Studying in the US

Quite some people have sought my suggestions or opinions about studying abroad.  While I am certainly not the most qualified to opine, I think I have learnt a bit from my experiences with various applications including my own, and I've learnt a lot from overhearing Papa advising people.  I've blended all these to form my own beliefs, which I share with people when asked.

It gets kinda boring when I have to give the same advice over and over again, so I thought of putting up my basic points right here:

(1) Preparation for tests like SAT, GRE, GMAT

I believe that these are some of the most well-developed tests around.  They have evolved over ages, and have been accepted by premier institutions.  Therefore, I find it pretty foolish when people try to "crack" these tests.

These tests require no preparation, yet they require years of preparation.  Funny statement, but quite true.  I meant that these tests have been designed to identify our knowledge or ability to learn, and not our ability to remember.  Even if someone wakes us up in the middle of the night and asks us to give the test, we'd get a score similar to one we'd get when we're "prepared".  They mostly ask for just decent English, common sense and logic.

Most people can handle the math and logic parts, but get stumped in English.  They try mugging up meanings, synonyms, antonyms; they try to practice lots of comprehension questions; yet they find it tough to get results.

I recommend that people planning to study abroad must plan well ahead.  If that's you, you should consider some of my suggestions, so that you can enjoy the process of strengthening your language:

• You should read lots of English books - written by American or English authors - like Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, Jeffrey Archer, Stephen King.  You should subscribe to English magazines, but be picky here - I'm not impressed with Times of India or Outlook - but you may consider Reader's Digest or India Today.  This will build your vocabulary.
• You should watch American sitcoms or movies.  That will familiarize you with lots of phrases that Americans use all the time, and we don't.  Some have obvious meanings, while some are outright crazy, but knowing these help a lot.
• You should write a lot.  You should request your English teacher (if it's Ramola teacher, you can't get luckier) to correct your language.  Maybe even I can be of help.  This will refine your sentence formation skills and grammar.
• And be sure to speak English a lot.  But do that only with people who know English better than you do.  I know from my own experience how speaking in English with people who speak crappy English can hurt one's own fluency.

In general, I strongly recommend that you pick a book, a good book (a publication of Kaplan or Princeton Review or Arco), and read it from the first page.  Avoid going to classes - they will only hurt your chances to excel, while ensuring you get mediocre results.  The authors of these books are far more accomplished than the typical guy running the classes.  So read the preface, introduction, everything, and follow the book in the way the author instructs you to.

(2) Selection of universities to apply to

I feel that one should typically apply to about seven universities:

• Two ambitious targets (like from the top-five)
• Three likely targets (ranked between six and 15)
• Two sure-shot targets (ranked between 16 and 25)

There is simply no point in applying to a university that doesn't make it in the top 25 for your degree area.  I say this because studying in an XYZ university reduces the chances of getting to study with good professors, good peers, and of getting a good job after graduation.  In case of undergrad applicants, going to an XYZ place may also imply getting exposed to the not-so-nice characteristics of misguided youth.

But studying in the top few is a real experience, which will define who you will be for the rest of your life.  You will get to study with peers having high IQ and different passions and strengths.  You will learn from professors who are deeply in love with the subjects they teach.  On the whole, you'll enjoy so much that you'll not feel like graduating!

You should consider the following factors while choosing a university:

• Ranking of the college you're planning to join (e.g. engineering, architecture, pharmacy)
• Ranking of the university
• Size of the university - bigger the better - you get more choices for majors, minors, specializations, electives
• Type of town the university is in - metropolis, university town, rural - prefer universities in university towns or rural or suburban locations rather than in big cities - e.g. Cornell (Ithaca), UT (Austin), U of I (Urbana-Champaign), Stanford (Palo Alto), etc. - I think such atmosphere is more conducive to learning
• Proximity to industries - well, I used to believe in this, but seeing the fact that even though UIUC is so far from most CompE industries, recruiters flock there, I am not very sure if proximity matters much
• Proximity to relatives or family friends - you need some place to feel at home at, someone mature who can guide you when you're in trouble.  But don't count on staying with them - not even if they're in the same town - it'll be impractical to commute.

If you're planning to study engineering, these are good universities to consider:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Cambridge (Boston area)
• Stanford University - Palo Alto (San Francisco area)
• University of California at Berkeley - Berkeley (San Francisco area)
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - about 200 miles south of Chicago
• University of Michigan at Ann-Arbor - close to Detroit
• University of Texas at Austin - my university, the best! - in Austin, 200 miles from Houston
• Carnegie Mellon University - Pittsburgh
• Cornell University - Ithaca, few hundred miles north of New York City
• Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta
• Purdue University - West Lafayette, Indiana
  
• Penn State University - College Park in Pennsylvania
• University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia
• North Carolina State University - Raleigh
• Virgina Polytechnic University - Blacksburg
• University of California at Los Angeles - Los Angeles
• University of California at San Diego - San Diego
• Rutgers University - New Brunswick, near Philadelphia

I guess that's enough of information for now.  I'll update this blog if I think of more inputs to share.

Bye for now!