F1 VISA Mumbai – Rejected a couple of times
Hello HSB, I’ve been following HSB for a very long time but never posted anything, well my F1 VISA application has been denied twice at Mumbai.
My Orientation is on 22nd Aug. Could you please help me with this ?
F1 Visa Experience -1st Attempt : 7/7/2011
I really don’t have any idea what happened in those 3 mins of my interview. He didn’t even look at documents I was carrying.
VO : Good afternoon
Me : Good AfternoonVO : So, San Diego.. How did you get to know about San Diego State University?
Me : While I was looking for the my program MS in CS with Majors on Networking and Embedded Systems, I found Dr. Marie Roch is working on the same project.Which seemed to be of interest to me.Hence I decided to go the SDSU.VO : Did you write your GRE and TOEFL?
Me : Yes I wrote my GRE twice. (Told him both the scores)VO : Why US why not India?
Me : Its the US education system which upgrades itself according to the latest technology. The course is based on the practical knowledge but here in India the course is all theory. I’ll get to learn more.VO : Sorry.. I can’t give you the VISA.You can reapply and you’ll find another VO.
Me : Sir I am a genuine student.VO : Sorry the decision has been made.
Me : Could you please tell me the reason for my rejection?VO : Sorry.. According to the US laws I don’t have that right.
Me : Thank you Sir.There were 5 people in queue and I was the 6th one.
4 were boys and a girl. All the boys were given the passports back but the girl (was going to DENVER University) was give the VISA.
2nd Attempt : 2/8/2011
VO :So you are going to US for your studies ? Which University ?
Me: Yes sir, San Diego State University(SDSU) CAVO: Why SDSU ?
Me: Its because of the course structure and the flexibility of choosing the subjects, moreover the University also offered me Mobile and Web based Application Course in addition to my Computer Networks Program.This was the best options available from the admits I’ve gotVO: How many Universities did you apply to?
Me: 5 SirVO: How many admits ?
Me: 4/5 SirVO : What all admits ?
Me: California State University(CSU) at LA, CSU Long Beach, San Jose State University, San Diego State UniversityVO: All in California ? Why ?
Me: Sir I applied to State University of New York at Bufflalo.VO: Why not India?
Me: Sir the Indian education system is more theoritical. While US education system deal in imparting the pratical knowledgeVO: Why not Europe ?
Me: I didn’t give a thought for it.
VO: Sorry I can’t issue you the VISA.
Can I go for the Universities in Canada and UK for the next spring session as I am already late for the this Fall session.
I am not sure what should I do now. Please help me.
Here is the problem
I know its hard when visa is rejected. But, when you are looking for help, you need to have established relationship.
There is no way for me to know you have been following the blog for long time, unless you are frequent commenter.
People realize that they have to comment only when they are in trouble or need help.
I have posted time and time again to build your network (but not when you need). You need to have contacts expecting the need.
For instance take job search. Students know after MS they have to look for a job, but they will start building their network after graduation. It ain’t going to help. S
Let other readers comment on your visa interview experience.
Related :
speaking negative about your own homeland is the major mistake .
How is building network gonna help him get a visa now?? please explain HSB
I think the the problem is with the answer that you gave of the following question.
VO : Why US why not India?
You said that The course is based on the practical knowledge but here in India the course is all theory. Never say anything negative of your country. For example, in my workplace when i take interview of the new job-seekers I always ask them “Why you want to leave your current workplace?” Many times i found that people are saying Oh! it’s not a good one, many many problem bla bla…… And i always reject them. Because of their negative answer.
VO: All in California ? Why ? For this question the answer is not specific. The VO thought that you will definitely stay in CA.
Yes, I think Faisal is right… And you must have said that, in the US I would get more research opportunities and could contribute to the research society in a more better way.
Here’s my opinion on what went wrong with your interview :
1st attempt:
” I found Dr. Marie Roch is working on the same project.Which seemed to be of interest to me”
You could have replaced “seemed to be” with a more assertive word/term
“The course is based on the practical knowledge but here in India the course is all theory”
Major blunder here. Never speak negatively about anything or anyone during the VI.
2nd attempt:
“This was the best options available from the admits I’ve got”.
Absolutely unnecessary. You have shown that you are willing to settle for less if it involves going to the US. And that makes you a potential immigrant. If you had removed the above sentence your answer would have been clear and assertive.
“All in California ? Why ?”
Now this is a very tough one (probably this is where the VO became doubtful). I dont think you made any mistake with your answer, though.
“Sir the Indian education system is more theoritical. While US education system deal in imparting the pratical knowledge”.
Somewhat similar mistake as your 1st attempt.
“I didn’t give a thought for it.” .
Very weak answer.
You are a potential Immigrant dear. Who don’t like home country. People like you creats nonsense in any other country and can’t be happy anywhere.
The rejection is justified.
Please dont try again with such intention, you will be ending up with wasting your money.
Really sorry about your rejection. i personally think your points were weak,you should have prepared better strong points. Basically your points were not convincing enough.
totally agreed with sreeram…come on man…
1st you showed negative attitude so it shows you ain’t attached to your home country..
and 2nd ..all in california ? come on man …it clearly gives reason of potential immigrant …i will suggest, as you repeated your mistakes …go for another attempt with all geared up…just give one shot
I never went for F1 visa. So i am not right person to comment about it. still i want to tell my opinion..
Just by seeing your answer for the question “why US , why not India”, any one can expect that you will face rejection. Never talk negative about your home country before VO. It is like thumb rule. not sure how you missed it.
There can be many valid answers for that questions. for e.g ‘want to study there to get global exposure’ etc.
Hi:
I am not an expert but judging from what you have described it seemed like the VO just didn’t want to give you the visa no matter what. San Diego Sate University is a respectable university and your MS in CS is also a STEM category Program. So the VO probably didn’t like your face or had a stomach indigestion or something. In any case your case was solid enough. It was bad luck I guess. Anyway, I advise you either go for Phd in the US which are usually institutionally funded( and for which visas are rarely refused) or you may go on pursuing something in non US jurisdiction, as you are planning on doing. In any case I am sure you will find a way to realize your dream of acquiring a better education.
Hope that helped ease your pain.
rgds,
rm
Sorry to hear that..
Visa rejection happening at very large pace than issuing of visa, especially for F-1 it’s very difficult to get and one can say it’s luck to get visa even after 100% preparation keeping very good GRE, TOEFL, academic and better university. As i gazed your first interview officer mentioned a point “Sorry the decision has been made.” It’s mean to say Everything is pre-planned, speculation arises here also “Sorry.. According to the US laws I don’t have that right” i don’t think you find answer or something like this in VFS website, even i have watched few visa interview sample video’s in youtube but none of those officials have replied in this rude.
I would like say, the movement after you fill DS-160 and submit, US embassy go through each detail you mention on it and later they scrutinize application then and there itself. As i believe rejection of visa takes place prior to Visa Interview, Face-to-Face interview is just for candidate appearance. Either university should stop accepting admit (issuing I-20) or embassy should follow better rules, at least for genuine students. This is what i believe so far, i request HSB to comment on this.
I totally agree with you……….
US Embassies need to update their rules and start stopping playing with genuine students………….
i don’t what is wrong with the VISA officers………
please comment..
“it’s very difficult to get and one can say it’s luck to get visa even after 100% preparation keeping very good GRE, TOEFL, academic and better university.”
Depends on what you mean by “very good”. And, rejections happen very rarely if the university is a very good one (if it does happen, it will be issued the 2nd time with very few questions asked).
“As i believe rejection of visa takes place prior to Visa Interview” maybe in a few cases, eg. if the applicant has some kind of a criminal background,etc. From what I have seen, many people with average/below average profiles manage to get visas. In some cases, VI is like a last chance for applicants to prove themselves. And, VOs are highly trained people.
My profile is :
Btech: Electrical Engineering (74%)
Got 4 admits from UNCC, Northeastern, Michigan Tech, CSU-Fresno
Was Going for:
MS in Telecommunications
University: northeastern University, Boston. Rank (#69- us news)
GRE: 1140 => 740(Q) +400 (V)
TOEFL: 78,,, IELTS= 7.0 bands
Sponsor= family+loan
please tell me where might be the problem is in my case so that i can improve on that….
I will be thankful to you………:)
Have you gone for your interview? Everything seems to be good about your profile, good luck on your interview, you’ll get the visa 🙂
sir i have been rejected VISA twice under POTENTIAL IMMIGRANT…no reason mentioned by the VO.. 🙂
You should post your visa interview so people can comment on where you might have gone wrong.
i tried to post my interview but HSB do not seem to be interested in posting my interview experience,.. 🙂
After this blog post, lot more readers are posting comments, which is a good sign. Top commentators are visible on the sidebar. Count will get reset every week.
This is strange. From all the blogs I have read, I found your interview to be well. Still visa getting rejected is actually strange.
same happened with me……i am in shock……..
Practical training (In interviewer’s point of view : You are trying to look for job after finishing your studies at U.S) and moreover if you see IITs, NITs etc, they have better practical training and theoretical training than SDSU.
1. Don’t give specific/ one pointed statement unless if asked and unless it is true.(Like practical and theoretical). You could be specific in saying about the work(research at their labs/project/course details) which suits your interest.
2. Always convince them that you will return back to India once you finish your studies. (You may or may not come, but you should make the interviewer believe that you will return back after your studies at U.S ! 😉 )
All the best !
U can say fact about theory and practical .
eg. Rafic Dossani (researcher of standford uni.)had done research some where in silicon valley company(or ies) .
He ask to head (or those who select student for their company)
How many Indian student U will take after their completion of studies?
Answer: Guess
How many chiness?
How many Americans ?
Ans India 0%
Chinese 15%
Americans 100%
He done more research and ask to them why Indian 0% to head?
Ans:
Sorry ,for not continuous post.
He done more research and ask to them (to head)why Indian 0%?
Ans:
Here Indian means those who studied in India ,Chinese means studied in China ,
Americans means Studied in America( In this all Indian who studied in America that also we can count )
The ans of above q I have below (after 2 -3 post) .I want U to think ,wat the case may be .
man ur visa rejection is unfair ……seeing dis post i guess hw wld i get passed 4m dis interview
y r my comments deleted i didnt say anything wrong
Hello, I got rejected F1 visa FOUR TIMES AT HYDERABAD CONSULATE. First time I went on NPU for SPRING 2011 and second time on TROY UNIVERSITY…..THIRD AND FOUTH ON TROY in FALL 2011…But all the times I were rejected.. Am I still eleigible to qualify for USA student VISA….Shall reapply for SPRING 2012 or FALL 2012….PLZZZZZ HELP ME
I know its quite disheartening if someones US visa gets reject twice. I just wanted to say few things here :
1. Before attending VI you must do self-analysis based on your profile like what all questions can arise on VO’s mind on seeing your profile. This is just a simple homework that you have gotta do. After all this hard work y didn’t u bother to do this simple one ? Y didn’t it strike to your mind that the VO will definitely ask about Y all 5 Univs. in California ? I bet anyone in his place would have smelled fishy about this. The VI would & did suspect if u r planning to settle over there. And the answers given by you to his subsequent questions like Y not India ? , Y not Europe ? only raised his suspicion level to a greater extent.
2. Whether u have intentions of settling there or not, u always have to portray yourself as a boy/girl-next-door / down-to-earth genuine student. Because, legally that is why u r going to U.S. !!! And “F1 GURU’s” advice /*”A better answer would have been something on the likes of “Current trend in Networking is for IPv6 and Quality of Service. As India is clearly riding on the 3G bandwidth, this is a good time to learn this emerging technology and apply it for pure research or product development in great companies like Infosys and Motorola, who have dedicated center of excellence here in bangalore”.*/ was excellent. I think such an answer would have sufficiently convinced VO regarding your genuineness !!!
3. When asked, y this Univ ? u must have a rough thesis plan on your mind which u must explain & then puke all the Technical Stuffs related to it and finally add the name of Prof. & his/her research interest that matches with yours. Ideally u must keep on elaborating this until VO stops u. Because this is what a genuine student actually does. Genuine student need not be Nerds (though 90 % true 😛 ) they just need to be genuine and portray themselves that way !! :D. Remember this is not a stupid VIVA-VOICE that u might have attended in ur colg., this is an interview which checks ur genuine purpose of going to US.
Since u haven’t posted your profile, its not possible to advice about in what and all areas u must improve. But overall take some time like 6 months/1 year or so improve ur profile in a much better way either by retaking & scoring well in GRE/ Publications/work-experience, try applying to good universities preferably in ur case, univs. that are scattered throughout USA. u can still defer ur i-20 to next session & apply to few more universities in different regions. That way when VO asks u can tell the name of univs. in such an order that Californian Univs. are not repeated again & again. And most importantly do ur homework well before attending VI. I dont think 3rd attempt now will serve any purpose.
This is just my humble advice and your actions need not solely depend on this. I hope this could help u in preparing for another attempt. I may be wrong in some cases but again this is just my interpretation of your post just based on the little knowledge that I have got. Good Luck !!!
HSB please interpret my analysis in case i’m wrong.
well said praveen, i totally agree with ur statements. And may i know abt ur profile ??
I want to know what percentage of F1 visa is granted to applicant seeking to study ESL in USA. How vissible is the visa stamping?.
Thank you
Ans of above post (which I had posted)
Why Indian 0%?
Ans : According to Rafiq Dossani,
Company head answered to him & and his research work is ,people in India and china doesnt know wat to do in the company ,they are totally fresh ( Indian people who had work for 2 yrs than they are most eligible to take i.e their peak of graph goes high ,as they are working very fine and best, Again after 10yrs Experience their graph peak goes down ,cause they stick
to their mentality or on that thing .
( For last two line I would like to say ,In IT after 10 yrs one shud be updated ,and some innovative and creative thing U shud be able to bring .Otherwise after 10 yrs (in IT) in one language (or thing) U become expert but that may be out dated in comnpany ).
Even in IIT students project ratio is not equal or more than U.S uni.
In China ,Beiging ,government pay large amount of money to some uni. which are best but thats around 15% only .Therefore some of the student are best who get good practical study .
Study System of US and India ,China are different.
Rafiq Sir ,had done research , considering IIT to low grade college in India .
Every where he found almost same Thing.
He showed his research data to us . His data is as follows .
India U.S
student attending lecture 52% 15%
doing own project ,group project , 10-15% 40- 60%
or any other practical works (mostly
by students them self)
……………
( These is some of the most important part of data)
(I don’t remember exact percentage% (of data) but it is near to this,this will give us general India )
we student have to take practical projects while studying . Even it doesnt value in our study ,but when one and his friends want to work together independently ( eg as a engineer )they will be confident enough for their work.
Even when one go for Job if one has 60 % and 5 to 10 good projects and other side one has 80% without project then also I think 1st one is more better to work in a company ( as he has practical knowledge) .
Thank You
Sheajad
Hi,
Its really hard to know when a Visa gets rejected. But by going through your post i guess its problem was in the question, Why US why not India?……..
I’m a new reader at HSB and it’s my first comment. I can suggest you something different. If you believe it, it will definitely help you. At least 100 of people got the VISA by such technique. Sit for a meditation and after relaxation try to visualize that you got the VISA. Try to believe it as a reality. Side by side, take a preparation for interview. It’s an ancient technique. We are some people practicing it now. It’s worthy. It will increase your confidence level. I’m praying for you, dear.
If it seems something offensive, let me know politely.
First off your post is not clear. You havent listed what your gre and toefl scores are ? Are they mediocre ? good, low .. what? Secondly what is your acads all about ? can you be called a good student? third, what are your sources of funding? are you tightly pressed for money or you have surplus by way of family finances?
a couple of things that i think went wrong are 1. All your universities are in CA 2. None of them are ranked high enough, which makes me feel your scores are medium to low 3. Your finances for the MS program, which might have given them the feeling that you are a potential immigrant. If you are serious about studying in the US, take this time out and improve your GRE scores. Get admits to better universities which are respected a lot more then SDSU and finally try and improve your finances by means of scholarship or partial funding and stuff. There is no place better to study than US and i can tell this from experience. I was rejected twice for F1 visa and i got my MS from UK. now i am a busy professional, but i do not want my fellow countrymen to waste their money and their desire to get a good degree from places where all the need is your semester fees and nothing else. Finally your answer for why NOT india and why only US clearly suggests you havent done your homework? A better answer would have been something on the likes of “Current trend in Networking is for IPv6 and Quality of Service. As India is clearly riding on the 3G bandwidth, this is a good time to learn this emerging technology and apply it for pure research or product development in great companies like Infosys and Motorola, who have dedicated center of excellence here in bangalore”. Read through F1 posts here, you will clearly get an idea what is a good / bad answer and accordingly prepare a list of potential questions and their best answer. I suggest unless you are serious about education and on notably improving the above mentioned areas you do not try for a visa. YOU will BE rejected. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise, they are just playing on your desire. If you go back improve and put your best foot forward, everyone will appreciate your effort and you have BETTER chances of making it. Good Luck
Based on the questions asked, I think VO wanted to understand Why US only! Why not India or Europe or any other country. Both VO’s asked you this question, so I guess for your next attempt you must prepare a reasonably convincing answer. Think it for yourself, why would you like to study in US of all places, is it beacuse of its liberal education structure or for the post-study work experience in a top company etc. I think you should prepare your answer well, alternatively apply for few universities in other countries as well for the same course, Just so that VO knows that it’s just not the country but the course you’re interested in too.
Hi…. I my opinion you were under prepared for the interview. Even though you had plenty of time between your 1st and 2nd interview, you did not utilize that time to prepare yourself better for the next time. I know this preaching wont help you now, but learn a lesson from this and try to bring an attitudinal shift in your life. A proactive approach is required if you wish to pursue research.
Now coming to your answers-
1) Why this University ? This question is a given every time. Try not to throw in the Prof.’s name straightaway. First describe the program, how it would benefit you and then mention that you are really impressed with Prof. XYZ’s work. Try to read more about that Prof.’s work since, there is time after you apply for univ. Remember you should be ready to speak at length about your answers unless interrupted by the VO and asked another question.
2) The second thing that went wrong and is quite rightly pointed out by everyone was that you applied to 5 univ. out of which four of them were based in California. Maybe that is just a coincidence, may be not. But the signal that you give the VO by that is a negative one. There are a lot of reputable univ. in other cities too. Apply for them too. Try to come across as a genuine student.
3) The question related to India is trick question. In my opinion they probably want to know how you feel about the country and whether you would like to return to it in the future. Since, your answer showed a lack of faith in the country and its education system, the VO might have thought that you dont have an intention of coming back. I know it is very easy to say the right thing with the benefit of hindsight but you must realize that you cant repeat your mistakes. Put across your criticism, but gently and euphemistically.
HSB and all followers, your suggestions on my analysis are welcome. I am commenting for the first time. I too am a prospective student.
It’s disquieting to get the visa rejected after all such hard preparation. I don’t see you went wrong in the answer : Why not India for your higher studies?
In my perception, below are my feed backs
1) Even though you have selected most of the universities from California while answering to VO, you might have said Univ of NY, Buffalo in between just to make VO doesn’t give a second thought about it.
2) For the question: why not other countries i.e Europe, you would have answered something that showcases USA education is the best and few years ahead of the rest because you spent a lot for your higher education and they expect a valid reason for preparing USA over the rest.
Easily said then done, just give one more shot still its not the end of road……
Regards
RSP
I don’t know how it works.. but after reading so many Visa interviews and appearing for a couple of Visa interviews myself (I did get the Visa finally), I think even before you face the VO, the officer has already made up his or her mind to give you Visa or not.. just by reading your DS-160 and your test scores.. All you do at the interview is, either worsen your chances of a sure Visa by acting like a freak (my case) OR change the mind of a hostile VO by presenting yourself exceptionally well.. But like I said, that is just my opinion.
what did they say about ur rejection, according to us law they can’t tell the reason.
that’s the bullshit man there is no such a law, they’ve to tell u the reason behind ur rejection.
the next time , if ur r rejected u can tell them. ” that listen sir plz tell me the reason, so the next time i come with preperation .
they can’t tell the reason behind the rejection, is completely fake.
lol anyone who is totally hellbent on knowing the reason.. well here it is “Sir, I think you might start working there.” Period
and I’m not even joking.. That is literally what I was told.. and trust me.. that implies to ALL with 214-B. You asked for reason.. well there it is, the VO won’t.. literally NEVER tell you any specific detail that’s wrong in ur appl.. What’s the point of an interview if they do??!!
dnt worry…my visa has been rejected once n m goin 2 give it again on 8th august…u r havin 1 more option if ur frnd n relative iz in us jus ask dem 4 an dependent visa…u cn also study in us on dependent visa bvt u dnt need 2 show dat in ur visa interview…jus go thru d process….
hey shruti all d best
Hi dude,
Sorry to hear about ur rejection twice.
The reason that i can guess is that the ans to the ques, why not India
and 4 Univ in CA.
i also gave VI in Delhi in July.
in my case also, 4 out of 5 univ were in Texas, plus my last answer was not satisfactory, why MS in CS..
better u apply to diff univ and then try..
I am planning to give GRE again, apply to better univ in diff states.
Good Luck 🙂
So… whatever u faced was just due to your nonsense response .
But don’t loose hope try next time & reply the VO without criticizing India.
This time if your interviewer asks WHY NOT INDIA?
You may reply like this:
I could not qualify GATE, so i can’t get admission in any prestigious educational institute in India like IIT , IIIT, NIT etc. That’s why I decided to apply in US universities.
This will definitely help you.
As we know the Indian education system. It has some drawbacks but it doesn’t mean this is worst & stop criticizing our country. You must see your own demerits before insulting sm1. I think you never mind your own fault that’s why you are here.
LOL dude.. You’r taking it as a personal offence to your patriotic spirit.. We all know the transparent admission process of American and European schools is wayyyyyy better than the crude, uber-biased and cut-throat admission competition in India. Moreover IF you tell the VO that you are going to USA because you can’t get admission here it’s accounts upto TWO negative things :
1- You Gave up. You are a quitter. That is a straight NO from the VO.
2- You are lying. Because education in India vs. USA is not even comparable. You don’t just not get selected here and decide to study in US right away. The admission process for USA edu starts from like a year before you start classes there. And the mindset for that has to be made even earlier. And you should know that the education in USA is 6 years ahead of India. MOREOVER, the cost is nothing any sane person would even imagine to compare.
MR/Ms UNMANK U don’t need to be LOOOOOL
BY the way, wht do u mean by” crude, uber-biased and cut-throat admission competition in India”. According to u American & European schools follow transparent admission process. U must know getting admission in U.S & European universities is far easy than in India’s fifteen centre of excellence.
As these U.S & European universities accept GRE, which is NON – TECHNICAL based easy exam with just AWA, verbal & quantitative sections(this section can easily solve by a 9 standard student). On the other side GATE is totally technical exam. This is truth u accept or not it doesn’t matter.
And who says education in US is 6 yrs. ahead of India. U must write here only when u hv data of categorized schools. Means when u r comparing IIT B with NCSU , then this will be wrong. Here IIT B is far better than NCSU.And if u compare IIT B with MIT then that might be true.
..Soooooo don’t become a BLIND U.S. follower.
JUST FOLLOW THE TRUTH…
IIT’s are good, but they are not as good as MIT or other equivalent schools. But, there is a huge gap after IIT to other colleges. But, thats not the case in US. There are so many schools that come under that gap. By the way what is your GRE Score? Wanted to see if you scored 800 in both sections and got 6.0 in AWA.
HSB, I respect you. So I won’t argue here too much.
I had taken GRE on JAN31,2011.
I scored
AWA 4.5
VERBAL 600
Quant 800
But I never wanted to disclose it until I get call for MS….
…Here U r Mr. HSB that’s why I disclosed my score.
lol.. and wat’s that? braggin excuse? Dude, all I’m saying is, India doesn’t has India doesn’t has the educational infrastructure to support .. or nvm forget support.. even cater to the basic needs of its ever bulging student population. And you know what the problem is? We Indians love to live in our little worthless pathetic bubble and blah blah every reality.. I am not an U.S. follower BUT I definitely an anti-“live in the bubble” person. That is all. And FYI ya I totally agree with HSB.
And a small little question here.. In the past ten years, how many International Olympiad Champions has India produced? Why are they all from other countries, while India’s schooling is supposedly so much “better”? If you compare the top schools from India i.e. IIT’s, compare them with at least the A grade schools with USA if not A+. And by the way NIT’s are not so awesome as people say they are, and they can justly be compared to B+/B grade schools in Europe and USA, just stating ground reality. That’s why just the few IIT’s with like 10k seats cannot speak for or represent the whole education scenario of India. And like HSB already said, the quality gap between IIT’s and other schools is humongous, which is not true for European and American schools.
@Umank
“In the past ten years, how many International Olympiad Champions has India produced?”
Dude why didn’t u tried to become champ..
Stop blaming others, and start improving from your side look inside u r a losser and accept that fact.
lmao der u go another off the topic random guy.. gl man
and by the way, I’m an engineering student pursuing masters from US, with a IBM – The Great Mind Challenge award at national level and some other awards here and there.. I don’t really count lol.. oh and I am also a national Judo and Shot-put gold medalist back at India.. just cuz u asked so nicely, had to tell u.. so pure science is not really my field of study u see, it’s engineering. And I am doing pretty good for myself too 🙂 thanks much for your concern.. By the way next time you reply on a forum thread or respond to a question, try to stick to the topic and be less vague.. it helps with having a constructive convo.. thank you^_^ and gl
I don’t agree MIT is better than IIT.The reason MIT is better because IIT students do a great job in MIT research.
Dude…your comment is the biggest joke I have heard in the last 10 years. Admission to American universities is transparent and unbiased? You should become a comedian. In the US, you can get admission to college, even places like Princeton or Harvard by saying your dad and mom know this person and that person. In fact, Ivy League applicants often write in their statement of purpose that my mom or dad also went to this university; so please take me also. Imagine requesting IIT to accept you because your Dad went to IIT.
India may not have as much money as American universities, but we do have unbiased admission standards at least.
@SS
Hey Acrobat, I think ur suggestion best fits for u.
what makes you think there is not biasing in the IIT admissions, huh? Do some ground check before claiming man, ijs. And on top of the there is always our social favorite “quota”, that is like the official biasing mechanism in India. And why does everyone goes to Ivy League when u talk US edu?? There are like a thousand other schools in USA and Europe other than Ivy League. MOREOVER, you can get a sure admission in Ivy League colleges if your scores are good, you got papers to your name OR you can pay.. So, you have the liberty to choose accordingly..
I agree with u on the issue of quota..
i agree with you regarding the entire debate.
thnx
i agree with umank.
sorry
i am sorry as i should have been more specific
lol thanks Ruchi.. and dAVE, nice debate.
Clearly, Umank you have never heard the words “affirmative action”, beacuse you attack IITs for having quotas. I suggest you google it. Just to give you an example of how strong affirmative action is, there was a case in Connecticut where firefighters were given an exam in order to qualify for a promotion. Because not a single African American qualified the exam, the city of New Haven decided to cancel the results of the entire exam.
Constructive criticism is always good, but mean spirited bashing is of no use.
Ok I really love a constructive debate, but a drift away from topic is sorta lame, don’t you think?
1. I mentioned quota, cuz I wanted to emphasize on the fact that out of the mere 10k seats IITs have to offer, quotas take away a considerable chunk. What is left for the the 10kk students ruining their lives trying to get selected?? Well we all heard stories about that..
2. If Indian education is so awesome, can you tell me what makes IITians leave for Europe/USA for higher education?
3. “Don’t brag, if you cant deliver”, a personal advice to the Indian education system. And don’t hide your failure by giving the excuse “WE HAVE IITs”, each time.. It’s getting old and lame now.
4. Admissions in IITs at Doctoral level is heavily biased, and even at lower levels there is NO transparency as such. If you are in good terms with professors, they can get you in. That is excluding the quota.
5. Quota or no quota, the quality is not even upto the mark for average student. So that’s like if someone is BORN in a non-quota pool, and doesn’t make it to the mere 8k seats in IITs, he doesn’t deserve decent education? WOW, no wonder so many classes in India have set up their own little pathetic agitations to get quota status.
Like I said before “Pathetic Little Bubble..”
Lower level there is NO such tranparency. This is totally wrong. Here, lower level means UG, PG & internships at IITs.
In 2003 , son of director of IIT B couldn’t qualify JEE. He was preparing for JEE for 2 years. Finally he left India for study in US.
In 2002 my friend’s big brother qualified JEE with AIR 786 & joined IIT B, who told me about this incidence.
And if u will continue post such disgusting comments about the admission in IITs at lower level, then this will hurt the feelings of freshers & they will be discouraged for JEE.
So, Umank be sure whatever u wrote here.
Quota system is still continue just due to dirty politics in India. If someone who really wanna get rid of this tag of category or quota, then must think that WE R NOT MENTALLY BACKWARD so why do we need quota ??
Then He/ she must apply under general category to get admission in prestigious institute in India. This would be a great step to diminish the quota system in India.
Yah agreed I am being too direct, sorry. But that doesn’t justify the small amount of seats for such a huge student population always being brought up for hiding our now failing education system. And like I said before, the quality level is so huge that if you are not in IIT, you spend more for far worse education. That sux big time.
Great, now u r on right track.
By the way, whatever u wrote on availability of seats & student population is really a bitter truth. But we can’t do anything for this as we don’t hv such power to control this problem.
UMANK..That’s why we r here @ HSB.. who is helping us to achieve our aim & ambition.
Next time, I’ll try to help the person .
For last 1 day I was really distracted from the issue.
I ll be great to learn a few solutions to the problems discussed above.
It is much more likely that you are the one living in a bubble. Can you read? I never said that Indian education was the best or that IITs were the best in the world. I never said that anyone who cannot get into IIT does not deserve a good education.
All I said was that admission process to IITs is unbiased compared to admission system in US universities. Also keep in mind that the quota itself is pre-declared and official. You cannot get into IIT by saying your Dad went to IIT or that you know important people at IIT. In US universities, admission process is highly subjective. If you are gay and have decent grades, all you have to do is write a sad story about how other kids used to tease you and you will be laughing your way to guaranteed seat at Harvard. Not so at IIT. If 5 members of your family went to Harvard, you will go there too.
And when did I drift away from the topic? Affirmative action is an integral part of college admissions in the United States. The fact that you thought bringing up affirmative action was off topic proves that you didnt know affirmative action was an integral part of college admission, which proves that YOU are the one who lives in a pathetic bubble.
SS u r true.
Ur reply best fits for this guy.
yeah I too agree on that point about Ivy league Private Univs. But I still stick to one point about Indian Higher Education, it’s high time we start realizing that IIT’s are not our way out of everything.. The pathetic education conditions at other gov run univs are goin worse each year. Hiding behind the 10k seats of IITs doesn’t help the 1kk prospective under- grad students each year. Furthermore we are losing our stand as a country with a top-notch student populous. there should not be a mega-gap between IITs and everything else. Even if a gay writes a sad story and gets into Ivy League, he still ends up much much better off than our IIT passouts.. It’s a shame.
And yea you even if you are right about the IITs being unbiased than US admits.. you forget that it’s highly based on one and ONLY one exam.. and wats the result? Students don’t care about learning at school, Admission has a whole new meaning.. I dunno if u might consider that good.. cuz i don’t think so.. It doesn’t take into account the over all personality and performance of the student..
VO: Why not Europe ?
Me: I didn’t give a thought for it.
Look I am not expert on Visa process; but I think you could have said VO that Europe has language barrier, Expensive etc. Your answer shows that you didn’t give a proper thought while selecting country. Again it’s just opinion. Anyways, very best of the luck for next time.
I check which universities have my major, which one is better, in all over the US.
But what I see here, you only want to go to California and VO might have tought that someone who can afford that place expenses, most probably is going to stay there, so he didn’t issue you a VISA.
that’s what I think
You could have said that a Masters in UK university would have been more expensive even though its just a 1yr course 🙁
Plus, as far as the Indian education part goes you could have said that sponsoring an education in India is quite a costly affair since there is are too many applications for a single seat and most of courses which are equivalent to a Masters in US have some pre-requisition like one has to be either from an IIT or a premier institute BTech Grad.
Hey dont be demoralised there is always going to be a day after night fall.
Wish u all the very best for your further plans
You could’ve applied for some other universities in other states 🙁 Quite confusing as to where did you get it wrong! Although most of them say you degraded your homeland but I don’t think that’s the reason!
Hey,
I also got through the same situation , my visa also got rejected twice(214(b)) at the mumbai consulate….both the time i had applied with the same university… on discussing the matter with some of the experts they suggest every time there should be something or the other change in the profile like different university, work experience etc..
please suggest what should i do the third time…..
Me: Sir the Indian education system is more theoritical. While US education system deal in imparting the pratical knowledge
Probably that’s why it got rejected- it seemed like you are crticizing your own country and want to just get out of it as you are fed up.
Another reason- all universities you applied in CA
I may be wrong, but this is what it sounds to me.
I have heard that Canada does not has many IT based jobs. UK might be a better option
Huh..
Just to let you know. If i was in your place I would have never said such negative things about the education system of India. We are people with less knowledge :P. We don;t have any right to judge or comment on a education system. Every education system have pros and cons. I do agree there are many shortcoming in Indian education system but you cannot just go on slaughtering it like this.
You must have taken a balanced approach. The conclusion that you will learn more because of more practical methodolgies on US is not substantiated. Theory is very important for any course.
For example: You cannot build a satellite by just being practical you must learn the theory of gravitation, wireless communication etc etc..
You were not wrong but you took a very aggressive stand.
“Here is the problem
I know its hard when visa is rejected. But, when you are looking for help, you need to have established relationship.
There is no way for me to know you have been following the blog for long time, unless you are frequent commenter.
People realize that they have to comment only when they are in trouble or need help.
I have posted time and time again to build your network (but not when you need). You need to have contacts expecting the need.
For instance take job search. Students know after MS they have to look for a job, but they will start building their network after graduation. It ain’t going to help. S
Let other readers comment on your visa interview experience.”
Correct. If you cannot contribute and help others, you don’t deserve help :X 😛
I totally agree with Pranav. The first experience clearly implies that you have relatives in California and hence you’ve applied to universities in California only. In the second experience, VO asks you ‘why not Europe?’ and you gave a very vague answer. But never mind, try again.
Hey Buddy, don’t get discouraged. I do understand your situation. But you have to give it a try again. Learn from the probable mistakes and get back into the action.
If you are thinking of applying to UK universities, please understand the UK govt. will stop issuing 2 year post study work visa (Tier 1) post April 2012 (effectively before you will graduate). There are other alternatives where you can work on full time basis provided you get a licensed company to sponsor you a Tier2 work permit Visa. But that is likely to happen till your student Visa is valid for a couple of extra months after graduation . I am not very sure, but a few of my friends currently studying in UK suggest that it is difficult to get a Tier2 Visa unless you work for a company for at least one year. You will understand more if search UKBA site for details. Therefore, think twice before you apply for UK Universities.
I hope that helps. All the Best!!
In your 1st review, you didn’t satisfy the VO’s question Why US why not India?
He might have thought your intention is to go and get settled in US. You could have told something like studying at US university can increase the chances to get a post of lecturer in IITs and Research institutes as there is a tough competition to get in with Indian degrees.
In your 2nd interview, VO rejected you mostly as you have applied to many California universities, he thought that you have relatives there. Probability of returning to India is less.
So, try to prepare answers for all possible questions then go for VI. (even if you apply for Europe etc.,)
sorry say buddy ,i guess u were under prepared , some of the answers u gave were not satisfying..like for the qs why not india and why not Europe ……
I agree with comments given. Hsb i agree if any of ur follower follow ur blog seriously. His ticket to us is almost cnfrmd. I am amg thm. Evn 2pck ma bag 2 us i follow wht u said.
@agree
I love HSB 🙂
No spam, no distracting ads, no publicity..
Just clean and clear to the point tips 🙂
yeah he might have thought u have relatives there !!!!!
hey dude… dont get discouraged by this.. u still have chances i hope.
1.
So when they asked you about why not india , u should not talk straight the truth portraying india to be far behind bec it clearly hints the VO that ur for certain will stay back in US after studies.
2. when they asked u about europe u should try to say the benefits of US to europe.
when u give a answer like ” havnt thought of that” the VO is sure that u dont have a good purpose to enter US and that ur in a urge to enter US to settle there itself.