 |
Education Abroad for Indians - MS in the US |
After finishing her Electronics Engineering from Bombay University
in 1997, Myfanwy joined a big software export company. A five
day week and a normal work schedule gave her enough time to study
for the GRE test, which she took on November 1st 1997
(the general tests are usually held twice a year).
Tip - Visit Kaplan's Top 10 GRE Tips at http://www.kaplan.com/gre/GRE_Top10Tips.html
Having just got an Internet connection at home and no experience
on the Net, I helped her with the application process … We'll
let the emails speak for themselves.
From: Myfanwy <[email protected]>
To: Lyndon Cerejo <[email protected]>
Subject: Need your help
Date: 05 Nov 1997 17:52:10 -0500
Dear Lyndon,
I appeared for my GRE on the 1st. I did pretty well too. I've spent the past three days just relaxing after all that verbal, quantitative and qualitative stuff : - )
It's high time I start my gaddha-mazdoori now - finding out more details about colleges. I was wondering if you'd be able to spend some time to help me out with this. Will you ?
Love,
Myfi.
From: Lyndon Cerejo <[email protected]>
To: Myfanwy <[email protected]>
Subject: Re : Need your help
Date: 06 Nov 1997 07:52:10 -0500
Hi Myfi,
Nice to hear about your exam going well. As for the help using the Net, all I can say is great timing! I just finished my college exams, and have a month to go for my Univ. papers. Since I've got a TCP/IP connection, come on over and we'll take a look at what's out there. Just let me know a couple of days in advance.
Lyndon.
Tip - Don't feel backward to be forward and
ask for help. After all the other person has the option of saying
"no".
Myfi came over the following Sunday and we spent half a day logged
onto the Net looking out for more information about colleges.
That's when we realised what a blessing search engines really
are : all we had to do was type in a few keywords and we got a
whole list of relevant links.
Tip - When you don't know what you're looking
for on the Net, use a directory (www.yahoo.com), or use a search
engine (www.hotbot.com, www.altavista.digital.net, www.excite.com,
www.search.com). Metasearch engines query a handful of different
search engines in turn and give you compact, collated results
(www.debriefing.com, www.metacrawler.com).
Since the directory listing of US colleges was h-u-g-e, we first
looked out for college rankings to simplify what would have been
a wild goose chase. The Education section of US News came to the
rescue with a ranking for 1998 of the top colleges and universities
(http://www4.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/corank.htm). This site
also had a nice question & answer page for international students
(http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/cointlqa.htm). Another
site that had more critical comparisons of colleges came up at
http://www.memex-press.com/cc/
Tip - When you come across a useful site,
bookmark it. Save the webpage too if you can - a great help since
you don't have to log on each time to clarify something from that
page. Use intuitive names to save these pages, so that you know
at first glance what's what. Remember if there are images on a
webpage, they need to be saved separately.
After lunch that day, we took a shot in the dark by keying in
www.petersons.com (wildly guessing from the well known guide by
that name) and voila! A very detailed resource did actually exist!
We also spent a couple of hours browsing through the homepages
of a few colleges to get a feel of how much of the application
process could be done using the Net. Most colleges allowed students
to send preapplications through the email, or from their homepages.
This being preliminary work, translated into saving hundreds of
rupees in postage charges. One webpage that was a good resource
centre for details about applying abroad was the American Higher
Education Information Center
(http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/bibl/afit/menuw.html)
- we learnt a lot from the application procedure link on this
page. After seven hours online, we called it a day.
Tip - VSNL gives students shell accounts at
a discounted rate of Rs. 500 for a year. This account can be best
used to send and receive email, and restricted browsing. For the
initial searching, or if you have a set of bookmarks of sites
you have to visit, it would be better to use a cybercafe. Most
of them offer students discounts. For more details read the article
on Cybercafes in the April 20th issue of Education
Times.
From: Myfanwy <[email protected]>
To: Lyndon Cerejo <[email protected]>
Subject: Need your help
Date: 12 Nov 1997 13:14:19 -0500
Dear Lyndon,
Thanks for all the help on Sunday. I've been going through some of the colleges ranked between #20 and #40, looking out for courses I'm interested in. After narrowing down the list this way, I'm currently digging deeper - finding out related faculty members, the work they've done, projects they're currently working on, and which companies are funding them. Finding a professor working on a subject of my interest is important, because his recommendation would help tilt the scales in my favour as far as admissions go. If his project is being funded by a big company, even better - I could probably get a scholarship too!
You were right - the Internet is a fascinating place. I'm slowly being converted to your line of thinking ; - )
Love,
Myfi.
From: Lyndon Cerejo <[email protected]>
To: Myfanwy <[email protected]>
Subject: Re : Need your help
Date: 13 Nov 1997 09:23:07 -0500
Myfi,
Just a suggestion. Why don't you start creating your own homepage ? I've posted a story online on how you can do it for free at http://guide.vsnl.net.in/
Put your resume online, and focus on your academics - your final year project, current job, interest in subjects, awards and achievements etc. Also create an email signature with your URL so that when you correspond with targeted professors, they can easily find out more details about you online with just the click of a mouse. Also give them enough latitude to explore on your homepage.
Also keep bookmarking pages and saving them for further reference. Orgainse your information according to universities, so you can easily locate your files once you get your score. Oh, incidentally, I came across the GRE site (www.gre.org) that has more details on how you can get your scores by phone on December 1st. Since Manish is in the US, why don't you ask him to do it for you - it'll cost you US$10, but it'll give you a headstart over the others who will get their scores by post 2 or 3 weeks after you. Think about it.
There's a friend who's also applying, and has compiled a list of US colleges on his homepage. You may want to look up Vipul Lalka's page at http://www.cyberjunkie.com/vipul
A must visit site for you is http://www.gradschools.com/noformsearch.html. I think this would be particularly useful since they have a compilation of contact information of different colleges by the stream you're looking at. This way you don't have to visit each college homepage to find out if it offers your subjects etc.
Lyndon.
Since I had threatened not to log on around exam time (it's another
matter that I didn't carry it out), Myfi excitedly called up the
day before my first University paper to give me the good news
- she had scored a fantastic 2100 in her GRE! Which was excellent,
and meant that studying abroad would soon be a reality for her.
Well, I had a treat in store after I finished my exams…
From: Myfanwy <[email protected]>
To: Lyndon Cerejo <[email protected]>
Subject: Need your help
Date: 20 Dec 1997 16:18:52 -0500
Dear Lyndon,
Just an update, since you've been busy with exams and will be busy with your placements coming up. Most of the colleges I shortlisted gave me the option of sending my preapp via email. I have done so. But apparently some colleges have not received my email at all, so I couriered my preapps to them. The gradschools site was a real help. I owe you bigtime.
Some of the forms have started coming in already. I made it a point to ask them for details of financial aid available, and they've been really helpful.
Love,
Myfi.
From: Lyndon Cerejo <[email protected]>
To: Myfanwy <[email protected]>
Subject: Re : Need your help
Date: 27 Dec 1997 12:42:59 -0500
Myfi,
I've had other people with student accounts from VSNL grumbling that people have not received their email. There is some problem with the VSNL server. Why don't you use one of your other accounts to send email - at least that way you're sure your mail's going across. Use your hotmail or cyberspace email accounts to send important email. If you want me to do that for you let me know a few days in advance.
Besides corresponding with the profs you mentioned a couple of emails ago, try going through your select few college websites to find out some contact information about Indian Students' Associations in each of these colleges. They may be able to help you with some more information about the college. There's a limited list of students from India in different universities available at : http://members.tripod.com/~awether/univ.html
And do drop in at www.weapply.com - a great site which allows you to apply online to colleges, and offers tips on essay writing and recommendations - both of which could make a difference to your application. Put a lot of time and effort into filling those forms - your future depends on them. All the best, Myfi!
Lyndon.
Even as Myfi sent in her applications to the colleges she finally
settled on, she started corresponding via email with a few professors
from these institutes who were working on projects in her field
of interest. This way, she built a rapport with the few who responded
because of her interest in their projects.
Tip - When writing to professors, do not send
your resume or other details as attachments. Paste the message
in the body of the email instead. They prefer it that way.
Except for a wee bit of tension whether the repercussions of India's
nuclear tests will affect her visa, Myfi's all set to go to the
US. As of May this year, she had been accepted by three colleges
of her choice, but she was still waiting for notification of whether
she would get financial aid or maybe assistantship.
From: Myfanwy <[email protected]>
To: Lyndon Cerejo <[email protected]>
Subject: Need your help
Date: 25 May 1998 23:09:54 -0500
Dear Lyndon,
The worst is finally behind me now. These days the postman wonders why I run out to meet him - it's just hope that he'll come carrying a letter about my financial assistance. Tired of the wait, I sent emails yesterday to the universities asking them informally if I've been granted aid.
I've seen the Net as a very useful tool during these past few months. Sitting at home, I managed to tour the entire college in some cases, actually see the facilities, laboratories, classes, campus grounds, detailed information about the courses - sometimes even more detailed than the brochures. Since email is so quick, I managed to communicate instantaneously with most of the universities - and in the process even found out what hasn't reached them so I could resend it in time. People are, by and large, very friendly on the Net, and I've even made friends with other students who I've never seen!
These days, I spend my time on the Net for more interesting information - like how to gel in with people there when I do land on those distant shores (http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~aagarwal/indians/usefi.html). Another useful page I came across this morning is the New "Indian" Graduate Student FAQ (http://www.cs.uh.edu/~ahmed/help.html), or the guide for International students at Petersons (http://www.petersons.com/graduate/international.html)
If things go as planned, I'll be leaving for the US in August '98 - so that's your deadline for getting your treat from me. Thanks for the great help you've been throughout this entire process, Lyndon.
Love,
Myfi.
From: Lyndon Cerejo <[email protected]>
To: Myfanwy <[email protected]>
Subject: Re : Need your help
Date: 27 May 1998 09:36:58 -0500
Myfi,
These past few months have just reinforced by belief that the Net is the future... It's a pity people in India don't realise the potential of the Internet as a medium... Hopefully they will soon...
One final URL that will be of great use to you - it has handy hints related to travel, visas, emigration, packing (very detailed) things to be done before, during, and after the flight, and an introduction to American lingo.(http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~srinivas/SIA/useful.html)
I start work in June, so we'll take care of the treat as soon as I figure out my new schedule. Do keep in touch.
Lyndon.
Tip - Don't let your months of effort go to
waste - pass it on to others who will be travelling down the same
road in the months to come. Put up a webpage with links to related
websites to make their lives easier. Gaurav Manik has done that
at http://members.tripod.com/~GauravManik