Do you want to know what could be The Dumbest F1 Visa interview question?
Well, I was asked one such question from someone who will be attending F1 Visa interview in next couple of months.
This is how you should be preparing for F1 Visa Interview for USA Student Visa
- Understand F1 Visa Interview process for USA
- Expect certain F1 visa Interview questions from the US Consulate (and Visa officer)
- Prepare the Best True answers for the questions.
- Attend the interview.
One of the keys to getting F1 Visa stamping is to know what kind of questions you could be asked.
Then you have to know the how to answer it right.
You must have read 100′s of F1 Visa interview experiences and I have seen several hundreds of Interview experiences.
Once in a while I come across some questions that students struggle to find answers.
But, for the first time, I was asked to give an answer to question, that I consider The Most Important questions that everyone MUST have an answer.
Instead this person asked an answer for the question, I call “The Dumbest F1 Visa Interview Question Ever”.
Here is the question.
I’ have applied for Masters in Computer Science.
My background is BE in Computer Science. What answer shall I give if Visa officer asks Why Masters in Computer Science?
Duh?
Dude.. dude…dude…
I fell like smashing the face in my wall.
This is why I’m MAD.
Our friend -
- Completing BE or Graduated Engineering.
- Applied for USA for Graduate School
- Should be 21 years or old.
Don’t you think, you should have an answer to why you are applying for MS in Computer Science in USA.
By the way, why did you apply for MS in first place, if you don’t have an answer?
There is difference between being Ignorant and being Immature.
Agree or Disagree?
I hope others reading this will agree to me.
I really doubt there would be anyone who will argue against my comment, but I like surprises.
I would have asked this question the day before the interview, and I believe most of you ppl would have had this question. Because this is one of the most expected questions, and we would want to ace this one. So I find this question absolutely normal/ not dumb.
There is a saying in my mother tongue – ‘Do not forget the way you came.’ All my friends saying ‘This is dumb’ and ‘You should not be in the U.S if you can’t answer this question,’ you guys may be all perfect with perfect answers and may have great vision as what to do, why to do etc. But there are many normal folks like me here. I was pretty tensed at the time of interview. I too did not exactly know what all were the best answers to give etc(before someone hangs one this saying best answer is saying what u feel about it – speaking exactly what you feel all can cost you the visa sometimes, so there is something called the best answer, and that’s what the guy who asked was seeking I believe). If one knew all those he would not perhaps have come to this site.
I will make it clear with the simplest example – You guys are like, someone who did their B.tech and have come back to a school, and just told the many kids there ‘you are so dumb that you can’t solve these simple numerical problem’ or ‘you guys should not be here if you can’t solve this problem.’
If he doesn’t know that, he shouldn’t be going for it at all. People often ask me such questions too. I politely reply that if everyone uses my answer, they would all sound too similar. What is your name is an important question too. Doesn’t mean people should ask an expert how to answer this.
HBS, please there is a difference between “Why MS in computer science,” which is the worry of the visa applicant, and “Why apply for MS” as your hermeneutics has made of the applicant’s question. The first focuses on “computer science,” while your interpretation centers on “apply”. I was asked those two questions separately during my interview some years ago. To the question of “why apply?” my answer was simple: “Because without applying, I cannot get admission to do the Masters program in Biomedical engineering that I cherish.” Then came the second question: “Why Biomedical engineering?” After my response, the consular officer said to me: “You are a smart in interpreting my questions. Hope you keep the intelligence while in the USA.”
I think this is time to conclude or leave this question here since most of us got some gyan from this dumbest, toughest, easiest, simple silly or I feel BASIC F1 Visa interview question’s topic….
And finally our HSB has got caught by his readers in a debatable stuff…
His answers to some queries seems like he’s frustrated with the kind of questions we have above…. Since he’s a marketer he should be capable enough to convince his readers instead of dominating them by his answers like I’m candid, upfront etccc….
In one post he says if we are candid enough in interview with VO we can succeed in the VI.
In some other post he says we should be smart enough to answer the VO questions.
But friends please understand that all the posts we come through are set of examples or others experiences…. Get ready for surprises in your own interviews… Speak your mind and convey why and how passionate you’re about your studies or MS or dreams etc… You do it!!!
Cheers,
Vamsi
I think this is time to conclude or leave this question here since most of us got some gyan from this dumbest, toughest, easiest, simple silly or I feel BASIC F1 Visa interview question’s topic….
And finally our HSB has got caught by his readers in a debatable stuff…
His answers to some queries seems like he’s frustrated with the kind of questions we have above…. Since he’s a marketer he should be capable enough to convince his readers instead of dominating them by his answers like I’m candid, upfront etccc….
In one post he says if we are candid enough in interview with VO we can succeed in the VI.
In some other post he says we should be smart enough to answer the VO questions.
But friends please understand that all the posts we come through are set of examples or others experiences…. Get ready for surprises in your VISA interview… Speak your mind and convey why and how passionate you’re about your studies or MS or dreams etc… You do it!!! But do not follow these type of scrap and do not spoil your mindset before your dream interview….
Cheers,
Vamsi
What I learnt from HSB is that, it never gives question and answer type posts but shares their experiences so that we can succeed from their experiences.
Man. You got the point.
HSB thanks a ton for sharing such experiences. A lot of them don’t understand how beneficial it can be for one by being made aware of such experiences.
It has been useful for me. How? I shall explain that in a post. I got an admit from a reputed university for Fall 2012. I took an year off from everything to make sure I get this admit. And I did. Will share my “valuable” experience soon.
HSB has indeed lost its objectivity. There is no need for him act prima donna for you. The kid just want the best possible answer so that it does not repetitive or cliche.
I can clearly understand off late your mentality with your post. Just because you create a forum does not gives you right to be wisenheimer.
If you are asking advise then be ready to hear both good and the bad.
I do agree (to an extent) with what Mr. Anonymous (?) said. Although HSB can still come back on track and roar, but what I foresee is not very bright.
If you can give advice HSB then you should ideally take some too. Most people who feel this way about you will leave without telling so you wouldn’t realize what’s happening, No wonder most people who comment these days are noobs or superdumbs (except some ).
Then no doubt the person is waiting to copy the best answer
Good one.
People come to this forum in order to be enlightened, get good tips and new ideas but was laughed at and insulted. You can criticise and comment constructively. Do you know how difficult it is to just stand there during interviews? I have been to different consulates for interview and no longer consider myself a neophyte but still I get the jitters. For some it might be their first time ever or have no other knowledgeable person to get help that’s why they come to this forum but instead got humiliated.
Its not not the matter of getting humiliated. Each and every post here is to convey message and lessons that you can use. Way I convey the message will not the way you want message to be delivered.
I cannot write to satisfy each and every readers expectation. I can write the way I feel and view things. I fee sad that you see only humiliation and unable to see the core message that was intended to be communicated.
+ There is nothing wrong in getting humiliated when if you know for sure you made a mistake. I will take humiliation to drive positive energy and inspiration.
If the gut was intelligent enough to drive (derive I guess) positive energy and inspiration then he wouldn’t have a such a question anyways.
P.S. On the ‘drive’ note, HSB kindly proofread your posts on MS Word. Will just take a minute. Its not that you wouldn’t find those mistakes on your own, writing and editing long texts obviously involves a lot of copy-pasting, which leads to simple positional and grammatical mistakes. Doesn’t give a good impression when you are going around spreading wisdom. No offense intended.
What is surprising is that people visit this site to get answers, which has annoyed HSB greatly and invoking so much anger as to wanting to smash his face in the wall. But isnt that whole idea of HSB in the first place i.e ask questions ? Do the questions have to be smart always ? A question is neither smart or dumb but the answer is. HSB’s reaction was juvenile and does not befit someone who is out there to help people. Maybe the person was asking as to how he/she may put this answer across the VO. Maybe the person was not as dumb as he was made to sound. Maybe the person had ideas in his mind but did not know a way to put them together. HSB clearly, has overreacted here and took the question in its literal sense. But maybe HSB had a bad day like we all do sometimes. We expect a more level headed response from HSB like always.
You all have to remember one thing – I’m a Marketer and getting good at it. I need to create content that is appeals to different human needs (including positive and negative emotions).
I considered several title for this post.
“Toughest F1 Visa Interview Question Ever”
“Easiest F1 Question with an Impossible Answer”
“Why MS in Computer Science in USA”
I could have just said Dumbest F1 question without expressing I want to smash my face on the wall. Bottom line – I can be level headed and create content with positive and negative feelings.
HSB somehow all your reasoning seems oddly disconnected.
I think I have made myself clear. Dont expect pampering answers when someone at certain stage in life is EXPECTED to have certain level of maturity and understanding. If you don’t have that, you are not going to be successful with your efforts.
If one does not have the level of maturity and understanding as yours, then is it not your responsibility to make him reach that level with your advise. Next thing you’ll say is that you are not doing this for charity and excuse yourself by branding yourself a marketer. But doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of HSB. And one more thing, punching someone when he is not looking doesn’t make you a great boxer. On the other hand if you are being fair then be ready to take a few punches too.
This is the most common question asked by a VO “Why MS in …….?”
The answer to this question has been replied already by an applicant in his/her SOP.
Only if SOP was indeed written by the same person. What if it was Cut, Copy and Paste
i think HSB has just read Steve Jobs Bio and is trying to be like him
I’m reading through it. I got a lot of inspiration from him book. Must read book for anyone. More that Steve Jobs, its the way of life in USA that changed my perspective of seeing things differently. Just like any other kid, born and brought up in India, I was well taken care, spoon feed, not allowed to take much risks. Education was the top priority, I could have done well in Sports with my running skills. But, now I’m taking control of my life and spreading the lessons learned to prospective students.
yeah then i guess i got your nerve there….. and i guess u r caught in his Reality Distortion Field
VO must have asked “Why MASTERS in computer science?” or “Why masters in COMPUTER SCIENCE? ”
Possible answers to first question:
So that I can get a PhD later !
I wasn’t satisfied with the undergraduate study level.
I can make my life better ! (Philosophical one)
Possible answers to second question:
)
Actually its not computer science but network security/data mining, etc. ( The best way out I can think of
I don’t want to look stupid in the class if I take up another core branch !
The answer to this question is tautological.
Good answers. When should one know the answer to that question?
Before or After applying for admission.
Well ideally the person must derive the answer from his ultimate objective in life irrespective of the current situation. If one is ambitious, wants to explore the world, get a good perspective he/she must have figured out the answer from the very beginning. On the contrary, if the person is still searching for the right path, comfortable to negotiate any life altering decision, may skip it to the ‘after applying’ part !
I think most the folks who have posted comments are new to the blog or haven’t realized what to expect from my blog posts.
I want to clarify few things for you.
Don’t expect polished, positive answers from me. I’m candid with my answers.
If I don’t agree to your views, I going to say I don’t agree with you. I’m going to say with a straight face. Don’t expect a polished politcal answers.
You can call it silly, demotivating, useless or dumb. I certain respect your comments and opinion.
Having said that, me giving polished, positive opinion is not going to get you visa.
Professors in USA is not going to give you A grade when you scored 89 instead of 90.
You are not going to get a job when you cannot answers questions you are expected to answers and MUST answers for certain positions.
Get ready. Corporate, Foreign country will punish for not being who you are expected to be at certain situations.
You either get visa or don’t. For someone who wants someone else to answers why the person is doing MS, you can call it whatever you want, chances of that person getting visa is not GOOD.
We never expect polished, positive answers. We just expect some good quality posts. If you’re running out of material then just slow your pace. Posting humiliation posts serves mostly only the purpose of posting, nothing much intellectual.
Actually, I am a professor in the US and our department essentially has the policy that we always bump a student up by 1 point if that will actually improve the letter grade.
Also, I have seen students make all sorts of excuses and expect to be treated like babies all the time. here are a few samples, some happened numerous times, some rarely:
1. I missed the exam because my alarm clock didnt work.
2. My grandmom who lives in England has died in Aruba and I am too upset to take the exam.
3. A cancer patient who rescheduled her exam 6 times and each time cancelled 5 minutes before the exam until I put my foot down and awarded her an E.
4. The student who did not attend even 1 class and complained to the dean that I had stacked the decks unfairly in favour of students who did attend class, because examples discussed in class were similar to the exam.
5. I am stuck in traffic and cannot make the exam.
6. My roommate gave me a pot brownie (marijuana) and I couldnt take the exam.
And my favorites of course are my disabled students. The university allows them 100% extra time on exams. Most of them suffer from a terrible disability known as test anxiety. As someone who struggled with anxiety during 10th, 12th and college entrance exams, I think this is a totally real disability. I hope India will soon realize this and everyone who gets too anxious about exams will receive 100% extra time on IIT entrance.
Most likely American students, there is no way an international student paying $ 20,000 per semester can have such excuses.
I think that people have fear of F-1 VISA interview in their mind so deep that they always want to make sure that they do not make any kind of mistake in the interview.
This fear makes their confidence level low and they try to find the best possible answer for every possible question of F-1 VISA interview with a person like your knowledge and expertise.
But this is a kind of question that should be very clear in one’s mind, even before applying to the universities.
Anyways I agree with you that this is the dumbest question and he could have asked any other important question that needs your expertise.
The most useless post and comments posted on this blogsite ever !
Asking any type of question is not dumb at all !!! Asking question is a sign of intelligence !!! Please do not try to criticize someone who is honestly asking for the best answer so that he may succeed in what he is doing.
I believe criticizing other and praising oneself is the dumbest thing that one can do. Watch your mind…..
Let me give an answer to the above question and I want you to comment if visa the answer would be acceptable during visa interview.
Answer 1 – I applied for MS in since I have complete bachelors in CS.
Answer 2 – I applied for MS in CS because my parents wanted me to study in USA.
BTW, both these answers will mitigate the chances of visa
That was a question to the person who posted the comment (not an answer to the actual question).
Jyoti, I totally agree with you!
Exactly,you should not be criticizing anyone like that. And the answer you have given HSB are the dumbest set of words that I have read ever!!!! BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Well, I think this person is not at all motivated. If one is truly dedicated and interested in his/her field of study, then he/she doesn’t need to find answers to this type of question elsewhere.
If you don’t know why did you graduate in computer science and why do you want to pursue masters in it then you need to take a break and think.
He may be interested in just making money after MS and does not focus on quality studies.
Just one thing.. ‘MOST’ and ‘DumbEST’ don’t go together.. You either say “Most Dumb” OR you say “Dumbest”.. Period
When I read those words, I wondered for long who wrote them: “Most Dumbest”. What if someone read such English and used a similar combination at the interview? Happy School does a good job in many ways, but a little more polish on its use of English will set it shinning more for the good of those seeking F1 Visas, and the world at large.
wake up kid….
this is the most commonly asked question…
if you can`t answer it… you dun deserve to be in the US….
Dumbest ever is… when one of my friend`s last year…
VO was not looking at him…
My friend : Good Morning,
VO : I don`t need your damn good morning, get the hell out of here….
But in his 2nd attempt.. he got visa(for 5 years) now he`s doin MS 3rd sem
I agree with you, it’s not dumb at all and probably the most likely question to be expected during interview. But what is shocking is your friend’s experience. If VOs act this crazy, you can pray no one.
I think that HSB should be more mature in their handling with these kinds of issues. You are providing a platform where people come ask you questions because they trust your knowledge and expertise. However mocking at their questions and moreover putting them up for discussion is super silly and derogatory. It’s amazing people think you are good and give you respect but if you start thinking that you are better than the others and have right to mock someone it’s really disgusting. Please think about the person who asked this question and how would he feel about this thing. I have always enjoyed HSB articles and found them worthy so I would request you to kindly not have these kinds of topics for discussion or maybe present them in a positive way rather that saying ” Dumbest” question.
Pranita – I’m not someone who is going to have one opinion and speak out positive things, just other person feels good. I’m going to speak/write what I feel is right. It upto others to take in positive or negative way. If other person (or you) would like to disagree, then please free to disagree and express your thoughts.
I don’t think that is a dumb question, but only very appropriate even if your background is in Computer Science. He is testing whether you’re pursuing masters without developing any interest in the subject and only for the sake of studying abroad like most people do or whether you’re genuinely interested in CS.
May be he got confused with the process
Of questioning. May be he is asking for an answer when the major selected in masters being different.
Anyway finally yes the dumbest question
Hi,
The reason why he might have asked may be he wants to the best answer because this is the most important question the Visa interview. I dont think he has asked this question because he dont know the answer.
I agree, If you are not sure why you are pursuing MS in Computer Science in United States, maybe going for MS is not a good idea. And expecting others to tell you why you want to go for MS in Computer Science is really the worst thing I can imagine.