Eligibilities (Academic & Age) and Salaries of a Bank Agriculture Officer:
Punjab National Bank had organized Bank Agriculture Officers exam on 04.05.2008.
Eligibilities:
Age: Min 21, Max 28
Qualifications: Graduate with min. 50% in Agriculture/ Horticulture/Animal Husbandry/ Veterinary Science/Dairy Science/Agriculture Engineering/Fishery Science/Pisciculture/ Agriculture Marketing and Co-operation from a University recognized by Govt. of India OR Post-graduate in any one of the above disciplines
Salary: 10000-470/6-12820- 500/3-14320-560/7-18240
UTI Bank (Now Axis Bank): Advertised for Bank Agriculture Officer on 31 Jul' 2007:
Age: 25 to 35 years with 2-10 years experience as an officer in reputed bank/ financial institution.
Qualifications: Graduates/ postgraduates from reputed agriculture colleges.
IDBI: Advertised for Agri Business Manager in March 2008
Age: Max 32 years.
Qualification: Graduation (preferably in Agriculture) from a recognized university.
Salary: : Rs.13700-700-20000-EB-700-21400-750-24400.
NABARD is another good employer for those specializing in Agriculture and wanting to join Banking sector.
How to prepare for Bank Agriculture Officers exam?
You can prepare for the exam using available books & online sample paper for Bank Agriculture Officers exam. However, I find that you should take the online sample paper only as an eye-opener and use the books extensively for your preparation. I could find following resources:
Recommended book for Bank Agriculture Officers exam:
Guide Book Of Bank Agriculture Officer Field Officer Exam Wcd by Gupta R Ranee Publications List Price: Rs. 470
Online Sample Paper for Bank Agriculture Officers exam:
Punjab National Bank Agriculture Officers Exam : It has 50 solved question for the exam held on 04/05/2008.
Hope above information on Bank Agriculture Officers and also study materials for Bank Agriculture Officers exam helps you in your preparation for the exam. My next post is on such a recruitment for Bank Agriculture Officer for Bank of Baroda (200 posts), you can find it here!Labels: Bank Agriculture Officers exam |
| posted by
Prasanta Bora on
October 22, 2008
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Find your exam Prep Books:
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US College for international student: Choose by Live example
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October 18, 2008
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If you are an international student from outside the US and would like to go for higher studies in the US, first question that comes to your mind is which college to go for? Can you afford studying in US colleges? Which parameters to check in colleges to make a wise choice? This is the subject matter of this blog post: How to choose US colleges based on an analysis of available college admissions statistics.
Although this blog post is being made for international students, students from even the US should also find the content useful. Two other such blog posts were: Best US College search engines – A beginner’s guide & Prelude to an US Education for International students. May be you would find the contents useful.
 US Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) website America.gov had recently published a story on “15 Top U.S. Universities in International Student Enrollment”. The story gives a list of 15 very good US colleges, in which the enrollments by international student are the highest. The story can be found here.
My analysis of college admissions statistics is based on the statistics of these 15 colleges. The goal of this analysis is to tell you how to choose the colleges from this list: Which parameters to check. For the statistics, I relied heavily on “College MatchMaker” tool of collegeboard.com. Also I used US News Ranking for checking the ranking of these colleges.
What was the methodology used in the analysis of these college admissions statistics?
Well, I grouped the data in two tables: one for “Admission requirements”, the other for “Cost vs. Financial aid”. The reason is quite clear: your choice of colleges would depend on these two factors alone. In both of these two tables, I have kept “Acceptance rate” column common – as this parameter enables you check your chances of entering the colleges instantly.
Following are the findings from the college admissions statistics:
US College for international student: Admission requirements: (click to enlarge)
 (SAT-R: SAT Reading; SAT-M: SAT Mathematics; SAT-W: SAT Writing; TOEFL-P: TOEFL-Paper; TOEFL-C: TOEFL-Computer based; Accept.: %age of student whose application was accepted; App. Fee: Application Fee).
US College for international student: Cost vs. Financial aid: click to enlarge
 (Rank: US News Rank, Intnl.: %age of International students, Accept.: %age of student whose application was accepted, Aid offered: %of student who applied for financial aid and got it, Schol./grants and Loans/jobs: What %age of financial aid is Scholarship./grants and Loans/jobs)
Above two tables gives you a birds eye view of the colleges, so that you can get the most important data in tabular form so as to make comparisons. For any particular college, please visit this College MatchMaker link and search for the college by entering the name in “College QuickFinder” text box at top left.
How to choose your colleges based on the analysis of these college admissions statistics?
If you are a brilliant student, none can stop you from entering the best US college – say suppose from the list above, if your SAT score is 680 or more, you should definitely apply to best US colleges like: University of Pennsylvania (US News Rank: 6) & Columbia University (US News Rank: 8) – financial aid in these colleges expectedly is most: University of Pennsylvania (76%), Columbia University (81%).
Among these, which would I prefer? Columbia University of course, as financial aid offered is more (81%) and that too with more Scholarship/Grants (86%) than Loans/Jobs (14%). Scholarship/Grants are free money, isn’t it?
On the other hand, if your SAT score is not that very good (of around 500/550), consider colleges in which Acceptance rate is higher – in these colleges, admission requirements (e.g. SAT/ACT/TOEFL scores etc.) are not that high. For example: Arizona State University (US News Rank: 121, Acceptance rate: 95%) and Purdue University (US News Rank: 66, Acceptance rate: 79%). Financial aid in these colleges expectedly is lower than those ranking better: Arizona State University (70%) and Purdue University (62%).
Among these, which would I prefer? Arizona State University, although it is ranked lower than Purdue University, for the simple reasons that besides very high acceptance rate, it is more economic (26,739 USD compared to 31,154 USD for Purdue University). Also, financial aid offered is more (70%), that too with more Scholarship/Grants (53%) than Loans/Jobs (47%). More free money! And then the acceptance rate is highest (95%).
If your SAT/ACT scores borders between above two extremes how do you choose?
1.0 First compare your SAT scores to the college admission requirements.
2.0 Compare the acceptance rates of the various colleges.
3.0 Find the college which is more economic (low total cost) and in which financial aid is more. If two colleges offers similar financial aid, which is offering more Scholarship/Grants than Loans/Jobs?
For example, between Ohio State University (Columbus) & Boston University (both with identical acceptance rates – 59% and almost similar SAT score requirements), I would have preferred Ohio State University: It is more economic (29,673 USD compared to 48,468 USD for Boston University). Financial aid offered is not bad (67%) and also it ranks higher than Boston University in US News Rank.
I hope above analysis on the college admissions statistics helps you in choosing the best US colleges – above analysis is only to show you how to use the college admissions statistics for choosing your right best college. It tells you how to group the college admissions statistics in tables and than compare the data to make an informed choice..
Yes, that’s it! You should make your own college admissions statistics table for your target college and than narrow it down to 5-10 colleges. Why? Because for every college you apply to, you have to spend 50-60 USD approximately as application fee. Imagine spending more than 600 USD on applications alone!
Best wishes for your US College search! Visit this blog again sometime – I would post more articles on this subject to make your US education easier! For example, wonder international students from which all countries comes for US education most? See it from the pie-diagram below, a part of my previous post: Prelude to an US Education for International students!
See you here again! Labels: study in USA |
| posted by
Prasanta Bora on
October 18, 2008
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Find your exam Prep Books:
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Best US College search engines – A beginner’s guide
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October 14, 2008
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This particular blog article is being written for those International students who are just starting to find more information on how to study their higher education in USA. But even students from USA should also find the contents informative.
Prior to this post, an introduction to US educational system was being written for International students as a primer and you can find it here: Prelude to an US Education for International students.
The emphasis of this post is on finding the right best US college for you instead of finding the best US college – difference is simple: what may be ranked as best by a couple of organizations ranking US college/universities (most noticeable of them being the usnews.com), may not be the right choice for you: you may not meet the college admission requirements of those best institute or may be you would not be able to find the money to study in them!
Why you should pay proper importance to choosing your best US college/ Universities?
Because of two factors:
1.0 For knowing the college admission requirements:
The institutes which you would choose would themselves determine which entrance test (called standardization test in US education parlance) you would need to take (SAT OR ACT? GRE? GMAT? TOEFL?) or whether you would need to take any standardization test at all! Yes, the individual colleges themselves determine which standardization test they accept. Some institutes on the other hand do not emphasize on you taking any test at all and your SAT/ACT/GRE/GMAT/TOEFL scores are optional – your admissions would be determined on the basis of your past academic performance.
2.0 For knowing the education cost:
Choosing the best US college/universities is also very important on monetary counts – the cost of education for each US college/universities differs. While for some cost of education is high, scholarships/financial aid available is also very good and hence there is less financial burden on you. In some other institutes, cost of education is low, but there are less scholarships/financial aid available – so naturally there would be more financial burden!
Therefore, choosing your best US college/universities is very important and those decisions may define your entire life. You should plan for the colleges at least a year ahead. Also spend sufficient time (may be minimum a week/fortnight) to prepare a list of your target college. Narrow down your list of colleges to within 10 – why? Because once you have chosen these as your target colleges, you would need to apply them individually – and each college application costs you money - averaging 30 to 50 USD. So imagine spending more than 300 USD on college application alone!
Even before you start searching colleges, perform a check on yourself:
1.0 If the college admission requirements asks for standardization test, how would you (or you have already) perform in those tests?
You can use the free Peterson’s SAT test, styled in the actual SAT test pattern (complete with a timer) to find where you stand today. There are 171 questions (including 1 essay question) to be answered in 200 minutes. Time per question is given alongside in the adjacent chart along with number of question per section. With practice, may be you would be able to improve another 50-100 score.. To use the Peterson’s SAT test, a free registration is required. After that you can attempt the test any day within 90 days of registration. Similar to above practice SAT test, Peterson’s also offers other prep tests like ACT, TOEFL, GRE etc.
2.0 Find what is your financial limit:
US college studies costs you money - study cost involved is very approximate say 28,000 USD (costs without aid vary from 50,000 USD for George Univ. to a 11, 000 USD for Appalachian State University for in-state North Carolina State student).
How much can your parent support? Say you do not get any scholarships and neither you get opportunity to work as a student employee in-campus or outside, how would you find the required fund? If Bank loan is taken, what are the repayment conditions?
Although you can fine tune your actual financial needs after you shortlist the 5-10 target colleges, nevertheless, it is a good idea to have it in mind at the start.
Than, how to start the search for your best US college/universities?
Finding the best US College is always so easy – almost all the information you need is available on the net. The problem is there are too many college search engine websites giving the info. Therefore I have narrowed down my choice of college search engine websites to only the few I think is most informative and hence useful.
Which college search engine to use for finding the colleges?
Following three college search engines is recommended for this purpose:
i) “College MatchMaker” college search engine tool from collegeboard.com
 This is a very comprehensive tool giving you the option of choosing by categories such as “Type of School, Location, Majors, Cost & Financial Aid, Admissions, Sports & Activities, Housing & Programs” etc. It is the best ever college search engine I came across.
ii) educationusa.state.gov-Petersons search engine:
 Another excellent college search engine tool, providing as much extensive search as College MatchMaker college search engine tool. You can find the colleges by above search conditions as well as search colleges by your major by entering the same as keyword(s).
iii) usnews college search engine:
  This is a very good college search engine tool, may be even better than “College MatchMaker” college search engine tool from collegeboard.com, as it gives you college ranking also apart from other details. You can search for the colleges by name as well as by selecting it from categories or regions.
However, it has a major drawback that you can not search the colleges by majors. You have to find the colleges and than find what major it offers. To find more data (like admission requirements/Financial aids) you have to buy the premium edition for 15USD, which I find is justified, compared to the amount of benefit it may bring to you.
All of above college search engines gives you the two most important data: the college admission requirements (i.e. SAT/ACT, TOEFL/IELTS etc.) as well as what is the study cost. They also say you what is the college application acceptance rate: how many applications out of total were accepted for admission, from which you can also have a fair idea on how much in demand these colleges are.
“Best Value” colleges:
There is another alternative (a shortcut) to finding your best college: in terms of “Best Value” colleges. The term “Best Value” says what it stands for: Getting the “Best Value” for your money and effort.
Following two websites brings to you a set of “Best Value” colleges depending on certain methodologies (usnews college search engine also gives you “Best Value” colleges). But however, they do not show you what are the majors offered by these “Best Value” colleges. What you can do is find the college from these two sites and than find the majors offered by using any of “College MatchMaker” college search engine or "educationusa.state.gov-Petersons" college search engine.
 kiplinger.com brings to you a very useful report on 100 best value Public college in the US and 50 best value Private colleges.
 So with above five college search engine tools/websites, I am sure you would be able to make your target list of 5-10 colleges.
Check for Accreditation of these colleges:
After you short listed those colleges, please check whether they have accreditations from following two websites:
U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Accreditation is important for following reasons:
i) You would not be able to get financial aid (scholarships or loan) for unaccredited colleges.
ii) Employers may not recognize/accept the qualification you obtain from unaccredited colleges.
I hope above beginners guide on US College search engines would help you in your search for your best colleges. Best wishes for your studies and visit this blog again as I am going to post more materials on US college admissions including educational aids as well as target those standardization tests: SAT/ACT/GRE/GMAT/TOEFL!Labels: study in USA |
| posted by
Prasanta Bora on
October 14, 2008
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Prelude to an US Education for International students
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October 10, 2008
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 If you are a student from a country outside US and would like to pursue your higher education in US, than a proper understanding of American education system is a must even before you start preparation for US institute entrance tests – like SAT/ACT/TOEFL/GRE/GMAT.
Why? Because you simply want to be a part of it! You need to know the academic ecosystem that you would like to belong to. Besides the familiarity you would gain, knowledge of US educational system also helps you in choosing which US entrance exam you have to appear. May be you are preparing for SAT while you should have prepared for ACT! Also, there are many good US institutes in which no such standardization tests like SAT etc. is required –admission is solely based on your academic records.
Therefore let’s learn about the US educational system.
US educational system in terms of hierarchy of grades (years of study/age wise):
Grade in US refers to number of academic years a student has undergone. For example, if you are undergoing 12 years of academic study, you would be said to be in 12th Grade in US.
Schooling in US (Primary & Secondary Education):
Formal school education at US starts at the age of around 6 years (depending on the student’s date of birth vis-à-vis academic calendar) and extends upto 18 years age. Of these, studies upto 5th Grade is called as Primary Education while 6th through 12th Grade is called as Secondary Education.
Chart below shows different levels of US school education Grade vs. Age wise:
 The chart above is for indicative purpose only – in many schools, for example high school education (6th grade to 12th grade) is divided into Junior or Middle (6th grade to 8th grade) and Senior high schools (9th grade to 12th grade), while in others they are combined (6th grade to 12th grade).
American students on completion of twelfth grade are awarded a certificate called the high school diploma. This diploma is required for the admission into college or university for further education. Same applies to you also if you are an International student: you must have completed 12 years of studies and have an equivalent certificate to prove it to get admission into US college or universities.
Undergraduate studies in US (Tertiary Education):
As you pass through 12th Grade, you enter into undergraduate programs in colleges / universities / institutes. What are these in US education parlance?
Colleges in general are smaller than universities and usually offer only undergraduate degrees. A university on the other hand is a bigger entity and also offers graduate degrees. While an institute usually offers educational programs in a group of allied subject matters (for example an Engineering institute offers engineering subjects).
In your undergraduate studies in your chosen field of study, you can go for a two-year degree program called an Associate degree or a four-year degree program called a Bachelors degree.
US Associate degree:
While you may think that an associate degree is inferior to a bachelor’s degree, actually it is not. Many a times, a student undergoes the associate degree programs, using it as a stepping stone for doing the bachelor’s degree later. Yes, many students do that so as to lower the cost of education – a 2-year associate degree program is whole lot cheaper than a 4-year bachelor’s degree program, especially if the study is taken in community colleges. Three kind of associate degree you can earn are:
Associate of Arts degree (also called the A.A. degree).
Associate of Applied Science degree (also called the A.A.S. degree).
Associate of Science degree (A.S. degree).
US Bachelors degree:
A US bachelor’s degree on the other hand is the traditional four-year degree program, in which you would need to specialize in your chosen field of study. This field of study is called as a “Major” in American education system and you are required to opt for it usually by the end of your second year. In the 4-year study period, besides the “Major”, you would also need to study allied subjects. For example, when you do BS (Bachelor of Science) in “Chemistry”, you will have to study Chemistry as well as Mathematics, Biology and Physics.
In addition to above requirements for the major, there are also some subjects that you may have to study irrespective of what major you have taken. These subjects may be - courses in writing, foreign language, communications, American history etc. It is only when you complete all these courses that you get a Bachelors degree: BA (Bachelor in Arts) or BS (Bachelor in Science).
Graduate studies in US (Tertiary Education):
On completion of 16 years of academic study and with a Bachelor’s degree (both US and International), you can go for two types of Graduate studies in US: Master's degree and Doctoral degree.
A US Master’s degree is a 2-year program on the subject matter (your major) you want to specialize in. Major of your Bachelor’s degree and Major of your Master’s degree may be different. For instance, a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering can do Masters in Computer Science; also a Bachelor in Arts can do MBA (Masters in Business Administration).
A US Doctoral degree (Ph. D) on the other hand is a much more focused program of study– depending upon your doctoral subject, your own academic ability and the university, a Ph. D program can take anything from 3-6 years, complete with thesis.
Following flow-chart (click to enlarge) from Wiki shows a comprehensive picture of US educational system, right from tiny-tots to Post-doctorates:
US educational system in terms of types of educational institutes:
On the basis of how the US educational institute is funded or is administered, the institutes can be grouped in following categories:
1.0 Public or State universities:
US Public or State universities are funded by US state governments to provide low-cost education to residents of that state (in which the university is located). This subsidy in educational cost is however not available to International students, as well as those from other US states. But even than, state university tuition costs are generally lower than those of private universities.
Also, in general, US Public or State universities attracts more students and hence have higher admission norms (SAT/GRE scores, educational background etc.) than Private universities.
2.0 Private universities:
US Private universities are funded through research grants, tuition fees, alumni donations etc. As there is no direct funding from government, the costs of study (i.e. tuition fees) at these universities are more compared to Public or State universities. Also there is no distinction of tuition fee between in-state (resident of that state in which the private university is located) and out-of-state students.
US Private universities in general are smaller than Public universities – while Public universities enrolls 20,000 or more students, private universities enrolls fewer students – sometime may be 2000 or less.
But most of the reputed top universities, including those of Ivy League are Private universities. While searching for Private universities, you must check whether or not they have educational accreditations – as the Degrees or other qualifications from unaccredited institutions may not be accepted by civil service or other employers. You can find a List of unaccredited US institutions here.
3.0 Community Colleges/Junior Colleges:
These are the colleges offering 2-year Associate degree programs – which may be publicly-funded or privately-funded. Publicly-funded colleges are called as Community Colleges while Privately-funded colleges are called as Junior Colleges.
Apart from above institutes, there are many Vocational and Technical Institution in US which imparts training for specific skilled trades and technical fields of employment. Duration of the courses depends on the particular subject
US Academic Calendar:
Along with the knowledge of US educational system, knowledge of US Academic sessions is a must before you plan to take up higher studies in US educational institutes, as this helps you plan for admissions better. Also, precious time may be lost if the academic calendar is not known.
Most American colleges and universities use three calendar systems:
i) Quarter system: In this system the calendar year is divided into four quarters, three of which is compulsory and the fourth optional - late September to mid-December (Fall quarter), early January to mid-March (Winter quarter), late March or early April to mid-June (Spring quarter), and an optional late June to mid-September (Summer session). Each Quarter is typically 10 week long.
Many students, especially international students opt for the summer session to reduce the total time required for completing the studies. For example, a 4-year Bachelors program may be completed within 3 or 3-1/2 year by taking summer courses. Approximately 20% of institutes are on the quarter system.
ii) Semester system: In this system the calendar year is divided into two semesters (each semester 15 week long) along with a optional summer sessions. Fall semester is from late August to mid-December and Spring semester is from early or mid-January to early or mid-May. Remaining period is the optional summer sessions.
iii) Trimester system: Very similar to Semester system, it divides the academic year into three equal trimesters (of 10–11 weeks each) - fall and winter and spring.
Most admissions in US educational institutes takes place in the Fall sessions: starting from September.
How popular are US educational institutes among international students?
US educational institutes, because of their transparency and openness are the most sought after educational institutes for decades now. Following chart from www.america.gov shows that number of international students enrolling in US educational institutes are rising every year:
Almost 600,000 international students are enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions. So irrespective of where you are from, it may quite be possible that you would be able to find some one of your own country in the educational institute you land up! In many US educational institutes, international students make up more than 20 percent of the total student e.g. University of Southern California (21.3 percent), Columbia University (24.3 percent), Harvard University (22.5 percent), Stanford University (23.9 percent)..
With above primer on US educational system, you may be thinking which US college/universities to join and what would be the cost involved. This is the subject matter of my next post: Best US College search engines – A beginner’s guide. Please watch out this space again!Labels: study in USA |
| posted by
Prasanta Bora on
October 10, 2008
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SAT Test - What, Why, When, Where and How!
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October 06, 2008
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 My nephew Jan, now in Class 9, wants to go for his higher education in US colleges through SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and has been after me to guide him how he should go about it. Why me? Because I love to blog on career exams!
My one-line answer was – please look for the information in the internet: the best place to look for is the official SAT site: www.collegeboard.com, since he would get all the authentic information from the official site. I also told him to take help of Wiki to gain in-depth knowledge on any topic. Than there is the best teacher in the world: Google!
But what he said was some thing very valid:
He does not want to go for it all by himself: since he is very young, there is every chance that he may misunderstand something and hence do the incorrect things. As always, an official SAT website such as www.collegeboard.com gives the information, but where is the “another” website which clarifies doubts and gives the information in a simpler way so that a Grade 9 student would understand?
There are after all many fake SAT sites, offering wrong/outdated SAT info. A Google search with key words “SAT test website” shows a result of mammoth “4,57,000” results! How can he choose the good ones? Also his current academic load is too much, leaving him with too little time and hence needs my help.
As a parent/guardian of a similar student as my nephew, you may have come across such strong arguments too.. what do you do in such cases? In my case, I had to succumb to his pleas and said – yes, I would try to help him in maximum way possible.
So my this blog post and subsequent few more would be devoted to SAT. It would answer such SAT related questions as below:
1.0 What is SAT? SAT Reasoning Test/SAT Subject Test
2.0 Why to appear in SAT?
3.0 What is the exam/test format of SAT?
4.0 What is a SAT score? How much you need to score in SAT.
5.0 How to register for SAT? SAT test registration.
6.0 Where to appear in SAT? SAT Test Centers.
7.0 When to appear in SAT? SAT Test dates.
8.0 How to prepare for SAT? SAT practice test.
You are welcome to join me while answering these questions – may be you would offer your suggestions/advices as a comment to these posts!Labels: SAT Test |
| posted by
Prasanta Bora on
October 06, 2008
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