Congrats! Now you have the admission message or letter you were waiting for. After all the celebrations though, it is the beginning of yet another round of many things to be done before you reach your ultimate aim: enrolling for the program you desire. So, what things come next? Well, you have to get the I-20 form and the visa. The approximate sequence of what you have to do to get these two crucial documents is as follows:
1. Read the letter or email carefully. If you have to send an acceptance of the offer do it promptly. Even if you have multiple offers it makes sense to accept more than one when there is no offer of funding.
2. If you have received the I-20 form along with the offer of admission you can straightaway start the preparations for visa.
3. More likely, however, the university will ask you to send affidavits of support from your sponsors as well as the bank statements of your sponsors showing that you have sufficient funds for meeting the I-20 form amount (that is, the total cost of the first year which, includes tuition, other fees and living expenses.)
4. Most universities mention that the funds should be only bank funds and not other financial assets like Provident Fund balances, shares etc. Most universities accept balance certificates from banks on bank’s letterhead which are sealed and signed by the banker. Generally, electronic copies and faxed statements are not accepted. Funds in bank include savings account and fixed deposits. You can also include Personal Provident Fund (P.P.F.) balance
5. Note: you cannot apply for the F1 visa unless you have the I-20 form from the university that you have chosen.
6. Once you receive the I-20 form check it carefully to see that all details are accurate. Pay specific attention to spelling of your name, accuracy of date of birth and the start and end dates of the program. Of course, all details should be accurate and the first page of the I-20 form MUST bear the signature of the university official. The third page need not be signed at this stage.
7. The visa process and information can be accessed through the VFS website.
8. Please note that you cannot apply for the visa interview more than 120 days before the starting date of the program mentioned in I-20 form.
9. Simultaneously, that is, as soon as you have applied for I-20 form, you have to prepare the financial and other documents required for the visa interview. Putting together the finances may take time. Please refer to the consulate website for the standard and details of documents required.
10. You can attend the Pre-Departure Program organized by Dilip Oak’s Academy in June or July. Details about the program will be published in our blog later.
That’s the big question facing some of you. There are also some other related ones: “Will I be able put in the intensive work that a PhD requires?” “Is it going to be worth it?” – and perhaps, most important of all: “What scope is there for me after I get my doctoral degree?”
In her article entitled ‘Applying to Ph.D. Programs in Computer Science’ Dr. Harchol-Balter (an associate professor of computer science at CMU who has been involved in the Ph.D. admissions process at CMU, U.C. Berkeley, and MIT) answers these questions in-depth and with a great deal of insight. What is more she does so in a clear, concise, straight forward manner that allows her to cover a lot of ground in one brief, easy-to-read document.
Though she writes with a focus on doctoral programs in Computer Science, students applying for almost any program can read it with profit. In fact all students whether they are applying to master’s or doctoral programs in an American university should read her comments on the ‘Application Process’. They give invaluable tips (especially for top-notch students) on the recommendation letter and the statement of purpose.
Her article covers five main sections:
- Do I really want a Ph.D.? What does a Ph.D. entail?
- The Application Process
- Fellowship Information
- Choosing the right Ph.D. program for you
- Current 2010 Rankings of CS Ph.D. programs in the U.S.
The depth of her insights (delivered in a refreshingly direct manner) are apparent no matter where you look. Here are a few random samples:
- What you should understand about a PhD: “A Ph.D. is a long, in-depth research exploration of one topic. By long we’re typically talking about 6 years. By in-depth we mean that at the end of the Ph.D. you will be the world expert or close to it in your particular area. You will know more than your advisor about your particular research area. You will know about your research than anyone at your school…”
- Graduate school rankings: “Ranking is based on people’s opinions. Even very low ranked schools have some truly great professors and some very famous professors. Also remember that a famous professor does not imply a great advisor”
- Choosing the right PhD program: “Count the faculty in your chosen area of research. Now subtract all the ones who are not actually present (their name appears on the web page, but they’re actually at some other school). The number left are the resources you will have to help you with your thesis research.”
- The balance between course work and research in a PhD: “A Ph.D. program typically requires less than 10 courses during the entire 6 years (including required “core” courses, and required “electives”). The emphasis in the Ph.D. is not on classes, but rather on research. A Ph.D. student will typically take classes only when she feels that they will be useful in her research.”
- The differences between professor-student relationship in classes and in research:
- ” In research, you are often working alone, or at best with you advisor and maybe one other student”
- “In research, there are no grades. There is some instruction (from your advisor), but mostly it’s up to you to be self-motivated and pro-active”
- “In the classroom, there is a distance between you and your professor. In research, you and your advisor will work side-by-side”
- “When taking classes, you will almost never see your professor alone. When doing research with an advisor, you will typically have 1 hour per week when you meet with your advisor alone.”
- Why you should try for a fellowship: “If you are awarded the fellowship, it is an honor that will forever appear on your cv” and “An outside fellowship makes you an attractive target for any school and for any advisor. When I received a 6-year fellowship, I immediately sent every school I had applied to a postcard notifying them. Within a week they all accepted me – Why not? I came free of charge.”
If you are wondering whether to apply for a PhD, this is an article well worth reading. Here’s the link: Applying to Ph.D. Programs in Computer Science.
P.S. included in her article, for those of you who are interested, is the story of how Dr. Mor Harchol-Balter, decided that she wanted to pursue doctoral studies.
OK, let’s get to the point. We are now on Facebook, and Twitter!
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The I-20: What It Is and What It Contains
Once you have been admitted by an American university, your university will send you an I-20 to enable you to enter the U.S. on an F-1 (student) visa. The I-20 is a certificate of non-immigrant eligibility i.e. it certifies that you are eligible to travel to the United States as a student and are not traveling as an immigrant. This document, sometimes referred to as a DS-2019, is usually sent to you by the admissions office in your university.
The I-20 certifies that you have enough financial resources to attend school and pay for your living expenses while attending school without resorting to illegal employment or relying on public funds. For this reason, the I-20 states:
- The total costs of your course
- The amount of scholarships or any other financial assistance you will be receiving from the university, if any
- The amount that you will be paying towards the costs of the course.
The I-20 is based on documents that you would have previously sent while applying for admission:
- Bank solvency/statement to show you have adequate funds to pay the fees
- Your sponsor’s affidavit of support (which for some universities should be in the format that they specify)
Important Points to Check When You Receive Your I-20
Your I-20 is a 3-page document. All the information mentioned above is given on the first page. On the third page (item no. 5) are given your employment permissions i.e. permissions relating to:
- Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) which is a kind of internship that allows you to work while you are studying
- Optional Practical Training (OPT), under which you can work for a period of a total period of 29 months after graduating
The third page is extremely important since it is required when you enter and exit the US while you are still studying.
When you receive your I-20, check the following are correctly stated:
- your name exactly – it should be exactly the same as that given in your passport
- your date of birth – it should be the same as that given in your passport
- the name of your university or college you are going to attend
- the date of reporting/commencement for your course and the end date for the course
- the name of your course (e.g. it should not say M.E. instead of MS)
The document must also be signed by the appropriate university official/authority.
Once you have received your I-20 you may apply for your visa. You can appear for the visa interview within 120 days before the date of commencement, but not before e.g. if the date of commencement given on your I-20 is 15 January, you can apply for at any time after 15 September of the preceding year.
See sample I-20 below:
Here are some important facts about the Analytical Writing (AW) section of the Revised General GRE that test-takers should know. AW is always the first section in the exam and consists of the same two essay tasks
- the issue essay task
- the argument essay task
Both essays have to be typed out in a simple word-processor that has cut, copy and paste functions. So, you need to have a typing speed of at least 40 words per minute. If you haven’t, start learning/ practicing now.
As indicated in our earlier blog on AW (“Why 6 and 8 are Important Numbers for the New GRE Analytical Writing Section“) some things make this section, just a little bit demanding – read it and find out. The overview below will tell you what this section is like as a whole.
The Issue Essay Task
This is always the first task in the Analytical Writing section. You have only 30 minutes instead of 45 to write one essay in response to a question on the given statement, which might be:
- a view
- a recommendation
- a policy etc.
The statements cover a wide variety of topics including:
- ‘values’ e.g. ‘true success can only be measured in terms of one’s personal goals’ (view)
- ‘government’ e.g. ‘those holding positions of public responsibility must maintain the highest moral standards’ (recommendation)
- education e.g. ‘all students should be required to study some courses outside their major fields of study’ (policy)*.
There are 6 types of issue question asked, most of which require test-takers to explain whether they agree or disagree with the given statement and to explain why they do so with the help of examples and reasons. (see previous blog “Why 6 and 8 are Important Numbers for the New GRE Analytical Writing Section“) Depending on the specific question asked test-takers may also have to focus on other things:
- ways in which the given statement might or might not hold true and how these considerations influence the test-taker’s view
- circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would not be advantageous
- persuasive reasons and examples that could be used to challenge the test-taker’s view* etc.
The Argument Essay Task
Here the test-taker has 30 minutes to produce an essay on the logical soundness of an argument. The argument is a brief paragraph that puts forth a recommendation, gives advice, or makes a suggestion – and gives evidence in support of what it says. The evidence is always logically flawed.
It is your job as the test-taker’s to point out what assumptions the argument makes or what evidence could be used to weaken or support the argument. Here, again the new twist is that the essay has to be written in response to a specific question which could be one of 8 types e.g.:
- What assumptions does the argument make and what would the implications be if the assumptions were proved incorrect?
- What questions would need to be asked in order to evaluate the given argument?
- What evidence would be required to assess the logical soundness of the argument and how such evidence might strengthen or weaken the argument?*
*Note: while these topics and questions are similar to the ones that will appear in the Analytical Writing section, they are not actual GRE topics. The pool of official Issue and Argument questions and topics can be viewed on the GRE website:
(http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/content/analytical_writing)
Topics and questions that in the exams will all be taken from this pool but, be warned however, that sometimes they are slightly modified, so they may not appear in the exam exactly the same as they are in the pool. Take the differences into account.
Scores
The essays are scored on a scale of 0-6 (with half-point increments) on the basis of several criteria such as the test-taker’s ability to:
- express and support complex ideas
- make and assess arguments
- write essays that are clear and well-focused and present the same point of view throughout
Specific knowledge of the topic however is not evaluated. The score for the Analytical Writing section as a whole is the average of the scores for the Issue and Argument essays.
Related Links
GRE Overview:
- Revised GRE Overview
- Challenges in the Verbal Section of the Revised GRE
- Reading Comprehension and Sentence Completion Questions: Tips
- Quantitative Reasoning Question Type Overview
- Analytical Writing: Why 6 & 8 Are Important Numbers in this Section
GRE Practical Details:
- Registering for, Rescheduling and Cancelling Your GRE Test
- Getting Additional GRE Score Reports
- Selecting Which Scores the ETS Should Send to Universities