UCF ..

After finishing my bachelors in Economics from Miranda House, Delhi University, I wanted to pursue research in economics as my field of profession. I completed my masters in Economics from Jamia Millia Islamia in June 2007 and took up teaching at Delhi University. In Economics, I realized that PhD is of utmost importance to climb up the ladder in the research field. To start with, I had no idea how to go about the whole process of applying to US universities however, few of my friends who were already in US and some student help sites provided the assistance for basic groundwork. I decided to take my GRE in the month of November’07 that I regretted later as it was too late and I missed many deadlines. Nevertheless, I went ahead with the date and started preparing for it on my own. Due to some unforeseen reasons I could not do enough justice to GRE and scored much below my expectations. The universities that I had short listed earlier seemed like a far fetched dream. Somehow I lost the hope of making it to good schools and thought of taking GRE again in the coming year. In the mean time I spoke to one of the professors at the University of Central Florida (UCF) who convinced me that it is the overall profile (academics, projects, publications, work experience, statement of purpose, TOEFL, GRE etc) that matters and GRE is just one of the evaluation criteria. After a month of contemplation I decided to apply to UCF for PhD in Environment Economics. My experience in the field of Environment Economics in terms of a publication and an internship project helped me to write the Statement of Purpose and added to my background profile for higher level of specialization in the same. Teaching experience at Delhi University gave me an edge, as having an academic profession for a doctoral degree always helps. I got my recommendations from my professors at Jamia Millia Islamia, who are renowned in the research world for their work and contribution. The process of applying ended in mid January and I did not apply to any other university. I was elated when I saw the status of my application as admitted in a couple of months. After that it was a smooth ride to get the visa as I was awarded a fee waiver and Teaching Assistantship. I will be joining UCF in the month of August for the coming fall session. To end this, all I would say is that do not lose hope even if you do not score well in GRE as one exam can not reflect all your abilities. However, this is not to deny that a good GRE score definitely adds to your overall profile. Good luck to all the future aspirants.
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