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H1B Visa 2014 Lottery Results – Regular and Advanced Degree Lottery

Raghuram Sukumar —  April 8, 2013 — 6 Comments

H1B Visa 2014 Cap Count is 124,000.

breaking newsOn April 7, 2013, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process (commonly known as a “lottery”) to select a sufficient number of petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption limit.

For cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, USCIS will reject and return the petition with filing fees, unless it is found to be a duplicate filing.

The agency conducted the selection process for advanced degree exemption petitions first. All advanced degree petitions not selected were part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit.

As announced on March 15, 2013, USCIS has temporarily adjusted its premium processing practice. To facilitate the prioritized data entry of cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases on April 15, 2013.  For more information on premium processing for FY 2014 cap-subject petitions, please see the related USCIS Alert.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap will not be counted towards the congressionally-mandated FY 2014 H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

  • extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.;
  • change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
  • allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
  • allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

Next – FAQ’s H1B Visa 2014 Lottery

 

In H1B Visa, Uncategorized
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Britain and India Education Partnership Announced

Dustin Peaire —  February 26, 2013 — 3 Comments

india uk flagFollowing recent criticism of its immigration practices, the UK has announced a new education partnership with India. This is a huge step for both countries, as their relationship has hinged heavily on education exports in recent years. The New York Times looks more into this Britain and India education partnership.

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced the new Britain and India Education partnership while in India for a British Trade Mission.

He reiterated that there is no limit to the number of Indian students that can come study in Britain and that there will be job opportunities for them, something which they had been criticized for earlier. Universities UK, an advocacy group for British universities, praised the partnership.

Some of the bigger parts of the plan involve the use of Britain’s Massive open online courses (MOOCs), as well as free content from British universities and the British Library.

Other new initiatives include a training program by the British Council, which will produce 1.5 million teachers in India by 2017,a partnership between Cambridge and the Indian government to establish a Center for Chemical Biology and Therapeutics, and scholarships by the London School of Economics for Postgrad Indian students.

A full list of the agreements between the two countries can be found here.

This Britain and India education partnership means many more opportunities in both India and the UK for Indian students and should serve to greatly change the landscape of education in both countries.

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17 Things recruiters Don’t Tell You Which Could Hurt Your Feelings

Irene Kotov —  February 21, 2013 — 2 Comments

things recruiters dont tell

So you’re looking for a job. You’ve applied for quite a few, have spoken to some recruiters and have even interviewed with a couple of them. Then you wait. And you wait. And you wait some more.

“What went wrong? Why isn’t the recruiter calling me back? He/she seemed so lovely when we met. I thought the interview went really well.”

As much as a recruiter may want to help you find a job, their first priority is to ensure their client (your potential employer) is happy. This means that they are looking for candidates that they believe are the right fit and will therefore reflect well on their reputation.

They may not always tell you what you can improve upon, so instead they look for someone who fits the mould.

After all it is easier that way.

To give every candidate constructive criticism can take a lot of time.

And, it can be difficult to give feedback knowing that it might hurt someone’s feelings (even when you know it’s for their ultimate good).

Things recruiters don’t tell you

Here are 17 things recruiters don’t tell you: a list of issues that I’ve heard recruiters complain about but didn’t necessarily bring up with the candidate.

  1. You swore (even though you may not have realised it);
  2. You complained about previous employers and colleagues;
  3. You didn’t present yourself professionally enough, i.e. lack of appropriate dress attire or you looked like you just rolled out of bed;
  4. Your handshake was too firm or not firm enough;
  5. You were chewing gum during the interview;
  6. Your breath didn’t smell good and/or you had bad body odour;
  7. You have a foreign accent, and the client is looking for a local;
  8. Your mobile phone rang during the interview, and you actually answered it. It ringing in the first place is a big no-no;
  9. You told inappropriate personal stories during an interview, or generally were too familiar;
  10. You were late. Not a good start to the process. And will make a recruiter worry about whether they can trust you to arrive on time to the interview with their client;
  11. You lied about your experience, and they could tell;
  12. Your answers weren’t succinct. You were waffling and/or didn’t actually answer their questions;
  13. You had tattoos showing;
  14. You didn’t seem to be prepared;
  15. You use too many filler words like umm, like, uhhh;
  16. You lack expression, are too expressive, acted somewhat cocky, seemed anxious, awkward or come across as insecure;
  17. You talk too fast, too slow, too loud or too soft.

Think back over your past interviews, and you’ll surely find times when one or more of the above issues were applicable to you. Everybody has done it at one time or other.

Now, don’t dwell on it for too long, and look forward.

Constructive criticism is a positive eye-opener, and being made aware of it will mean that you can learn from your mistakes, and then the only way is up from there!

Irene Kotov is the founder of Arielle, where she helps job-seekers create a personal brand through Resume Writing Services Sydney, Interview Coaching, and Social Media Resumes.

In Career and Job Search, Uncategorized
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gre verbal words

GRE Vocabulary Building – The Fun Way

Aditi Sharma —  September 29, 2012 — 3 Comments

In my last post, I wrote about the tricks and tips to score well in verbal. In this GRE Vocabulary Building – The Fun Way I share more tips.

Increasing your vocabulary is an indispensable step. The more words you’ll know, the better you’ll get in verbal, provided you keep practicing.

A lot of people find it very difficult to remember words.

Even if they manage to learn a few words, it’s a difficult task to retain them. Nobody teaches how to learn things; they just tell what to learn. In this post, I will talk about different methods which can be employed to build a good vocabulary in a short amount of time.

1.     ROTE LEARNING

This is the most dull, ineffective and mundane way to learn new words. Often when I tell people that they need to learn new words to score well in GRE verbal, they freak out because they believe that the only way to build vocab is by cramming words into your head.

Obviously, to a GRE aspirant, trying to remember thousands of new words just by rote learning seems like an impossible job (which it is).

So, are there any fun and effective ways to attain an enviable vocab? The answer is YES!

2.     ROOT METHOD

The English language is a rich mixture of many languages like Latin and Greek. By grasping the linguistic roots of English words, you can often figure out the meaning of a number of new words that use that same root. It is also known as etymology, which tells us where a word came from and what it used to mean.

Example:  The Greek root word onym means “name”. Many words can be recalled once we know the meaning of onym, like

Anonymous – without a name.

Pseudonyms – false names.

 homonym- same sounding name as another.

3.     FLASH CARDS

A flash card is a little piece of paper, the size of a business card, which has on one side a new word to be learned, and on the other side the meaning of that word. Whenever you have time, take a card and begin with one side and try to guess the meaning of the word.. If you guessed correctly, you move to the next card.

The best part of this method is that you don’t need to allocate any special time to learn your flash cards. It can be used any time of the day like waiting for an elevator and inside it, in line at some desk, museum or cinema and commuting in public transport.

4.     MNEMONICS

A mnemonic is any learning technique that aids information retention.

This technique is especially helpful when you are supposed to remember large number of words. This is a really enjoyable way to master meanings of new words. In this technique, we relate the word to something we already know.

Example:

ABERRANT- one whose behaviour diverge from the norm of a group, remarkably different from an accepted norms.

Mnemonic: Sounds like ‘ab aur rent’ = now more rent , if you are told to pay extra rent than the stipulated, then this will be an Aberrant behaviour of your landlord.

PARSIMONY-extreme stinginess

Mnemonic: partial money – spends money very partially or scarcely.

5.     WORD ASSOCIATION

It is far easier to remember something by association than it is by just cramming it into your head.

An image, a sound, a smell, a taste or a touch are helpful ways of remembering something. All you need to do is to create a very amusing, animated, unforgettable image in your mind that links the word to what you already know. This only takes about 2 minutes and works really well.

GAIT- Manner of walking

Word Association: Imagine a person walking through a gate, his manner of walking is GAIT.

There are no rules when it comes to mnemonics and word associations. Be vivid, absurd, unusual, humorous, disgusting, repulsive and grotesque. Let’s face it, sometimes you can’t get these images out of your mind!

You thought learning words was tough?? Well, think again!!

Next – 6 Easy Ways to Memorize Barrons GRE Words

 

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Jennifer Knipp UT Tyler

Q&A With Jennifer Knupp About International Student Application, Admissions and Internships

Raghuram Sukumar —  September 25, 2012 — 2 Comments

Jennifer Knupp is Graduate International Student Admissions and Services Advisor at University of Texas at Tyler (HSB Sponsor).

Jennifer Knipp UT Tyler

Jennifer Knupp – UT Tyler

I reached out to her via email for some of the frequently asked questions about Graduate School Admission.

1. Can you give a short intro about you and your role at UT Tyler

My name is Jennifer Knupp. I am the Graduate International Student Admissions and Services Advisor at UT Tyler.

  • I provide prospective graduate international students assistance with our admissions process.
  • I receive and process their applications.
  • I issue Forms I-20 and provide pre-departure information and advising.
  • I coordinate UT Tyler’s International Student Orientations with my colleague in Undergraduate International Student Admissions and Services.
  • I advise current international students on maintaining their F-1 status and other immigration issues.

And I assist with the development of programming for UT Tyler’s international students.

2. Can you give an overview about admission process for an International student?

International applicants to The Graduate School at UT Tyler submit an application for admission through www.applytexas.org and pay the application fee.

They then submit their admission materials to the office of graduate admissions which includes: GRE scores or GMAT scores if applying to the MBA program; IETLS scores or TOEFL scores; official academic transcripts of their bachelor degree work and an international transcript evaluation of those transcripts.

Students who completed their undergraduate work at a recognized academic institution in India and who are applying to either the master’s in computer science or master’s in electrical engineering program are exempt from the international transcript evaluation requirement.

Some of our academic programs require additional application materials such as letters of recommendation and statements of purpose. Currently, students are advised to send these additional materials directly to the academic department.

Applicants should determine if additional admission materials are required by going to http://www.uttyler.edu/graduate/gradprograms/ and selecting their program for a list of admission requirements.

They should also confirm the application deadline. We have a few programs that admit only once each year or have earlier admission deadlines.

Typically, international applicants also submit their Form I-20 eligibility requirements at the same time they submit their admission materials. Doing so speeds up the process of issuing a Form I-20 should the applicant be offered admission.

3.  Can you explain how application is processed after you receive online application and other supporting documents?

When we receive an application for admission, the data is loaded into our student information system. A UT Tyler student ID number is generated and emailed to the applicant along with instructions for logging into our student information system called myUTTyler.

When an applicant logs in, he or she can check on the status of the application and also determine what application materials have been received by looking at the To Do List panel on the right-side of the screen. We update this checklist as we receive an applicant’s admission materials.

For example, when an applicant’s TOEFL scores are received, we remove that item from the To Do list. Therefore, if an applicant notes that an item on the list is no longer there, this means that the item was received.

4. How long does it take once you receive the supporting document in mail with completed application to decide on admission status?

An admission file is complete when TOEFL or IELTS scores, GRE or GMAT scores, transcripts, and international transcript evaluation (if applicable) have been received and the TOEFL or IELTS scores satisfy the minimum requirement for admission.

When complete, an applicant’s admission file is then forwarded to the academic department for evaluation.

The applicant’s To Do list in myUTTyler will indicate that the file has been forwarded for evaluation. Applicants should allow up to two weeks for the evaluation of their files. When an admission decision has been made, applicants are notified by email.

5. After admission, what is the process to issue I-20?

I strive to issue Forms I-20 within 1-2 business days after admission. I will review a newly admitted student’s proof of financial support, and if acceptable, I will issue the student’s UT Tyler I-20.

The student is notified by email that the Form I-20 has been issued and posted via standard US postal service to the mailing address they provided in their application.

The email also includes instructions for purchasing a shipping label should the student wish to have their documents delivered via Fed Ex express delivery.

In the email and in a document attached to the student’s I-20, information is provided about paying the SEVIS fee and applying for an F-1 visa, important dates, transportation to Tyler, housing, and other important details to help student as they prepare for their arrival at UT Tyler.

We also invite them to join our Facebook group for their class so that they can begin to develop some early connections with one another and have a forum to ask questions. The Facebook group is moderated by two current graduate students serving as I-Ambassadors.

6. Do you have an option to mail I-20 via Express Mail?

Yes, students can purchase Fed Ex express shipping labels at https://study.eshipglobal.com/. When a student purchases the label, we are notified by eShip Global. We print the label and then post the student’s document.

7. Can application package reach the campus after the deadline?

Our international application deadlines are April 30 for fall admission and September 30 for spring admission. We will continue to accept application materials that arrive after those deadlines; however, we cannot guarantee that an applicant’s file will be reviewed and an I-20 issued and received by the student within a timeframe sufficient to obtain an F-1 visa and report to campus for international student orientation and the start of classes.

8. What are some of the common application mistakes done by International Students?

Fortunately, we do not see very many mistakes. The most common that do occur are not submitting an international transcript evaluation and submitting TOEFL or IELTS scores that do not meet our minimum requirement.

We do our best to communicate with applicants to ensure that they are aware of the materials required for admission. When a prospective student submits an application for admission, an email is sent listing exactly what materials that student should submit to complete their file for evaluation.

As I mentioned earlier, we also maintain an current list of items in the student’s myUTTyler account. It is updated immediately upon receiving an applicant’s materials, and students can log in and check the list at any time.

9.When I did MS in UT Arlington, I was able to get 2 semesters of CPT for Internship (Fall and Spring). I know some schools allow only CPT (internship) in Summer break. What is the process followed in UT Tyler.

CPT is one of those things that can vary from school to school. At UT Tyler, the requirements of the academic program and the internship course guide how CPT is authorized. To be authorized for CPT, students enroll in an internship course for which they will receive credit that will be applied toward their degree program.

CPT will be authorized part-time during the long semesters unless the student’s program specifically requires full-time participation in an internship. Most programs at UT Tyler do not require participation in a full-time internship. CPT may be authorized full-time during the summer session.

There are several companies in the Tyler area with whom are students have interned such as Brookshire Grocery Company, Ingersoll-Rand, and SPEA America. And, of course, the Dallas, Houston, and Austin areas offer a wealth of opportunities as well.

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short f1 visa interview

A Strong Candidate for World’s Shortest F1 Visa interview

Raghuram Sukumar —  September 21, 2012 — 11 Comments

> Following post was shared by HSB Fan.

  • University Applied to – San Francisco State University
  • GRE – 314
  • TOEFL – 105
  • Undergrad % – 65

Bachelors in Telecommunication Engineering, Just completed my 8th semester and awaiting results.

My Visa interview was scheduled for 20th June at Chennai Consulate for the 8AM slot.

Had reached Chennai the night before after a lot of hassles. Traffic is super crazy in the city throughout the day, and if you don’t know Tamil, you are going to suffer hugely trying to find your way.

The consulate is a huge building, guarded by a lot of policemen loaded with AK-47′s.

I was a bit apprehensive about my chances. I had not made any special preparations for the interview.

I hadn’t taken any help whatsoever from any consultancy or agency from the time I started off with GRE till the time I booked my Visa interview.

Most of the people I spoke to kept advising me to take help from consultancies. But, I felt like they are all overpriced and unnecessary. Its not like I am an illiterate or cant understand English. Put in the right amount of effort and you wont need anybody’s help.

Day Before F1 Visa interview

Anyway, coming to the day before the Visa interview, at around 10pm on 19th June, I sat and typed answers to most commonly asked questions. Sent it to a senior who is currently pursuing his MS in SFSU to review it. He replied back an hour later with a couple of changes to my answer. Went through it once, shut my laptop, sat watched Euro 2012 till 2 30 AM.

I woke up late in the morning, parents were panicking that I was going to miss my appointment. Somehow managed to get ready in time and ran to the consulate at around 7 45. Stood in a Queue for a while, got my token number, entered inside.

Inside US Consulate

Once inside you have about 15 windows, each occupied by Indians, who collect your I-20, Passport, HDFC bank receipt, Sevis form, DS-160 and Appointment letter. Once they check the documents, they pack it neatly with a rubber band and send you to the finger print scanner counter.

After this is done you go to the main building where the Visa interview takes place. There are about 23 counters. Out of this 20 were open.

I sat near the 20th counter which was occupied by a guy in his late 20′s maybe. Since the counters are within a earshot you can listen to every question that is asked and the replies.

While I was waiting, about 6 people were in the queue at the 20th counter. Some of them had impressive profiles and answered pretty well, but he rejected all of them. This worried me big time. People who were sitting down next to me as well started panicking. Main reason for this was that, the students were giving answers eerily similar to the answers we had in mind for the same questions.

So in the last moment, was brainstorming to find alternative answers to these questions. Could barely come up with a few. My token number was 102, and the VO at the 20th counter was servicing token number 100. My chances of him being my VO was pretty huge.

At the last moment the 21st counter opened and a young lady came and sat down over there. And first number that flashed on the screen was mine. Words cannot express my relief. I had a huge smile on my face as I approached her. She was a bit perplexed as to why I am smiling so much, but she did smile back.

My F1 interview went like this:

Me: I hope you are having a good morning Ma’am.( I guess she understood the pun behind the statement).
VO: (Laughing) Good morning to you too.

Me: That depends on how this goes Ma’am.
VO:(Smiling). What have you applied for?

Me: MS in Embedded Electrical and computer systems in SFSU.
VO: Good, Who is sponsoring your education?

Me: My father ma’am.
VO: Your Visa is approved, you shall receive it within a week. Enjoy your stay in the US.

I was looking at her like she was playing some cruel joke on me. I was taking out documents, financial docs and marks cards etc and she doesn’t ask any of it. She saw the confusion on my face and she was like ” Good morning now?”. I said ” I will accept that” and ran out.

The whole thing was over within 30 seconds. But in the counter next to hers, each interview was going on for over 5 mins.

My sincere advice to all visa aspirants

  1. You may not get lucky like me.
  2. I know you will all have answers to questions they might ask, But be prepared to be surprised by questions that might stump you.
  3. Do not sound like a tape-recorder when you conversing with the VO. You appear less genuine and it just doesn’t sound good.
  4. Be relaxed, talk freely, talk clearly.

All the best for all your interviews :)

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gre test salman khan

GRE and Salman Khan – Does Ek tha Tiger Contain Secret Messages?

Raghuram Sukumar —  September 19, 2012 — 13 Comments

Guest post by Mayank Batavia.

You may or may not be a huge Salman Khan fan, but in either case what is the first word that comes to your mind when you think of his movies?

Chances are you will either think of ‘fun-movies’ or ‘hit-movies’. In either case you are right: the fact that his movies are fun-movies ensures that they go on to become ‘hit-movies’.

Watching Ek tha Tiger (ETT), I realized it contained five very important tips for GRE aspirants. But the tips were coded, so they needed a bit of decoding. Here goes…

Code 1:

All his life he fought for his country; now he will fight for his love.

gre test salman khanThe Analysis: Be prepared for change. You may have studied Math or English in a particular way all your school and college life.

Suddenly you will now have to change everything. May be there is a change in syllabus, may be there is a change in the kind of questions, may there is a change in the format of the test….. Things change.

Be ready for changes. Expect surprise questions in the GRE.

The Message: Prepare different. Prepare wide.

Code 2:

The more you sweat on the training-ground, the less you bleed on the battle-field.

Analysis: We watch, in awe, Salman flex his six-packs and land powerful punches.

What we don’t see is Salman sweating 2 hours every morning of every day for the past twenty years. It requires a good amount of time and training to be a star, so don’t wait.

Start early. Start today.

The Message: Prepare early. Prepare hard.

Code 3:

You may prefer fighting with guns, but life often requires you to fight bare-handed.

Analysis: The GRE doesn’t test your best skills; it tests the skills it thinks are the most critical.

 

Sure it’s possible that you are excellent in one area, but you cannot afford being just ‘OK’ in other areas. You need to prepare all-round.

A common mistake most engineering graduates commit is focusing on their classic strength – Math – and avoiding English. No. Don’t do it. Don’t neglect any particular area.

You’ll need good English even to understand a tricky Math question.

Message: Prepare all-round.

Code 4:

It’s easier when there are two of you.

Analysis: Of course that doesn’t mean that you will score more in the GRE if you have a boy-friend or a girl-friend! ? What it means is it helps to prepare along with your friends, or making friends while preparing.

A friend who is preparing along with you (let’s call him/her a test-buddy) ensures that you don’t lose your motivation.

A test-buddy is a nice complementary fit: you teach him and he teaches you. That way both of you stand to gain by helping and monitoring each other. A test-buddy is an especially good idea for those who have insufficient self-discipline (which means most of us!)

Message: Prepare together. Synergize.

Code 5:

While fighting, use every single resource available.

Analysis: Remember Salman using guns, landing punches, driving bicycles…? Use every resource in sight. And also the ones out of sight.

Use your kid-sister’s grade 8 Math text-book, your good old Wren & Martin Grammar, download apps, rummage through the Facebook, check out variety of blogs and popular websites, hang out at libraries, watch videos.

Start with a large pool of resources and soon you will see for yourself what all things are useful and what all are trinkets. But at least, start with a large resource base. After all, in today’s world, we are spoilt for choice!

Message: Prepare with everything you have. Then fight tooth and nail.

Of course the above write-up is simplistic (to say the least), but the idea is to keep looking around for even small ‘tipping points’ – tips that will refuel your prep and take you where you wish to go. Happy scoring!!!

About the Author – Mayank Batavia is Director at Empower Career Academy Pvt Ltd., where exclusive training is offered for CAT and MBA/MCA Entrance Exams.

Note- for folks from other countries this title will not make much sense.

Salman Khan is an Indian Movie Actor and Ek tha Tiger is name of his new movie.

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manhattan gre prep books review

Manhattan GRE Book Review – Manhattan GRE Strategy Guides

Raghuram Sukumar —  September 14, 2012 — 3 Comments

I’m very much looking forward to your opinion on the Manhattan GRE book especially the one for Reading Comprehension…Hope you put it up soon.

-Cheers, Anna.

Manhattan GRE Books ( Manhattan GRE Strategy Guides ) comes with set of 8 GRE Test prep books.

manhattan gre prep books reviewManhattan GRE

    1. Algebra
    2. Fractions, Decimals, & Percents
    3. Geometry
    4. Number Properties
    5. Word Problems
    6. Quantitative Comparisons & Data Interpretation
    7. Reading Comprehension & Essays
    8. Text Completion & Sentence Equivalence

In addition to above listed 8 books, you can also buy Manhattan GRE Flash Cards.

Manhattan GRE Book Review

Listen to following comments from Harsha talk about Manhattan GRE Book Review

As you can see, Harsha used strategies from Manhattan GRE books to improve his GRE score from 290 in firts practice test to 317 in Official GRE.

Reading Comprehension and Essay Strategy Guide

Contents of  Reading Comprehension & Essays GRE Strategy Guide

  1. Introduction
  2. Reading Comprehension Principles
  3. Introduction to Short & Long Passages
  4. Short Passages
  5. Long Passages
  6. Strategies For Short & Long Passages
  7. Question Type Analysis
  8. Reading Comprehension Problem Set
  9. Argument Structure Passages
  10. Essays Strategy
  11. Appendix: Vocab and Reading Comp

Review from Amazon Reader

RC/Essays – Want to break the essays down into no sweat easy to digest portions? Manhattan GRE makes it so easy to do that with their strategies.

Seriously there’s no need to repeatedly write out essays with this strategy ( still do though its worth practicing). As For RC This book is the sole reason I’m not still stumbling through wordy passages or even the short but terse passages.

The other self -practice guides do so much more damage then good. I wish I could outline their strategies but its best to understand the questions and whats REALLY being asked. T

This book also Breaks down ASP or short argument passages something the other books seem to gloss over entirely or lump in with RC, these are not the same thing! -10/10

Manhattan GRE Set of 8 Strategy Guides ( link to Amazon).

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build vocabulary skills book

Build Your Vocabulary Skills! A Quick and Easy Method – Free Download

Raghuram Sukumar —  September 13, 2012 — 5 Comments

You can download Build Your Vocabulary Skills! A Quick and Easy Method for free from Amazon (normally $2.99) for next 2 days.

On the five days of September 10 through 14, 2012, it may be “bought” for $0.00 just like the public domain books currently available.  It may be downloaded to PC’s,  laptops, smart phones or other devices as well as Kindle.

About the Book

build vocabulary skills bookThis book uses a powerful mnemonic technique, the keyword method, to lock 1413 SAT and GRE words into the reader’s memory quickly and easily.

Dramatic improvements can be made in vocabulary size, reading comprehension, and scores on verbal exams. Since standard intelligence tests have significant verbal components, a major increase in vocabulary such as can be facilitated by this book should increase IQ scores.

Here’s how it works: Take the word DEFENESTRATE, which means to throw out of a window. This word is too limited in use to be in the book, but we want to demonstrate the method by having you actually learn a new word. The next time you encounter DEFENESTRATE, think DEFEND THE STREET. That’s called the “key.” Now, to “link” the key to the definition, imagine your town invaded by enemy troops, and citizens defending the streets by throwing objects out of the windows at them. So, in the format of Build Your Vocabulary Skills!, we have the following:

DEFENESTRATE (duh FEN es trate) to throw out of a window

KEY: DEFEND THE STREET

LINK SENTENCE: The townfolk defended their streets against the inemy invaders by throwing things out ot the windows at them.

Now, answer the following without looking at the above:

DEFENESTRATE
What is the KEY?
What is the LINK SENTENCE?
So, what does DEFENESTRATE mean?

Drill yourself on this a couple of times and you’ll never forget it. We have no suggestions as to how you could work this word into a conversation, but Build Your Vocabulary Skills! has over 1400 more useful words, each with pronunciation, definition, dey and links, so don’t defenestrate this book on that account.

Video Interview – GRE Tips

Sri Harsha Talks about how he used mnemonics to improve his GRE verbal skills usaing the exact same mnemonic techniques. described in  Build Your Vocabulary Skills! A Quick and Easy Method

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arizona state university

10 Largest Universities in America – Under Graduate Students Population

Raghuram Sukumar —  September 11, 2012 — 2 Comments

Question – I want the list of 10 Largest Universities in USA by Student population (enrollment).

According to Wikipedia following are the 10 largest Universities in USA basedon Under Graduate student enrollment.

Arizona State University’s total student enrollment is 72,252 ( College Navigator).

10  Largest Universities in USA

  1. Arizona State University 58,404
  2. University of Central Florida 58,587
  3. Ohio State University56,867
  4. University of Minnesota    52,557
  5. University of Texas at Austin 51,112
  6. Texas A&M University 50,051
  7. University of Florida 49,589
  8. Florida International University 47,966
  9. Michigan State University 47,800
  10. Pennsylvania State University 44,485

Arizona State University

Website:      www.asu.edu

  • Type:      4-year, Public
  • Awards offered:
    • Less than one year certificate
    • Bachelor’s degree
    • Postbaccalaureate certificate
    • Master’s degree
    • Post-master’s certificate
    • Doctor’s degree – research/scholarship
    • Doctor’s degree – professional practice
  • Campus setting:      City: Midsize
  • Campus housing:      Yes
  • Student population:      72,254 (58,404 undergraduate)
  • Student-to-faculty ratio:      25 to 1

Arizona State University has 4 campuses. Tempe campus has the largest student enrollment with over 70,000 students.

Average In-state tuition fees for ASU is $9,700 and Out of State fees is close to $23,000 per year for Under Graduate Students.

Following ASU in the list of largest universities in USA is University of Central Florida , located in Orlando.

Largest  Universities in USA for International Students

According to IIE Open doors report, following are the largest universities in USA.

  1. University of Southern California    – 8,615
  2. University of Illinois – 7,991
  3. New York University  – 7,988
  4. Purdue University – Main Campus  – 7,562
  5. Columbia University   –    7,297

 

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ikc bangalore

Meet US Universities at International Knowledge Center, Bangalore

Raghuram Sukumar —  August 18, 2012 — 4 Comments

For folks in and around Bangalore, here is a unique opportunity to meet admission directors from various Universities from USA.ikc bangalore

  • Date: Saturday, August 25th, 2012 and September 8th, 2012
  • Time: 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
  • Location: The International Knowledge Center,

4/2 Millers Road,
Opp: Vikram Hospital,
2nd Floor, SBT Building,
Bangalore 560052

Universities in Attendance – August 25

  • University of Missouri – Columbia (www.missouri.edu)
  • University of Nebraska – Lincoln (global.unl.edu)
  • Emerson College (www.emerson.edu)
  • Ohio Center for Broadcasting (www.beonair.com)
  • University of Iowa (www.uiowa.edu)

 

Universities in Attendance – September 8th

  • Kansas State University (www.k-state.edu)
  • University of Kansas (www.ku.edu)
  • Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (www.prescott.erau.edu)
  • Millikin University (www.millikin.edu)
  • Rutgers University (www.rutgers.edu)

If you are planning on attending either one or both of the open houses, please send an email to [email protected] with the following info:

  • Name:
  • Phone:
  • Current educational level:
  • Degree desired: (bachelor’s, master’s ph.D. Etc.)
  • Interested university (whom you’d like to meet the most):

This will help us coordinate your visit better. Thank you!

 

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Can I Use Illegal Way to Show $40,000 in Bank Balance?

Raghuram Sukumar —  August 11, 2012 — 12 Comments

I have completed my Engineering in CSE with GPA 9.26 from NMIT, Bangalore and joined Dell on july 2nd.

I am very much interested in learning new things and gaining more and more knowledge.

I was interested to pursue my higher studies from my 2nd year itself, hence took up a GRE training from Princeton Review for old format GRE, sadly due to carelessness of few officials I got my passport late, could not write GRE in old format.

But i rescheduled my GRE to new format and prepared from official ETS and Barrons GRE and got 307/340 (160 in quant and 147 in verbal).

My father is a railway employee and cannot afford the fees for MS, I get a monthly salary of 21k in which I can save upto 10k per month (gave info cos i wanted to tell my financial status).

I am bright student from childhood and very good in grasping new concepts and good in aptitude and problem solving and paid the entire Princeton coaching fees from scholarship I got from CBSE, I don’t want to stop my education to BE, I want to do higher studies where I can get very good exposure, facilities, knowledge-gain and return of investment.

Recently few of my friends have gone to do MS in US for Fall2012 and they say I need minimum of 40 lakhs for 2 years of MS.

If that is true then my dream of doing MS is shattered…..

OR is there anyway where I can do MS with an Initial amount of 5 lakhs in hand (can use some illegal way to show 20 lakhs in my account and then taken back).

I can do all sort of small jobs for sustaining day to day life in US(fuel-filling, libaray work,… anything).

In this scenario I’m ready to give 4hours per week for preparation for GRE and willing to take up GRE in July 2013 for fall 2014.

Please guide me and give me some suggestions that i can implement so that I fulfill my DREAM.

Bank Balance and Cost of Education

Lot of students when trying to understand about total expenses for education in USA have to go through this phase.

You are going to run into similar situation where, you will feel shattered and helpless.

But,when you take time to understand the expenses involved and how student sin USA manage their fees, your fear will vanish.

Your father is in Indian Railways. I know its tough to pay for your education.

But, so many poor to lover middle class students have come to USA for education.

Is it true that you might have to spend $40,000 for MS?

Yes, in worst case scenario, you might have to spend $40,000.

When applying for admission, universities will require to show bank balance for first year fees and expenses.

Your first year fees and living expense as per I-20 will be between $20,000 and above.

So, you have to get letter from bank with balance higher than first year expenses.

In reality, most students don’t have that kind of money sitting in the bank account.

Some them borrow money from relatives for few days, get the bank statement and return the money.

GRE Score and Admission

Your score of 307 is just above average.

You can prepare for GRE for another 3 to 4 months and retake GRE by December.

Improve your score to 320+.

With good GRE Score, you can try to get admission with financial aid or scholarship.

When you have financial aid, then you don’t have to show bank balance during visa interview.

If you get 100% scholarship that pays for your tuition and stipend for living expense, then you can attend the interview without worrying about bank balance.

Improve Academic Profile

High GRE score combined with great personal and academic profile will improve your chances to get admission with financial aid.

For students and entry-level engineers, often ask how to improve my academic profile?

In India, we don’t have the concept of working as intern or research associate with companies or professors. Only very few students try hard to work as an intern.

But, there is a way to get that experience while in school.

You must have heard about the outsourcing.

But, I’m talking about outsourcing in small-scale.

I have this blog and I need to get some work done, say to design a logo.

It would cost over $500 to hire a designer to design a log here in USA.

So, instead of spending $500, I can hire an designer for $50 in India or other countries get get same quality of work done.

One such site where you get work experience is ODesk.com

You can register for an account and try applying for a job.

You can find several types of job openings – Programming, Web Design, Web Development, Content Writing, SEO, Link Building, PHP, Perl, Internet Research, Sales, virtual Assistant, Data Entry, CAD, CAM, etc

It doesn’t matter what is your education background, you will have jobs at ODesk.com  that will match your skills.

Employers will be willing to pay from $6 to $100 and more per hour.

It doesn’t cost you anything.

odeks jobsBut,  if you can work for 50 to 100 hours, that will add value to your academic profile.

  • Go to the site Odesk.com now
  • Create a profile
  • Apply for a job

For first few jobs, you should quote offer lower hourly rate than the job posting. It will help you build your feedback and work experience.

When you take such extra steps and gain experience with sites like Odesk.com your academic profile will improve.

Good GRE Score with great profile will get admission with scholarship.  So, your dreams are not shattered. You are just get started.

Note – Link to Odesk is an Affiliate link. We talked about 22 ways to make money blogging. Affiliate links is one of the way. Odesk will pay a small fee if you sign-up for an account through the above link and apply for a job. I would appreciate if you can sing-up through this affiliate link, of-course it will help you earn some money and gain some  work experience.

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