Doctoral/PhD

Congratulations! You are now in an elite category of students who is dreaming of earning a doctorate from a top US university! As you may know, the United States has some of the most prestigious, comprehensive and rigorous doctoral programs in the world. The rewards of earning a US PhD from a good university are enormous in terms of prestige, career growth, and earning potential. If you are hard-working, dedicated, and persevering, success is guaranteed.

PlanetGPA (A service of USAsiaEdu, Inc) is here to assist you every step of the way!We do not accept every student that applies for our services. Instead, we carefully select the students that we want to work with. Once we accept you, PlanetGPA will provide you with step-by-step guidance regarding short-listing universities, selecting the right program, time lines, application process, and career counseling. Our goal is to make sure that every student of PlanetGPA is fully funded in the doctoral program. We work only with students that are fully committed to earning a doctoral program. The more dedicated and responsive you are, the higher are your chances of success in gaining funding and admission to a top doctoral program.

Funding: One of the great benefits of a US program in the US is that most doctoral students are partially or fully funded, thus reducing the financial burden on a student and his or her family. On the other hand, since the funding is available, top US universities receive a large number of applications from international students eager to enter the doctoral program. Hence, your grades and test scores must be good and your application must be thoughtful, well-written, and nearly perfect! Our goal is to make sure that students like you get the maximum amount of financial aid available. An important point to note: even though you may get funding, in order to get a visa, financial documents showing that you have funds to support your education are essential.

Timing: You must start your application process at least 12 months in advance. For example, if you plan to enroll in August 2012, you must start your the process of identifying schools and your application by August of the previous year. The earlier, the better and time is of the essence.

What tests are necessary to gain admission to a doctoral program? Most doctoral programs (except business) will require GRE. Business doctoral programs usually require the GMAT. Some universities may require GRE subject tests as well. It is important to take the tests early and to score well on these tests. Test scores are one of the many factors that are taken into account in deciding funding. If you are from a non-English speaking country, TOEFL or IELTS is required. You must do well on these tests also.

In most cases, if you score below 1000 on the GRE or below 500 on the GMAT, the chances of admission to a doctoral program in the US are slim and full funding is difficult. Hence it is important to do well on GRE or GMAT. Practice GRE; Practice GMAT!

PlanetGPA Counselling Process:

We follow the following rigorous steps in assisting you with your doctoral application. While other services on this site are free, counseling doctoral students is not free.  There is a charge and it varies from country to country. Please email us at info@planetgpa.com for additional information. Here are the steps that we follow while counseling a doctoral student. The first step is to complete the profile form on PlanetGPA.

Comprehensive Student Profile Form:

We are able to successfully short-list universities based on our in-depth understanding of you, your career goals, your research interests, your academic profile and accomplishments, and your personality and preferences.

This form consists of the following sections:

• Contact details
• Academic Profile
• Financial Profile
• Career Goals
• Research Interests
• Preferences

Review and Assessment:

Based on the information you provide, we will do a comprehensive assessment of your profile and provide you with feedback on how to improve your chances of gaining admission to a good doctoral program.

Customized and comprehensive list of doctoral universities:

Unlike other degree programs, short-listing universities for doctoral students is one of the most critical and time-consuming steps. It requires in-depth knowledge and expertise on the part of the counselor about US doctoral programs, admission criteria of institutions, funding opportunities and other related matters. Your report will include information on the following factors:

• Average GRE score
• Average TOEFL score
• Publications per Faculty member
• Citations of faculty work
• Percent faculty with grants
• Awards per faculty member
• Percent new students with full financial support
• Average Completion Percent
• Time to degree

• Percent PhD with Academic jobs
• Alumni employment
• Percent of Foreign students
• Number of PhD graduates (2002-06)
• Percent Interdisciplinary faculty
• Location
• Percent new students with external grants
• Student work space

Why are these factors important? These factors are important because they will affect not only your chances of gaining admission, but also your career opportunities and future earning potential. Hence, while any consultant can come up with a few names of universities that offer doctoral programs, the key is to find an experienced counselor who is an expert in doctoral programs. PlanetGPA specializes in admission to doctoral programs.

Review of universities and selection:

Based on the information we provide in our Customized Report, you should review the list of recommended universities. This review should be thorough, on your part. If you have any questions as you review these universities, our counselors will be happy to assist. Based on your review, you should identify 3 to 5 universities and rank them in the order of preference.

Essay Development and Review:

The essay is one of the most important parts of your application. Unlike other degree programs, essays are reviewed carefully by doctoral committees and funding decisions are sometimes based on the quality of your essay. One essay does not fit all schools! Your essay has to be customized to the vision and mission of the institution and the department. Your essay should show your knowledge and understanding about the department, its programs, and faculty profiles. Your essay will be reviewed by our experienced counselors for content and then it will be reviewed by an editorial team for writing style and clarity. You should expect several iterations of your essay and should be patient and cooperative throughout this process.

Letters of Reference:

Like your essay, your letters of reference can make or break you. We will work closely with you to draft letters that align with your research interest and career goals. Further, your letters should appeal to the unique interests of the institution to which you are applying.

• Application Assistance: We will assist you to complete the doctoral applications to three universities of your choice
• Comprehensive Review of Documents: All documents will be mailed to the US office for a thorough review before it is mailed to the university. Each university has its own unique processes and procedures that must be met for successful admission. The more thorough and accurate your application package is, the better are your chances of admission. A team of US counsellors will review your documents, ensure everything is in order, and mail the package to the university once the checklist is complete.
• Follow-up: If and when necessary, we will follow up with the university to determine the status of your application
• Deadlines! Deadlines! Deadlines are firm in the US. There is no leeway. Hence, one of our tasks is to make sure that you meet all deadlines. In fact, we highly encourage early applications as funding decisions at some universities are made on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Ethics: We hold ourselves and our students to the highest standards of integrity and ethics. We expect our students to provide accurate and truthful information at all times.

PlanetGPA has earned a world-wide reputation as a leader in assisting doctoral students pursue doctoral programs in the US with funding. If you are committed to pursuing a PhD, PlanetGPA is your best and most trustworthy resource.

Online Degrees:

In the last decade or so, online degrees have grown from a few to thousands! Today online degrees are offered in nearly every degree and every discipline. From high school diplomas, to undergraduate and graduate degrees, MBAs, and even doctoral degrees, online degrees have become fairly common. From famous ranked universities to lesser known names, many US universities offer online degrees. In fact, there are some universities that are exclusively online. For example, Western Governors University is a non-profit online university that was founded by the governors of 19 U.S. states and it offers accredited online bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Some universities, like MIT, even post their courses free of charge under the Open Courseware program.Sloan-School-of-Management. It is an outstanding source to learn from the best without spending any money!

Certificates:

Students or working professionals who may not be interested in earning a degree, but instead are interested in shorter duration cutting-edge courses to enhance their resume or professional background can earn certificates. These short courses taught by industry experts, rather than faculty, are offered in units called Continuing Education at most universities. For example, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the School of Continuing Education offers a number of professional certificates both for students and working professionals.

Conclusion:

Regardless of what degree you earn, make sure you attend a quality institution. One way to make sure that you can get a quality education is to attend an accredited US universities and colleges. Not all US universities are the same. Simply because you have “heard” about a university doesn’t mean it is good. Simply because your neighbor or friend attended that university doesn’t make it good. At the very least, you should check to see if the university you are considering is accredited. See link.

Why does accreditation matter? Think about it like a car or a house. You want someone to inspect the car or house and tell you that it meets basic standards of quality. That’s exactly what accreditation means for universities! There are other considerations as well – but start with asking if your university is accredited.

A comprehensive overview of US higher education is available here.