Monday, December 23, 2013

A step by step application process for masters in USA from India

( P.S : I wanted to make it very informative for the aspiring students who are willing to plan for masters in US. I tried to give in every detail of the application process so that it might help few of you in the process. Please bear in mind that this is not a topic to entertain the readers in the lines of comedy genre, but a guide on "know how " and "do it yourself " kit for those confused few who are skeptical about going to US or staying in India, along with a tinge of my first hand experience on masters)

So it all started with a dilemma if I should go international or stay national. It took me almost 3 months in deciding what was against my will of going international, for I am a man of attributes that most of the youth of this generation posses. It's a virtue by nature that you end up procrastinating things once you start earning, and considering the IT sector and the life sucking monotonous jobs it throws at us, I find it obvious for certain reasons that people end up being couch potatoes or should I say lazy slugs, for IT is a job of lazy minds. It's with great difficulty that I actually made up a plan of going abroad for I was becoming more and more dependent on the landlords or should I say my parents for food, clothing and shelter which have been considered as the basic amenities from the prehistoric ages. I've always found it difficult to hunt and eat as I never faced a situation for the survival of the fittest.


The Overture
"Dude get over it!! It's all done. You don't get laid untill you cross the Indian waters" were the words that my brother was trying to edify me with while I was digging into women with a famished look. There were arguments and debates in the past regarding this issue and now I was beginning to feel that I was fighting a loosing battle. There were instances where NRI's were given priority over the desi bachelors in various prospective proposals, considering the fat wallets they carry with american express cards stuffed inside which eventually pop out at the right time (I don't understand if they do it on purpose) which attracts most of the female stratum. This gave me enough push as to what my destination should be and thus I started finding out which country would provide me with enough opportunities, as in having equal opportunities in both social and economical status. After performing mind boggling inquiries and innumerable cross references with friends, Internet and past experiences, I found out that the only viable options left were USA and Germany and rest all sucked at long term "return on investment " policy. I had to choose between them, where I chose the former as it had more number of desi connections to hangout with.


Interlude
Now comes the difficult part, the part where I get to choose between staying in India or chasing my dreams into the wild. This was the most difficult part to decide upon, considering my relationship with my family (although I never stayed at home or spent quality time with my family), friends, and a decent paying office which is just 5 minutes from my own house. I had this perfect life, just about what every individual would wish for, but there was this deep desire inside me which was stabbing me from inside saying, I have a life which should be explored, I have to go and see places, for I have lived long enough in a single place with my parents guarding me from all the bumps of life. I've decided that I had to break free from what seems to be a perfect life and venture into rough waters. After thinking a lot from every aspect and consulting lot of friends and finding out that it's difficult in India to get a perfect date, I decided upon traveling abroad in the name of masters which I was least interested in.

The Start Off
The kick off procedure of my international journey started with me and a couple of friends applying to the schools that we thought were the best in the field that we were pursuing, although it rarely mattered, all that mattered was to find a means to go to US and start earning in dollars which was the only inspiring factor (apart from white chicks) like a beacon of hope. So we were all geared up with the applications and after spending over half of our savings on this process,and waiting for some anxious moments, we finally got the admits from the colleges that we've applied for.

Application process
The application process consists of careful analysis and observation of the past records of the colleges and the kind of students that the college is interested in admitting. The admission of a student into any college basically depends on four factors: "GRE, TOEFL or IELTS scores", your "academics", "Industrial experience" and your "statement of purpose". Basically before venturing out into applying for the schools in US, I suggest you to spend some time in contemplating and assessing your goals. If your goal is to only earn Dollars, then I suggest you not to take up a big college and burn your pockets, instead go to a small college where scholarships are abundant and make the most out of it and join a consultancy at the end and get a job and start earning. If your goal is to achieve something phenomenal in life rather than minting money, then it's a real deal. Get your ass onto preparing for GRE and earn a decent score which is your ticket to a good college.
I will give you a brief checklist of the steps involved in the application process:
▪ The whole process involves swiping credit card at some point or the other, so I would suggest you to beg, borrow or steal a credit card for a smooth process flow.
▪ Contemplation and goal set up.
▪ Assessing colleges and selecting a list of colleges that you are interested in getting admitted into and making a survey about the scores that are required in getting the admits into those universities.
▪ Find out the deadlines of the important admission dates of the selected universities.
▪ Join a coaching center for GRE, TOEFL or IELTS if you are not good at aptitude or English skills.
▪ Start the preparation process and select the dates for giving the exams (You'll never ever get the interest in studying unless you book the dates for the exams)
▪ ETS usually offers an option of reporting the scores for free to 4 universities. So before going to the exam try to find out the institution codes so that after the exam you can immediately send the scores to the universities free of cost.
▪ On the day of exam, try not to freak out, keep your cool and give your best as your future would be at stake if you take it casually. After the exam, punch in the codes of the universities that you intended on applying.
▪ Now its time to act smart and start speeding up the application process. Joining a consultancy is one I would suggest if you are lazy enough or else you could as well apply all by yourself.
▪ Check the university websites and fill the online applications. Some colleges have free applications, so there's no harm in trying them out.
▪ The process involves getting 3 recommendation letters from your college professors if you are fresher passed out from college, else 2 letters from college and 1 from your work place should do the job. Get the envelops signed and stamped by the ones who give you the letters. Working people could as well attach the business cards to the envelops.
▪ Prepare a strong SOP, cause it would reflect your personality at the University where you are planning to join. Mind you, SOP should be as strong as possible cause great colleges choose great students.
▪ Get the transcripts of all the undergraduate memos. Each college would ask for a set of all the undergraduate transcripts and duly attested copies of the 10th and Intermediate memos.
▪ Arrange for the bank statements and affidavit of support of your financial status along with two passport size photographs.
▪ After getting the test scores and the above mentioned documents,  you can put them all in a packet and send it to the college through DHL or FeDex and wait for the results.
▪ Start making consultations and negotiations with the banks if you are planning on an education loan cause it might be a real pain in the ass.

The ISSUE
I was all set with the admits reaching me way before anyone could ever think of, but there was an issue that was stopping me from proceeding further. I was actually having an opportunity, or should I say, a choice to make from two juicy offers- one was staying back in India and proceeding in the same job where I was being offered a promotion and a decent salary hike,  and the other was to reject the offer and take up studies at a foreign University and start fresh. Either way I was having an edge, if I stayed back then I might enjoy the power at office commanding the subordinates like a boss, or if I reject the offer and go away for higher studies then I could as well earn respect and with 3 years of industrial experience I could work my ass off in finding a well paying job after completing the masters. So weighing the options and doing the math, I found out that going abroad widened my scope of domain and expanded my opportunities.

Conclude
But the only thing that worried me was the fact that I have never stayed away from home, thanks to my ever loving parents, but in a way I now feel that it's time to stop living a secured life, for I have become someone who cannot decide what is good for my future. So going by the word "adventure", I decided to leave the luxurious life that my father had bestowed upon me and I decided that I would start from the scratch and build an empire of my own. I stumbled across this quote while doing the weighing "The only thing that stands between you and your goal is the bullshit stories that you keep telling yourself as to why you cannot achieve it"  which kind of inspired me in taking a decision that in some way changed the course of my life.

click here to download the list of things that are to be brought along with you to the united states for the first time as a student.

All the very best for the aspirants..!!
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