Admission to the master's program in Israel

Before a foreign student starts studying for a master’s degree, there is a long admission process. It includes filling out various documents, passing tests (TOEFL, GRE), letters of recommendation, motivation letter, and more.
How does this happen for the magistracy in Israel?

Continuation of the first article about the master's program in Israel.

Admission

In order for a foreign student to be enrolled in the magistracy, you actually need to submit about the same set of documents required for the magistracy, for example, in the United States, which is extremely convenient if you say you want to go there and there. It is usually said that all documents are equally important, but I will indicate them in order of decreasing importance, from my point of view. So this:

1. Statement of Purpose
   Motivation letter. In my opinion, the most important component of the entire package of documents. No more than two pages, you must convince the admissions office why you are suitable for your chosen specialty and why they should enroll you from all applicants. The motivation letter shows the individuality of the future master's student, which distinguishes him from the general pool of applicants and which should hook professors from the admissions office.
   There are many supporting literature to write this letter. Usually applicants indicate the reasons for which they want to enroll in the magistracy and how training will help them achieve certain goals in the future. Also, after writing, it will not be superfluous to give a letter for proofreading to a native speaker (for example, an American). It will help to correct mistakes, to alter any phrases and lexical turns in order to make your letter pleasant to read.
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2. Letters of Recommendation
   Two letters of recommendation, in which other people already assess you: why you are suitable for a particular specialty, what your strengths and weaknesses are, how well you know how to work in a team, etc. Do not be afraid of criticism in these letters, it is just appropriate here, but it should be objective. One of the letters should definitely be from the professor.
   I sent 3 letters of recommendation: one - from my supervisor, with whom I wrote a diploma in the first degree; the second is from the head of my department, and the third is from the director of the company where I worked.
   Usually, Russian professors do not like to write letters of recommendation on their own, as it should be, so I wrote them myself and gave them for approval. Then he translated them into English, and they signed them. Each letter should be sealed in a separate envelope, on the glue of which should be the signature of the recommender and the seal of the faculty.
   
   
3. TOEFL
   Test of English as a Foreign Language . International English Test. It is a compulsory test for foreign students. The minimum passing score is low: 80 according to TOEFL internet-based (iBT).
   
   
4. GRE
   General Record Examinations . International test for admission to the magistracy or graduate school. Not required for graduate studies at Technion. The test itself consists of three parts:
   
   • Verbal - part of the test for knowledge of English - is quite difficult for foreign students; but there is a list of about 800 words that are regularly used in each test. If you know it by heart, it will help a lot when you surrender.
   • Quantitative is the part where mathematics knowledge is tested; the part is not complicated at all, the level of approximately school mathematics of the 10th, 11th grade.
   • Analytical Writing - the part where you need to write something to the two questions asked; the part is not very difficult if you are well prepared for it.
   
   There is a lot of educational material that can help in preparing for the test. If you enter a technical specialty, then you need to focus more on the quantitative part and try to get a high score. If you score a low score in the Verbal part, you should not worry too much. It happens that the Americans themselves, for example, badly hand over this part.
   
   
5. Official transcript
   The official translation of the diploma. Everyone does it differently, so I will describe how I did it.
   Since I applied for the magistracy, while still a first-degree student, I did a translation of the record book. I came to the international department of my university (then it was still the Ural State Technical University - UPI), where I was transferred. He is needed in other copies that I signed by the Vice-Rector for International Relations.
   The average score of the diploma is also worth counting and indicate it in your point system (5-point). All universities have translation scales, so you don’t need to translate yourself. My average score was 4.62. In the first courses there were triples, as it was not clear why they taught. In the past 3 years, he took up his mind, - all the sessions were excellent, which increased my grade point average.
   
   
6. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
   Ordinary resume. Everything is as usual: education, work experience, skills. You can specify the names of publications.
   
   
7. Application
   The standard application form for training in the magistracy. Specify the degree to which you apply, faculty, specialty, personal data, information about the former place of study, work.
   
   
8. Application Fee $ 100
   Each university charges a fee for reviewing documents. In my opinion, $ 100 is quite a large amount compared to other universities. But the main problem is that for some reason the Technion does not accept payments by credit card, but exclusively by international payment checks.
   
   
9. Scholarship application
   Application form for scholarships during training. The scholarship is not paid in the same way as in Russia. It consists of portions: from 1 to 6. Each portion of the scholarship consists in turn of two parts. One part goes to pay for tuition, the other part goes to your bank account for monthly expenses. Each portion of the scholarship is approximately 25% of tuition fees. Thus, if your scholarship consists of three portions, then the university pays 75% of the tuition fee for you, and only 25% remains for your share. Plus to your account every month comes 2436 shekels, which is approximately 650 dollars.
   
   
   
10. Dormitories Application
    Application form for the settlement in the hostel. They are all different, many buildings, so I will describe where I live.
    Our dormitory building is 4-storey houses for two duplex apartments. 6 people live in the apartment: 3 people on the first floor and 3 on the second. One person in the room. Each floor has a shower and toilet. One kitchen and spacious lounge.
    The room is small, but for one person is enough. Each room has air conditioning - in the summer you cannot survive without it. And one more thing without which it is difficult to survive is the Internet. The speed is about three megabits.
    The fee for accommodation in a hostel is about 850 shekels per month (about $ 225), including Internet and utility costs.
    
    
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So, after you have prepared all the documents, we seal them in an envelope, your signature on the gluing and printing of the faculty.
In January-February the answer about enrollment comes, we buy a one-way ticket and quietly enter Israel using a tourist visa. To issue a student visa, being on the territory of the Russian Federation is not necessary. It can be obtained already in Israel.
A small digression on the visa. Student visa gives the right to study only. If you want to go home during the holidays, for example, or somewhere else, then you can’t get back on a student visa. For entry you also need to issue an entry visa, which allows you to safely leave the country and return as much as you like.

In the last part of the article I will write about studying in a magistracy: how are the lectures, practices, questions with language, about the choice of a supervisor and what knowledge is really needed for a painless study in Israel's magistracy.