MS in US - Univ and Application Advice

I sure am a tad bit out of sync with current class profiles of universities, but I can give you an advice or two on how to approach the process. You might learn from my mistakes. 

As far as I know there are a lot of important criteria to a university selection process. They vary according to an individual's priority list, but you will the list pretty consolidated.

1. Profile:

Chalk down the universities you are interested in that match your profile. Take help of

(a) online profile matching sites: Example -  http://www.i20fever.com/

(b) individual university forums - This especially helped me a lot. Current students give you an insight like no other. Their vantage point is by far the best and most accurate, not to mention trustworthy.

2. Place:

(a) weather conditions - depending on how much of a difference you can take. Trust me when I say this, living for two years in a place like Minnesota is not easy! So I'd advise you to stay away from harsh zones.

(b) area of opportunity: Every campus, depending on its locations offers a specific set of advantages. Some a bit more than others. For example in the US, the silicon valley (San Francisco) is considered a golden belt for the software and semiconductor industry and new york remains the baton holder for investment banking. So depending upon what area you wants to pursue your penchant in, I'd advice you to choose a suitable location. This will require a certain amount of grunt work on your part, but hey Google is your uncle :)

(c) scalability : It is true that an opportunity always presents itself to the deserving. Having said that it is foolish and futile to let things into destiny's hand alone. So I would suggest creating your opportunities and leaving in a place where there is no dearth of them. A huge state like Texas, a budding entrepreneurial mushroom like Raleigh, NC all these should be hot spots that one should definitely consider. When one fails you have another. 'Contingency Plans Always'

3. Economical Factors:

Often during the selection process we come across a situation where we have to choose between a university that is great in rankings versus one that is decent but suits you economically (you might have an aid or a scholarship or the fees might be less). In my case I went for the university where I was fully funded and I don't have any regrets so far. This economic factor isn't one you should ignore. 

4. Campus Jobs:

If you are one of those people who doesn't want to graduate with a debt or a loan on your shoulders make sure to find out about on campus opportunities. This info is best found by talking to current students. Most people think that working a job while studying distracts you, but trust me if anything it allows you to be more independent and confident than ever.

More often than not, publicly funded state universities have better openings than the private ones. So my advice would be to have a couple of state universities on the list.

5. University Application Strategy:

I always think one should have a strategy while applying to a university. After all you career might depend on it. One of the best approaches is to apply to about 6 universities. 

(a) 2 safe - 2 universities you are sure to be admitted into based on your profile.

(b) 2 on par - 2 universities where you have a 70-30 chance of getting admitted into.

(c) 2 ambitious - 2 universities which are  a bit ambitious, given your profiles, but you dream about going there anyway. For all you know you might impress the admissions team with your sincere SOP (statement of purpose). 'If you don't ask the answer is already a NO!'

6. A bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush:

All said and done eventually I'd say take the safe route when it comes to pursuing higher education especially as an immigrant. In a foreign country where government policies are out of your control it always pays to be a little extra risk-averse. So do not let go of an opportunity hoping for or believing in another one.

At this time, I can't think of anything else but you are free to contact me if you have any other specific questions.

Have a nice day :)

This day Last year!

One month in Tallahassee

It’s been one month since I came to Tallahassee. During these 30 days I did a lot of things here, much much more than I ever imagined I could do! Here is a brief account of what, when and how I accomplished them!

Starts with a fateful flight missing incident(not an accident by any means... didn't check my flight timings correctly...yes, for real!) because of which I reached Tallahassee a week later than I intended to! I arraived in tlh on 12^th - a day before my graduate orientation. Raviteja (INSAT-Indian Students Association at Tallahassee president) picked me up at the airport and dropped me at kavya’s place (temp accommodation). Later other new students and I were accompanied by a bunch of very very helpful seniors who helped me check-in and get my fsu card.

Orientations: I had to attend 5 orientations in total. Internationl students’ orientation, graduate students’ orientation, department orientation, TA orientations(2 sessions, 2 whole days!!) During these sessions they dump a lot of information at you. The problem lies in the fact that every bit of it is important. I had to come back home and read the books they gave to get a clearer comprehensive picture of what I had to do and what I shouldn’t. So practically the whole week starting 13^th to 21^st I spent reading and learning US and university practices.

TASKS!: Apart from these there was another big thing I had to do…open a bank account!! Thanks to my dad I have never been to a bank before! Now that I was on my own I had to go through the bank’s policies, its modes of operations and everything else before opening an account…

As if this wasn’t enough I was faced with a very serious problem of looking for and finding a roommate. I am the “only” Indian girl who came over to FSU this fall. Those who were already here were pretty much settled and I didn’t know what to do..then i contacted somebody called ashavaree das through INSAT(Indian student association at tlh). She was phd student in the field of psychology and mass media communications who went to India to get married and was coming back to finish her phd.. She said she couldn’t come to tlh before 27^th so that left everything – leasing a house, subscribing for utilities (water, gas and electricity), getting the house cleaned etc., - entirely to me! By God…. Doing all that drove me crazy! Leasing and getting the house cleaned was the easier part, for the utilities I had to get to some “utility office” off campus and I didn’t have the slightest idea where that was! Meanwhile I came to know that if I had to get paid I have to have a SSN. Applying for one is such a big process. It starts with the department office – dept of graduate studies - university center – and ends at theTallahassee social security department office, a days work.

Just when I thought I did everything I have to, there came the issue of registering for classes – what I am actually here for. The classes I wanted to take didn’t have openings and the ones I was being forced to take were all highly time consuming according to my seniors. After a lot of contemplation decided on a few courses, went ahead and got registered.

FOI: In FSU, there is an organization called “Friends Of Internationals” who basically keep track of the needs of new students. People who graduate and leave tlh donate furniture to this society. Every year FOI conducts a “furniture giveaway” where new students can take home 6 furniture/other things home for free. This drive was conducted on 27^th, though it started at 8 am, I stood in the line from 5! I was one the 3^rd in line and so I got a mattress, a couch, a microwave, an electric cooker, a laundry basket and carpets!! I know...amazing!! :-) :-) :-)

A trip to walmart and the indian store and...

finally I settled down!!

Alumni Village: The place is so cool! There is no concept of "day and night" here. You can find people up and about at any time. 1'oclock , 3'0clock at night too! The people are very heplful and amiable... The weather is the only problem.. it's so unpredictable and highly humid. The sun is burning your neck one minute and you are drenched from head to toe the very next minute. We have a lot of sudden downpours...

Friends:
1. Abhishek Mukherjee, Aneesh Sharma, Abhiram Chintangal (A3) – these 3 arraived along with me this fall to fsu. Aneesh and abhiram are in the cs department and abhishek is in the eee dept. We did a lot of things together (attending orientations, fsu card, bank account, leasing a house etc.,) and became good friends. They live diagonally across my place.

2. Raviteja, chakradhar, rohit, anil – seniors who live in the flat just opposite mine and next to A3. Helped me in loads of things. Raviteja picked me up from the airport and arranged temp accommodation, chakradhar(chintu) and rohit – cs seniors – helped me with course registration. Chintu actually let go of his cryptography seat so that I could get into that class!! Anil – he is from vizag – helped me move the furniture, suitcases and other stuff and arranged it at my place.

3. Kavya – She is great! She made me feel so comfortable during my stay with her.. guided me on a lot of things like health insurance, India calling, shopping etc., A good cook! Introduced me to madhu and malathi, the other Indian girls in AV.We became very good friends in a very short time.. we went out shopping and to a movie together. She lives next door now. If she cooks anything special I always get my due!!! :-)

4. Asha – my roommate… she is amazing! We have a lot of things in common. She is a great great cook! Makes delicious curries and snacks! She has been living in the US for the past 10 years(did her undergrad and masters here) and knows great deal about what/where/when to shop! Extremely caring… from the time she has come, she has been cooking. Loves to read novels – her favourite pastime..delightfully! She brought along 50 novels with her(what more can I ask for) A fitness freak and makes it a point to take me on a 15 min walk after an early dinner everyday.. *(thank god she doesn’t have time for the gym!!)*

5.Frank Sposaro - My lab partner...one hell of a guy! A programming wizard! he recently developed android applications that got him and his professor 1.2M$ grant.. apart from this he is the ACM Predident for FSU. He also participates in social services.... i have a LOT to learn from him!

Apart from these people i have a few chinese-next door neighbours - friends. Few russian, jamaican and british friends.

PS: Did the side headings freak you out...oops!! sorry! can't help it coz *this is the format we use here to submit assignments* :P

WHEW! That was a long post :-)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

My reviews on parts 1 and 2...

HP7 - DH1:

I enjoyed the movie. It was a welcome break. Yeah, daniel radcliffee was a disappointment (looked like an overgrown house-elf!) ...but the fact that he is "the choosen one" remains...
While i was reading the last book i imagined him doing all the things , so i guess i just can see anybody else in that role..
Emma Watson as usual did an excellent job. She never disappoints.
Personally i liked rupert grint. After the second film ( esp the Aragog scene, the whomping willow scene etc.,:-) ), i liked him in this one. He was good -when he storms out of the tent- but i wish he kept that up throught the film!
Bellatrix was another whose 2-3 min performance i liked!

Some scenes, like the one where Harry visits Godric Hollow and meets Bathilda, the story of the three brothers.. were great! There were others which could have been better - like the minister of magic's speech at the very beginning(was he trying to imitate Amitabh Bachchan by any chance?!!), the one where they find out who RAB is..

I liked the fact that the director gave importance to intricate details while making the film. The magical fountain in the M Of Magic, The locket, Snape's patronus, fed and george's "hole"y joke, etc.,

All said and done i wished there was more to the film!

I guess living up to the expectations of Harry Potter's passionate readers and fans is a very difficult job! :-) We are never completely satisfied!! :D

HP7 - DH2:

I personally didn't like it a lot...i think the director put a lot of his thoughts into it...wasn't authentic.

Why the hell did harry jump out of hagrid's arms and RUN?? Not very heroic.... i was waiting for this scene expecting it to be great!! he blew it!
What was Neville doing on the bridge alone (atleast 50 feet away from the others) when an army (headed by snatchers interestingly, not death eaters) marches towards him!?!
Ollivander and harry - wasn't the conversation a little too casual?
Why does voldemort have to tie harry up using his robes??
ron, harry and hermoine - try to kill nagini with a basilisk fang - ohhkaay!
The diadem was in a box?? So harry found it because he could 'hear' it...

Snape, griphook and voldemort were really good! Harry and dumbledore did justice to their parts...hermoine and ron - the much hyped kiss didnt work out at all! apart from that their usual good performances nothing extra-praise-worthy...
Neville was ok....
Seamus finnigan and mcgonagall were very entertaining in their 1 min performances...
The gringotts scene and voldemort-harry encounters were good...

The background score could have been loads better...didnt feel my hair standing on an end (expected it to happen half the time)....

Attribute most of the negative attitude towards the flick to -

1. Not being able to watch it in a hall (forget the huge screen, my laptop is 20" wide), let alone watching the premier show!

2. Watching a lousy print instead of a 3D spectacle

3. Being distracted more than twice in between!!

BANDWAGON

Courtesy - Gopal Singampalli

Child birth - A happy occasion
Baptism - A snappy function
Tottering small steps
Playing with all pets
First words become a flurry...
Family in a frenzied hurry.

Have only noodle lunch,
Go even for a google search.
Find a good school...its half a solution,
The "better half" ...extra tuition.
Thought of a corporate techno-concept school,
Lot of corporal punishment - "drool".
Got a seat,dream comes true, there -
Start of an unending nightmare.

English,hindi,mathematics,physi,chem,his,civ.....falls asleep
Wake her up she is family's blacksheep.
Homework not done..admonish the parents.
Oh dear! - 'late to bed,early to rise',
Dont fear, fate will let you surely to be wise!
Parent-teacher interaction
Patent-tense-numb reaction
PRINCIPAL-"Dear parents the competetion out there is fierce. BEWARE!!"

Impress with good grades....Supress the unseen tears.
Where are the results?...Bear with the insults.
Use everything we offer...Silently suffer.
She is very very immature...Grow passive by nature.
Tucking her in bed,see on the cheek,tear stain..
Toughen the heart for greater good again.
Marks!Marks!Marks!
Barks!Barks!Barks!

Results are out...
Oh my precious! they shout.
All the holidays spent in search for a good college.
She only wants to play with cousins,going to grandpa's village.

I want to sail the sea dhow..
I want to paint the rainbow..
Waste of time enough of enjoyment..
Choice is yours..medic,engg or management.

Inaugural ceremony
Students bonhomie.
Too good to last long..
Too good to be true.
DEAN - "Dear students the competetion out there is fierce..BEWARE!!"

Supposed to be insane..her chosen profession
Forced to enjoin..the mad rush procession.
First intend to get filthy,wealthy rich
Then attend charity,artistry,society itch.
BOSS - "Dear collegues the competetion out there is fierce..BEWARE!!"

The boy is a champ and great..She has a lump in her throat.
He is a treat..Her heart skips a beat.
They say wow! he is very good at academics..
She fears oho! he may be better at economics.

"You will become pappy" - she says pleasantly - "I'm carrying!"
"I'm very happy" - he says - "Presently cost of schooling is worrying"........

The first steps

The very first step (as the title of the post suggests) is giving your GRE.

I was asked some very interesting questions (which honestly wouldn't have struck my mind, if i wasn't asked) by students who just gave their GRE ....

1. Should we give the Toefl test too?

2. Which one do you think is a better option - Doing your MS right after your engineering or working for a company (for maybe about a year) and then pursuing your MS degree?

3. Are we guaranteed a job once our MS is done?

1. Before I begin answering this question, I have to inform people who are reading this post that I am not a know-it-all and hence I might be wrong (absolutely or partially). If anyone has a better advice/answer, I request them to please post it for the benefit of the others.

Coming to the answer, Toefl is as important as the GRE for an admission into universities. The GRE score is used a basis for mass elimination/filtering (very similar to GD during interviews). Applications beyond a certain GRE score are the ones usually considered and this cutoff changes every single year. If the selectors have to choose between two applicants with the same GRE score then they look at the Toefl score, GPA, Letters of Recommendation, SOP, papers/journal articles and the rest of the candidate’s profile.

Apart from this the Toefl speaking score is a very important factor that is considered when teaching assistant-ships (TAs) are awarded. They want to make sure students understand the English we speak ;-). The cutoff again depends on the university. If we do not cross the cutoff then we will have to take an additional SPEAK test (50 USD) to be considered for a TA.

A brief background on the different kinds of assistant-ships:

TA - Teaching Assistantship

Usually this is the only funding that appears on the i20 and by far the easiest in terms of work-to-do.

RA - Research Assistantship

This usually means working under a professor whose research area you are interested in. This usually obtained by talking to a professor and making him realize how useful you can be to him. The success rate is higher when students get to the US and talk to the professor in person but I know people who attained RAs (from back in India) by talking to professors and impressing them via email!!

GA – Graduate Assistantship

I am not sure if this is available with every university.

All assistant-ships come with an in-state fee waiver and a stipend. This means you can do your MS for free (pretty-much!).

Apart from assistantships some universities offer waivers and scholarships. Waivers, (name- self explanatory) waive your in-state fee (no stipend). Scholarships usually mean cash, which you can use in turn for paying your fee. But, the number of scholarships that international students are eligible for are usually very less in number.

2. Both ideas are good and the choice largely depends on the priorities one has at that point in life.

Both choices have their pros and cons. The problem with MS after a job is, people tend to get used to the work-culture. It takes enormous grit, resolve, determination and will-power (I think I’ve exhausted my vocabulary of synonyms there, trying to make a point!!) to get out of that comfort-zone and pursue a higher degree and personally in today’s world of cut-throat competition I don’t think anyone should settle with an engineering degree alone. I have some friends who had plans of MS after a job, others who wanted to pursue higher degrees with their company’s financial support - now all they think of is an abroad on-site assignment or a promotion.

Having said this, I do know others who are pursuing their MS after years (1 to 5) of work experience. This work experience gave them an edge over the others when applying for jobs (especially during times of recession). [Side note : This does not imply AT ALL that others (without prior work experience) didn’t get a job!! It only means that they had a project or two to talk about additionally. ] Cannot say anything more because for me this is the "Road Not Taken" (like Robert Frost said!)

I’ve laid out the adv/disadv now it is up to u to decide whether you want to do your MS now or later!

3. This is a very tricky or should I say un-answerable question! In my humble opinion, the chances of getting a job after your engineering and the chances of getting one after your MS are almost the same. This is because, your expertise in your field of study will definitely increase but so will the standard of the company you apply to this time!!

GRE, Toefl and MS in US

We (atul and I) have not been posting for a while but have decided to start new again...

I have recently been bombarded about loads and loads of questions about GRE, Toefl, MS, applying to universities, getting here (to the US), after getting here...etc.,

I will be posting a string of threads in 2-3 days about all these MS queries........u might find some useful, so i suggest u take a look at it ....

We dont want to make this a mere Happy Schools Blog so apart from these there will be other posts on

- recent technological developments (be it google+, android or anything of that sort)

- current affairs (atul's area wholly...completely...totally...)

- communication skills

- placement (im sure they are about to start in about 3 months from now!

- any other things on public demand :P (let the records state that we are popular!)

If you have queries that you want me to answer please feel free to ask!

Ill be more than happy to help (and have lots of time too now! :D)

Like the anchors say...stay tuned there is loads coming up!!

Remember "If you don't ask the answer is already NO"

Google+....the hype!!

Why has google+ become a hit?

Is it because of completely new features...i think not!

It has features from both twitter and facebook....the best of both worlds.

Then why the gaga over it?

I read an article recently that i found worth sharing....

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388354,00.asp

Start Writing!

Atul,

First of all don't squish me because of the title! I know you - 'have been' (and in all probability still 'are') reaaally busy.

I hate to bother you, but after coming to the USA my general knowledge is hitting an all time low (Rock Bottom - and i thought i was bad when i was in India!).All I essentially come across is the headlines and some facebook discussions here and there. On that note thanks to fb i'm really up to date with IPL and Dhoni. I haven't seen a newspaper apart from the FSU Newsletter, which is neither interesting nor informative unless you want to run for sorority queen or hold a congressional position. There is also the fact that "I am a CS Major" (the sad truth!) - those 5 words are pretty self-explanatory!

I really miss the conversations we used to have. I could talk about anything and everything with you and it was always a learning experience (be it talking about Obama, Lalu Prasad Yadav, nanotechnology, cloud computing or Chatpata's pav bhaji!! :-) ) So much has happened Osama died, Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, Microsoft bought skype (sad day for the world, i must say!), Assembly elections in India...

I urge you to take time off and post in this blog... i want my walking newspaper, encyclopedia, dictionary put together back! :-)

Obama’s India Visit: Acknowledging India’s Rise

Dear Friends,

My last post on the blog was way back in July and the blog itself has remained inactive since early August. I apologize for this prolonged absence friends. But then its not that I have stopped writing. Its just that I was busy typing case analysis, assignments and reports all these weeks. Lots of interesting events on the national landscape had the media on its toes all this while. The prominent one include the dismal prelude to Common Wealth Games, the dazzling games, the shameful spectrum scam, reassuring Bihar polls and Obama's India visit. This write up is about the last one. May be another on 2G scam may follow. Read on for my analysis of this high profile visit.

When Barack Hussein Obama was elected as president of the most powerful nation of planet earth, he was hailed as the face of change US nationals and the globe was seeking. The first state guest of this charismatic professor turned politician was none other than the widely respected Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh. This gave a hint that the Democrat leadership of US seeks to strengthen its ties with India, a nation growing at a modest pace when majority of the world was struggling to break free from recession.

Obama’s statements during his visit to India reaffirmed that the two largest democracies are partners in mutual growth. The four day trip, like other high profile meets, was preceded by a lot of speculation of which little materialized. Obama seemed to make it clear to India and to the world at large that Indo-US relation is heading more towards a give and take than US gives and India takes. He was not here to offer diwali gifts to the nation which is home to 17.31% of world’s population. Instead he was here to create job opportunities for his folks back home. E was here to strike a partnership for mutual growth. The message was clear: United States of America needs a friend in India.

The visit began in the historic Taj Hotel in Mumbai where he met the survivors of 26/11 attack. A move in the direction of building a people to people relation, a society to society contact between the two countries and not just a military or business relation. However he did not speak of war against terror and its perpetuators, which irked quite a few political analysts. Obama chose to visit Humayun’s tomb and not the Taj Mahal he interacted with students and industry leaders. All of this to indicate that he was visiting India and not the Prime Minister. The trip highlighted India’s importance in multiple ways. In his attempt to seek access to Indian markets and jobs for US in India, he tried to prepare a level playing field in exchange of American firms outsourcing their projects to India. After all, the firms outsource because it is uneconomical for them to restrict all of their operations within America.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama addressing a joint press conference at New Delhi

Indian government described the visit as a "milestone" in Indo-US relations. This one statement from External Affairs Minister, SM Krishna highlights the importance of the outcomes of this visit includes lifting of curbs on exports of dual use technologies. With ISRO and DRDO now removed from the Entity List of US Bureau of Industry and Security, US has in a way accepted India’s nuclear power and that we do not proliferate. India has been seeking both of these for quite a while now. US in return urged India to unite with it on Iran, a position diametric to India’s near friendly relations with Iran.

While the US president was in India, the majority in house of representatives back home shifted from Democrats to Republics. However, as the president has a leeway authority with respect to foreign affairs, this change is not expected to impart significant effect to foreign affairs policy of the Obama administration, which has been, if nothing, unique. First year of Obama’s rein was a honeymoon with China and thus it slightly annoyed the likes of India, Japan and Philippines. No doubt he is making amends this year. Obama also signaled an aircraft deal which could create as many as 27000 jobs back home. Though defense deals are never inked in presidential visits, Obama wanted to address his people who are clearly disappointed with the slow pace of change they all wanted. Obama’s domestic policies have been seen as averse to corporate America, a view he attempted to change by indicating business worth US $10 billion when he met industry tycoons in Mumbai. In any case, Republicans have traditionally been more beneficial to India’s cause than the Democrats and their victory can only better the Indo-US ties. However, this loss could translate into stiff tussle in passing bills concerning domestic changes.

To conclude India and US are heading for a strong alliance. Alliances can be geopolitical or geo-economic where one country needs another like the relation between US and Saudi Arabia or they can be Society to Society relationship like the one between US and Great Britain. India’s relation with US qualifies for a Society to Society relationship. This visit took both countries a few notches closer towards establishing such a relationship. Obama acknowledged that India has finally emerged.

Do share your views on this topic and on the blog at  large. our comments, criticism and views are most valued.

Till my next post

Keep Sharing .... Keep Learning .... Keep Blogging

With lots of love and Best Wishes

Atul Mishra