MCA from IGNOU: Is it good for a mechanical engineer mom?

Ans: Hello,

First and foremost, thank you for getting in touch with us. I am happy to hear that your daughter is currently pursuing her Master’s in Computer Applications in Karnataka, after which you wish to send her to the USA to pursue a Master’s degree there. I would like to inform you that your daughter stands a decent chance of securing a seat for an MS program in the United States on completing her Master’s in Computer Applications. As the first step, I recommend that your daughter conducts an extensive study and choose American universities offering Computer Science Master’s programs. Your daughter should take into consideration her educational and research pursuits and opt for those universities that best match with those interests. She could further enhance her changes of securing admission to a good Master’s program. For that, I recommend her to enrol in pertinent programs in Computer Science while still pursuing her MCA (Master’s in Computer Applications). Furthermore, to showcase her passion and abilities in the field of her choosing, I strongly believe that she should start interning at companies or be a part of research initiatives. Foreign students wishing to enrol in Master’s programs at universities in the USA are required to appear for standardized exams viz., the GRE. To increase her chances of getting accepted to these programs, I recommend that your daughter should study well as well as try to achieve high scores in the exam. As part of the application process, foreign universities also require international students to prove their English speaking abilities. This can be achieved through appearing for English proficiency tests viz., the IELTS or TOEFL. I suggest that your daughter prepares for and appears for these tests in order to fulfill the linguistic prerequisites set forth by these universities.

Your daughter will need to submit important documents including a compelling Statement of Purpose and Recommendation Letters from faculty members who can attest to her academic capabilities and character. Submitting these, I believe could possibly boost her application thereby making her a perfect fit for the Master’s degree in Computer Science or any other associated discipline. In addition, she may also need to appear for interviews which is part of the process of applying to certain universities. I suggest that she prepares well for the same by researching common interview questions and planning her responses to those queries. Although studying overseas is a costly affair, multiple grants, scholarships, and financial aid opportunities are offered by universities to international students. Your daughter should look into the available options. I recommend that you constantly check the admission prerequisites and application deadlines of each university as they vary. On receiving a Letter of Acceptance from the university applied to, your daughter will then need to obtain a valid student visa to study in the United States. She should apply for a F-1 visa. Familiarize yourself with the visa processes as well as the prerequisites.

Planning on sending your daughter to the USA for a Master’s degree is an excellent choice. However, keep in mind that securing admission to the same can be cut-throat, and for that reason I recommend that your daughter studies hard to achieve success.

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Ans: Yes. However, please advise her to search for a suitable through LinkedIn / other sources. Even if she gets an offer from any small/mid-sized company, she can gain experience and, at the same time, pursue her MCA. All the BEST for Your Daughter's Bright Future.

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Ans: For some universities the eligibility for MCA is Science. In which case you are not eligible. But there are universities which allow BCom students to do MCA. So look out for such universities and appply.

Ans: Yes, you can pursue. To get into an MSc Mathematics program at IITs, you will need to qualify in IIT JAM.