July 14th, 2008
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After you have got the visa, the most important task is to book an air ticket. Wherever you are, you will have plenty of choices on which airlines to fly.
Before we discuss the airlines, it is important to note for the first time fliers, that there are huge and illogical price variations even for the same flight. You might be used to the notion of uniform pricing given how it works for local bus fares or rail fares. But unfortunately within the same flight, travelers end up paying different prices for the same class of seats. If you get friendly with the person sitting next to you in a flight and happen to exchange the information on your ticket price, you may get shocked to know how cheap the other person got the ticket - or the other person will get a shock to know how cheap you got it! These variations are caused by the fact that airlines seldom directly sell tickets. They depend on travel agents or travel portals and each agent is free to decide the commission. The prices also fluctuate with time, usually getting more expensive as the date of travel comes closer.
So it is important to refer to many sources, talk to different agents and check the prices on travel sites. Some airlines are low-cost but for a given date and route, any airline could turn out to be cheapest.
In addition to the cost of the ticket, you should consider the following factors while booking an air ticket:
1.Availability of flight: (on a particular date) - not all airlines fly their every route every day.
2.Transit visa: The flight to US can have an stopover in a country that requires a transit visa for your nationality - simply forget such airlines. It is not only a matter of expense and hassles but also a matter of insult if a country selectively requires a transit visa for your nationality.
3.Stopover time: Ideal time between the incoming and outgoing flight is 3 hours to 6 hours. You may miss the connection if the stopover time is very short. You may have a tough time in eating at a transit airport as the food choices may be unsuitable or insanely expensive.
4.Luggage limits: Find out the number and weight of luggage allowed. Recently, with the rise in fuel prices, some airlines are trying to make money by reducing the weight limits and then charging a hefty fine. Find out if any airline if offering student concessions on luggage limits.
5.Connection: If your final destination in US is a remote college town like Ann Arbor and College Station, make sure what type of connection is available. Never book a ticket in parts. If you book a ticket to a major US airport, you may have a tough time getting a ticket to your small town airport destination.
6.Food: If you are a vegetarian or vegan, make sure the airline offers a vegetarian/vegan meal. With the growing clout and number of the Indian traveler, these days most airlines that do business in India offer an Indian Vegetarian meal option. But the crucial point is to find out if the same option is available on the second leg of the flight.
Posted in Travel and Transport | No Comments »
June 27th, 2008
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Student Visa (F-1 or J-1) is required for citizens of other countries to pursue a degree program at a US University. A personal interview is required for the student visa and an appointment is needed.
Like other US visa requirements, applicants for student visa need to complete DS Forms, Affix photographs as per specifications, and carry their passport and required fee. In addition, following are the documents one must carry for a student visa interview.
I-20: This is the single most important document and an absolute must to get a student visa. If you have multiple I-20s carry the one for your final University. If the I-20 has any errors get it sorted out with the University before you go for the visa.
Degrees: Carry all your degrees in original. The qualifying degree for your US admission is most relevant. If you have recently completed your study carry provisional degree or marksheet stating a degree has not yet been awarded.
Mark sheets: Carry all your marksheets / transcripts in original
Standardized Test score reports: Your GRE / SAT / GMAT / TOEFL score report whatever was required to obtain admission to the US University.
Financial Documents: Original passbooks and bank statements of self and sponsors
Income Tax Returns: Tax returns of the most recent two years of self and sponsors, as applicable.
One must carry all academic and financial documents possible in original. However in most cases the interviewer asks for one or two documents, from the above mentioned list. Good Luck with your visa interview.
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June 16th, 2008
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The US Healthcare is one of the best in the world IF you can afford it. The doctors are very qualified, hospitals and equipments are truly world-class but the same can not be said of the insurance and payment systems. The way healthcare works in USA is that the cost of healthcare is very high and a vast majority of Americans cannot pay for their healthcare out of the pocket, if they do not have enough insurance coverage. So having a health insurance is really critical to one’s survival.
The concept of health insurance in USA is more complicated than GRE or GMAT and takes a lot of time energy and disappointment before you really understand how things work. In most countries of the developed, developing and third world, people are used to the idea of free healthcare and free medicine for routine healthcare needs. It is nothing less than a cultural shock to realize that the treatment cost for any accident or significant even minor health issue can run into thousands of dollars in USA.
It cannot be stressed enough that as students you should be covered for the entire duration of your stay with health insurance that confirms to your University guidelines. Contact the University health center or international students’ program office to find out what is the recommended coverage. In most cases a teaching or research assistantship comes with added benefits which may include health insurance coverage. If you lose your assistantship, you lose the coverage too. So It is your own responsibility to buy health insurance which takes care of your needs in the event of loss of coverage.
Some links related to student health insurance:
www.insurancepandit.com/
www.healthinsurancefinders.com/
Posted in Money Matters, Insurance | No Comments »
June 10th, 2008
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Financial Engineering is a multidisciplinary field involving financial theory, engineering fundamentals, mathematics and computer programming. Students of Financial Engineering learn to employ finance and computer modeling skills to make pricing, hedging, trading and portfolio management decisions. Graduates of the Master’s in Financial Engineering can pursue careers in Investment Banking, Corporate Strategy, Risk Analysis, Portfolio Management and Securities Trading.
If you have high mathematical aptitude, an undergraduate degree in Mathematics or Engineering, and interest in Finance, it is an option worth exploring. Both GRE and GMAT are accepted, check with individual programs. TOEFL is required for international applicants.
Some of the top programs in Financial Engineering include:
You can Chat Online with officials of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business for a Q & A about MFE Program, on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 from 10:30AM-12:00PM PT .
Posted in MBA and GMAT, Business Education | 2 Comments »
June 5th, 2008
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Many International applicants to US Universities do not get a chance to know the people of USA till they actually arrive in the country. The perception about the American people is often based on movies, novels, news coverage or just word of mouth. The media coverage depends on which part of the world you live in.
No matter what you know or have heard about the American people, you are likely to be pleasantly surprised by the fact that people are very nice, polite and helpful, even towards strangers. The first thing you will notice here is that people smile a lot. They even say Hello, Good Morning, How are you doing today, to anybody whom they come across. You will be further surprised to find that people will open and hold doors for you to get in. If you are lost on campus and ask for help someone will not only explain you the directions but may even walk with you to show where you need to go.
It is advisable to learn the optimism, cheerfulness and manners so that you come across as a likable and well-mannered person when you interact with people of various nationalities at a US University or outside the campus. It is important to greet people with a smile or Hello when they greet you. In USA eye contact is very important, so look in the eyes while talking to someone. If they offer a hand, shake their hand firmly and with enthusiasm. Open and hold doors for others while entering a building if someone is right behind you. Allow people to come out of an elevator before you try to get in.
The key is to be very proud of your own culture and at the same time learn the local culture so that you have a great experience in USA… and remember to smile!
Posted in Culture | 1 Comment »
May 26th, 2008
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Many US Universities like MIT have 2 long semesters, Fall and Spring and one shorter semester in Summer. In these Universities most courses are offered in the two long semesters. Students typically do research or take paid internship on a full-time basis during the Summer semester. Legally international students have to take a minimum of 3 courses per long semester so that the US Govt. is assured that you are really spending your time in full time studies.
Many other Universities, specially in California have 4 semesters of 3 months each, known as quarters. One of the 4 quarters is summer, the other three semesters are known as Fall, Winter, and Spring. Even in the quarter system, enrolment rules are relaxed for international students and very few courses are offered in Summer.
The Summer semester in either system is comparable. But the key difference is that in Semester system you have 2 long semester spanning four and a half months. In the quarter system you have three main semesters (excluding summer) of two and a half months, discounting 15 days for exams, break, etc. As a student, it impacts your schedule and the pressure under which you operate. Even a 4.5 month semester is very fast paced, but in a quarter system the semester is over as soon as it starts! Professors teach at a fast pace and deadlines for assignments are closer. As a student you have no room to relax, waste time or miss any class or assignment.
You should apply to those US Universities which you otherwise would irrespective of the semester or quarter system. After you get many admission offers, and two of your offers are very close, you can use this information as a tie breaker.
Example Calendars for either system:
Fall, Spring and Summer schedule at MIT (2007-08)
Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer at UCLA (2007-08)
Posted in US Education | No Comments »
May 21st, 2008
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In the mid nineteenth century there was a lot of gold to be found in California. You are little late for that. But still there are many reasons to apply to Universities in California!
No U.S. state can match California in the quality and number of top Universities. Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Cal Tech, Hastings College of Law are one of the top Universities. The number of Nobel Laureates in these Universities exceeds those in many countries of the world.
California has a robust and diverse economy with lots of activities in the Computers, Biotech, Healthcare and Engineering. Even when US economy is not doing too good, the California economy is strong due to the innovations that are pioneered in California. Silicon Valley, Hollywood, Disneyland are in California. California is home to some of the world’s biggest computer and software companies.
California is culturally and racially the most diverse state in the U.S. and perhaps in the world. It is amazing to note that banks and government departments offer services in Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog and Vietnamese and more. Telugu speakers can be found everywhere. Diversity is good for everyone more so for international students and new immigrants. More diversity leads to high acceptability of people from outside and better chances of getting jobs. It also means that you have a vibrant workplace where you have co workers from different cultures. For food connoisseurs, there are a variety of eating joints where you can get food from all parts of the world. California is by far the leading state in the number of international students studying in any state - 77,987 in 2006-07.
Even geographically it is an amazing place. Within 2 hours of the Silicon Valley, you can reach plains, Bays, Ocean, Deserts, Forests, Snow-clad mountains and large lakes. The weather in the most urban areas is pleasant throughout the year.
So what is the down side? The living cost is higher. But that is compensated by the numerous advantages. While Applying to US Universities be sure to include a few from California. When you have multiple admission offers, read this blog before you take a decision!
Top 5 institutions in California in the number of international student enrolment:
Ref: Open Doors Report, U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Posted in Univ Selection | No Comments »
May 17th, 2008
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Most of the top business schools tend to conduct a phone interview for the short-listed candidates. The interview is not to test the applicant’s knowledge but a general discussion aimed to understand the candidate better and to determine if the applicant is really interested in that business school.
Some of the commonly asked questions in the interview:
Tell us something about yourself. Speak for about two minutes highlighting your key strengths. There is no need to tell your academics or GMAT score. They have it
What diversity do you bring to our program? If you are a Indian male techie, this is very crucial because they presume you do not bring any diversity to a applicant pool already filled with your type. Think about all your achievements and skills far from IT and Computers and make a strong case.
What are your long-term goals? Be yourself. Make sure you do not contradict your essays.
Why our program? Your answer should reflect that you have really read their webpage and understood the main strengths of that B-school. Also project as if this is your top choice and you are very excited about the possibility of studying there.
If you do not understand a question request the interviewer to repeat it. In the end thank the interviewer for her time. Now the most important piece of advice if you are an international applicant - most people have a tough time understanding the English accent of people from other countries specially on phone. So in a phone interview you need to speak clearly and very very slowly with lots of punctuations.
Posted in MBA and GMAT | 3 Comments »
May 10th, 2008
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170 students will be awarded scholarships of $1000 and $5000. Application deadline is 15th May 2008. Winners will be declared by July of 2008.
The Tylenol Scholarship program is now in its sixteenth year. This year, up to $350,000 in scholarships will be awarded to future doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
Link to the application:
www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subptyschol.inc
Posted in Funding | No Comments »
May 6th, 2008
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“I am very much interested in pursuing graduate studies at your university because your University has world class research facilities” sounds impressive? Not to the admission committee. This sentence can be written by any applicant for any University. Consider this, “My research interest is in the area of Computer Graphics. I want to pursue my MS in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina, Chappell Hill because of the pioneering research being done in the area of graphics.” If other qualifications are similar, the second applicant with a clear specific statement is more likely to be selected over the first one.
Although Statement of Purpose has a similar requirement at most MS and PhD programs, some do have specific expectations, questions or word limits. After you have written your statement of purpose, rewrite it for each target University. Be sure to write the name of your target University at least once in your statement like in the above example. Also check if your research interest is an area of focus for that particular department; else mention your other interests which match the work at that particular University.
Do not write names of Professors in your statement of purpose because you do not want to narrow your sources of funding. Be very careful against errors in copy pasting. Double check you are not praising the artificial intelligence research of University of Texas in your statement of purpose for UCLA.
Your statement of purpose is one of the most important aspects of your Application to US Universities. If you are diligent and follow the advice outlined in this post, you will significantly increase your chances of admission. Got a question? Ask the question on our forum at www.app2us.com - all guidance is free of cost.
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