Every university has detailed and specific guidelines in their application brochure about the documents that they will need you to submit with the application. However, it is good to have a general idea of the sort of documents that are usually needed for an application to be deemed complete. Here is a list:

• College Transcripts: A transcript is another name for a marksheet provided by your college or university at the end of each semester that lists in detail the courses taken and the grades obtained in these courses. You are allowed to send notarized copies of your transcripts with the application. The admission will then be contingent upon your providing the original transcripts when you join. Another point is that since you will usually send out your applications before you have graduated from your college, it is okay to provide the marksheets only up to that semester. However, you will need to provide the rest when you join.

• Letters of Recommendation: Most universities require you to provide three letters of recommendation. The faculty members in your department are the best people to ask for these letters. However, if you did an internship at another institution or corporation, getting a letter from your mentor or supervisor would be a big plus. Some universities will provide actual recommendation forms that you may get filled out by your references, in lieu of letters. In general, a good letter of recommendation would touch upon not only your academic achievements but also your analytical and problem-solving skills and preferable provide some anecdotal examples.

• Statement of Purpose: This will possibly turn out to be the most important document in your application. A statement of purpose can best be described as a document for your academic past and the future. It should clearly describe why you chose your particular academic discipline, why you are interested in pursuing graduate study in that discipline or why you are interested in a different discipline than the one you did your bachelor’s degree in. It should also clearly outline the ideas you have about what you would like to do and what you are interested in researching. It is very important that these ideas and interests mesh with the interests of a group of a faculty member at that university, which you should find out and mention in the statement. You should also read some of the research that the group or the faculty member has published in conferences and journals to find out more about the kind of research that they do and the direction that it is headed in. This will help you immensely.

• Financial Support Statement: Another important document is the financial support statement. This is usually in the shape of a form provided with the application. In this document, you will usually provide declare your financial assets to show that you will be able to support the first year of your graduate education at the university. You will probably need to provide notarized bank statements along with this statement. However, it is entirely possible that you may not need to submit this until you have been granted an admission to the university. It usually depends upon the university admission policy.