Happy Schools Blog

I gave my GRE Exam today and scored 147(V), 162(Q). Total score: 309/340

• My academic details are: 10th: 83%, 12th: 93%, B.tech(CSE): 72.1%
• Work experience: 0 years
• Projects: 2 (1 mini and 1 main project during my final year)
• Graduated: 2012. Want to apply for fall 2013

and as I have to submit the scores to 4 universities after GRE exam, I have submitted the scores to the following 4 universities:

1. University of Southern California, CA
2. University of Cincinnati, Ohio
3. Stanford University, CA
4. Boston University, MA

What are my chances of getting into the above universities with my above profile for Computer science dept and please suggest me some good universities where i can get admissions?

Why are you being so ignorant?

This is the problem with several student applicants.

Being Ignorant.

Do you think you stand a chance to get into Stanford University for MS in Computer Science?

ZERO.

Some of you will be “Why are you discouraging students?”

I’m not discouraging, I’m being realistic.

Do you think, that you can get admit in Stanford, just because you forwarded the GRE Scores to Stanford University?

• Guaranteed Admission to Graduate School : One magical idea

Positive thinking is good, but you need to be think about possibilities and options with respect to your academic profile.

Have some realistic expectations.

Learn about Graduate School admission and how universities accept students. When your expectations is to study in Stanford University, then your academic profile should reflect required skills and potential.

• 3 Possible outcomes for Graduate school application

Read the profiles of admitted students. Spend your time wisely while browsing Universities websites.

You could have found good articles in this blog by spend less time searching than posting this question.

True Story About Expectations

3 Years back, I advised a student and his parents during my trip to India.

Looks like the student was class topper and worked as an Intern for 3 months at an IT company in Chennai.

He was over-confident and “assumed” he would get admit in Stanford and MIT for MS in Computer Science.

I spoke to him and within few minutes, I realized he’s way to over-confident without academic profile to back-up with speech.

After 15 minutes, I told straight to his face.

Listen, you are not going to get admission in Stanford or MIT. PERIOD. You just don’t have what it takes to get admission in top ranked schools.

His father got angry and walked out.

They were friends with my uncle. Looks like he’s studying in Houston. It could be UH, Main Campus or UHCL.

• Graduates from India – High in Quantity and Low in Quality?

So, I’m not discouraging, I just being practical.

Let’s hear from you. What do you think?

Image Credit

Gunnar Fox – Stanford Graduate posted following tips on how to get admission in Stanford as comment to the article – Chance of Getting Admit in Stanford University is Zero.

Getting into Stanford or any Ivy-caliber school is a lottery. Rest assured there are far more students who would thrive there than there are fortunate souls who actually end up receiving the coveted thick envelope in the mail.

Photo Credit – Stanford University Campus.

I got my law degree from Stanford and I can tell you that my admission had a great deal to do with my overall record — not solely my grades and test scores.

If you are serious about breaking in to one of these rarefied places you need a lot of preparation.

You must actually “architect” your coursework and your activities so that you create a fairly devastating suite of reasons why you deserve a spot.

Finally, you need a hell of a lot of luck.

The same general rules apply to getting into any quality school.

You need to find legitimate ways to stand above the crowd. And as I said, you need more than top marks in many cases.

There are special challenges for Indian students. To be frank, you should go the extra mile to demonstrate that you have the capacity to contribute in important ways to the life of the institution… and not merely hang out with other international student types, for example.

You must also demonstrate your leadership and your boundless ambition. And your application must be conspicuously good. There are strategies to achieve this and to maximize your chances. The earlier and more clearly you fix your goals the better. I wish you all every success.

University Success Plan for Indian Students

Gunnar Fox published University Success Plan: For Indian Students Studying Abroad few weeks back.

I reviewed pre-published copy and published copy of the ebook. It’s a MUST READ.

You will learn:

• The mechanics of studying at a university level
• Smart ways to interact with professors and fellow students that will raise your grades
• Creating a success attitude, winning confidence, creativity and resourcefulness
• Tips and tricks to make the most of your university’s resources

AND

• How to ensure that the time and money that you invest in a university education translates into a rewarding and profitable career!

Claim your copy today at the limited-time introductory price – University Success Plan: For Indian Students Studying Abroad.

Through this post , I would like to bring to the air the thinking pattern I underwent in selecting universities.

After having decided to go with MS in US, the story isn’t over there .. There are many things to follow and I would rate university selection as one of the pivotal and key factors.

Time to Put on Graduation Smile – Photo By

There are 2 ways one can go about with university selection process..

1. Go for a mediocre university(I don’t mean fraudulent universities here but less acclaimed universities ), complete Master’s as soon as possible and then get into job searching business.
2. Try to get into a decent university (within the profile of course) which will have greater benefits in the long run.

I was confused as to which way should I take.

One side was 1st way where I can generally skim through my MS and try to get into job searching business. This universities offered low tuition fees and lot of liberty in selecting courses like no pre requisites.

• How to Select Universities for USA

There was no much research going on. One needs to find jobs only off campus. These universities are like any other colleges in India which offered Bachelor’s. And trust me a lot of my friends who went into this kind of universities did get into jobs. Since my main motive was not to do research after MS then i was initially keen to go into this kind of low profile universities.

I was almost prepared to go to one of 1st kind of universities where admit was relatively easy and everyone after MS joins a consultancy to get a job.

But again, I was lucky here and my thinking was refined/counselled by one of my best buddies in the US.

He clarified that when you think of applying to Master’s that degree will stay with you for life time and you should be looking to get it from a better university if not the best.

I debated with him by quoting an example of our common friends who studied from OK colleges and got good jobs for which he said getting a job may be easy but getting a good job is really tough.  By good job he meant that a job which will be inline with what you studied, a job which will give you some amount of work satisfaction, a job for which you will not sulk to go to office on a Monday morning.

• How to Select Universities for a Particular Major

He also said that higher education is not only for academic or job purposes but for the kind of exposure you get it by studying from a good college which is priceless and Challenging courses, good research from a decent university will bring the best out of you which you yourself might not be aware.

This was again an eye opener for me who was only looking at cost effective colleges for some name sake degree. From his inspiration i decided to look out for some decent colleges according to my profile.

Last but not the least , When you are looking to get an admit from a good college, you need to apply for the same as early as possible. Because according to a well known saying ..

“Early bird catches the worm”.

—- For all my friends who are reading this post, what do you think one’s approach should be ?

Should one look for mediocre, cost effective colleges  or should one look for decent colleges which has good accolades ?

Thanks for your patience.. I appreciate it

Now, you might be wondering why I’m promoting Hong Kong University of Science and Technology here at HSB.

HKUST Campus – Aerial View

I received an email from Dr. Muppala last week about options available in the blog to spread the word about Hong Kong University of Science and Technology at HSB readers.

I spent several minutes looking at HKUST site, professors, programs, rankings, etc.

HKUST Rankings

• #1 (World’s Top 200 Asian Universities – QS Asian University Rankings 2012)
• #3 (World’s Top 100 Universities Under 50 – Times Higher Education Top 100 Universities Under 50 2012).

After going through the degree plan, courses, I decided to promote their upcoming visits to cities in India from October 15th to October 19th.

Just like you, I have several questions about the university, degree programs, validity of the degree in other countries, job opportunities, financial aid, living in Hong Kong, etc.

Now, you have a wonderful opportunity to meet with professors and admission directors to get answers to above questions.

HKUST India Visits

5 representatives from HKUST will be visiting India  – 3 from School of Engineering and 2 from School of Science

*HKUST will work on an agreement on scientific collaboration and explore the possibility of allowing their employee’s studying research program in HKUST.

School of Engineering

• Prof Christopher CHAO (Associate Dean of Engineering – Research & Graduate Studies)
• Prof Jogesh MUPPALA (Associate Professor – Department of Computer Science & Engineering)
• Miss Margaret CHAU (Assistant Director – Research & Graduate Studies)

School of Science

• Prof Michael LOY (Chair Professor – Department of Physics)
• Prof David BANFIELD (Professor – Division of Life Science)

HKUST Campus – View from South China Sea

Departments in School of Engineering

• Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (CBME)
• Civil & Environmental Engineering (CIVL)
• Computer Science & Engineering (CSE)
• Electronic & Computer Engineering (ECE)
• Industrial Engineering & Logistics Management (IELM)
• Mechanical Engineering (MECH)

Inter-Disciplinary Research Programs

• Bioengineering (BIEN)
• Environmental Engineering (EVNG)
• Nanatechnology (NANO)
• Energy Technology (ENEG)

Please visit School of Engineering for further information.

Departments in School of Science

• Chemistry
• Life Science
• Mathematics
• Physics

Please visit School of Science for further information.

Hong Kong PhD Fellowship

Established in 2009 by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC)*, the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) aims at attracting the best and brightest students from around the world to pursue doctoral studies in Hong Kong.

Successful candidates will be awarded HK$240,000 (~INR$ 1,632,581) and a conference travel allowance of HK$10,000 (~INR$ 68,024) per year for three years.

About 135 PhD Fellowships will be awarded in each academic year**. The School of Engineering at HKUST has been most successful among any Hong Kong institutions in recruiting the highest numbers of HKPF awardees in the last 3 years in a row.    (HK$ 1 ~ INR$ 6.8)

• Deadline for submission of initial application via RGC System: 1 Dec 2012
• Deadline for HKPFS application via HKUST Admissions System: 3 Dec 2012

Please visit Hong Kong PhD Fellowship for further information.

HKUST – Library

Why Study at HKUST?

• One of the top-ranked universities in the world!
• Overall Masters Program and PhD programs have good value
• Cost per year is $42,100 HKD (about 5,400 USD). Compare that to $10,000 per semester in USA.
• Most of the professors have degrees from USA, UK, Canada, etc.

When you can get similar quality of education that you get in USA for a fraction of cost, why not meet the HKUST professors and learn more about their programs?

If you cannot attend the event and interested in HKUST, post a comment to this post expressing your interest. Single line comment like “I’m interested to learn more about HKUST” will do.

Interested students are welcome to directly contact Dr. Jogesh Muppala ([email protected]) for further information.

Please quote that you saw us on HSB Blog.

Linden Tours India Fair is coming to your city near you this month.

Representatives from various universities will be present at the Linden Tours India Fair starting October 7 to 21, 2012.

Photo from Previous Linden Fair in India

They will will help students with everything related to

• US education system and application
• University selecting and
• Overview about F1 Visa process
• Click Here to Register for the Fair

Linden Tours India Fair  Schedule

New Delhi

• Fair Date – Sunday, October 7
  
• Fair Time – 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Location :  The Lalit, Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place
• Presentations
  • 11:00 am – 1:00 pm: Individual School Presentations
  • 1:00 – 1:30 pm: Overview of U.S. Higher Education
  • 1:30 – 2:00 pm: Obtaining a Student Visa

 Pune Fair

• Fair Date – Wednesday, 10 October 2012
• Fair Time – 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
• Location – Westin, 36/3 B Koregaon Park Annexe, Mundhawa Road, Ghorpadi, Pune

Mumbai Fair

• Fair Date : Saturday, 13 October 2012
• Fair Time : 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Location : Taj Lands End, Bandstand, Bandra West, Mumbai
• Presentations
  • 11:00 am – 1:00 pm: Individual School Presentations
  • 1:00 – 1:30 pm: Overview of U.S. Higher Education
  • 1:30 – 2:00 pm: Obtaining a Student Visa

  

Bangalore Fair

• Fair Date – Sunday, 14 October 2012
  
• Fair Time – 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
  
• Location – Vivanta by Taj, 41/3, Mahatma Gandhi Road
  
• Presentations
  • 11:00 am – 1:30 pm: Individual School Presentations

Coimbatore Fair

• Fair Date – Wednesday, 17 October 2012
  
• Fair Time – 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
  
• Location – Vivanta by Taj – Surya, 105, Race Course Road

Chennai Fair

• Fair Date – Saturday, 20 October 2012
• Fair Time – 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Location – Hyatt Regency, 365, Anna Salai, Teynampet
• Presentations
  • 11:00 am – 1:00 pm: Individual School Presentations
  • 1:00 – 1:30 pm: Overview of U.S. Higher Education
  • 1:30 – 2:00 pm: Obtaining a Student Visa

HYDERABAD Fair

• Fair Date – Sunday, 21 October 2012
• Fair Time – 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Location – Taj Krishna, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills
• Presentations
• 11:00 – 1:30 pm: Individual School Presentations

>> Click Here to Register for the Fair

Linden Tours India Fair – Participating Schools

*Some universities are not present in every city.

>> Click Here to Register for the Fair

Linden Tours and Fairs provide excellent opportunities to meet with admissions officials.

Make Best Use of Your Time

• Check the list of universities participating in the fair before the day of the fair.
• Research about programs offered.
• Make list of your questions for institutions that you have researched.
• If possible, attend the fair with your parents.
• Be Proactive. Don’t be a part of the crowd.
• Be a good listener.
• Don’t ask questions  like “This is my profile, will I get aid?”

• Click Here to Register for the Fair

Linden Fair Experience with Barbara Heissenbutal

Never open up your conversation asking “Can I get scholarship or financial aid?”

>> Click Here to Register for the Fair

This post is sponsored by Linden Tours.