Application Process Part II

Continuing from my previous post....

Here is the list of other documents required by the universities:

4. Recommendation Letters: Almost all universities require you to send them atleast one recommendation letter but it is preferable to send them two recommendation letters. Here are some tips on recommendation letters.

- If you are still in college, get two recommendation letters from your professors. Try your best to get it from a professor who has a PhD and not from a junior lecturer or an assistant professor. It is always recommended to have the letter neatly formatted (full justified, proper margins on all sides, Arial or Times New Roman 10pt. font), spell checked and printed under the college letter head or under the letter head of the concerned professor and don't forget to get the signature and seal of the professor in the letter. Once the letter is complete, put it an envelope carrying the name of your college. If that's not available put it in a white envelope, seal it using good quality glue and take a seal and signature of your professor across the flap of the envelope. Please avoid using brown, orange or any other coloured envelopes for recommendation letters.

Remind your professor to include following details without fail: 

- His/Her contact number (preferably mobile number)

- Email ID (preferably the ID supplied by the college and not the personal ID which uses Gmail, yahoo etc.,)

- Full address of the college

If you are employed, you need to provide one recommendation letter from your immediate supervisor and one from a professor who taught you during the bachelor course.

When taking a recommendation letter from the company, it is always better to take one from the highest possible authority under whom you are employed, like tower head, head of your business unit, director or atleast from your project manager. Avoid recommendation letters from people who are in the same hierarchy as you are!

As for the letter and it's format; make sure it is in the company letter head which carries the following details:

- Company logo (ask your HR to spare one letter head for you and don't try to show your skills in MS Paint by trying to make a letter head of your own!)

- Company website

- Telephone/Fax numbers

- Full address of the registered office

Ask your recommender to include following details without fail:

- His/Her full name

- Designation

- Official e-mail ID (personal mail Id's from Gmail, Yahoo etc., should be avoided)

- Contact number (mobile number as well as the office phone with proper extension number)

Enclose the recommendation letter in the company envelope and get the signature of your recommender across the flap of the envelope. As far as I know, none of the employees in private sector companies carry a seal. So, seal is not required. You can inform this to this to the admission office of the German university if they are very particular on having a seal!

I was informed by a few students in Germany that if a recommendation letter can be obtained from a foreign client for whom you worked, it will improve your chances exponentially! But many companies (especially US based MNC's) have rules in place which prevents you from asking personal favors from a client. So, before shooting a mail to your client, talk to your manager or HR and make sure you are not breaking any rules by doing so!

Important: Some universities have their own specific format for recommendation letters. You need to download the form, get it filled by the recommenders and send it to the university in a sealed envelope or from the official mail ID of the recommenders. Make sure you visit the university website or contact the course coordinator to know exactly how the recommendation letters need to be sent.

5. Experience Certificate: Contact your HR to get the experience certificate. Each company has it's own format for issuing this certificate and universities do not insist on any specific format. But make sure that the certificate is in the company letter head and carries the signature of HR Manager. Experience certificate can be sent as it is and not in a sealed envelope.

6. German language certificates issued by Goethe Institute or any other recognized authority.

7. Bachelor Degree Certificate: Take a good quality photocopy of the degree certificate on an A4 bond paper and get the seal and signature from your college principal or a public notary. Get multiple copies of degree certificate authorized as you will be sending it to many universities. For information on notarization see my previous blog entry on university transcripts.

8. Certificates issued on completion of internship or academic project: Take a good quality photocopy of the certificate on an A4 bond paper and get the seal and signature from a public notary. Get multiple copies of this certificate authorized as you will be sending it to many universities. For information on notarization see my previous blog entry on university transcripts.

9. GRE and TOEFL score report: Take a good quality photocopy of the these reports on a A4 bond paper and get a seal and signature from a public notary. Get multiple copies of these reports authorized as you will be sending it to many universities. For information on notarization

see my previous blog entry on university transcripts.

Note: Most of the universities ask for a notarized copy of the GRE and TOEFL score report and it is not required to report the scores through ETS. But a few universities require the scores to be sent officially through ETS. So before reporting the score through ETS make sure the university is asking for it specifically. This will save you a lot of money.

10. Miscellaneous Certificates: If you have received any professional certifications like PMP, Six Sigma, Microsoft Certifications, CISCO Certifications, PTC Certification for Pro/E, ANSYS Certifications or certificates issued by an organization of international repute, you can send them to the university. It will definetly add value to your application. Certifications issued by institutes like NIIT, Aptech, IIHT etc., may not be of much use!

NOTE: While sending authorized photocopies of a document, make sure you send the original authorized copy to each university and not the photocopy of the authorized document. e.g. If your are sending a notarized copy of your bachelor degree certificate, make sure it is the original notarized copy and not a photocopy of it! This is also true for recommendation letters.

To be continued in my next post......

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