in this page i have posted the ranking (branch wise) of grad schoola and in next page you will get info abt gre and how to apply ,visa interview fund and all other stuff
sorry the blog is little under construction and not organised
Thursday, June 25, 2009
top electrical schools ranking
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2 Stanford University (CA)
3 University of California–Berkeley
4 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
5 California Institute of Technology
6 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
7 Georgia Institute of Technology
8 Cornell University (NY)
9 Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
10 Princeton University (NJ)
11 Purdue University–West Lafayette (IN)
12 University of Texas–Austin
13 University of California–Los Angeles (Samueli)
14 University of Southern California (Viterbi)
15 University of Wisconsin–Madison
16.University of Maryland–College Park (Clark)
17 University of California–San Diego (Jacobs)
18 Rice University (Brown) (TX)
19 University of California–Santa Barbara
20 University of Washington
21 Pennsylvania State University–University Park
22 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
23 Texas A&M University–College Station (Look)
24 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
25 Virginia Tech
26 Arizona State University (Fulton)
27 Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY)
28 Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) (MD)
29 North Carolina State University
30 Ohio State University
31 Harvard University (MA)
32 Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL)
33 University of Florida
34 University of Pennsylvania
35 Brown University (RI)
36 Duke University (NC)
37 University of Arizona
38 University of Virginia
39 Yale University (CT)
40 University of California–Davis
41 University of Colorado–Boulder
42 Washington University in St. Louis (Sever)
43 Boston University
44 Iowa State University
45 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick
46 University of California–Irvine (Samueli)
47 University of Massachusetts–Amherst
48 University of Notre Dame (IN)
49 Auburn University (Ginn) (AL)
50 Case Western Reserve University (OH)
51 Dartmouth College (Thayer) (NH)
52 Northeastern University (MA)
53 Vanderbilt University (TN)
54 Michigan State University
55 Oregon State University
56 University of Rochester (NY)
57 Clemson University (SC)
58 Colorado State University
59 Drexel University (PA)
60 Lehigh University (Rossin) (PA)
61 Polytechnic University (NY)
62 SUNY–Stony Brook
63 University of Illinois–Chicago
64University of Missouri–Rolla
65 University of New Mexico
66 University of Pittsburgh
67 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA)
68 University at Buffalo–SUNY
69 University of Central Florida
70 University of Delaware
71 University of Iowa
72 Washington State University
73 Stevens Institute of Technology (Schaefer) (NJ)
74 Texas Tech University
75 University of Connecticut
76 University of Kansas
77 University of Missouri–Columbia
78 University of Tennessee–Knoxville
79 University of Texas–Dallas (Jonsson)
80 University of Utah
2 Stanford University (CA)
3 University of California–Berkeley
4 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
5 California Institute of Technology
6 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
7 Georgia Institute of Technology
8 Cornell University (NY)
9 Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
10 Princeton University (NJ)
11 Purdue University–West Lafayette (IN)
12 University of Texas–Austin
13 University of California–Los Angeles (Samueli)
14 University of Southern California (Viterbi)
15 University of Wisconsin–Madison
16.University of Maryland–College Park (Clark)
17 University of California–San Diego (Jacobs)
18 Rice University (Brown) (TX)
19 University of California–Santa Barbara
20 University of Washington
21 Pennsylvania State University–University Park
22 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
23 Texas A&M University–College Station (Look)
24 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
25 Virginia Tech
26 Arizona State University (Fulton)
27 Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY)
28 Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) (MD)
29 North Carolina State University
30 Ohio State University
31 Harvard University (MA)
32 Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL)
33 University of Florida
34 University of Pennsylvania
35 Brown University (RI)
36 Duke University (NC)
37 University of Arizona
38 University of Virginia
39 Yale University (CT)
40 University of California–Davis
41 University of Colorado–Boulder
42 Washington University in St. Louis (Sever)
43 Boston University
44 Iowa State University
45 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick
46 University of California–Irvine (Samueli)
47 University of Massachusetts–Amherst
48 University of Notre Dame (IN)
49 Auburn University (Ginn) (AL)
50 Case Western Reserve University (OH)
51 Dartmouth College (Thayer) (NH)
52 Northeastern University (MA)
53 Vanderbilt University (TN)
54 Michigan State University
55 Oregon State University
56 University of Rochester (NY)
57 Clemson University (SC)
58 Colorado State University
59 Drexel University (PA)
60 Lehigh University (Rossin) (PA)
61 Polytechnic University (NY)
62 SUNY–Stony Brook
63 University of Illinois–Chicago
64University of Missouri–Rolla
65 University of New Mexico
66 University of Pittsburgh
67 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA)
68 University at Buffalo–SUNY
69 University of Central Florida
70 University of Delaware
71 University of Iowa
72 Washington State University
73 Stevens Institute of Technology (Schaefer) (NJ)
74 Texas Tech University
75 University of Connecticut
76 University of Kansas
77 University of Missouri–Columbia
78 University of Tennessee–Knoxville
79 University of Texas–Dallas (Jonsson)
80 University of Utah
top computer school ranking
COMPUTER SCIENCE/COMPUTER ENGINEERING 2008-2009 RANKINGS[/b]
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,Cambridge, MA
2. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
2. University of California--Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
4. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
5. University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign ,Urbana, IL
6. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI
7. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
7. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
9. University of Texas--Austin (Cockrell), Austin, TX
10. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
10. Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
10. Purdue University--West Lafayette ,West Lafayette, IN
13. University of California--Los Angeles, (Samueli),Los Angeles, CA
13. University of Southern California (Viterbi), Los Angeles, CA
13. University of Washington Seattle, WA
16. University of Wisconsin--Madison, Madison, WI
17. University of Maryland--College Park (Clark), College Park, MD
18. Pennsylvania State University--University Park ,University Park, PA
18. University of California--San Diego (Jacobs), La Jolla, CA
18. University of Minnesota--Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
21. Rice University (Brown), Houston, TX
22. Duke University, Durham, NC
22. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting), Baltimore, MD
22. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
25. Columbia University (Fu Foundation), New York, NY
25. Northwestern University (McCormick), Evanston, IL
25. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
25. Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
29. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
29. Ohio State University Columbus, OH
29. Texas A&M University--College Station (Look), College Station, TX
29. University of California--Irvine (Samueli), Irvine, CA
29. University of California--Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
29. University of Colorado--Boulder, Boulder, CO
29. University of Florida ,Gainesville, FL
29. University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA
37. Arizona State University (Fulton) ,Tempe, AZ
37. Brown University,Providence, RI
37. Harvard University ,Cambridge, MA
37. University of California--Davis Davis, CA
41. Iowa State University, Ames, IA
41. University of Arizona ,Tucson, AZ
41.University of Massachusetts--Amherst ,Amherst, MA
41.Washington University in St. Louis (Sever), St. Louis, MO
41.Yale University, New Haven, CT
46. Michigan State University ,East Lansing, MI
46. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--New Brunswick, Piscataway, NJ
46. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
49. Boston University ,Boston, MA
49. Northeastern University, Boston, MA
49. SUNY--Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY
49. University of Rochester,Rochester, NY
53. Dartmouth College (Thayer) ,Hanover, NH
53. University at Buffalo--SUNY Buffalo, NY
53. University of Notre Dame ,Notre Dame, IN
53. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
57. Auburn University (Ginn), Auburn ,, AL
57. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
57. Clemson University ,Clemson, SC
57. Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
57. Lehigh University (Rossin), Bethlehem, PA
57. Missouri University of Science & Technology ,Rolla, MO
57. Oregon State University ,Corvallis, OR
57. Polytechnic University ,Brooklyn, NY
57. Syracuse University ,Syracuse, NY
57. University of California--Riverside (Bourns), Riverside, CA
57. University of Delaware, Newark, DE
57. University of Illinois--Chicago ,Chicago, IL
57. University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
57. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
57. University of Tennessee--Knoxville, Knoxville, TN
72. University of Connecticut ,Storrs, CT
72. University of Kansas ,Lawrence, KS
72. University of Missouri--Columbia, Columbia, MO
72. University of New Mexico
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,Cambridge, MA
2. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
2. University of California--Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
4. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
5. University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign ,Urbana, IL
6. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI
7. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
7. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
9. University of Texas--Austin (Cockrell), Austin, TX
10. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
10. Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
10. Purdue University--West Lafayette ,West Lafayette, IN
13. University of California--Los Angeles, (Samueli),Los Angeles, CA
13. University of Southern California (Viterbi), Los Angeles, CA
13. University of Washington Seattle, WA
16. University of Wisconsin--Madison, Madison, WI
17. University of Maryland--College Park (Clark), College Park, MD
18. Pennsylvania State University--University Park ,University Park, PA
18. University of California--San Diego (Jacobs), La Jolla, CA
18. University of Minnesota--Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
21. Rice University (Brown), Houston, TX
22. Duke University, Durham, NC
22. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting), Baltimore, MD
22. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
25. Columbia University (Fu Foundation), New York, NY
25. Northwestern University (McCormick), Evanston, IL
25. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
25. Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
29. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
29. Ohio State University Columbus, OH
29. Texas A&M University--College Station (Look), College Station, TX
29. University of California--Irvine (Samueli), Irvine, CA
29. University of California--Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
29. University of Colorado--Boulder, Boulder, CO
29. University of Florida ,Gainesville, FL
29. University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA
37. Arizona State University (Fulton) ,Tempe, AZ
37. Brown University,Providence, RI
37. Harvard University ,Cambridge, MA
37. University of California--Davis Davis, CA
41. Iowa State University, Ames, IA
41. University of Arizona ,Tucson, AZ
41.University of Massachusetts--Amherst ,Amherst, MA
41.Washington University in St. Louis (Sever), St. Louis, MO
41.Yale University, New Haven, CT
46. Michigan State University ,East Lansing, MI
46. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--New Brunswick, Piscataway, NJ
46. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
49. Boston University ,Boston, MA
49. Northeastern University, Boston, MA
49. SUNY--Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY
49. University of Rochester,Rochester, NY
53. Dartmouth College (Thayer) ,Hanover, NH
53. University at Buffalo--SUNY Buffalo, NY
53. University of Notre Dame ,Notre Dame, IN
53. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
57. Auburn University (Ginn), Auburn ,, AL
57. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
57. Clemson University ,Clemson, SC
57. Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
57. Lehigh University (Rossin), Bethlehem, PA
57. Missouri University of Science & Technology ,Rolla, MO
57. Oregon State University ,Corvallis, OR
57. Polytechnic University ,Brooklyn, NY
57. Syracuse University ,Syracuse, NY
57. University of California--Riverside (Bourns), Riverside, CA
57. University of Delaware, Newark, DE
57. University of Illinois--Chicago ,Chicago, IL
57. University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
57. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
57. University of Tennessee--Knoxville, Knoxville, TN
72. University of Connecticut ,Storrs, CT
72. University of Kansas ,Lawrence, KS
72. University of Missouri--Columbia, Columbia, MO
72. University of New Mexico
top mech univ rankings
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,Cambridge, MA
2 Stanford University ,Stanford, CA
3 University of California--Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
4 California Institute of Technology ,Pasadena, CA
4.University of Michigan--Ann Arbor ,Ann Arbor, MI
6 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign,Urbana, IL
7 Georgia Institute of Technology ,Atlanta, GA
7.Purdue University--West Lafayette ,West Lafayette, IN
9 Cornell University ,Ithaca, NY
10 Princeton University ,Princeton, NJ
10.University of Texas--Austin (Cockrell) ,Austin, TX
12 Carnegie Mellon University ,Pittsburgh, PA
12.Northwestern University (McCormick),Evanston, IL
14 Pennsylvania State University--University Park ,University Park, PA
14.University of California--Los Angeles (Samueli) ,Los Angeles, CA
15.University of Minnesota--Twin Cities ,Minneapolis, MN
15.University of Wisconsin--Madison ,Madison, WI
18 Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) ,Baltimore, MD
18.Virginia Tech .Blacksburg, VA
20 Ohio State University ,Columbus, OH
20Texas A&M University--College Station (Look) ,College Station, TX
20.University of California--San Diego (Jacobs) ,La Jolla, CA
20.University of Maryland--College Park (Clark) ,College Park, MD
24 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ,Troy, NY
24.University of California--Santa Barbara ,Santa Barbara, CA
26 Duke University ,Durham, NC
26.Rice University (Brown) ,Houston, TX
26.University of Florida ,Gainesville, FL
26.University of Pennsylvania ,Philadelphia, PA
26.University of Southern California (Viterbi),Los Angeles, CA
31 Case Western Reserve University ,Cleveland, OH
31.Columbia University (Fu Foundation) ,New York, NY
31.Harvard University ,Cambridge, MA
31.University of Washington ,Seattle, WA
35 University of California--Davis ,Davis, CA
35.University of California--Irvine (Samueli) ,Irvine, CA
35.University of Colorado--Boulder ,Boulder, CO
38 Arizona State University (Fulton) ,Tempe, AZ
38.Lehigh University (Rossin) ,Bethlehem, PA
38.Michigan State University ,East Lansing, MI
38.North Carolina State University,Raleigh, NC
38.University of Virginia ,Charlottesville, VA
38.Yale University ,New Haven, CT
44 Iowa State University ,Ames, IA
44.Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--New Brunswick ,Piscataway, NJ
44.University of Delaware ,Newark, DE
44.University of Notre Dame ,Notre Dame, IN
48 Drexel University ,Philadelphia, PA
48.Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
48.Missouri University of Science & Technology ,Rolla, MO
48.University of Arizona ,Tucson, AZ
48.Vanderbilt University ,Nashville, TN
48.Washington University in St. Louis (Sever) ,St. Louis, MO
54 University at Buffalo--SUNY ,Buffalo, NY
54.University of Iowa ,Iowa City, IA
56 Boston University ,Boston, MA
56.Clemson University ,Clemson, SC
56.Dartmouth College (Thayer) ,Hanover, NH
56.Illinois Institute of Technology (Armour) ,Chicago, IL
56.Northeastern University ,Boston, MA
56.SUNY--Stony Brook ,Stony Brook, NY
56.University of Connecticut ,Storrs, CT
56.University of Illinois--Chicago ,Chicago, IL
56.University of Massachusetts--Amherst ,Amherst, MA
56.Washington State University ,Pullman, WA
66 Auburn University (Ginn) ,Auburn University, AL
66.Brigham Young University (Fulton) ,Provo, UT
66.Colorado State University ,Fort Collins, CO
66.University of Kentucky ,Lexington, KY
66.University of Pittsburgh ,Pittsburgh, PA
66.University of Utah ,Salt Lake City, UT
66.Worcester Polytechnic Institute ,Worcester, MA
73 Kansas State University ,Manhattan, KS
73.Louisiana State University--Baton Rouge ,Baton Rouge, LA
73.Mississippi State University (Bagley) ,Mississippi State, MS
73.Tufts University ,Medford, MA
73.University of Cincinnati ,Cincinnati, OH
73.University of Houston (Cullen) ,Houston, TX
73.University of Rochester ,Rochester, NY
73.University of Tennessee--Knoxville ,Knoxville, TN
73.University of Texas--Arlington ,Arlington, TX
2 Stanford University ,Stanford, CA
3 University of California--Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
4 California Institute of Technology ,Pasadena, CA
4.University of Michigan--Ann Arbor ,Ann Arbor, MI
6 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign,Urbana, IL
7 Georgia Institute of Technology ,Atlanta, GA
7.Purdue University--West Lafayette ,West Lafayette, IN
9 Cornell University ,Ithaca, NY
10 Princeton University ,Princeton, NJ
10.University of Texas--Austin (Cockrell) ,Austin, TX
12 Carnegie Mellon University ,Pittsburgh, PA
12.Northwestern University (McCormick),Evanston, IL
14 Pennsylvania State University--University Park ,University Park, PA
14.University of California--Los Angeles (Samueli) ,Los Angeles, CA
15.University of Minnesota--Twin Cities ,Minneapolis, MN
15.University of Wisconsin--Madison ,Madison, WI
18 Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) ,Baltimore, MD
18.Virginia Tech .Blacksburg, VA
20 Ohio State University ,Columbus, OH
20Texas A&M University--College Station (Look) ,College Station, TX
20.University of California--San Diego (Jacobs) ,La Jolla, CA
20.University of Maryland--College Park (Clark) ,College Park, MD
24 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ,Troy, NY
24.University of California--Santa Barbara ,Santa Barbara, CA
26 Duke University ,Durham, NC
26.Rice University (Brown) ,Houston, TX
26.University of Florida ,Gainesville, FL
26.University of Pennsylvania ,Philadelphia, PA
26.University of Southern California (Viterbi),Los Angeles, CA
31 Case Western Reserve University ,Cleveland, OH
31.Columbia University (Fu Foundation) ,New York, NY
31.Harvard University ,Cambridge, MA
31.University of Washington ,Seattle, WA
35 University of California--Davis ,Davis, CA
35.University of California--Irvine (Samueli) ,Irvine, CA
35.University of Colorado--Boulder ,Boulder, CO
38 Arizona State University (Fulton) ,Tempe, AZ
38.Lehigh University (Rossin) ,Bethlehem, PA
38.Michigan State University ,East Lansing, MI
38.North Carolina State University,Raleigh, NC
38.University of Virginia ,Charlottesville, VA
38.Yale University ,New Haven, CT
44 Iowa State University ,Ames, IA
44.Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--New Brunswick ,Piscataway, NJ
44.University of Delaware ,Newark, DE
44.University of Notre Dame ,Notre Dame, IN
48 Drexel University ,Philadelphia, PA
48.Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
48.Missouri University of Science & Technology ,Rolla, MO
48.University of Arizona ,Tucson, AZ
48.Vanderbilt University ,Nashville, TN
48.Washington University in St. Louis (Sever) ,St. Louis, MO
54 University at Buffalo--SUNY ,Buffalo, NY
54.University of Iowa ,Iowa City, IA
56 Boston University ,Boston, MA
56.Clemson University ,Clemson, SC
56.Dartmouth College (Thayer) ,Hanover, NH
56.Illinois Institute of Technology (Armour) ,Chicago, IL
56.Northeastern University ,Boston, MA
56.SUNY--Stony Brook ,Stony Brook, NY
56.University of Connecticut ,Storrs, CT
56.University of Illinois--Chicago ,Chicago, IL
56.University of Massachusetts--Amherst ,Amherst, MA
56.Washington State University ,Pullman, WA
66 Auburn University (Ginn) ,Auburn University, AL
66.Brigham Young University (Fulton) ,Provo, UT
66.Colorado State University ,Fort Collins, CO
66.University of Kentucky ,Lexington, KY
66.University of Pittsburgh ,Pittsburgh, PA
66.University of Utah ,Salt Lake City, UT
66.Worcester Polytechnic Institute ,Worcester, MA
73 Kansas State University ,Manhattan, KS
73.Louisiana State University--Baton Rouge ,Baton Rouge, LA
73.Mississippi State University (Bagley) ,Mississippi State, MS
73.Tufts University ,Medford, MA
73.University of Cincinnati ,Cincinnati, OH
73.University of Houston (Cullen) ,Houston, TX
73.University of Rochester ,Rochester, NY
73.University of Tennessee--Knoxville ,Knoxville, TN
73.University of Texas--Arlington ,Arlington, TX
ranking of bio medical courses
1. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) (MD)
2. Georgia Institute of Technology
2 University of California–San Diego (Jacobs)
4. University of Washington
5. Duke University (NC)
6. Boston University
6 University of Pennsylvania
8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
9. Rice University (Brown) (TX)
10. Case Western Reserve University (OH)
10 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
12. Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL)
12 Stanford University (CA)
12 University of California–Berkeley †
12 Washington University in St. Louis (Sever)
16. University of Pittsburgh
16 University of Virginia
18. University of Texas–Austin
19. Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY)
19 University of Utah
21. Vanderbilt University (TN)
22. California Institute of Technology
22 University of Wisconsin–Madison
24. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
24 Cornell University (NY)
24 Purdue University–West Lafayette (IN)
24 University of California–Davis
24 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
29. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
30. Arizona State University (Fulton)
30 Pennsylvania State University–University Park
30 Texas A&M University–College Station (Look)
30 University of Southern California (Viterbi)
34. CUNY–City College (Grove)
34 North Carolina State University
34 University of Iowa
37. Drexel University (PA)
37 Harvard University (MA)
37 Marquette University (WI)
37 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick
37 SUNY–Stony Brook
37 University of Alabama–Birmingham
37 University of California–Irvine (Samueli)
37 University of Rochester (NY)
37 Yale University (CT)
46. Brown University (RI)
46 Clemson University (SC)
46 University of California–Los Angeles (Samueli)
49. University of Arizona
2. Georgia Institute of Technology
2 University of California–San Diego (Jacobs)
4. University of Washington
5. Duke University (NC)
6. Boston University
6 University of Pennsylvania
8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
9. Rice University (Brown) (TX)
10. Case Western Reserve University (OH)
10 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
12. Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL)
12 Stanford University (CA)
12 University of California–Berkeley †
12 Washington University in St. Louis (Sever)
16. University of Pittsburgh
16 University of Virginia
18. University of Texas–Austin
19. Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY)
19 University of Utah
21. Vanderbilt University (TN)
22. California Institute of Technology
22 University of Wisconsin–Madison
24. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
24 Cornell University (NY)
24 Purdue University–West Lafayette (IN)
24 University of California–Davis
24 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
29. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
30. Arizona State University (Fulton)
30 Pennsylvania State University–University Park
30 Texas A&M University–College Station (Look)
30 University of Southern California (Viterbi)
34. CUNY–City College (Grove)
34 North Carolina State University
34 University of Iowa
37. Drexel University (PA)
37 Harvard University (MA)
37 Marquette University (WI)
37 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick
37 SUNY–Stony Brook
37 University of Alabama–Birmingham
37 University of California–Irvine (Samueli)
37 University of Rochester (NY)
37 Yale University (CT)
46. Brown University (RI)
46 Clemson University (SC)
46 University of California–Los Angeles (Samueli)
49. University of Arizona
here i am with the ranking of top in univ for civil engineering
1. University of California–Berkeley
2. University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
3. Stanford University (CA)
4. Georgia Institute of Technology
4 University of Texas–Austin
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
7. Purdue University–West Lafayette (IN)
7 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
9. California Institute of Technology
10. Cornell University (NY)
10 Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL)
10 Virginia Tech
13. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
13 Texas A&M University–College Station (Look)
13 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
13 University of Wisconsin–Madison
17. Pennsylvania State University–University Park
17 Princeton University (NJ)
17 University of Washington
20. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) (MD)
20 University of California–Davis
20 University of California–San Diego (Jacobs)
20 University of Maryland–College Park (Clark)
24. Lehigh University (Rossin) (PA)
24 North Carolina State University
24 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
24 University of Colorado–Boulder
28. Rice University (Brown) (TX)
28 University of California–Los Angeles (Samueli)
28 University of Florida
31. Colorado State University
31 Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY)
31 Duke University (NC)
31 University of Arizona
31 University of Southern California (Viterbi)
36. Arizona State University (Fulton)
36 Iowa State University
36 Michigan State University
36 Ohio State University
36 University at Buffalo–SUNY
41. University of California–Irvine (Samueli)
41 University of Iowa
41 University of Missouri–Rolla
41 University of Virginia
41 Washington University in St. Louis (Sever)
46. University of Massachusetts–Amherst
46 University of Notre Dame (IN)
46 Vanderbilt University (TN)
49. Auburn University (Ginn) (AL)
49 Clarkson University (NY)
49 Clemson University (SC)
49 Drexel University (PA)
49 Michigan Technological University
49 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick
55. Case Western Reserve University (OH)
55 Oregon State University
55 University of Cincinnati
55 University of Delaware
55 University of Tennessee–Knoxville
60. Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge
60 Northeastern University (MA)
60 Tufts University (MA)
60 University of Pittsburgh
60 Washington State University
65. Kansas State University
65 New Jersey Institute of Technology
65 Texas Tech University
65 University of Connecticut
65 University of Kansas
65 University of Missouri–Columbia
65 University of Nebraska–Lincoln
65 University of Nevada–Reno
65 University of Oklahoma
65 University of Utah
65 Utah State University
1. University of California–Berkeley
2. University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
3. Stanford University (CA)
4. Georgia Institute of Technology
4 University of Texas–Austin
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
7. Purdue University–West Lafayette (IN)
7 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
9. California Institute of Technology
10. Cornell University (NY)
10 Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL)
10 Virginia Tech
13. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
13 Texas A&M University–College Station (Look)
13 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
13 University of Wisconsin–Madison
17. Pennsylvania State University–University Park
17 Princeton University (NJ)
17 University of Washington
20. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) (MD)
20 University of California–Davis
20 University of California–San Diego (Jacobs)
20 University of Maryland–College Park (Clark)
24. Lehigh University (Rossin) (PA)
24 North Carolina State University
24 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
24 University of Colorado–Boulder
28. Rice University (Brown) (TX)
28 University of California–Los Angeles (Samueli)
28 University of Florida
31. Colorado State University
31 Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY)
31 Duke University (NC)
31 University of Arizona
31 University of Southern California (Viterbi)
36. Arizona State University (Fulton)
36 Iowa State University
36 Michigan State University
36 Ohio State University
36 University at Buffalo–SUNY
41. University of California–Irvine (Samueli)
41 University of Iowa
41 University of Missouri–Rolla
41 University of Virginia
41 Washington University in St. Louis (Sever)
46. University of Massachusetts–Amherst
46 University of Notre Dame (IN)
46 Vanderbilt University (TN)
49. Auburn University (Ginn) (AL)
49 Clarkson University (NY)
49 Clemson University (SC)
49 Drexel University (PA)
49 Michigan Technological University
49 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick
55. Case Western Reserve University (OH)
55 Oregon State University
55 University of Cincinnati
55 University of Delaware
55 University of Tennessee–Knoxville
60. Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge
60 Northeastern University (MA)
60 Tufts University (MA)
60 University of Pittsburgh
60 Washington State University
65. Kansas State University
65 New Jersey Institute of Technology
65 Texas Tech University
65 University of Connecticut
65 University of Kansas
65 University of Missouri–Columbia
65 University of Nebraska–Lincoln
65 University of Nevada–Reno
65 University of Oklahoma
65 University of Utah
65 Utah State University
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
GRE is is computerized exam taking place throughout the year and it basically checks your verbal and quantitative ability as far as indians are concered gre maths is more than a cake walk but when it comes to english for most of them its other way around as most these words asked in GRE are not used in our general vocablary so the best idea for doing well in gre verbal is to start reading articles and research journals written by american writers so you get familiarised with the american vocab
A near gre type test can be taken @ http://www.princetonreview.com/
QUANTTITATIVE AND VERBAL CARRIES A EQUAL WEIGHTAGE OF 800 EACH
and you will also be required to write a essay on any given topic and essay are graded between 1 to 6 .and you will typing the essay in computer so its neccessary to have good typing speed
Format of computer-based GRE exam is as followed:
| Part | # of Questions | Time Limit | |
| Essay | Analysis of Issue | 1 | 45 min |
| Analysis of Argument | 1 | 30 min | |
| Break | 5 min | ||
| Quantitative | Problem Solving | 14 | 45 min |
| Quantitative Comparison | 14 | ||
| Break | 5 min | ||
| Verbal | completion of sentance | 6 | 30 min |
| reasoning (analogyes) | 7 | ||
| reading passage | 8 | ||
| anatonmys | 9 | ||
see you guys soon with lots of other use ful info on gre thank you for reading
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
If you want to do MS in a top american tech school then you should start working on your profile right for mid 2nd year or 3 year.
The way tech schools select students is quite confusing some times rather not transparent becoz suppose u and you friend apply and you have a higher GRE and CGPA than your friend but your friend would have been selected tats because he might have had research experience in the field the tech school is looking upon
generally your profile is weighed on the following :
40 % G.R.E
20% paper presented and work experience
40% c.g.p.a and research experience
and some university s give very high weightage for reccommendation letters so keep good rappo with your dept hod and other senir proffs
so if you dont have a great cgpa its better you start working on the topic of your interest ( I would suggest you to go to the Research and development section of americas top univs webpage so that u will get an idea of research going on there
and other thing is you can also find the proff who is currently working in your are of research from their website and mail them about what you have done this will significantly increase your chance of getting admitted
The way tech schools select students is quite confusing some times rather not transparent becoz suppose u and you friend apply and you have a higher GRE and CGPA than your friend but your friend would have been selected tats because he might have had research experience in the field the tech school is looking upon
generally your profile is weighed on the following :
40 % G.R.E
20% paper presented and work experience
40% c.g.p.a and research experience
and some university s give very high weightage for reccommendation letters so keep good rappo with your dept hod and other senir proffs
so if you dont have a great cgpa its better you start working on the topic of your interest ( I would suggest you to go to the Research and development section of americas top univs webpage so that u will get an idea of research going on there
and other thing is you can also find the proff who is currently working in your are of research from their website and mail them about what you have done this will significantly increase your chance of getting admitted
Overall ranking of US UNIVS
here is the list of 50 universities
| Rank/School | average | '07 accept- ance rate score | '07 | Ph.D.'s granted 06-07 | '07 total graduate engineering enrollment |
| 1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA) | 777 | 23.5% | $237.7 | 328 | 2,636 |
| 2. Stanford University (CA) | 780 | 28.0% | $152.3 | 276 | 3,229 |
| 3. University of California-Berkeley | 772 | 20.4% | $120.3 | 223 | 1,780 |
| 4. Georgia Institute of Technology | 767 | 36.8% | $219.4 | 366 | 4,303 |
| 5. University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign | 774 | 19.2% | $195.2 | 270 | 2,479 |
| 6. California Institute of Technology | 800 | 131% | $84.9 | 112 | 536 |
| 7. Carnegie Mellon University | 765 | 21.8% | $161.5 | 137 | 1,698 |
| 8. University of Southern California | 753 | 46.6% | $165.0 | 144 | 3,945 |
| 9. Cornell University | 775 | 19.8% | $108.0 | 128 | 1,378 |
| 9. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 770 | 36.4% | $147.8 | 255 | 2,416 |
| 11. University of California-San Diego | 765 | 25.0% | $141.0 | 132 | 1,213 |
| 11. University of Texas-Austin | 759 | 22.5% | $135.2 | 191 | 2,100 |
| 13. Texas A&M University-College Station | 756 | 37.2% | $205.7 | 173 | 2,428 |
| 13. University of California-Los Angeles | 768 | 36.0% | $86.3 | 157 | 1,388 |
| 15. Purdue University-West Lafayette | 751 | 32.5% | $133.8 | 228 | 2,323 |
| 15. University of Wisconsin-Madison | 781 | 23.5% | $125.6 | 139 | 1,524 |
| 17. University of Maryland-College Park | 758 | 22.5% | $136.1 | 182 | 1,862 |
| 18. Princeton University | 783 | 16.5% | $52.9 | 88 | 519 |
| 19. University of California-Santa Barbara | 773 | 28.3% | $92.3 | 95 | 724 |
| 20. Northwestern University | 779 | 28.1% | $97.1 | 110 | 1,255 |
| 21. Columbia University | 775 | 27.6% | $87.2 | 93 | 1,433 |
| 22. Harvard University | 775 | 13.0% | $37.9 | 47 | 355 |
| 23. Pennsylvania State University-University Park | 752 | 31.9% | $111.6 | 167 | 1,720 |
| 24. University of Florida | 758 | 36.9% | $108.1 | 187 | 2,474 |
| 24. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | 766 | 32.8% | $84.1 | 144 | 1,790 |
| 24. University of Washington | 736 | 28.8% | $97.4 | 111 | 1,423 |
| 27. Johns Hopkins University | 768 | 24.4% | $56.9 | 69 | 2,661 |
| 28. Virginia Tech | 749 | 21.6% | $107.3 | 139 | 1,807 |
| 29. Ohio State University | 762 | 37.4% | $113.4 | 119 | 1,347 |
| 30. North Carolina State University | 756 | 26.6% | $104.4 | 138 | 2,125 |
| 30. University of Pennsylvania | 759 | 35.0% | $51.1 | 69 | 1,111 |
| 32. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 752 | 31.1% | $85.2 | 114 | 1,052 |
| 32. University of California-Davis | 749 | 35.6% | $68.3 | 111 | 1,124 |
| 32. University of Rochester | 769 | 15.5% | $91.7 | 46 | 451 |
| 35. Duke University | 767 | 34.1% | $63.6 | 63 | 648 |
| 35. Rice University | 768 | 15.2% | $34.8 | 56 | 521 |
| 37. University of California-Irvine | 758 | 25.8% | $66.2 | 92 | 984 |
| 38. University of Virginia | 749 | 19.4% | $55.3 | 72 | 737 |
| 39. University of Colorado-Boulder | 757 | 57.6% | $51.3 | 92 | 1,298 |
| 39. Yale University | 772 | 14.8% | $20.8 | 20 | 172 |
| 41. Iowa State University | 759 | 21.9% | $65.4 | 82 | 956 |
| 42. Lehigh University | 767 | 22.1% | $33.0 | 43 | 568 |
| 42. Vanderbilt University | 754 | 12.5% | $46.4 | 39 | 406 |
| 44. Boston University | 763 | 26.3% | $70.2 | 68 | 664 |
| 45. Arizona State University | 763 | 51.2% | $53.4 | 109 | 2,019 |
| 46. University of Delaware | 748 | 27.4% | $43.9 | 70 | 629 |
| 46. Washington University in St. Louis | 768 | 14.7% | $19.7 | 42 | 759 |
| 48. University of Pittsburgh | 731 | 35.8% | $62.1 | 49 | 641 |
| 49. Case Western Reserve University | 732 | 34.2% | $36.7 | 48 | 612 |
| 50. University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 760 | 22.4% | $45.0 | 71 | 665 |
| 50. University of Notre Dame | 763 | 20.8% | $18.4 | 56 | 401 |
It is based on compilations of things told by my cousins in doing
Ph.D or MS?
| Ph.D | MS |
| Usually not less than 5 years | Usually 2 years |
| 100% chance of getting funding (tuition fee waiver + monthly stipend | 50% chance of getting any funding |
| You work on a fresh topic, starting from scratch | You may work on an already researched topic |
| You have a lot of time to take extra courses as your research requires | This amount of time is not available to you |
| Professors prefer Ph.D students to MS | Ph.D students are preferred to MS students for research and funding |
| You can get screwed if your prof isn't satisfied with your research, and can end up doing even 7 years of research... | Mostly two or two and half years |
| eg. One student changed his course from MS to Ph.D after coming to university because his prof said he would fund Ph.D students rather than MS students | eg. One senior changed his course from Ph.D to MS after one year of coming here, because in his research group there were a couple of students who were in their 7th year of research and their prof wasn't satisfied as yet, and this scared him. |
What sort of funding is available?
The most common forms of assistantsips/ funding are:
- Research Assistantships - RAs - You get paid for doing research in the lab, this research usually works towards your thesis
- Teaching Assistantships - TAs - You get paid to check homework of junior students(Most universities have a minimum requirement of 23 or 24 in spoken section of TOEFL)
- Graduate Assistantships - GAs - You get paid to help the officials in some place in the university (e.g. you could be checking mails, arranging paperwork or just helping the personnel in the offices. Just as an example, imagine yourself checking emails for the department, sorting letters and helping the prodeges in the office of our department... No work, full pay!)
- Tuition waivers - The tuition fee you have to pay, which is no. of credits registered for multiplied by the cost for each credit, will be waived, so you have to pay only a fraction of the fees like the library fees, etc. (In my university this is about 10% of the total fees)
Suggestions while applying
- Email the professor in whose group you are interested and ask him if you could join his group. Indicate your current research and the potential you hold and how you can add to the research going on
- The above will let the prof know you are applying and is a better situation
- Keep your email AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE, because profs are very very busy
- Our college is well known (I think it is better to mention a.k.a R.E.C Bhopal (MACT)
- If you think you can get funding, you needn't bother about the fees in the college
- Contact seniors, preferably from India, about the University and the funding scenario.
Suggestions for the future:
Keeping in mind that you have to apply for the visa and will come to the USA to study,
- Make sure your passport displays your correct first name and last name
- All supporting documents (GRE, TOEFL mark sheets, college transcripts) have the same name and do not have any differences in the first name, last name or middle name
- If your names are not the same, get them corrected NOW ITSELF. You won't have time later, in May/June.
- Keep the GRE, TOEFL mark sheets safe as you will need them for the Visa interview.
- Get vaccinations done, for diseases such as Hepatitis B, Meningitis and other specific diseases as required by the university you may be applying. Proof of vaccinations may not be required now, but when you go to the university you may be asked to get them done if you haven't.
- If you plan to buy a laptop, don't, because you will get them for lesser prices here in the US.
Last few words:
- Students from India hold the upper hand against students from China and other places in spoken English. The Chinese have very bad spoken English. It would be good if you could demonstrate your prowess in English through TOEFL.
- Apply early. If your application is impressive, you could be admitted, even if there are better applications after yours. Hopefully you should be done with your application process by November.
- Universities will open your file only after all your documents are on file, which means they will begin to consider your application after they have recieved GRE,TOEFL scores from ETS, transcripts, Recos, completed online application and online fee is paid.
Transcripts:
If you are applying to say 9 universities, you could get about max. 18 transcripts, some universities might ask for 2 transcripts and some will ask for just one transcript. If you are undecided on your universities, you could get 18. If you have decided on your universities, you could get the correct number + 2 just in case.
Recos:
Same as above, for paper recos. You may want to get extra extra recos, if, you plan to apply for a transfer after your first semester of studies in the US.
In all cases, DON'T take the exact number of transcripts/ recos you need. Always take extra copies.
Envelopes for the Transcripts, Recos
You will need to seal the transcript/reco in an envelope with gum, and get it signed across the flap by the Dean(Academics) for the transcripts and by whoever is giving you for the recos. This is to ensure that the transcripts/recos are not meddled with. You will also need to get their official seal(stamp) on the flap with their signatures.
SOP, Reccos-
Try to ensure the Statement of Purpose and Reco are as authentic as possible. Try not to copy from websites, as someone else might do the same. Pour your heart out. You might want to structure your SOP like someone else's , but don't copy verbatim. You might want to ask seniors for help in evaluating your SOP for suggestions.
Make a list
Most of the universities will want you to send your paper applications to different places; so visit each university's website and note down the documents which need to be sent to whichever office in the university. Usually there are two offices, Graduate office and the Department office. On a sheet of paper under appropriate columns note down carefully the needed documents and where they have to be sent.
Mailing
I used cloth-paper envelopes(~25cm x ~11cm) to send my documents, making folds in the documents at every one third of the length, so that they fit the cloth envelope. Seal these envelopes with cellotape/brown tape(duct tape), as I doubt gum will do.
How to send?
I sent all my documents through Speed Post; all of them were delivered in approx. one week; some of my other friends used Speed Post, only one of Bhaskar's envelopes was 'lost', as the university did not receive them. Phrabha Shalini sent them by DHL. Speed Post costs ~Rs. 460 per packet, DHL costs ~Rs. 1000(for university addresses). DHL is almost 100% reliable, Speed Post is a govt. entity and you will need to have sufficient faith in it. By which method you want to send your packets, is your choice. But, DHL does not deliver to 'PO' boxes, which some universities have, so you will have to use Speed Post in that case.
Finances
Disclaimer: The suggestions provided below are what most people do and must not be attributed to me. I will not be responsible for your successes/failures in the adventures you encounter in the financing you arrange.
Why is Finances so important?
I guess, long time ago, some students, on receiving an admit, would gather sufficient money to fly to the US, and, being unable to pay their fees, would find a job off campus or drop out of college and find a job somewhere citing financial reasons, hence becoming an illegal immigrant. So, to avoid such students, the US govt wants to verify that every student is capable of supporting himself/herself for atleast one year, and shows sufficient sources for the subsequent years of study. Hence every university expects a form, showing that you have sufficient finances for one year, to be filled and included in the application packet along with the bank statement.
What is on the form?
On the form, the approximate expenses(i.e. the required money) for one year will be displayed, and you will have to mention if you are supporting yourself or if you have a sponsor, and get his/her signature, and, if that sponsor is not a close relative, you may need a notary certificate showing your relationship with that person. All these details will be on the form and don't assume anything from the information given here.
You will need to attach a bank statement saying that you/your sponsor has the required amount of money.
What is a bank statement?
The bank statement will need to be on a bank letterhead, and will have to state something like "This is to certify that Mr/Ms/Mrs. XXXX, (Father/Mother/Relative of Mr/Ms. YYYY{your name here}) has an account in our bank since **** and has Rs. ##, equivalent to USD $$ @ Rs. 39.85(exchange rate on that day) per USD as on *******." Signed and stamped by the Manager of the bank or the competent authority.
How much money needs to be shown?
Suppose you apply to 3 universities, and they require you to show, say, $21850, $41480 and $57320. Then it would be better to show the highest amount, $59320, in the bank statement, rather than putting in exact amounts for each university.
Wow! $57320 is a lot of money! From where do I get it?
Welcome to the world of worrying. Different people do different things.
- Many borrow money from relatives, put it in the bank, get the bank statement, and return the money back.
- Some may break Fixed Deposits and put it in the savings account.
- Some go to agents.
You might say, my parents have Rs.wwwwwwww in fixed deposits. Can I show that as proof? My understanding is, that in the form from the university, they clearly state, "attach bank statement". Whether they accept fixed deposits, CA statements, etc. is the discretion of the university. They may or may not.
Agents?
Agents are, in my opinion, not persons you should go to. Some will say, I will give you the required money. You pay me x% of that money as interest for the time you keep the money in the bank.
Some will say, we will open a new bank account for you, get you a new pass book, put in the required money for you until your visa interview, and you pay us x% as interest.
Why worry about the visa interview now?
In the visa interview, the visa officer (VO), may ask to see your original bank passbooks (I mean passbooks, not passbook, if you have money in multiple accounts). So, if he sees that you have been operating an account for just six months(which the agent opened for you), he will definitely smell a rat and may bar you from entering the US for life. Or, if he sees that you have transferred so much money into the account and then it's disappeared, he will ask you, and you will have to give him an explanation CONVINCING him, like showing that you sold land, or that FDs matured. If he thinks it's a story, you're dead. But, the VO may not ask for your financial documents, if you have aid or if the fees to your university is not very high. It's just your luck. In any case, when you go for your visa interview, you will have to have the amount displayed in you I-20(i.e. the fees and expenses for one year) in your bank account, and explain from where the money came from. The VO will confirm if you are capable of such amounts of money by asking what your parents do. For e.g., if you have 30 lakhs in your bank account and tell him that your father is the lone bread winner of your family and he is a big industrialist, then, the VO has reason to believe you. Otherwise he might not. Of late though, the VOs were accepting loans also as means of paying for your expenses. I know of a guy who had some $20000 as the required fees and he said, I have Rs. One lakh in bank, and Rs. 14 lakh loan provisionally sanctioned. He was given a visa. Another guy, who said that the money had been transferred from another bank account but did not bring the passbook for that account, did not get his visa. In short, if you get some money to put in your bank account, make sure you have at least a believable tale to tell about the source of the money.
What if I don't send the form with the application to the university?
Good question. Of all the universities I have visited(a good 50+), none of them ever said that they need to see your financial declaration at the time of applying. All they will say is that if you send the financial declaration along with your application, it will take lesser time to issue your I-20,(the document that officially says that you have secured a seat in that university, subject to their rules). If you do not send your financial declaration form now, your application process will not be affected in any negative way.
In fact, one of my cousin who got c.g.p.a 9.8 never sent any financial declaration. She needn't have to(with her near perfect academic records). Get the point now? So, if you are confident that you will get some form of aid, you might not want to send the form or take necessary steps to arrange for the money. And my cousin was fully funded; so she did not have to send any document to the university; when she accepted the offer from Johns Hopkins the university just sent her the I-20.(In fact, she got I-20s from Ohio State and some others without her accepting any offer!) In contrast, cousin 2 who had above average acadamics too did not send his finacial statements but when he got his offer letter he had to apply for it again so wate of tym
if u dont know what i 20 is google it
As of now, you need not worry about anything except that you may need to arrange for money if you don't get aid(like loans). As a reminder, don't forget to check your passports and see that you have your first and last names mentioned correctly. This is the name which should appear in your GRE/TOEFL scoresheets and your applications to the universities. Keep your GRE/TOEFL original marksheets safely. Keep your marksheets for all the semesters safely. Talk to your parents about the vaccinations I mentioned in the previous message. I will provide you with information regarding the visa interview and packing things for the US when the time comes. At this point of time look to sending the required documents without making mistakes. Also, don't forget to send your GRE/TOEFL scores to the correct office(some universities will want them to be sent to Graduate School, some will want them to be sent to the Department. Be very very careful about this).
How will my application be processed?
From talking to my seniors and doing a little bit of searching, I have found that this is the procedure of how a student is selected:
- The Graduate School checks if the student is an eligible candidate, with respect to minimum GPA, GRE/TOEFL, etc.
- The department usually has a selection committee where the professors or the members select the worthy applicants.
- If a Professor is interested in including you in his research group, he usually gives some sort of assistantship to you.
- You are an unknown person to the Professor; so the SOP and the Recos are the ones which will present your image. The professors will look at the grades in the subjects you have as your area of interest. Try this - think of yourself as the professor, and then read the SOP. It should give a strong impression to the reader. Try to be normal in your english and not too Oxford-ish(unless you are Oxford-ish yourself).
- When you are applying for MS/PhD, professors usually prefer PhD candidates, as there is an opportunity for substantial research do be done. You could email the prof and ask him if he prefers MS or PhD students.
- If you opt for PhD, be aware - you will be required to write an exam to be a suitable candidate... ask Phrabha or other seniors about them.
- It would be better to, as I mentioned earlier, to be in touch with the professor with whom you are interested to work with.
- If two people with same profiles apply from same college, but different areas of interest, I guess there is no reason why they should not be selected, as two different professors will be interested in them.
- However, if two people apply to the same professor, then, maybe the person with better credentials(read GPA/GRE score/research credentials) will be selected. One professor who visited our college, when asked this college, said that he would not mind selecting both, but another prof said he would select the one with a higher GPA.
- Ultimately, I reason, that the decision usually rests with a professor, what sort of projects he has(short term or long term), how much funds he has, and whether he wants an MS or a PhD student.
- Once the department okays your application, the International Office in the university checks if you have the required financial backing, based on the funding/aid details decided by the department.
- When they get your financial details or do not need them, they will send you your I-20 along with some other material with information about the college.
- Reminder: Contacting a professor in your area of interest in that university will be an advantage.
Fine. Once I've sent my applications, what do I do?
- Check your mail regularly. I will suggest you have separate e mail id regarding universities and others, so that I do not miss an email in my regular email id.
- You should check the status of your application, and see if all your documents have reached or if you have to send any extra documents, if the packets are lost.
- You might get an email from an interested professor for a telephonic interview, or some communication from the university. So keep checking your email.
Hello ppl.
Admits
It's March and you should have gotten a couple of replies for your applications.
There's still a lot of time, you can get admits till even late April/May. Just keep your cool and keep track of your friends(if you have a couple of universities in common).
If you have gotten admits, congrats! That's one small step. Decide if you want to accept it or reject it outright if you have a better admit.
If you can't decide, you can stretch it till the last reply date and then make a decision. If you can't decide if you want to go to a lesser-ranked university with aid or a higher-ranked university without aid, decide very very carefully. You can end up making a hole in your parent's pockets, not to mention the big loans you will have to repay once you are finished, if you choose the latter option. Going to a university with aid makes things a lot easier for you; your finances will be easier to handle and you will not be in a lot of constraint. On the other hand, you might feel that you are missing out on something if you opt for a lesser-ranked university. Make the choice carefully - a loan will require proportional collateral.
In case you are sweetly spoilt for choice, ask your seniors or email students in those universities.
If you have a quite a few admits and are still waiting for a reply from your favourite university, and the deadline for the ones you have is approaching, here's what you can do - tell them you are accepting the admit, get the I20s, and then decide once you have the all the I20s in hand. As far as I know there is no rule anywhere which makes it a crime to be in possession of two or more I20s, or not go to a university after accepting the admit. But - this I would not suggest as you would be spoiling the chance of someone down the line - someone might be waiting for the university you have accepted but decided not to go to - for e.g., A and B applied to UCincinnati(I had missed that she was also applying), she got an admit from Johns Hopkins, and then from UC. A was obviously going to JHU and B suggested A to reject UC as soon as possible, A no problem whatsoever in rejecting it straight away. Then, a couple of weeks later B got an admit from UC - so B got admittion only because A rejected UC . So remember - you might be spoiling someone's chances, and it could happen to you too.
Make sure to check the status of you application online; if you have sent all the documents, it should say 'application complete' or 'decision pending'. However, if you have sent all you documents and the status says 'application incomplete', email them and ask; or send the required documents again. Many have sent their application again
Finances(if you do not have aid)
If you have full aid, well and good. If not, you have some work to get done. And as mentioned in the ROTGAD, it's a catch-22. For the visa interview, you have to show one years' expenses-worth of finances(i.e. for whatever amount mentioned on the I20). But banks will give you hard money only after you clear your visa interview. So basically you have to get whatever money is required and put it in the bank atleast for the interview. From where do you get that money? Relatives, mostly.... But, it also has to be legal - so if you can't explain the source of your money to the Visa Officer, you will be rejected outright and earmarked for *financial fraud*. So you have to get all that money, and it has to be legal - basically you have to show it's legal. Some 'legal' sources are fixed deposits, from blood relatives(first circle of relatives). Remember, you can't cook up any excuses - VOs have years and years of experience, so they will know when a source of money is true or not. What I'm saying is, if you get money from some previously unknown friend, and you say you to the VO you got it from nowhere or another bank account or some sale of property but you can't show proper proof of money, you're done for. Let me try and list all the examples I can think of which will pose a problem to your getting a visa.
* You : I got this money from land my family sold
VO: Do you have the sale deeds?
You No
VO: Sorry visa rejected
* You: I transferred it from another bank account
VO: have you brought that bank pass book?
You: No
VO: Sorry visa rejected
VOs will ask if they see a sudden spurt in your bank passbook(by the way, you have to take all the financial supporting documents with you, that means the appropriate passbooks too) which cannot be explained well, it will raise suspicions. For example, there was a guy whose father was a clerk in a bank, mother housewife, and he had shown a lot of money in his bank account, VO asked, did not get proper explanation, visa rejected.
However, as I mentioned earlier, provisionally sanctioned loans are also accepted. So that is a very good option. Agents who promise a new bank account, money at monthly interest - VOs know all about them. So you have to be as straight as possible and try to avoid them.
Visa interview and the preparations(As best as I can remember; details may have changed)
VOs will even call up the college or the bank if they get suspicious. Legend has it that when the name of the college changed from REC to NIT, one senior had to wait while the VO called up the Dean's office to verify if such a college existed(!).so we paticulry at manit should be cautious better to contact seniors and ask wethet to use mact or rec b or nit b or manit
Hope you have your college documents safe and ready - transcripts from semester one, GRE/TOEFL marksheets.. And, you should get your final transcript and provisional degree certificate soon after you write your exams. Make sure you put pressure on the Dean Academic to release the results early.
Why I'm telling you this is, if you get your results early, you get your certificates early, you can book your visa interview early, and you can get done with all the mess really early.
For the visa interview, you will have to book it online, after paying the fees in an HDFC bank. The thing is, you will get dates easily for May/June, July will be like booking tatkal rail tickets for Diwali. So that is why early results will help in booking an early interview. You can appear for an interview without the final marksheet and without provisional degree certi, but you will have to come to the consulate again to submit the documents. But there is no guarantee the VO will buy your case that you have done sufficiently well to pass the final exam. So it's better to get all the required documents and then go for the interview.After booking the interview, you will have to print the online confirmation and with all the documents needed go for the interview.
To put it up straight, you will be talking to a stranger; so how you impress the VO is up to you. Rather than talking smart, it would be better to be straight forward. Like answering to the point. As I said in the previous para, if your credentials are good, the interview will just be a 'formality'. So the only questions you will be asked will probably which university you're from/going to, GRE/TOEFL scores, if you have had any supplies, why America and maybe an unexpected question you have to answer well. There's not much you can screw up. Most of us have good credentials, so you shouldn't worry too much about not getting a visa. You can be 98% sure of getting a visa; with the help of a consultant, that increases to 99%. Now, if you need an easier approach to the visa interview, you can go to a consultant. . They will cost some money,around 3.5k for documentation(making sure all the documents are in order and the forms filled up for the visa interview were correct) and for interview-briefing(or interview coaching if you need).
As most people i know are from south they went to the Madras consulate; you have to look up the jurisdiction of the area you stay in to know which consulate you have to go to. If you are heading to the Madras consulate, we r luck because in old times you had to stand in the sun or the rain outside... Now I hear you are transported by bus from another waiting room. You are lucky we
And, I hope your passport and all supporting documents have the same name and spellings.if get it corrected
Admits
It's March and you should have gotten a couple of replies for your applications.
There's still a lot of time, you can get admits till even late April/May. Just keep your cool and keep track of your friends(if you have a couple of universities in common).
If you have gotten admits, congrats! That's one small step. Decide if you want to accept it or reject it outright if you have a better admit.
If you can't decide, you can stretch it till the last reply date and then make a decision. If you can't decide if you want to go to a lesser-ranked university with aid or a higher-ranked university without aid, decide very very carefully. You can end up making a hole in your parent's pockets, not to mention the big loans you will have to repay once you are finished, if you choose the latter option. Going to a university with aid makes things a lot easier for you; your finances will be easier to handle and you will not be in a lot of constraint. On the other hand, you might feel that you are missing out on something if you opt for a lesser-ranked university. Make the choice carefully - a loan will require proportional collateral.
In case you are sweetly spoilt for choice, ask your seniors or email students in those universities.
If you have a quite a few admits and are still waiting for a reply from your favourite university, and the deadline for the ones you have is approaching, here's what you can do - tell them you are accepting the admit, get the I20s, and then decide once you have the all the I20s in hand. As far as I know there is no rule anywhere which makes it a crime to be in possession of two or more I20s, or not go to a university after accepting the admit. But - this I would not suggest as you would be spoiling the chance of someone down the line - someone might be waiting for the university you have accepted but decided not to go to - for e.g., A and B applied to UCincinnati(I had missed that she was also applying), she got an admit from Johns Hopkins, and then from UC. A was obviously going to JHU and B suggested A to reject UC as soon as possible, A no problem whatsoever in rejecting it straight away. Then, a couple of weeks later B got an admit from UC - so B got admittion only because A rejected UC . So remember - you might be spoiling someone's chances, and it could happen to you too.
Make sure to check the status of you application online; if you have sent all the documents, it should say 'application complete' or 'decision pending'. However, if you have sent all you documents and the status says 'application incomplete', email them and ask; or send the required documents again. Many have sent their application again
Finances(if you do not have aid)
If you have full aid, well and good. If not, you have some work to get done. And as mentioned in the ROTGAD, it's a catch-22. For the visa interview, you have to show one years' expenses-worth of finances(i.e. for whatever amount mentioned on the I20). But banks will give you hard money only after you clear your visa interview. So basically you have to get whatever money is required and put it in the bank atleast for the interview. From where do you get that money? Relatives, mostly.... But, it also has to be legal - so if you can't explain the source of your money to the Visa Officer, you will be rejected outright and earmarked for *financial fraud*. So you have to get all that money, and it has to be legal - basically you have to show it's legal. Some 'legal' sources are fixed deposits, from blood relatives(first circle of relatives). Remember, you can't cook up any excuses - VOs have years and years of experience, so they will know when a source of money is true or not. What I'm saying is, if you get money from some previously unknown friend, and you say you to the VO you got it from nowhere or another bank account or some sale of property but you can't show proper proof of money, you're done for. Let me try and list all the examples I can think of which will pose a problem to your getting a visa.
* You : I got this money from land my family sold
VO: Do you have the sale deeds?
You No
VO: Sorry visa rejected
* You: I transferred it from another bank account
VO: have you brought that bank pass book?
You: No
VO: Sorry visa rejected
VOs will ask if they see a sudden spurt in your bank passbook(by the way, you have to take all the financial supporting documents with you, that means the appropriate passbooks too) which cannot be explained well, it will raise suspicions. For example, there was a guy whose father was a clerk in a bank, mother housewife, and he had shown a lot of money in his bank account, VO asked, did not get proper explanation, visa rejected.
However, as I mentioned earlier, provisionally sanctioned loans are also accepted. So that is a very good option. Agents who promise a new bank account, money at monthly interest - VOs know all about them. So you have to be as straight as possible and try to avoid them.
Visa interview and the preparations(As best as I can remember; details may have changed)
VOs will even call up the college or the bank if they get suspicious. Legend has it that when the name of the college changed from REC to NIT, one senior had to wait while the VO called up the Dean's office to verify if such a college existed(!).so we paticulry at manit should be cautious better to contact seniors and ask wethet to use mact or rec b or nit b or manit
Hope you have your college documents safe and ready - transcripts from semester one, GRE/TOEFL marksheets.. And, you should get your final transcript and provisional degree certificate soon after you write your exams. Make sure you put pressure on the Dean Academic to release the results early.
Why I'm telling you this is, if you get your results early, you get your certificates early, you can book your visa interview early, and you can get done with all the mess really early.
For the visa interview, you will have to book it online, after paying the fees in an HDFC bank. The thing is, you will get dates easily for May/June, July will be like booking tatkal rail tickets for Diwali. So that is why early results will help in booking an early interview. You can appear for an interview without the final marksheet and without provisional degree certi, but you will have to come to the consulate again to submit the documents. But there is no guarantee the VO will buy your case that you have done sufficiently well to pass the final exam. So it's better to get all the required documents and then go for the interview.After booking the interview, you will have to print the online confirmation and with all the documents needed go for the interview.
To put it up straight, you will be talking to a stranger; so how you impress the VO is up to you. Rather than talking smart, it would be better to be straight forward. Like answering to the point. As I said in the previous para, if your credentials are good, the interview will just be a 'formality'. So the only questions you will be asked will probably which university you're from/going to, GRE/TOEFL scores, if you have had any supplies, why America and maybe an unexpected question you have to answer well. There's not much you can screw up. Most of us have good credentials, so you shouldn't worry too much about not getting a visa. You can be 98% sure of getting a visa; with the help of a consultant, that increases to 99%. Now, if you need an easier approach to the visa interview, you can go to a consultant. . They will cost some money,around 3.5k for documentation(making sure all the documents are in order and the forms filled up for the visa interview were correct) and for interview-briefing(or interview coaching if you need).
As most people i know are from south they went to the Madras consulate; you have to look up the jurisdiction of the area you stay in to know which consulate you have to go to. If you are heading to the Madras consulate, we r luck because in old times you had to stand in the sun or the rain outside... Now I hear you are transported by bus from another waiting room. You are lucky we
And, I hope your passport and all supporting documents have the same name and spellings.if get it corrected
XYZ of gre
feel like giving a lot of advice for the visa interview, but it will be giving Anil Kumble tips on bowling a wrongun. Don't worry, the interview will be very easy. Just make sure you don't screw it up with smart or goofy answers or fake documents or incomplete application forms.
If you have had the patience to read my visa interview, you don't have to wear a tie, just formal clothes are good. If you get a Caucasian-American whose accent you find it difficult to understand, say so, apologise and listen carefully. You too have to speak clearly and slowly. Usually they, having the experience, will understand you easily. Not losing your document is quintessential; organising them for the interview in an easy-to-reach manner will help.
As suggested earlier, if you need a visa consultant in Madras, you could go to the person I went to, Mrs. Shanti, whose website is here. I'm giving this information because I felt she was very appropriate and straight forward, not in the least manner 'crooked'. I've given my pros/cons about an agent in the previous doc. Matter of fact, she has a few appearances on TV too, and costwise, I definitely paid lesser than what my friend paid in B'lore.
Some possible questions(no guarantee on them being asked)...
Why this university..
Why this topic...
Your GRE/TOEFL scores..
Why you have supplie(if you have)(I guess you don't)
Will you stay in America after finishing..
What are your parents doing...
Any siblings.... Any relatives in the US...
If your interview goes well, they will retain your passport and you should get your visa in about 2 weeks max. The passport will be couriered to you via DHL. Sometimes VOs will say since your topic of interest for higher studies is highly 'sensitive', this will means that your visa will be granted subject to clearance - this could take weeks to even months. Partly this depends on what you say in your interview - if you speak in simple words, good, else if you put a few scientific terms in a description which the VO doesn't understand.....
Disclaimer... I have presented these from the view of a person who hasn't flown before.. so if you have, it is best you ignore them.
Note 1: Even though I have given some information here, it is best you contact the Indian Students Association(ISA) of your university. They will definitely have their own tips and suggestions, which will better fit your needs.
Booking Tickets
Basically once you have your I-20 in hand you can book your airline ticket, the rule when I applied was that students could enter the US not earlier than 30 days before college started, that date is on the I-20(e.g. if university starts Aug 31, you can land Aug 1). So you can book your ticket for any day within that 30 day period.
Identify the nearest airport to your university; decide which airport you want to depart from. You may want to hook up with friends and fly from Bombay, avoid B'lore, choose Madras....etc.
My suggestion is contact as many travel agents as possible; search by yourself on the internet; ask friends; carefully enquire about extra luggage and the charges.
Tip: Defenitely try and avoid flying into New York JFK, reconsider Heathrow - they are notorious for lost baggage.
You may want to ask many agents because they will merely 'block' your ticket - i.e. place a hold on it with your name and passport details - for some period of time. This is free(mostly), and the more agents you book with, the wider the range of pricing you will get. Then decide. Sometimes you may want to go with other friends - e.g. Sriram went to Bombay to rendevouz with Sriram(by train) so that they could fly together to U of Florida.
Tip: Air-India has a pretty bad reputation for poor service.
Tip: Make sure that the ticket you are booking can be cancelled - just in case - you don't get your visa in time. If your visa doesn't arrive in time you will have to forfeit all of that nearly 45k.
Of course, you are making these arrangements in the good faith(touch wood) that you will get through your visa interview. Hence in foresight, book your visa interview early....
Packing
Having completed your interview and your celebratory party(if you are spendthrift), its time to pack. First off, you will need two suitcases and a cabin bag.
The suitcases can be either hard shell or soft; hard shell will take more battering but the soft one can be packed with extra luggage. Hence one of both will be a good choice.
Again, don't expect your suitcases to be brand new when you land in America - they will have bruises and be pretty dirty - if at all they are not lost, that is. So another decision to be made - costly or cheaper ones? Arguments include disposing off the cheap ones after use; the costly ones can be used for a couple of up and down trips. One gentleman was commenting that he had to buy a new set of bags everytime he flew - such was the damage. As a matter of fact, my soft shell bag already has a tear at the corner... One of my relatives was even suggesting that second hand bags(disposed off by one-time travellers), available in Moore Market, are an option, but you may not be interested in that.
The suitcases will be pre-fabricated to flight requirements, showrooms will usually have those details on hand. You have to ask around to find out which bazaar is the cheapest, or else you might regret shelling a few extra thousands unnecessarily.
You will also have to buy a cabin bag, to take along with you at the time of boarding the flight.
(I was told these details have changed)
Next is packing. When I flew, the limit was 23kgs on the suitcases and 14kgs on the cabin bag(including the weight of the bag). You can increase the weight to 32kgs and pay an extra 50 euros(the price when I flew with Delta). An important point to note here is that the weight of an empty suitcase itself is about 4-6 kgs, so using a weighing scale is a very good idea at every point of packing.
A few insights into the nuances of packing: a jeans pant("a pair of jeans") weighs nearly a kilo, a formal pant about 0.7 kgs. I had bags of 32 kgs and 23 kgs, to accomodate for extra luggage. Now carrying bags of 24kgs or 33kgs will not be a problem, but if your bag weighs something like 28 kgs, you might as well stretch it to 32 kgs or whatever limit is set by your airline.
Clothes to carry: Students wear almost anything they want - half pants, jeans... Almost noone except the business and law students wear formals. So a couple of jeans, a lot of t-shirts, a set of formal clothes and the necessary inner wear to last a week or a week and half should be good. Buy about a dozen pair of socks of the same colour - so that you don't have to match pairs. Or just pack in all the pairs you have, you can definitely buy new ones here.
You might want to account for shrinkage... slightly..
Put in a 2-3 bedsheets and a couple of pillow covers. A couple of towels. A night pant/cotton pants which can also be used an thermal wear if you happen to be in a colder region.
Don't buy a new pair of sports shoes; a new pair here will be cheaper. My suggestion would be to buy a pair of Woodland shoes(for colder regions; otherwise I don't think you will ever need boots) and a pair of black shoes; wear the Woodland pair in-flight.
Don't buy a jacket/jerkin; bring along whatever jacket you have already. A good snow-jacket(colder regions) is best bought here.
I took along a pillow and rug; these, I feel are unnecessary as they are better bought here. It might be uncomfortable for a couple of days, but you can manage with the bedsheets.
The soft suitcase can be used for clothes and the hard for utensils.
Utensils: Usually a medium size cooker(with extra gasket, whistle and safety valve), a pan, a small kadaai, a few ladles, tablespoons and teaspoons, a couple of plastic plates(since they have a lower density), a couple of plastic containers, plastic tumblers.
The idea is to picture yourself cooking rice, curry, making an omelette... So whatever you will need to cook and store these, take them along.
By the way, have you started cooking? Are you a master chef?
Start learning. Make sure to cook independently for a couple of days to gain confidence. If you are really having trouble, I suggest you learn the basics well - mainly rice and sambhar. The exotic dishes can be learnt later, if needed.
Some basic supplies you should bring along, for atleast the first few days. These include 1 kilo rice(moderate this amount based on your overall weight), one kilo your taste of sambhar mix(this is arguably the most important of all the items, because it is unique to each family), masala powders, ~ ½ kilo dal, some salt.
Take along some cereal(for the first few mornings), avval.
You could take along rava, for upma. Include lots of ready-to-eat mixes, like tamarind rice, vegetable biriyani.. These help in making things quickly.
Include Boost/Horlicks/other mixes for milk, if you use them. These items, as we know them, will be available at an Indian store. I have improvised: instead of using Boost, I use chocolate cereals - it alters the taste and colour of white milk sufficiently.
Tip: Most of these items, sans the sambhar mix which your family may make by hand, will be available at an Indian store. The objective is to manage for atleast a week or two before the need to shop.
Very Important: Get a Dental checkup/required treatment in India itself, because the health insurance in US will cover the other things(dental is usually not included; depends), so it you have any dental problems you will have to foot the very very costly bills from your pocket.
All your documents should be with you in your cabin bag. Your passport, keep it safely on you.
Driver's License: In some states you can drive with an International Driver's License for 6 months, in some you need a state license. So ask seniors about it.
Laptop - Better value in USA. Your university may have a minimum specification for the laptop. Your university will usually have a Dell discount, otherwise refer Footnote1 at the bottom.
DVDs/Hard disk: Be very very aware - any pirated English songs/movies/shows will lead to serious legal issues... maybe even deportation.. So avoid anything English.. Discreetly you could bring it in, but if checked(that may never happen), you are in big trouble.
Electronic equipment: The power supply is 110 V, the plugs are thin rather than round, so plan carefully.
Textbooks: Books are expensive, so ask seniors if you need to buy/bring books from India for the coursework you will probably take, or if there are sufficient copies in the library.
Locking your bags: Do not, I repeat do not lock your suitcases, because at your port of entry(wherever you first enter in USA), your bags might be subject to random inspection.. So the officials will with no remorse break open your suitcase, if they wish. An alternative is to use a TSA(Transportation Safety Authority, USA)-approved lock, to which they have a master key, but these are quite expensive. Most bags are anyway 'sealed' at the time of check-in. Theft of goods from a suitcase, I have not heard of.
Tip: In both the bags, leave xerox copies of the following documents, on the top, so that they are visible immediately on opening: passport/visa, flight itinerary, I-20, address to which to communicate in the US. These help to identify your bag incase it is lost or misplaced. In any case your suitcase will lose all its sheen; you could spend some time painting it or decorating it so that you can identify it easily when you have to collect it.
You should not tightly pack your suitcases such that they fit like a jigsaw puzzle - because in case they open your bag and check the contents, it shouldn't seem difficult to put together - your bad should only be packes so tight that they don't move around, packing by putting clothes to fill in crevices.
Be ready to explain everything you have in your suitcases/bags - like the agents may ask what that red powder is(sambhar mix..).
Medicines to carry: Contact your doctor to get medicines for all the allergies/common ailments which affect you such as a running stomach, nausea or fever. Also find out the alternative names for the medicines. Carry the prescriptions in case you have to have to show them to someone here.
Carrying money:
a) The "Vishwa Yatra Card"
This is useful if you don't have aid, it is a kind of rechargable debit card, issued by SBI, a Visa card, it can be charged from India, in US Dollars, so you can use the card in the US, with money being added from home if more is needed. Withdrawals from ATMs will have a surcharge; commercial usage has none.
b) Traveller's Cheques
These are issued by some banks(my SBI wouldn't issue them) and can be used at almost all commercial establishments.
c) Hard cash
You can, but too much might be dangerous if you are checked.
I opened a bank account soon after I came here, so I put in the money I had brought along into there.
How much to carry? Well, there might be some deposit cost for your apartment, then some basic shopping/groceries/health insurance to do, which shouldn't come to more than $500 for a couple of weeks. So in hand cash of about $750 should do, but always ask someone who's already there about it.
For the fees, a demand draft for the fees will do.
.
Start off early from your house. If you are leaving from Bangalore, be all the more careful.
Remember: whatever you forget to pack, money can buy, except, that is your documents. Don't forget to take these. Moreover, these documents should be packed in the cabin bag, the one you take with you in the flight. Because, if you lose your checked-in-baggage, you still have the bag with the documents with you.
Also, you should be able to survive for about one week with just your cabin bag - so pack atleast one weeks' worth of clothes and necessities.
Visit the TSA site here and here and here, to find out the latest rules for what to carry and not to carry. You cannot carry more than the specified amount of liquid; whatever you carry has to be in the specified size of Ziploc(re-sealable plastic bags).
Inside the plane, it will get cold, they should give you a shawl. The flight will be quite boring sans the inflight entertainment.. food will be served as per your requests... Not much else.
For your first stopover, you will have to get off the plane, go through security again(remove shoes, belt, jacket, etc) and go to the terminal on the boarding pass and get on the plane by showing your I20 and passport. Even if you somehow get lost and miss your flight, you will be put on another. Be very careful with your cabin bag, don't lose it.
You will be given two forms, I94 and a CBP declaration. The I94 is proof that you have legally entered the USA. One half will be retained at the port of entry and the other half is pinned to your passport. The CBP(Customs and Border Patrol) form is for you to declare whatever you are bringing into the country; usually you will answer 'no' to all the questions, because you are not carrying food or soil or too much money.
At the port of entry
After you land you will proceed to immigration; be ready to show your I20, passport and if necessary the admission letter. The person at the counter will take your fingerprints and may ask a couple of questions; answer them calmly. They will stamp your passport and the I20 and attach one half of the I94 to your passport, retaining the CBP form. Next collect your big suitcases and take a trolley(paying for it if needed). Move to the next terminal, if you have another flight, or to the exit if this is the last of flights.
Don't act like an idiot; there will be officers, cameras, people watching and observing you; so just be normal, not making sudden gestures. If, God forbid, you are approached for further information, be calm and cooperate.
After landing at your final destination, if, your bags don't arrive, go to that airline's office and register your complaint; you will have to give an address and a phone number, with some identification for it.
In foresight, you should have a senior's/contact's address and phone number, hopefully the Indian Student's Association should have helped you with this.
In fact, I missed my luggage at my final airport, so registered a complaint with the Delta office, giving my temporary address(my gratitude with the ISA for their wonderful help) and a friend's cell phone number. Thankfully they were delivered to my temp accommodation's after 9 hours at 3 am.
In case you don't get your suitcases at all, you will be compensated. Again, in foresight, you should have a list of items you have in your suitcases, so that you know what is where and what you may lose.
In America
Cellphone: There are 4 options: (a) You have a really benevolent relative who is willing to add you on as a 'family member' to their 'post-paid' plan. You will pay less than half the amount you would normally pay if you took a plan yourself. If you agree to a simple phone, you can get it for almost free.(b) Since you will almost definitely need a social security card to get a credit card, you could convince a senior/friend to take the connection on his credit card, once you get your card you can transfer it. (c) Buy a new phone here and get a 'prepaid' account or a postpaid account (d) Bring your hi-fi phone from India and put it to use here for a 'prepaid' account. Decide on your options.
For the first few days, when you land here, you will need to call home.. so my suggestion is to get a Reliance call home card or an Airtel call home card, which you can use from any coin phone.
You will then have to head to the Graduate School-Internationals Office-Department Office to submit your credentials(marksheets, degree certi, passport,etc) and meet a/your prof. If you already have an assistantship, you will have to sign papers... Then you will, with some other papers from the Internationals Office go to the city office and apply for the Social Security Card.
Once you have your SSN(SS Number) you can apply for a credit card and use it.
The pay from the assistantship is usually more than required for expenses.
If you don't have an assistantship and have an on-campus job(I don't think any other form of employment is allowed) you will have the same procedure except that instead of papers from the department you will have to sign papers from the place where you are working.
Regarding interaction, the other students, American or not, are usually welcoming. Understanding their accent might take time, especially the East Asians. You will also have to speak slowly to them, not to mention pronouncing each word separately if anyone doesn't understand what you are saying.
At fast food chains, don't be afraid to ask what the ingredients are, if you are averse to non-vegetarian content. You will be asked "For here, or to go?," wherein the former means you will eat it there itself(a few cents more) and the latter means that you want it in a bag to eat outside of the eatery. You can, however, ask for 'to go' and eat it inside, but noone minds paying a few cents extra to get their order on a platter.
Laptops, you can buy from your university dept store(Dell, with a discount) or online from the sites of HP, Dell, Sony, Toshiba.. But my preference if an HP. See footnote for details.
Some safety tips... Be afraid of the darkness.. Being a foreigner be aware of your surroundings... Be aware of 'people of the lower end of the economic demographic'.. And find strength in groups.
If you have had the patience to read my visa interview, you don't have to wear a tie, just formal clothes are good. If you get a Caucasian-American whose accent you find it difficult to understand, say so, apologise and listen carefully. You too have to speak clearly and slowly. Usually they, having the experience, will understand you easily. Not losing your document is quintessential; organising them for the interview in an easy-to-reach manner will help.
As suggested earlier, if you need a visa consultant in Madras, you could go to the person I went to, Mrs. Shanti, whose website is here. I'm giving this information because I felt she was very appropriate and straight forward, not in the least manner 'crooked'. I've given my pros/cons about an agent in the previous doc. Matter of fact, she has a few appearances on TV too, and costwise, I definitely paid lesser than what my friend paid in B'lore.
Some possible questions(no guarantee on them being asked)...
Why this university..
Why this topic...
Your GRE/TOEFL scores..
Why you have supplie(if you have)(I guess you don't)
Will you stay in America after finishing..
What are your parents doing...
Any siblings.... Any relatives in the US...
If your interview goes well, they will retain your passport and you should get your visa in about 2 weeks max. The passport will be couriered to you via DHL. Sometimes VOs will say since your topic of interest for higher studies is highly 'sensitive', this will means that your visa will be granted subject to clearance - this could take weeks to even months. Partly this depends on what you say in your interview - if you speak in simple words, good, else if you put a few scientific terms in a description which the VO doesn't understand.....
Disclaimer... I have presented these from the view of a person who hasn't flown before.. so if you have, it is best you ignore them.
Note 1: Even though I have given some information here, it is best you contact the Indian Students Association(ISA) of your university. They will definitely have their own tips and suggestions, which will better fit your needs.
Booking Tickets
Basically once you have your I-20 in hand you can book your airline ticket, the rule when I applied was that students could enter the US not earlier than 30 days before college started, that date is on the I-20(e.g. if university starts Aug 31, you can land Aug 1). So you can book your ticket for any day within that 30 day period.
Identify the nearest airport to your university; decide which airport you want to depart from. You may want to hook up with friends and fly from Bombay, avoid B'lore, choose Madras....etc.
My suggestion is contact as many travel agents as possible; search by yourself on the internet; ask friends; carefully enquire about extra luggage and the charges.
Tip: Defenitely try and avoid flying into New York JFK, reconsider Heathrow - they are notorious for lost baggage.
You may want to ask many agents because they will merely 'block' your ticket - i.e. place a hold on it with your name and passport details - for some period of time. This is free(mostly), and the more agents you book with, the wider the range of pricing you will get. Then decide. Sometimes you may want to go with other friends - e.g. Sriram went to Bombay to rendevouz with Sriram(by train) so that they could fly together to U of Florida.
Tip: Air-India has a pretty bad reputation for poor service.
Tip: Make sure that the ticket you are booking can be cancelled - just in case - you don't get your visa in time. If your visa doesn't arrive in time you will have to forfeit all of that nearly 45k.
Of course, you are making these arrangements in the good faith(touch wood) that you will get through your visa interview. Hence in foresight, book your visa interview early....
Packing
Having completed your interview and your celebratory party(if you are spendthrift), its time to pack. First off, you will need two suitcases and a cabin bag.
The suitcases can be either hard shell or soft; hard shell will take more battering but the soft one can be packed with extra luggage. Hence one of both will be a good choice.
Again, don't expect your suitcases to be brand new when you land in America - they will have bruises and be pretty dirty - if at all they are not lost, that is. So another decision to be made - costly or cheaper ones? Arguments include disposing off the cheap ones after use; the costly ones can be used for a couple of up and down trips. One gentleman was commenting that he had to buy a new set of bags everytime he flew - such was the damage. As a matter of fact, my soft shell bag already has a tear at the corner... One of my relatives was even suggesting that second hand bags(disposed off by one-time travellers), available in Moore Market, are an option, but you may not be interested in that.
The suitcases will be pre-fabricated to flight requirements, showrooms will usually have those details on hand. You have to ask around to find out which bazaar is the cheapest, or else you might regret shelling a few extra thousands unnecessarily.
You will also have to buy a cabin bag, to take along with you at the time of boarding the flight.
(I was told these details have changed)
Next is packing. When I flew, the limit was 23kgs on the suitcases and 14kgs on the cabin bag(including the weight of the bag). You can increase the weight to 32kgs and pay an extra 50 euros(the price when I flew with Delta). An important point to note here is that the weight of an empty suitcase itself is about 4-6 kgs, so using a weighing scale is a very good idea at every point of packing.
A few insights into the nuances of packing: a jeans pant("a pair of jeans") weighs nearly a kilo, a formal pant about 0.7 kgs. I had bags of 32 kgs and 23 kgs, to accomodate for extra luggage. Now carrying bags of 24kgs or 33kgs will not be a problem, but if your bag weighs something like 28 kgs, you might as well stretch it to 32 kgs or whatever limit is set by your airline.
Clothes to carry: Students wear almost anything they want - half pants, jeans... Almost noone except the business and law students wear formals. So a couple of jeans, a lot of t-shirts, a set of formal clothes and the necessary inner wear to last a week or a week and half should be good. Buy about a dozen pair of socks of the same colour - so that you don't have to match pairs. Or just pack in all the pairs you have, you can definitely buy new ones here.
You might want to account for shrinkage... slightly..
Put in a 2-3 bedsheets and a couple of pillow covers. A couple of towels. A night pant/cotton pants which can also be used an thermal wear if you happen to be in a colder region.
Don't buy a new pair of sports shoes; a new pair here will be cheaper. My suggestion would be to buy a pair of Woodland shoes(for colder regions; otherwise I don't think you will ever need boots) and a pair of black shoes; wear the Woodland pair in-flight.
Don't buy a jacket/jerkin; bring along whatever jacket you have already. A good snow-jacket(colder regions) is best bought here.
I took along a pillow and rug; these, I feel are unnecessary as they are better bought here. It might be uncomfortable for a couple of days, but you can manage with the bedsheets.
The soft suitcase can be used for clothes and the hard for utensils.
Utensils: Usually a medium size cooker(with extra gasket, whistle and safety valve), a pan, a small kadaai, a few ladles, tablespoons and teaspoons, a couple of plastic plates(since they have a lower density), a couple of plastic containers, plastic tumblers.
The idea is to picture yourself cooking rice, curry, making an omelette... So whatever you will need to cook and store these, take them along.
By the way, have you started cooking? Are you a master chef?
Start learning. Make sure to cook independently for a couple of days to gain confidence. If you are really having trouble, I suggest you learn the basics well - mainly rice and sambhar. The exotic dishes can be learnt later, if needed.
Some basic supplies you should bring along, for atleast the first few days. These include 1 kilo rice(moderate this amount based on your overall weight), one kilo your taste of sambhar mix(this is arguably the most important of all the items, because it is unique to each family), masala powders, ~ ½ kilo dal, some salt.
Take along some cereal(for the first few mornings), avval.
You could take along rava, for upma. Include lots of ready-to-eat mixes, like tamarind rice, vegetable biriyani.. These help in making things quickly.
Include Boost/Horlicks/other mixes for milk, if you use them. These items, as we know them, will be available at an Indian store. I have improvised: instead of using Boost, I use chocolate cereals - it alters the taste and colour of white milk sufficiently.
Tip: Most of these items, sans the sambhar mix which your family may make by hand, will be available at an Indian store. The objective is to manage for atleast a week or two before the need to shop.
Very Important: Get a Dental checkup/required treatment in India itself, because the health insurance in US will cover the other things(dental is usually not included; depends), so it you have any dental problems you will have to foot the very very costly bills from your pocket.
All your documents should be with you in your cabin bag. Your passport, keep it safely on you.
Driver's License: In some states you can drive with an International Driver's License for 6 months, in some you need a state license. So ask seniors about it.
Laptop - Better value in USA. Your university may have a minimum specification for the laptop. Your university will usually have a Dell discount, otherwise refer Footnote1 at the bottom.
DVDs/Hard disk: Be very very aware - any pirated English songs/movies/shows will lead to serious legal issues... maybe even deportation.. So avoid anything English.. Discreetly you could bring it in, but if checked(that may never happen), you are in big trouble.
Electronic equipment: The power supply is 110 V, the plugs are thin rather than round, so plan carefully.
Textbooks: Books are expensive, so ask seniors if you need to buy/bring books from India for the coursework you will probably take, or if there are sufficient copies in the library.
Locking your bags: Do not, I repeat do not lock your suitcases, because at your port of entry(wherever you first enter in USA), your bags might be subject to random inspection.. So the officials will with no remorse break open your suitcase, if they wish. An alternative is to use a TSA(Transportation Safety Authority, USA)-approved lock, to which they have a master key, but these are quite expensive. Most bags are anyway 'sealed' at the time of check-in. Theft of goods from a suitcase, I have not heard of.
Tip: In both the bags, leave xerox copies of the following documents, on the top, so that they are visible immediately on opening: passport/visa, flight itinerary, I-20, address to which to communicate in the US. These help to identify your bag incase it is lost or misplaced. In any case your suitcase will lose all its sheen; you could spend some time painting it or decorating it so that you can identify it easily when you have to collect it.
You should not tightly pack your suitcases such that they fit like a jigsaw puzzle - because in case they open your bag and check the contents, it shouldn't seem difficult to put together - your bad should only be packes so tight that they don't move around, packing by putting clothes to fill in crevices.
Be ready to explain everything you have in your suitcases/bags - like the agents may ask what that red powder is(sambhar mix..).
Medicines to carry: Contact your doctor to get medicines for all the allergies/common ailments which affect you such as a running stomach, nausea or fever. Also find out the alternative names for the medicines. Carry the prescriptions in case you have to have to show them to someone here.
Carrying money:
a) The "Vishwa Yatra Card"
This is useful if you don't have aid, it is a kind of rechargable debit card, issued by SBI, a Visa card, it can be charged from India, in US Dollars, so you can use the card in the US, with money being added from home if more is needed. Withdrawals from ATMs will have a surcharge; commercial usage has none.
b) Traveller's Cheques
These are issued by some banks(my SBI wouldn't issue them) and can be used at almost all commercial establishments.
c) Hard cash
You can, but too much might be dangerous if you are checked.
I opened a bank account soon after I came here, so I put in the money I had brought along into there.
How much to carry? Well, there might be some deposit cost for your apartment, then some basic shopping/groceries/health insurance to do, which shouldn't come to more than $500 for a couple of weeks. So in hand cash of about $750 should do, but always ask someone who's already there about it.
For the fees, a demand draft for the fees will do.
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Start off early from your house. If you are leaving from Bangalore, be all the more careful.
Remember: whatever you forget to pack, money can buy, except, that is your documents. Don't forget to take these. Moreover, these documents should be packed in the cabin bag, the one you take with you in the flight. Because, if you lose your checked-in-baggage, you still have the bag with the documents with you.
Also, you should be able to survive for about one week with just your cabin bag - so pack atleast one weeks' worth of clothes and necessities.
Visit the TSA site here and here and here, to find out the latest rules for what to carry and not to carry. You cannot carry more than the specified amount of liquid; whatever you carry has to be in the specified size of Ziploc(re-sealable plastic bags).
Inside the plane, it will get cold, they should give you a shawl. The flight will be quite boring sans the inflight entertainment.. food will be served as per your requests... Not much else.
For your first stopover, you will have to get off the plane, go through security again(remove shoes, belt, jacket, etc) and go to the terminal on the boarding pass and get on the plane by showing your I20 and passport. Even if you somehow get lost and miss your flight, you will be put on another. Be very careful with your cabin bag, don't lose it.
You will be given two forms, I94 and a CBP declaration. The I94 is proof that you have legally entered the USA. One half will be retained at the port of entry and the other half is pinned to your passport. The CBP(Customs and Border Patrol) form is for you to declare whatever you are bringing into the country; usually you will answer 'no' to all the questions, because you are not carrying food or soil or too much money.
At the port of entry
After you land you will proceed to immigration; be ready to show your I20, passport and if necessary the admission letter. The person at the counter will take your fingerprints and may ask a couple of questions; answer them calmly. They will stamp your passport and the I20 and attach one half of the I94 to your passport, retaining the CBP form. Next collect your big suitcases and take a trolley(paying for it if needed). Move to the next terminal, if you have another flight, or to the exit if this is the last of flights.
Don't act like an idiot; there will be officers, cameras, people watching and observing you; so just be normal, not making sudden gestures. If, God forbid, you are approached for further information, be calm and cooperate.
After landing at your final destination, if, your bags don't arrive, go to that airline's office and register your complaint; you will have to give an address and a phone number, with some identification for it.
In foresight, you should have a senior's/contact's address and phone number, hopefully the Indian Student's Association should have helped you with this.
In fact, I missed my luggage at my final airport, so registered a complaint with the Delta office, giving my temporary address(my gratitude with the ISA for their wonderful help) and a friend's cell phone number. Thankfully they were delivered to my temp accommodation's after 9 hours at 3 am.
In case you don't get your suitcases at all, you will be compensated. Again, in foresight, you should have a list of items you have in your suitcases, so that you know what is where and what you may lose.
In America
Cellphone: There are 4 options: (a) You have a really benevolent relative who is willing to add you on as a 'family member' to their 'post-paid' plan. You will pay less than half the amount you would normally pay if you took a plan yourself. If you agree to a simple phone, you can get it for almost free.(b) Since you will almost definitely need a social security card to get a credit card, you could convince a senior/friend to take the connection on his credit card, once you get your card you can transfer it. (c) Buy a new phone here and get a 'prepaid' account or a postpaid account (d) Bring your hi-fi phone from India and put it to use here for a 'prepaid' account. Decide on your options.
For the first few days, when you land here, you will need to call home.. so my suggestion is to get a Reliance call home card or an Airtel call home card, which you can use from any coin phone.
You will then have to head to the Graduate School-Internationals Office-Department Office to submit your credentials(marksheets, degree certi, passport,etc) and meet a/your prof. If you already have an assistantship, you will have to sign papers... Then you will, with some other papers from the Internationals Office go to the city office and apply for the Social Security Card.
Once you have your SSN(SS Number) you can apply for a credit card and use it.
The pay from the assistantship is usually more than required for expenses.
If you don't have an assistantship and have an on-campus job(I don't think any other form of employment is allowed) you will have the same procedure except that instead of papers from the department you will have to sign papers from the place where you are working.
Regarding interaction, the other students, American or not, are usually welcoming. Understanding their accent might take time, especially the East Asians. You will also have to speak slowly to them, not to mention pronouncing each word separately if anyone doesn't understand what you are saying.
At fast food chains, don't be afraid to ask what the ingredients are, if you are averse to non-vegetarian content. You will be asked "For here, or to go?," wherein the former means you will eat it there itself(a few cents more) and the latter means that you want it in a bag to eat outside of the eatery. You can, however, ask for 'to go' and eat it inside, but noone minds paying a few cents extra to get their order on a platter.
Laptops, you can buy from your university dept store(Dell, with a discount) or online from the sites of HP, Dell, Sony, Toshiba.. But my preference if an HP. See footnote for details.
Some safety tips... Be afraid of the darkness.. Being a foreigner be aware of your surroundings... Be aware of 'people of the lower end of the economic demographic'.. And find strength in groups.
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