Phoenix

Another year has gone by. 2009 sped away; like the gusty winds of North Carolina! As with every year, here's a new year quote: May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions! -- Joey Adams That is one more reason NOT to make a new year resolution! The year started with my second semester at NC State, then an internship at Qualcomm in San Diego and then a feverish third semester. Of course with four courses in the last semester, it was bound to be meteoric! After a laborious one-and-half years, here I am with a Master's degree in Computer Engineering. It is so satisfying to see the hard work reflected on the degree :) It really feels strange though, when I think that I no longer have projects, assignments, exams! The very next day after my exams ended I followed the routine to check the course webpage for any new projects/assignments. It was then that I realized that my MS is over and I've graduated! It's a strange feeling... no project deadlines, ...

I guess this is the quickest follow-up in the series. But if this part is not up at the right time it loses its relevancy! The previous part covered packing your bags. This part [the last in the series] will cover all about traveling to the US and how to survive during the initial days of your stay. 6) Traveling to the US and initial days of stay The first thing to do is to get a good document folder, large enough to house all the documents you wish to take. Make a list of the documents that you may ever need while you are in the US. Some generic things which come to the mind are: 1) Passport 2) I-20 3) SEVIS Fee receipt 4) Graduate School Admission letter 5) GRE, TOEFL score cards 6) Bachelors degree [or provisional] certificate and copies 7) Extra copies of your transcripts 8) Certificate of financial responsibility [the letters from your bank & CA validating the 'moolah' you showed to the VISA officer] 9) Any certificates you may wish to carry in order to support your st...

After a long gap I am here to complete the penultimate part of the series which deals which pre-departure information. I've decided to split the fifth part into two articles as I feel there is enough material to be penned down. 5) Booking your tickets and packing your bags When done with the VISA work the next major task is to book your tickets and pack your bags. All this is to be done to make your initial days in the US a not-so-horrible-experience. Beginning the article with booking your tickets, if you are traveling to the US in Fall (July-Aug) you are most likely to come across a student discount offered by most of the airlines. Be sure to check with the airline or your travel agent about the discount. Be wary of some travel agencies who levy heavy taxes on the ticket. Also most airlines will allow you to carry 3 pieces of check-in (cargo) baggages if you show your I-20, which is proof that you are a student. It is best to visit the airline office (or call them up/visit their ...

4) Applying for a VISA Long pending addition to the guide, I apologize for the delay. Been very busy with my graduate studies. Now that a semester is over I haf some time to breathe! This part of the guide is about applying for the VISA and completing the other necessary formalities. The most important thing is the documentation required. The following documents are required for the VISA process: a) I-20 issued by the University you got admit to and plan to get admit to and admission letter (if any). b) VISA fee receipt c) SEVIS fee receipt d) VISA application forms (DS forms, which is filled when applying for the VISA online) e) Passport f) Degree Certificate (or Provisional) and Transcripts g) GRE, TOEFL mark sheets h) Bank Statements which prove that you haf enough money for your education i) CA Certificate which validates your funds for education, an affidavit from sponsors and other documents j) Any certificates or proof of awards you may want to present You need at least 2 sets o...

3) Post admit work to be completed This part picks up where Part TWO left off. One important information I forgot to give in the previous part was regarding the Transcripts and Degree Certificate. You will need to apply for at least 20 copies of Transcripts (considering that on an average you are applying to about 6 Universities) and about 4-5 attested copies of your degree certificate (or provisional degree certificate, if you've just completed or will be graduating soon). Your current university may charge you some fee for this. So get in touch with them and apply for your Transcripts/DC/PDC just about a fortnight before your GRE as it may take sometime for the university to process your request. The universities will mostly start informing the students about admits from mid-March. The latest by which one can afford to get the "admit" news is by mid-June. You need to login to your account on the Universities' Graduate Admissions'/Application webpage and check th...

Note: ETS, GRE and TOEFL and their respective logos are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service. Here is the second part in the series. 2) Reporting scores and applying to universities The next part deals with the tasks to be completed just after the exams while the results are awaited. If you've still not selected Universities to apply to then this is the correct time! Research about various universities, the programs offered, the labs, the Professors, their locations etc. and short list some. Usually students apply to an average of 6 universities. In case you are not satisfied with the results, this is the correct time to register and give the exams again since you'll still have time to report the scores (assuming the tests were taking in the month of September or January as suggested earlier). TOEFL can be taken only once in a week and GRE once per month. Some universities will take the latest GRE/TOEFL scores while some will take the average. Its upto the Unive...

A lot of people around me have been asking about "A-to-Z details" with regards to pursuing an MS degree in the US. For the benefit of all I've been wanting to write this guide since long... guess the time has finally come to pen it! DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are solely of an individual and are not in any way associated with any University or person. Readers should not take all the scores mentioned in this guide as a definitive cut off mark. Getting an acceptance or reject from a University is dependent on various other factors and is determined by the University authorities; it is hence unpredictable. This guide assumes that the aspirant is pursuing a 4 year Bachelor's degree. MS in the US requires the aspirant to have completed 16 years of formal education. This disclaimer applies to all the parts of this guide. Steps: 1) Exams - GRE and TOEFL 2) Reporting scores and applying to universities 3) Post admit work to be completed 4) Applying for a VISA 5) Book...