Application process for higher study in abroad. Masters or Ph.D

While applying to a graduate study program, students are overwhelmed with many questions. The questions that most often baffle the potential students are how to select a university? How to apply and what documents are needed for the purpose? Is it needed to contact a professor before applying? etc. 
 

Selection of University:

Selection of University may be the simplest yet most baffling question that the students have to deal with. There is no straightforward answer on how to select an appropriate university. However, the most rational way of selecting universities would be to choose the ones whose criteria for GPA, GRE score etc. are corresponding to that of the applicant. In fact, most universities put up the average GRE score, GPA etc. of the students admitted the previous years. This can be an indicator of which universities are appropriate for an applicant. There are some other websites that can help in this regard too e.g.( list-of-all-us-universities ,  universities-based-on-gre-scores ). It is to be noted that universities often accept students with lower GPA, GRE scores etc. if their application is strong with a persuasive statement of purpose and good recommendations. 
Universities with the high acceptance rate of applicants every year can be used as a basis for selection for universities as well. After all, you wouldn’t want to waste your money on application fee for universities that will most likely reject you.
The more effective way to select a university would be to look at the research work conducted by the faculty members and see if it matches your interest. This goes for the people interested in Doctoral studies and research work. While this seems like an arduous and lengthy process, it ultimately pays off in the long run. While it is not mandatory, but establishing a relationship with a professor early on increases the probability of admission in the university. It all depends on whether you have been able to gain the attention of the professor and if he is willing to provide funding or not. See for more details in the section ‘Contacting a Faculty’.
Another dilemma faced by students is to decide on the number of universities to apply to. Since there is a significant amount of application fee associated, the number of application should be optimized based on the chance of getting admission and budget for applying.
Another rule of thumb is to select three categories of universities: universities with high, medium and low ranking. Common sense has to be applied for making this selection so that the probability of getting accepted is higher.
Sometimes people base the selection of universities based on location, weather and living cost etc. This might be particularly useful for students who aim to apply for Masters and graduate studies without funding. The following and other websites can be used to determine the living cost in a certain area: 50-great-affordable-college-towns-in-the-u-s 
Any or all of the criteria can be used to figure out which universities to apply to. After making the primary selection, more information can be obtained from the official website of the universities in the list.
 

Application Process:

Each university has their own deadline and process of application, but most of the application process is similar. Most of the application processes are online making it easier for access. Generally, the application process requires uploading softcopy of the statement of purpose, personal information, certification etc.; sending scores of GRE, TOEFL; providing hard copy or online submission of recommendation letter, sending a hardcopy of attested copies of transcript etc. There are fees associated with the application, sending scores of the tests etc. It is also important to take into factor the time required for attesting certificates and transcripts and getting the recommendation letter. It often requires quite a long time to get a recommendation letter from a faculty member and other people. If the time factor is not accounted for, it might be difficult to meet the deadline for application.
 

Contacting a Faculty:

When somebody asks me whether he or she should contact a professor, I say ‘why not? There’s no harm in reaching out.’ In fact, if a meaningful relationship can be established with a faculty member, there is a greater chance of getting admission and funding. In fact, many graduate students have got admission based on personal contact with the professor. There is no alternative to applying through the traditional application process though. No matter how strong a professor vouches for a student; no admission committee will admit a student without a strong application, good score and impressive SOP.
Students can apply without contacting a professor and still get admission as most of the graduate students do. However, if a student contacts a professor, the content should be meaningful. There are tips available on how to establish good contact through emails 4 Tips to email Professors for Graduate School Admission in USA?   How does contacting a professor before applying factor into graduate admissions? 
You may want to contact a faculty member before or after admission to talk about potential funding source and/or research. For students with no funding, this could be an opportunity to talk about getting teaching assistantship etc. We encourage students to contact the Graduate Advisor faculty in the department of the university. The graduate advisor can help answer many questions including admission, funding and even personal queries regarding living abroad etc.
Overall, contacting a faculty is always positive. The worse that could happen is that the professor will not respond. But you don’t want to miss a chance of getting a potential good supervisor or someone who can help you with your admission and funding.
How important is it to contact a professor? Here you can find an interesting article: Should You Email Professors at Potential Grad Schools?