Getting prepared for a PhD in USA

Hi!
This post is for my juniors and friends who have asked me or approached me, seeking help in order to prepare for GRE, TOEFL and finally , how to apply for a PhD in USA. Most of the time I give the same answers to each one of them. So, I thought of answering all their questions in this single post so that they can always use it for their reference.

In order to apply for a PhD in USA, at-least in case of Computer Science, its always better to have two or more publications in international conferences or journals which shows your research aptitude and the ability to publish your work. These publications will always help you to portray your research interests and the area you want to work on, in the future. You can attach these publications or give a reference to them while contacting the professors of the US universities through email and explaining your interest to work on these areas and also giving a convincing reason for why you chose that particular professor and why do you think that , he can guide you for your PhD. You should also present your ideas of what you want to do in your PhD and how your work would prove to be useful. This process should start as soon as you get sure about your research interests and have sent your papers for getting accepted in conferences and journals. So its better to start early. You should try to work on your interests and produce some good and new results at the early stages of your final year. I can understand that, there is an extra pressure for job placements, but jobs are very easy to get and they require an effort of a day or two provided you have a good reasoning ability, which is expected from all the BHU students. One should do all the required studies and the placement preparations in the summer vacation before the start of the final year. If , anyone of you are busy with your internships , then you have to put some extra efforts.

Next thing that one has to keep in mind is ,registering for the GRE(http://www.ets.org/gre/) and TOEFL(http://www.ets.org/toefl) exams . Here , I would like to say that, one doesn't need to register for the GRE subject tests unless it is a requirement for the university/universities in which, one is applying.
One should register for the GRE 6 months before the application deadlines. The applications deadlines generally starts from December and ends in January. They vary from university to university and the entire information can be found in their websites. GRE is changing from August 2011. Please get updated about the changes from their website. For GRE, one needs to prepare thoroughly from Baron's GRE guide and practice full length exams under time constraints. One should memorize all the 3500 Baron's words. The mp3 files of the word list is available in the following link (http://gredownloads.blogspot.com/2008/07/gre-barrons-audio-wordlist-by-profm.html). Its always good to download them in your mobile phones and listen to them regularly. Best time is before sleeping and after waking or while taking a walk across the beautiful BHU campus. One should try to relate each and every word to one's own life so that he/she can remember them properly. One can also try to create mnemonics for the words. After preparing the word list , one can start practicing the various sections of GRE from the Baron's guide. I won't say anything about the Maths section as it is very easy and does not need much practice. But one should go through the type of questions, so that he/she is not surprised on the day of the exam. The GRE exam has the following break up:

For TOEFL there is no need to practice if you are from an English medium school. But those who are from other mediums should purchase a TOEFL guide published by Princeton Review or download it online and go through all the sections of the guide from cover to cover. Good TOEFL scores are more important than the GRE scores as it is used by the admission boards for making a decision in choosing the applicant for a post of Teaching Assistant , which is the most popular and common post that the PhD students get. This post comes with a handsome stipend and a scholarship which takes care of all the expenses of a US education. So that's important.The TOEFL exam has the following breakup:

You should also tell the professors who are willing to take you as their students, that you want scholarships or some sort of assistantship, so that they can recommend you for that. You don't have to care about filling forms for that, as that is completely taken care by the University.

While preparing for the GRE and TOEFL, one should apply for the official transcripts from BHU and also approach the BHU profs for giving good recommendation letters. So by October one should be ready with transcripts, recommendation letters(from 3 profs), GRE scores and TOEFL scores. After that , one should think about the statement of purpose. I will write about the statement of purpose in my next post and also give formats for recommendation letters. So after all this , you are all set to apply. Try to send the applications through FEDEX. These days most of the universities accept online applications but the transcripts needs to be mailed. You will often notice in the university websites, that your transcripts needs to be sent directly from the University. Well that's not possible in India , so you don't have to care about that. Some universities also asks for a financial statement. You don't have to provide that if you have applied for scholarships and assistantships in the application form(which is normal). So just wait for your application to be accepted and the offer they make. One has to wait for atleast a month after the deadline. So you will start getting offers from January to March. They send the I-20 form along with your acceptance letter and the offer of Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant(this is decided by your concerned Prof in USA- for this you have to discuss with your Prof).

Once you get the I-20 and other offers , you have to accept them and take necessary actions according to the instructions given in the I-20 and the letters from the University. One needs to fill the SEVIS form and submit its fee. For SEVIS follow the following steps:

SEVIS FEE $200

To pay your SEVIS fee you be ready with

• Passport
• I-20
• Credit Card (debit cards are sometimes not accepted)

Its an online process – to pay the SEVIS fee log on to

www.fmjfee.com

• click on I-901 form
• scroll down and click on I-20
• fill and complete the required information
• on the next page it will ask you “credit card” details
• After accepting your details and credit card details it give you an online receipt
• Print this receipt.

It will give you an option to get an expedited delivery by paying $35 extra – or get a receipt by ordinary mail. Opt for regular mail as the on line receipt is good enough.

Next starts the VISA process. The steps are as follows:

Step-1

Once it is confirmed that your I-20 is on its way – you need to pay the visa application fee at the authorized HDFC bank (www.vfs-usa.co.in to check the nearest HDFC branch)

Documents required for paying the visa application fee.

• Copy of your passport (first and the last page)
• You can pay the visa application fee in cash
• Rs: 6580 (visa application fee)
• Rs: 380 (courier charges)

• You will be required to fill a form at the HFDC bank with your name, date of birth, passport number and contact details.

• You will be given a bar code.
  

Get a photograph – with a white background size 50 mm X 50 mm – get your photo on a pen drive or on a CD. Upload it on your system.

Step-2

To fill your DS-160, on-line:.

• Log on to www.vfs-usa.co.in
• Click on visa application form
• On the right side you will see “Application Form”
• Scroll down and click on “Start Application”
• It will take you to a screen “getting started” select your location, upload your photo and start your application.
• After completing your application you will get a conformation page – you could either email it to yourself or print it.

IMPORTANT: Keep saving your application – and also save it on file for further reference.

Step-3

For scheduling your visa appointment you would require:

• Passport
• CEAC Bar code (DS-160 conformation page)
• HDFC bar code
• Log on to www.vfs-usa.co.in
• Click on visa appointment
• Click on VFS online visa appointment
• Click on schedule an appointment.
• Once the appointment is scheduled – print the visa interview letter.

For the VISA interview one may need to produce a lot of documents. I am providing the list. There can be additions or subtractions to this according to his/her requirements. But I must mention one thing over here. If someone gets enough stipend and scholarships to support his/her education , then they may not ask for any of these documents. Well, the documents are as follows:

Financial, Educational & Work related Documents

Document required

• Savings Account – complete passbook or a computer generated printout (last 6 months)
• Fixed deposits
• LIC Policies
• Mutual Funds
• Shares and/or Bonds
• PF
• GPF
• Tax returns – for the past 3 years

Property Documents

• Residential Documents
• Commercial
• Ancestral
• Farm Land

All business documents

• Registration of the company
• Memorandum of Article
• Business Card
• Current Account Statement
• Proof of any investments
• Chartered Accountant’s Report

All educational documents

• Degree
• School certificate
• GRE/GMAT/SAT
• TOEFL/IELTS

Work Experience

• Joining letter
• Relieving letter
• Salary slips

So that's it. I wish all the best to all the PhD aspirants. Remember one thing , you have to plan a lot and devise an effective strategy. Also know how to sell yourself. (Very Important)

"Glitch"

While going through some literature on Operating Systems for preparing myself for a quiz in my department I came across a very intersting word origin. The word is "Glitch" . a word that we use so often. The word is normally used as a synonym for "bug". Many suggests that it is derived from the Yiddish word "glitshen", meaning "to slip". Now what I found is a story , don't know its a myth or not?

In the mid 1960s during the height of the space program, one of the top computer vendors built the first on-board computer system. On the morning of the launch , the computer vendor took out full-page ads in major publications around the world, that its computer was safely guiding the astronauts on their mission. That day, the computer failed , causing the space capsule to spin wildly out of control, putting the astronauts' lives at risk. The next morning one of the major newspapers reffered to this as the "Greatest Lemon in the Company's History!"

"If something can go wrong it will and at the most inopportune time"

My Valentine

Yet another valentines day . Bought myself a pair of smart shoes, two funky T-shirts and went to Mc Donalds.Shared the table in Mc Donalds with myself sitting on the other side questioning my single status. As I cogitated biting a burger with a mexican wrap to follow along with cold coffee, a beautiful girl came and sat before me. She was occupying another table. My first eye contact with hers was enough for me to understand that she was waiting for her date and for her to understand that I had none. She was a noor and I could see that she was the centre of attraction for the crowd. Specially for those factions of the crowd who came there with the intention of such sights. I was in my usual self ,trying to concentrate on my burger. But my eyes weren't. She was looking at her watch. In order to distract myself from her, I tried to imitate her. I was feeling uncomfortable, as the oglers were gazing at her. I suddenly started to feel as if she is my possesion, but I had nothing much to do but to look at the scene and be a silent part of it. As her wait seem to extend she was getting more and more impatient. She looked at me and as our eyes met, I shied off. I tried to concentrate more on my burger than ever, although it was a factitious act. After that something took me by surprise. As I lifted my head, my eyes experienced the most spectacular view of the room. The lady was sitting before me. She said Hi! I am Aa... . I answered her with a baffling look and a hard-crafted nervous smile , saying a Hi! from my side.I introduced myself with a bit of hesitation. She didn't gave me the chance to question her presence with me, instead I was at the answering end. I had to tell her all about myself as succinctly as I could at that point of time. She sat silently listening carefully to me. Here I go, oooooooooooooooooooo!!!! yeh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I said to myself. Finally I was in a blind date. We were enjoying each others presence, enjoying the ebb and flow of our conversation. It was the most romantic evening of my life. I was elated!!!
krrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg..............................................krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg triiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggggg.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The alarm rang. That was the end of it. I woke up with a terrible hangover from vodka. My head was aching and I found my room mate still sleeping with the quilt completely covering his face. It was the morning of 15th of February, and I sat on my bed still single waking up from my blind date.

My most beautiful dream ended up with one of my worst mornings. I decided to take a walk, and feel the fresh morning air. As I started walking alone through the hostel road of BHU, the question again popped up. Do I really love someone? Do I know someone with whom I have shared everything from the day I know her and she has tolerated me as much as she could. The answer was actually .............YES................But I got her as a friend and that was the limit that she drew for our relationship. As I came back from the walk I found the Valentines Day Card that I bought on 13th lying on my table with nothing written on it. I took out my sketch pens and wrote:
To .....
I LOVE YOU


Love between friends isn't violins or roses
or hearts and poetry

The love between friends is more about
jeans and sneakers
and brown bag lunches

Its a kind of love that lets you be as you are

Thanks for being such kind of friend.

From,
Debu

and laughed at myself

Yes I wanted a friend not a valentine.

Soliloquy

This is an endeavour from my side to write something about myself. Well I am really bad in this, as whenever I have asked myself about me ,I find myself solving a riddle. To be frank I often think about the disparate sides of my personality. On one hand someone can find me as a benign and magnanimous person on the other one might find a egoist. Few have even complained that I am a egotist. Well i don't quiet believe in solipsism and If someone has found me so then I must say that ,that's a wrong impression that he/she has got. Sorry for that. But in this confabulation with myself, I confess that I have always found myself confused. That may sound awkward to some of my friends who takes me as a confident, versatile young chap. Hey! wait a minute I am not lionising. That's true I swear. An introvert?, extrovert? or an ambivert? If I have to choose among these three, then I would opt for the last one. But sometimes I do feel that I am too much introvert and sometimes diffident too. I am a big dreamer. I dream of everything that I wish to achieve or get in my life. I find myself struggling in a world bounded by rules , as I like to make my own. My ambitions mean a lot to me, but that doesn't stops me from loving my near and dear ones. I often fall in love, and dream of holding her hand , walking by the sea-shore. But that has always been a dream so far.
Oh come on, I am tired. I am leaving this grail quest here. In short there is only one word that I liked about myself said by a close friend of mine ......................"I am idiosyncratic".

Good Bye! 2006

Well another year has passed leaving behind some beautiful memories. The year 2006 was not quiet a eventful one but it was a year that made me reunited with some of my very old friends and gave me some new ones. Its the year in which I joined Orkut!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!. Well that is something to be talked about...........Its the year in which i got back my form in cricket. Got back to music. It was a getting back year for me. Met some beautiful girls who were always missing from my life.Ho Ho Ho!. I had an all round development of my potentials in this year. OOPS!!!!!!!! forgot about studies. So that is something that I have to do in this coming year.

We all walk in our own path. Each one of us has different paths to travel. But all of us have only one destination. Whatever be the path it has to end and it ends with our death. So here I am walking on the path of life year after year. On my way to the destination I found, find and will find others like me walking on their own path. Some of them will go ahead of me, some of them will lag behind me and some of them will walk beside me. Lets see .................................................

Interesting Words

As I was going through the meanings of certain words I found that there were few words which really had interesting origin.

bowdlerize:- In 1818 Dr. Thomas Bowdler , an English editor , published The Family Shakespeare, an edition in which"those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family."To bowdlerize, therefore , means to expurgate a book by leaving out or changing words and passages considered (by the editor) indelicate or offensive. An extended meaning of to bowdlerize is to render weak by omitting forceful parts.

draconian:- As far as I can remember I came across this word while read The Da Vinci Code.
Draconian devil. In about 621 B.C Draco (or Dracon) compiled the first written code of laws in ancient Athens. Death was the punishment he assigned to almost all crimes, even petty ones, so that the saying arose that his laws were written in blood, not in ink. Hence draconian means very rigorous and severe.
Synonyms: cruel, drastic, harsh, immitigable, rigid, stern, stringent

fabian:- Quintus Fabius Maximus, appointed dictator in 217 B.C to lead the Roman army against Hannibal, decided that cautious delaying tactics would be more successful than engaging the enemy in pitched battles. He therefore harassed Hannibal's army, cut off its supplies, and raided its lines. Fabius earned the appellation of Cunctator, or ,"The delayer"; today , such a policy, in any field , is described as Fabian . In politics ,Fabianism means gradualism, a slow step by step evolutionary change.

maverick:- Samuel A. Maverick was a Texan rancher of the 1840's who did not bother to brand his calves. At first the word maverick was applied only to unbranded calves, but later, since such animals were different from ordinary run of animals, the meaning of maverick was extended to apply to anybody who does not follow the common herd. A person of independent turn of mind, an individualist who does not conform , an unpredictable politician who does not always follow the dictates of his party may be termed as maverick. The word is also used as an adjective.
Synonyms for the adjective: recalcitrant, refactory, unorthodox.

Walking down the memory lane

As I walk through the ghats of Varanasi alone with a scoreful of years behind me I feel as if I am strolling through my memory lane. I trudge by the weight of the thoughts which have besieged my mind. I stride forward remembering my past which is responsible for my present and cogitate on my present which is going to be responsible for my future. Cloistered in the world of my own as I walk and look around I come across few milestones. Some of which are still prominent. Some have managed to keep their heads high but obscure to my eyes and most of them lost in the layers of the sub conscious realm often trying to barge out of it. These milestones makes me remember those sweet and bitter moments of my life which has shaped my character. The path starts from the garden of paradise surrounded by beautiful flowers. As I grew up the paradise turned into this world in which i live with thorns reminding me of the reality. Right from the child inside me to the perplexed teenager and the struggling adult see their reflections. They talk with each other and sing the songs that I had sung all the way and my ears listen to all of them, sometimes the happy notes, and sometimes the plaintive numbers flow. Afterall life is a song and we are the composers, sometimes composing the sweet melody and sometimes the melancholy ones. But at the end of it its such a beautiful feeling.