Dedicated in loving memory of my Aunt, Dr. Mrs. S. S. Kodimani (1945-2009).
I received many e-mails from people asking me on advice on studying abroad. So, I have put my thoughts below:
Studying abroad is a very good experience. You not only get to see the other part of the world, but, you also get to learn a lot. Being in India, you are always with your parents, and relatives. But, when you go abroad you will learn to be independent, and also appreciate the good things that your parents, relatives did for you daily :) In general, you will get to know the real world around you.
Disclaimer: I am not familiar with universities in countries like UK, Germany, Australia, so, I won't be able to tell you anything about them. My views pertain to universities in the US, and in particular, engineering graduate programs (Masters). The views expressed herewith are based on my experience in 2002-2004.
What we say as "degree" in India, is called as "program" in the US. So, you would be applying for a Master's program, say, in the field of computer science. In India, you would say a post-graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering.
What we say as "post-graduate" in India is called as "graduate" in theUS. If you are going to do a Master's program, you will be called a "graduate" student.
What we say as "subjects" in India are called as "courses" in the US. You might take an operating system course in one semester, and a compiler design course in another.
Universities in the US follow either a quarter system or a semester system. A quarter system goes really fast. It comprises of 11 weeks each. So, there are four quarters in a year, fall (August-October), winter (November-January), spring (February-April), summer (May-July). So, the quarters in an academic year, say, 2002-2003 are: fall 2002, winter 2002-2003, spring 2003, and summer 2003. Universities that follow the semester system have just two semesters in a year, fall(August-November), and spring (January-April). The semesters in the academic year, say 2002-2003, are referred to as fall 2002 and spring 2003.
Universities follow a "credit" based system. Credit is given on a 4.0 scale. You will have so many credits to complete before you graduate. For example, for a Master's degree you may need to complete 48 credits. Each course will have 3 or 4 credits. So, you will need to do 12 courses or above to graduate. If you get an A for the course, you would have earned 4/4 credits for the course. If you get a B for the course, you would have earned 3/4 credits for the course. So your GradePoint Average (GPA) would be 7/8 * 4 = 3.5/4.0. GPA is based on a 4.0 scale.
For undergraduate students, there is a usual requirement that you need to be above 2.0. For graduate students, you need to maintain your GPA above 3.0. Otherwise, you will be put under probation.
There are some universities in India that follow the credit-based system.
Courses will have pre-requisites too. Not all courses will be offered in all semesters or quarters. So, it is important for you to plan with your advisor. As soon as you arrive at the university, you will be assigned an academic advisor.
Coursework will be mostly practical work, especially in engineering. It will be demanding work. But, it will be a great learning experience. The professors will really make you think. Unless you understand, it will be extremely difficult for you to progress. I know many people who moved from engineering to business without being able to cope with the pressure. But, if you really understand the concepts and you are strong in your fundamentals, you will continue to learn and enjoy the learning experience.
It took me one quarter to fully understand the educational system in the US. Rochester Institute of Technology, RIT, follows a quarter system. Initially, I took 3 courses in the fall quarter (2002). Then I took 4 courses including one audit in the winter quarter (2002-2003). One of the courses was a tough lab course. I wanted something more challenging and pushed my limits, and took 5 courses in the spring quarter (2003), including one audit. It was an amazing learning experience. I took a break in the summer (2003). I had two remaining courses in the fall quarter (2003). So, I completed my coursework in one year (four quarters). I finished my project work in the remaining two quarters.
Universities have their own policies towards admission. Even departments within a university may have different criteria in admitting students to a particular program. They will also have different checklist items that you need to submit with your application.
US universities expect you to have 16 years of formal education to be able to apply to their universities. This perfectly matches the engineering students who get 12 years in school and 4 years of undergraduate education in a college. I am not sure on the requirements of students who do arts and sciences degrees in a period of 3 years.
Most universities require that you take the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and TOEFL (Test On English as a Foreign Language). The GRE is a common examination for all students that universities use as a criteria for admission. It has three sections: verbal, quantitative andanalytical. Quantitative section is our CBSE VIII, IX standard maths, which, is pretty simple for us, Indians. Analytical section is an essay that you need to write based on an argument. Verbal section is what many Indians find it difficult. You need to have a good vocabulary to do well in this section. You can send your GRE and TOEFL scores to four universities for free as soon as you complete the test.
Details about the GRE can be obtained from here: http://www.gre.org
The TOEFL test is to prove your english language fluency. For us Indians, with a good english speaking background, it is a cake walk. Details about TOEFL can be obtained from here: http://www.ets.org/toefl/
One of the most important items of the application checklist is the"Statement of Purpose". This is very important because this is the one that all professors read. It shouldn't tell what your resume already says, but should explain clearly as to what your goals are, why you want to study in the US, why in this particular university, why this field of choice, what you are going to do after your study etc.
You will also need to submit the university application form. Some universities allow you to fill the application form online. Others might want you to fill it up in paper and send it. It is much convenient and faster to process your application when you fill it up online in the universities' database, and pay up online using a creditcard. Most Indians have relatives in the US, so you can ask them to do the formalities of paying up.
Some universities require you to send two applications, one for the department and one for the university office. Always double check the requirements before sending the application.
An application to a university will cost Rs.5000/- on an average. So, you must choose the appropriate number of universities depending on your budget and profile. I would suggest applying to 5-7 universities. There are some people who apply to like 15-20 universities. It is a waste of money considering that you will be attending only one university at the end.
You will need to submit three recommendation letters from your professors or senior employees at your office (if you have work experience). So, make sure you pick three professors who know you well and can write you good recommendations. Usually, professors don't have time and they ask you to write a recommendation letter, and then they correct it and sign it for you.
You will also need to send attested photocopies of your undergraduate marksheets (till the semester you have completed) in sealed envelopes. Make sure you get lot of attested copies from your University Registrar, so you don't have to go behind them all the time. They have their own charges, like Rs.5/- per attestation.
Recommendations, and GRE are the two major factors that determine your admission. Among the two, recommendations is the one that has a lot of weightage. For example, if you worked on some research with a professor during your undergraduate, who seem to know some professor in the US, your chances of getting into that university is extremely high. So, crack the GRE and get good recommendations.
So, how do you go about preparing to apply for universities?
Let's say you are in your third year of engineering study (undergraduate). The academic year now is 2002-2003. You will be applying to go for higher studies starting in fall 2004. During your odd semester, which will be your fifth semester, you should start preparing for the entrance exams. You can take the GRE anytime of the year. Usually, June, July and August are hectic months, and it might be difficult to get a date. If you start in your fifth semester, you can take the exams at the end of your sixth semester, sometime in May 2003. This will allow you to take another GRE exam sometime in late August 2003 or September 2003, in case you are not satisfied with the result.
While you are preparing for your exams, you should also keep researching on universities. Selecting universities is a personal choice. There are truly great professors in small universities too. It really doesn't matter where you are, but, what you do is important. Some people like the snowy, cold winter climate of the North, like me. Some like the year long sunny days of the South. Climate is a choice among students. Most Indians have relatives in the US, so a university near your relatives place would be comfortable too. They can be your guardians and can help you when needed. But, a majority of the students think otherwise :)
Students in universities are the right people who can give you the right information. You are going to be a student in a university, and there can be nobody else than current students who can tell you precisely what is happening in the departments. They can tell you the professors who have research funds, the apartments that are vacant, or that need people, the projects that are going on, current immigration laws for students on an F-1 visa etc. I highly recommend _not_ to go through consultancies. They won't be able to tell you more than the current students in the universities. Even for visa you needn't go through them.
There are lot of mailing lists where you can get great help. You will find lots of such lists in yahoogroups.com on students who are trying to go for higher studies in UK, US, Australia, Germany etc. You will also find seniors in this mailing list whom you can get in touch with.
I was a member of fall-2002@yahoogroups.com, ,fall_2002@yahoogroups.com, RIT_fall_2002@yahoogroups.com,and RITfall2002@yahoogroups.com.
There are some websites that give you information about graduate schools, selection process etc.
I wouldn't take ranking that much seriously. There are university rankings and there are department rankings. A particular university maybe poorly ranked, but, a department within the university maybe highly ranked. So, take ranking as a pinch of salt.
Your undergraduate may not make much of a difference unless you are from some IIT or NIT. What the selection committee usually does is, once they see a profile from XYZ university, they give the profile to an Indian professor in the department and ask him/her to evaluate it. He/she knows the standard of education in India and can clearly tell if the candidate is capable of surviving in the program or not. IITs with their high standards are known all around the world. I even heard that once a US professor (from an IIT background) went to the airport to receive his juniors who got admitted to the US university. Such is their close network and respect for each other.
So, it all comes down to whether you have good referrals and how much you scored in your GRE.
You also have to look at the university websites, the department webpages, the web pages of professors to see what they are doing. You can write to them. Professors usually get hundreds of e-mails daily and may not reply back to you. You should spend atleast a day on a university and research the department fully.
You can make the selection of universities with different tiers: 2 top universities, 3 average universities, 3 safe shots. Once you have jotted down the universities, you need to get the application checklist items, and make sure they are ready and completed. Right down the deadlines for each university. There are application deadlines and financial deadlines. Application deadlines are for sending your application forms, TOEFL, GRE scores, recommedation letters, undergraduate marksheets, statement of purpose etc. Financial deadlines are for getting any aid such as scholarship, teaching assistantship, research assistantship etc. Most of the deadlines are in December and January. So, in our case, you would send it by December 2003 or January 2004.
Always double check before you send the application. I had a friend of mine, whose friend, interchanged two statement of purpose documents. The two university offices were not that friendly, and they wouldn't exchange the statements. So, both the applications were a waste of money for her. There was also an instance when a friend expanded the WAP acronmym mistakenly in the statement of purpose. Instead of Wireless Application Protocol, she put it as something else, and her application was rejected. So, always double check before you send the application.
There are two types of admission decision making in the US. One is rolling-admit and the other is a decision made after deadlines.
Rolling-admit decision making is where your application is processed as soon as you send it. It is not first-come-first-serve basis, but, selection committees open up your application immediately after they receive it, and if they feel you are worthy, they will admit you. In the other decision making procedure your application is not opened once they are received. Soon after the deadline is reached, all the applications are reviewed and decisions are made.
You will hear from universities sometime in January, February and March 2004. Financial aid is given if they find you promising enough. Your recommendation letters play a very important role here. Your TOEFL also plays an important role in this case.
Once you get offers, you then make a decision based on aid, cost ofliving, scope of the field, area of interest etc. and you let them know of your acceptance. They will send you an I-20 form which is the letter of admission that you need to show during your visa, and should keep safely during your stay in the US. It is a very important document. They will also send you lot of brochures on housing, group activities, facilites, courses available etc. etc.
All along you should be discussing everything in the mailing lists where you get to meet a lot of friends who are sailing in the same boat as you are. If two or three of you are deciding to go to the same university, it becomes easy for you to rent an apartment and share the cost. When you get in touch with seniors, you can chat with them online too. It will be late in the night (IST) when you get to chat with the seniors in the US. I made lot of friends with seniors through e-mails and chat. There one senior named, Pavan, who helped me with the list of books that I need to bring. Books in the US cost a lot, atleast $50 for a technical one. The Indian edition will only be about Rs.250/- to Rs.500/-. You needn't carry any utensils with you. You will find everything there. You don't need to carry any winter clothing. You will find good quality ones there in the US. Clothes are cheap here in India and you can take plenty when you go. These are all very small things that you get to know from seniors, but, helps a lot when you are packing!
You can also get into a university and then transfer to another. That depends on the department requirements of both the universities.
For visa, you need to make sure you have all the documents ready, academic and financial. You will be going on a F-1 student visa to the US. Laws are changed every three months, so, the procedure and the checklist items that I know will be different now. Do check for them in the mailing lists.
Life is tough, initially. In India, you are dependent on so many people around you that you don't realize it. But, when you go independent you realize a lot about life. The first few months are tough. Some people return without being able to survive. You will feel like coming back home. But, if you persist and get the feel of it, you can and will enjoy.
As soon as you arrive, you will have a hell a lot of work to do. You will go through orientation and other formalities. You will need to get a bank account; get your social security card; get an apartment, if you haven't found one; get your university identity card; pay up your semester/quarter fee; discuss a plan of study with your graduate advisor; register for courses; buy the books that you need; get to know to do laundry; get your work permit employment card; look for an oncampus job; go to the food market to buy food; look for financial aid.
I am not a cook, but, learnt to do some basic cooking. The first year, I stayed with Gwong Choi (South Korean), Francesco Collucino (American) and Raj Pai (Indian). The second year, my roommates were Yue Wu (Chinese), Edison (Indian), and Raj Pai (Indian). Both Raj Pai and Yue Wu cook good, yummy, non-vegetarian food. We had weekly scheduled tasks to maintain the apartment, from cleaning the kitchen and restroom, to checking the mails. Yes, you will need to take turns to do your daily chores.
Housing at RIT is very difficult to get. I happened to meet a senior in the mailing list named, Sunil, who said he will do a favor if someone could carry his new pairs of jeans that his girlfriend had bought him, while coming to the US. I took the jeans with me when I went to the US, and he assigned me to one of the on-campus housing apartments, Riverknoll - which was walking distance from the labs :)
People usually consider off-campus housing to be the best and cheap. But at RIT, where there is beautiful snow and cold weather half the year, it is better to stay on-campus. Snow is not bad, but, its just that the roads get bad. You will have to commute in really rough roads with poor visibility.
Education is very expensive in the US unless you can get some financial aid. You will also have to take care of your living expenses, which will be high in states like New York and California. Even during my years of study, there were terrible funding cuts to universities and colleges. I am not sure on how the trend is nowadays, but, in general, education in the US is expensive. You must be aware of this, and must be well prepared for it.
Graduate life is about study, study, study. Well, there are people who don't too. You can take easy courses and get a Master's degree. But, this has no value. Even if your GPA is 3.0 and you took really tough courses, there is a lot of value for your education. As long as you do well in your courses and your GPA is good, you should be fine.
Overall, its been an amazing, satisfying learning experience. My professors were really encouraging. I took really tough courses, and I learnt a lot. I really saw what the world was. I got to meet people from different parts of the world, and learnt a lot about them, and their cultures. This experience will go a long way in my career and life.
I hope I have given sufficient details that will help you. If you feel you would like anything particular, I shall add them to this article.
Good luck!