No Need for US Admission Consultancy – 1
Last week, Abhijit had sent his F1 Visa Interview Experience. I had asked him to send a write-up of his US University selection process (and experience). He sent a word document titled – No need for US Admission Consultancy. Thanks to Abhijit for sharing his experience. His articles will be published in 4 parts.
US Admission Consultancy
I am Abhijit and I am going to Ohio State University this fall 2010 for my M.S in electronics.
I would like to share my experience right from the start till now. I strongly believe that a student going to US doesn’t require any consultancy if he does his/her some hard work.
You could save a lot of money by doing it all by ourselves and also the confidence of doing everything on your own is just so good.
Everything is available on the internet you just need to put in some time.
I have some tips I would like to share that might help you in convincing that there is absolutely no need of consultancy while applying for US universities.
US University Shortlisting
- Use US News website for the ranks and getting a rough idea for which universities to select.
- Also you can use Google to search universities according to your department and level, there would be 100’s of sites which would give you rankings(incl. HSB) if you look at some of them they all will have almost the same ranking. [ Read – Step by Step University Selection Process]
- If you want to know how much GRE score is required for each university visit their sites and contact their program advisors 90% of the time they would revert back or tell you what was the average GRE score of the admitted students in the previous years. [ Average GRE Scores for Universities]
- GRE is not the only criterion when they select. One of my friend who had applied to some top 20 universities didn’t get any admissions even though he was the topper of the class and had 1500 GRE score and 5 on AWA. They can easily pick out the bookworm. One area I know he made mistake was due to the consultancy he was using. They gave him an unrealistic recommendation letter format which he blindly used even though I advised him not to.
- Don’t go solely on the rankings try and contact students of that university and mail them to know how good the program really is. Because the rankings depend on things like medical facilities and hostel and other secondary things. What one should really look in is the research and funding that department receives externally. That what really tells you if it is good. Also the more the funding more the chances of your financial aid.
- Also consider the living cost, availability of side jobs and tuition costs if you do not have enough money while selecting the universities.
3 More parts to follow this blog post. Stay tuned for other posts.
Question to you – Why do you think everyone is so much obsessed with rankings. By the way how many of you know how US News rankings are calculated?
Hi
I am also applying for the international business course at portlan college, kindly help me for the visa process and interview . as i had been denied before for the travel visa , when i apply with my family , the interview person ask me that you can take your family to hongkong as they have not travel out of india and you are working in hongkong.
so i am still thinking what should i do. should i apply for my study visa , as i want to have a better option.
This one is the most imp information as I also want to apply without any consultancy. keep postiong abhijit. It is really being helpful for the students like me..its ur goodness..thnx
Abhijit has done a splendid job by telling about his experience which is really very helpful & also to HSB for posting such valuable articles.. Kudos!!! I hope more students come forward with such useful posts… According to me it is much simpler to find universities based on the information in HSB.. Really worthier than any consulting agency…
Thanks abhijit for providing fabulous information and working as volunteer.
if I m admittted to a US university and if in the course of my education i feel that i want to cut MS ,,is there any legal provision that wud enable me to cut my MS course and continue in the US ?Will i be able to change my visa status??.I hav heard that there are some loopholes somewhere actually that wud enable one to get out of the university legally and continue in the US.
Thanks bro you really gave me a gr8 laugh there. I am probably more Indian than you are. I have no intentions in dalit-brahmin wars or any of that stuff I treat them equally lol.
I just said what a typical indian thinks.
With the kind of attitude you have gosh god help people around you. And if you want real talks on this mail me I would be more than willing to entertain you.
But keeping it on topic here. I think losers are those who need the lift in the form of reservation to get their ways. If you are capable enough you can do it on your own. If you cant help youself nobody would.
Hi,
My name is Bama, I have one question to ask. I am Dalit, and would like to go to USA, to study in Boston. Does US has university quota for Dalit? Are Dalits in USA treated much better than in India like i heard?
Bama – I'm sorry to hear that you are not treated well. People respect others in US and they are friendly. There is no caste system in US. People respect others for who they are.
I hope you dont get an admission in the US. This article is for students who want to help themselves. Not for guys like you who cant do anything with your own capablity. Secondly US dont what dalit and other things are.
Rankings are important,because it ensures a certain level of quality control before you enter the program and a reputation once you pass out. However, dont place undue importance on the rankings while ignoring other parameters.A grave mistake I did when I first applied. I looked at only the rankings and applied to the best schools (and got in too). But because of that I had to defer a year–since the standard of living, cost of living, work and GA/RA positions etc are not something US rankings dont explicitly give you.
Like the writer of the post correctly said, ask previous students and count in on the experience of them much more than any ranking website.
P.S. Later, a professor told me I might have got in not just coz of my merits (it was heartbreaking to hear), but also because of the ranking race. Being a woman,from a developing country with International work experience constitutes triple diversity points which is huge in ranking determination. So make rankings as a screen out and rely on the other information for your selection of Universities
HSB i have one question to ask from you and i think its worth answering for the benefit of an aspiring student.
will myself having financial affidavit from my relative(maternal uncle) who is in the FL,USA will hamper my chances for getting F1 VISA from US Embassy/Consulate.
i am facing this dilemma as i had not contacted you(HSB) before asking my relative to send the financial to the university noted below, now when i contacted the person in some education consultant they said only 10 out of 5get F1 visa if they have the scenario like mine
University of Central Florida
I.I.T. ( ILLINOIS)
University of Toledo
University of Texas Arlington
dude just get sponsorship from your uncle. Show how you are related to him . Close family ties. Old photos with him visiting yr indian home etc. Dollars talks over rupees. Make sure he makes enough money to show that he can support you in case things go sour and you don't have food to eat or clothes to wear in usa ( his family burden, dependent kids, wife etc etc ) . You have better shot going with your floridian uncle sponsoring you instead of your dead indian grandma.
Go Get it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It makes their work simpler right ? Rather than exploring each and every detail about the university themselves, people will prefer some external quantification done by someone else.