Study Abroad Tips

Study Abroad Tips

In this post, I am sharing the facts/cheatsheet which I hope will be useful for prospective graduate and undergraduate students. This post is based on my own experience and when required, the related references will be pointed out. This post is mostly focused on US studies but most of the things are similar for other countries as well.

Prospective undergraduates - one who is planning to pursue undergraduate studies abroad

• in your first year, just focus on your coursework and try your best to enjoy the course and get best out of it (grades, skill sets and whatever best is possible)
• in your second year, while primarily focusing on your academics, if you are interested to study abroad then start thinking and planning on it (for details, see How to prepare)

Prospective graduates - one who is planning to pursue graduate studies abroad

• if you are in your freshman or sophomore phase, then focus on your study and try your best to get best out of your study (grades, skill sets, projects, volunteering, publications and so forth)
• if you are in your senior phase, while primarily focusing on your academics, start thinking and planning about your option of studying abroad (for details, see How to prepare)

How to prepare/plan/research/proceed

Step-1: preliminaries

• look for schools/colleges (with focus on their program you are interested in) on the internet that matches your dream, academic achievements so far. If you have some friends who have got study abroad (offer/stipends/scholarship/assistantship/fellowship) opportunity, then try to connect with them and seek advice and knowledge about the schools they have applied and they are in. You can compare your friend's profile and the schools they got offer from to get a rough idea of the type of school you can be in (you might be in better schools than them!).
• research on the school's requirements - academic score (your GPAs), language test's (TOEFL, IELTS), specific tests (SAT, GRE, GMAT)
• select the schools that provide scholarship/assistantship/fellowship - this is the primary source of income of international students (unless you are ready to fund yourself, which is not possible for most if the international students). Most of the schools have hidden expenses - the tuition, health insurance, sports, transportation, lab fees and so forth. Your best effort should be to find the schools that pay you more than take from you! That will be required for your personal expenses (groceries, utilities, rent, transportation and so forth)
• based on the above conditions, prepare a list of around 10 schools and rank and group them into three (best, very good, and good). The best ones are very competitive and you may or may not be selected. The other two are for being on safe side if you don't want to wait for the best school for another semester (or year). It's not guaranteed that you might get or won't get enrollment on the schools you were rejected this term/year - so decide yourself.

Step-2: tests and documents

• prepare for the language tests (TOEFL, IELTS) and the special tests (GRE, SAT, GMAT). While this is not the only factor, but the better the scores, the more the chance of you getting admitted to good schools. Take your time and prepare seriously. REMEMBER - during the test (or before the day of test via online) you are allowed to send the test's score to schools of your choice. You can select about four schools at this time. If you want to send the scores to more schools, then there is and additional fee. So be careful here! It's better to have the exam dates aligned with the deadlines so that you don't need to wait for another term.
• attest copies of your academic transcripts and certificates and have them in sealed envelope
• meanwhile waiting for the test results, prepare documents such as the Statement of Purpose (mandatory for graduate students), CV/RESUME. You can find plenty of good samples on the internet, so follow the popular and standard one.
• prepare the recommendation letters as per requirement of the school (some ask for online, while some ask for hand written and in sealed envelope)

Step-3: application

• most schools offer large number of admissions in Fall term (starting from August) and then in Spring term (starting from January), so plan to apply for the one that suits you and remember the deadlines - they are strict!
• THE EARLIER YOU SEND THE APPLICATION, THE BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING SELECTED! 
• before starting the application, review the application process, required documents and try to contact the administrative staff of the desired school. The one who replies your email is the one who you will be in follow-up for further correspondence. For instance, you can inform them of every step of the application - you sent the test scores, you filled out the application and so forth.
• most schools have online application for which you need to pay some fees. If you have friend/relatives who have valid credit cards can pay for you then managing this is best idea. If not, then there are agents (bank or institutes) who help you to fill-out the form and will charge you some additional amount. Find out the one that is best for you.
• besides online application, the test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, GRE, SAT, GMAT) should be sent from the test centers (for instance ETS sends the TOEFL and GRE score to the schools). There is also some associated fee in this. You can ask your friends/relatives to do so if they have valid credit cards. If not, the banks and agents always serve you by taking some additional fee.
• a separate application packet (including the recommendations and so forth) should be sent via DHL, FEDEX or normal postal service. Confirm with the school for the required documents and select the courier service that can deliver the packet within the deadline.
• communicate with the administrative staff and make sure that you'r complete application packet (application form, test scores and the mailed package - recommendations and so forth) has been received

Step-4: admission

• the school sends the application decision for every applicant. If your application has been accepted, congratulations! If not, don't worry, this is what the safe side of applying to multiple schools.
• some schools send the application decision and the scholarship/fellowship/assistantship decision in same package and email. Some schools might require you to formally apply for the assistantship/scholarship/fellowship, once you are granted the admission. FOLLOWUP ON THIS WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF. THEY WILL HELP YOU!
• if you are required to contact professor for the assistantship, then politely communicate with them. They receive many emails each day and may not entertain the BAD emails. Before contacting professor, it would be a good idea to check the professor's field of research, their ability to pay you (do they have grants?), are they willing to take students this term? ALSO CHECK THE PROFESSOR'S RATINGS which can be found in sites like ratemyprofessor.com.
• if professor has research work and has funding then it's for students, so they will reply to emails. If they don't reply then politely follow-up. If their non-responsiveness continues, you should think that they are not willing to take students. So look for another professor. Well, its not a bad idea to communicate with multiple professors.
• if you are willing to accept partial tuition waiver, then you might need to send the bank statements to the school to prove that you are able to pay your remaining fees and manage your personal expenses. For this, the administrative staff will co-ordinate with you.
• after you get the offer, you have time to accept or decline the offer
• if the school decides to take you, then they will send the formal offer letter and I-20 in mail (postal/Fedex/UPS). Keep this document safely. Review the I-20 and offer letter to make sure that the required information (your biographic information, the scholarship amount and every other detail) is correct. If any problem, contact the administrative staff, they will help you to understand and/or fix the problem.

Step-5:visa

• now you need to prepare for visa
• first task is to pay SEVIS fee (again the banks and agents help you here, if you provide the college/school details to them)
• fill out the visa application form (in this case, contact with the embassy and check their web-site for more information) and get the visa appointment
• the primary documents required are the offer letter, I-20, proof of SEVIS fee payment, and the visa application. The other required documents are: your academics (transcripts, certificates), bank statement (to show that you are able to pay the fee or you have some balance in-case of any emergency)
• some consulars (the person to take your visa interview) want the proof of your return after you complete your education. Some proofs can be the attachment to your country and family- for instance, you are the one to take care of your family, your property documents (land, bank statements) and so forth.
• follow the interview schedule and be dressed well (not required to be too formal!)
• don't be nervous in the interview, the consular just asks the basic questions - where are you going, what is your purpose, which school, why did you choose this school, why did you choose this program, how do you pay for your expenses there, how should I believe that you will return after completing your education and so forth
• the consulars just ask the basic questions, so don't need to worry about it. If you get the visa, congrats!. If not, then you can re-apply after few days. Some of the applicants are granted the visa in second time. If you were rejected by a consular in first time, then for the second time, you will be with another consular, so every visa-interview case is different and depends on your application (your purpose of visa, your documents, your chances of return). You need to impress the consular that your visit is genuine and you are going to return back after your studies.
• if you are granted the visa, then you might need to pay some fees (after getting the visa). Check this in the embassy web-site for this. If you don't have enough money, they will allow you to come back and pay when you take the visa. They might also ask you to come back after few days to collect your visa.
• if they keep your case on hold, then that means they want to verify your case further. In this case, they might give you some time to prepare for the required documents and come back. This is a different case than rejection and you don't need to pay separate fee for this.

Step-6 Tickets, shopping and packaging, apartment

• first of all make sure of the place where you live after you land. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Hotels are expensive! If you have friends, take their help. If not, then it might be a good idea to apply for school dorms. The administrative staff will help you in this.
• after successful visa, check with the travel agencies for tickets. Try to get the one with cheap fares but good service. It's better to have few hours in transit (but if this is your first time flying abroad, then you will enjoy even the longer transits)
• shop for the required things and make sure that your items fit with the requirements of the airlines baggage policy
• you might require some foreign currency. Ask your friends or even the administrative staff about this. Travel document is safe to carry (but you need to pay fee for this). If you are taking the cash, then be aware of the risks of carrying cash and know the limits.
• carefully package your items
• inform your administrative staff about your itinerary. DON'T FORGET TO CARRY YOUR I-20, PASSPORT, SEVIS payment proof, OFFER LETTER
• enjoy your time with your family,relatives and friends and wait for the flight date.

Thanks.