Indians have made tremendous contributions to America in a variety of fields including technology, business and education. In fact, they have become such a prominent part of American society that Indian characters have started appearing in American films and comics (think of the Harold and Kumar film series made in 2004 onward and Raj Patel, a character introduced by Archie Comics in 2008). One reason why Indians have been so successful there is that America has provided a great platform for them to grow.
So, to encourage you as you move towards your goal of higher education in America, from time to time we will be posting stories on Indians who, like you, went to America for education and then became great successes. There are dozens of inspiring success stories to pick from. Our first one is on Vinod Khosla, co-founder and first CEO of SUN Microsystems, the company that, among other things created:
- the Java programming language
- the Network File System (NFS)
and also significantly evolved several key computing technologies, including
- Unix
- RISC Processors
- Thin Client Computing and
- Virtualized Computing
We hope that you will enjoy and be greatly motivated by the enormous achievements of those who went to America before you. (See next post for Vinod’s story).
“An entrepreneur is someone who dares to dream the dreams and is foolish enough to try to make those dreams come true.”
~ from the website of khoslaventures
Education Track:
- B. Tech (Electrical Engineering), IIT Delhi
- Masters in Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
- MBA Stanford Graduate School of Business
Achievements:
- Net worth 1.5 billion as of March 2013 (according to Forbes)
- He has created 6 jobs for everyday that he has been in America
- One of the founders of Indian School of Business
His Story For a superb read on Vinod Khosla’s life, philosophy and achievements click here
Vinod Khosla Quotes:
“My philosophy in life is I don’t mind failing in trying new things. But it better be relevant if we succeed. I don’t mind the low probability of success, but I better be impactful if we do succeed.”
“Our willingness to fail gives us the ability and opportunity to succeed where others may fear to tread.”
and here’s one from Michael Jordan, who is obviously a role model for Vinod Khosla
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
The ‘solvency certificate,’ which is also known as a ‘capability certificate’ is a letter from your banker stating that you are capable of raising funds equivalent to your tuition fees and costs of living in the United States. Most bankers are willing to give these certificates to their regular customers. This certificate is one of the documents that you will need to send along with your application form to the university that you are applying to.
Note that if the university to which you are applying demands a ‘bank certificate’ indicating the actual funds available in your bank account, then a solvency certificate will not be acceptable.
October-December 2013
For many of you who are applying for admission in fall 2014, the months from October to December will be when several important phases of the application process will draw to a close for you. Here’s what you have to do in that critical phase:
- Take the GRE and TOEFL exams latest by 20 December
- Carry out a comprehensive review of the 30 universities you previously selected considering:
- Your academic performance in bachelor’s degree
- GRE and TOEFL scores of students admitted in the past
- Any minimum cut-offs with respect to GRE and TOEFL scores
- Whether courses of your choice are offered in the Fall semester
- Cost of education
- Complete your Statement of Purpose (SOP) and resume
- Make your final shortlist of 8-10 universities.
- Request the ETS to forward your GRE and TOEFL scores to the universities you are applying to, specifying the correct codes for the universities/departments you are applying to (click here for GRE codes; click here for TOEFL codes).
Note: some universities require certain documents to be sent to the department you are applying to
- Complete online application process and send the required documents by courier
This completes the application process; however there are further steps to be taken:
This completes the application process; however there are further steps to be taken:
- Track the status of your application on your status page of the university’s website. Though universities generally communicate decisions or requirements by either e-mail or post, it often happens that the only source of information is your status page.
- If there are any deficiencies in your applications (missing documents, non-receipt of GRE or TOEFL scores, recommendations etc.) act immediately to correct the deficiencies.
- When you receive an offer letter from the universities (or when an admission decision is indicated on your status page) email your acceptance. This is very important especially when you are offered funding.
- When you have accepted the university’s offer of admission and the documentation formalities are complete the university will send you the 1-20, an immigration document, which is essential for obtaining a visa.
- When you receive the I-20, check that it is correct in all respects:
- Your name and date of birth should be exactly as in your passport
- Your course and course duration are correctly specified
- The financial sources indicated exceed the costs etc.
- Prepare the visa documentation
- Study the visa application formalities specified on the websites of the applicable US Consulate and the VFS (Visa Facilitation Services)
- Apply for a visa interview date – you can apply for a visa interview 130 days before the joining date mentioned on your I-20.
For further details on the F-1 visa see our previous blog on the subject.
Ripples from the smart phone revolution started by technology giant Apple are spreading out everywhere. Apps for mobiles for a variety of organizations and services are being rolled out in increasing numbers. Now, the ETS has got onto the band wagon with its launch of the first-ever official GRE® test prep mobile app on the App Store.
According to the ETS, the app, which is based on the second edition of The Official Guide to the GRE® Revised General Test, gives users access to authentic GRE® test questions from past administrations of the test, answers and explanations by ETS and the ETS’s own tips and strategies for the GRE®.
With the app users can quiz themselves, track their progress with category-specific results, and even count down the days left till their test date. Two versions of the app are currently available:
- The app starter pack ($4.99) which features:
- an overview of the GRE revised General Test
- 50 real test questions
- tips for answering each question type
- writing tasks with sample responses and scoring guides.
- The in-app expansion pack ($19.99) features:
- 250 additional real test questions
- additional writing tasks
- a GRE Math Review
Using the app will allow users to get used to the new design features of the Revised General GRE. These include the fact that students can look at all the questions in a section (so they can decide which questions they want to do first) and the ability to mark and skip questions to come back to later and change answers (note: all this is only within a section). Using the app test takers will be able to formulate an overall strategy for handling each section of the test.
Currently, The Official GRE® Guide app which was developed by gWhiz and co-published by ETS and McGraw-Hill, is available only for iPhone® and iPad® devices. If you want to purchase the app, you can visit the app StoreSM. The ETS says that a version of its App for Android platforms is coming soon.
For more information about the Official GRE Guide app and the full array of ETS’s GRE test preparation tools you visit www.ets.org/gre/prepare.
Related
- Learn more about the ETS’s Official Guide
- Learn more about ETS’s ScoreSelectSM option with which, you can now decide which GRE scores to send to their American universities and colleges. According to the ETS, “this is a feature not available on any other graduate or business school admissions test in the world”.
- Learn more about ETS’s free diagnostic service – very useful if you have got a low score and are thinking of doing the GRE again.
- Learn more about ETS’s test prep videos.