Dreaming of studying in the United States, but short of finances? Don't worry, aspirants can explore the possibility of a friend or a relative in the US extending financial help for that degree and the lucrative career it brings along.
The US Government allows its residents to give financial guarantee through I-134 form, which is basically an affidavit of support promising to fulfil the financial needs of a prospective student of a US University.
Fake and fail
"This document will convince the visa officer that the student will pay the required fee and so the chances of visa being issued are more," says Arun C. Vakil, a visa and immigrant specialist and the author of `Gateway to America.'
Not many are aware of this simple and more reliable route and students tend to fall prey to the consultants who suggest criminal ideas like "fake" documents of properties or "created" bank balances. Generally visa officers tend to suspect the financial status of applicants in India but since the I-134 document is issued by the US Government its authenticity cannot be questioned. "This clause has been there for several years but not many make use of it owing to lack of awareness," says Mr. Vakil.
The highest visa rejections in India are because of financial statements. Mr. Vakil suggests that applicants can also submit the financial documents of their siblings or close relatives apart from the documents of parents instead of fabricated records.
Directive to officers
Parents' financial statement is very important but Visa officials can consider the documents of siblings and relatives to decide the financial health of the applicant. "They are better than fake documents," he advises.
According to Mr. Vakil the US Government had recently directed its visa officers across the world to relax their critical approach in visa issuanceand it would surely raise the hopes of Indian students. Under section 214 (b) of the Immigration and National Act, Visa officers consider every student applicant as a prospective immigrant.
Good for students
But the new directive will confine the officer's suspicion to the authenticity of the application and his genuine interest in pursuing the course and not what the student intends to do after the completion of the course.
"This is a positive development that will help Indian students," he feels.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Saturday, December 03, 2005
How to Tackle the Analytical Writing Assessment
How to Tackle the Analytical Writing Assessment[Article from www.800.com]
Students tend to be unprepared for the AWA section. This is ironic because it is the one GRE section where a small amount of preparation can make a large difference on test day. You don't want an embarrassing AWA grade coming up in a graduate school interview.
To beat the AWA, you must learn how to write in a highly disciplined and concise manner.
1. Be particularly concerned with structure. Clearly divide your essay into the introductory paragraph, two to three content paragraphs, and a conclusion. Take time out before you start writing to set up an organizational structure. Our Essay Guide includes sample essay templates for both the Issue and Argument essays.
2. Use transitional phrases such as "first", "therefore" and "because" to help the computer identify concepts between and within the paragraphs. Make sure you spell these transition words correctly so that the computer may identify them. The E-rater does not have a spell-checker built in.
3. Be a conformist.The E-rater is not programmed to appreciate individuality, humor, or poetic inspiration; it will be comparing the style and structure of your essay to that of other high-scoring essays. If your essay looks like the high-scoring essays in the E-rater's memory banks, you will get a high grade; if not, you will get a low grade. Our Essay Guide has 20 sample high score essays to give you a sense of the proper writing style for the AWA.
4. Clearly state your critique in the Analysis of Argument essay. The Analysis of Argument question will show you an essay loaded with logical fallacies, such as the unwarranted assumption or fallacy of equivocation. These are buzzwords that the E-rater detects to see if you have correctly identified the argument's logical flaws.
5. Know the essays and how to answer them. The Essay Section Guide shows you all of the 275 actual GRE essay questions and 20 selected sample answers to those essay questions. This will give you a feel for the essay questions and how they should be answered.
6. Write in effective American style. Both the human and the E-rater will detect poor writing style. The E-rater's memory banks have essays written in American grammar/style, which is slightly distinct from the English used outside of the United States.
7. Practice, Practice, Practice. Try to do the essays in the 30-minute time frame. That is half of the challenge. Always practice under timed conditions on a computer or take our practice essays for grading.
Students tend to be unprepared for the AWA section. This is ironic because it is the one GRE section where a small amount of preparation can make a large difference on test day. You don't want an embarrassing AWA grade coming up in a graduate school interview.
To beat the AWA, you must learn how to write in a highly disciplined and concise manner.
1. Be particularly concerned with structure. Clearly divide your essay into the introductory paragraph, two to three content paragraphs, and a conclusion. Take time out before you start writing to set up an organizational structure. Our Essay Guide includes sample essay templates for both the Issue and Argument essays.
2. Use transitional phrases such as "first", "therefore" and "because" to help the computer identify concepts between and within the paragraphs. Make sure you spell these transition words correctly so that the computer may identify them. The E-rater does not have a spell-checker built in.
3. Be a conformist.The E-rater is not programmed to appreciate individuality, humor, or poetic inspiration; it will be comparing the style and structure of your essay to that of other high-scoring essays. If your essay looks like the high-scoring essays in the E-rater's memory banks, you will get a high grade; if not, you will get a low grade. Our Essay Guide has 20 sample high score essays to give you a sense of the proper writing style for the AWA.
4. Clearly state your critique in the Analysis of Argument essay. The Analysis of Argument question will show you an essay loaded with logical fallacies, such as the unwarranted assumption or fallacy of equivocation. These are buzzwords that the E-rater detects to see if you have correctly identified the argument's logical flaws.
5. Know the essays and how to answer them. The Essay Section Guide shows you all of the 275 actual GRE essay questions and 20 selected sample answers to those essay questions. This will give you a feel for the essay questions and how they should be answered.
6. Write in effective American style. Both the human and the E-rater will detect poor writing style. The E-rater's memory banks have essays written in American grammar/style, which is slightly distinct from the English used outside of the United States.
7. Practice, Practice, Practice. Try to do the essays in the 30-minute time frame. That is half of the challenge. Always practice under timed conditions on a computer or take our practice essays for grading.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Are you Ready for the World
Are you Ready for the World?
Let's face it: It's tough being young these days. The world is much more competitive than it ever was, and there are so many things that need to be done. Newspapers and television tell us what kind of people we should be and the kind of clothes we should wear. Everyone wants us to earn a five figure salary. At the same time, we have to keep the values of Indian culture flying high. How does one find a balance between the two?
Add to this the dangers that lurk around corners. Some of them are pretty obvious, such as the importance of keeping to the right side of parents and teachers. Others are more devious: one can have an accident or worse, fall in love. This is to say nothing about other tragedies, like getting rejected in an interview, losing out on admissions to prestigious colleges, AIDS, pollution, restrictions on wearing jeans, teenage pregnancies.... the list is endless.
Who said that being a young person was an easy task? We know it isn't. The canvas of a student's life is filled with daily risks and uncertainties. Each brings us to the end of the world, well, almost. But the tragedy is that nobody understands that. What we need is a survival kit, something that tells us the kind of persons we should be and what we should be doing to succeed in life. No, we should not end up on a rope attached to a ceiling fan just because we can't cope up. We have to be made of sterner stuff.
Here it is, then, the Survival Kit, containing essential tools designed to make you a better person. It takes you through a maze of common problems and suggests solutions that will help you become a winner.
Cracking tests
Usually, the foremost problem faced by youngsters is related to studies. For the top students it is the fear of losing one's position by a few marks, while for those lower down, it is not being able to get enough no matter how much effort is put in. The uncertainties of the examination system seem to make it so impossible to excel. What matters is the quality of our concentration. Here are some ways by which our efforts can be better rewarded:
Always attend classes. Bunking classes may be a fashion, but it is always better to have somebody explain things rather than reading a book later on. Take notes. Revise the topic at home on the same day and mark your book with simple explanations which you will otherwise forget.
How to stay awake. Feeling sleepy in class is a common feeling. Asking questions or taking notes is a way to keep awake. Do not accept what the teacher is saying, but keep debating in your mind. Try to make points which need explanation.
Studying at home. It is an accepted fact that the human mind cannot concentrate for long periods. It is better to break up your study plan into 45 minute intervals. Take a break after each. Studying for five hours continuously would yield less result than putting in 5 intervals of 45 minutes each.
Wake up early. Many students study into the night, but it is more efficient to put the same effort in the morning. That's because one can concentrate better in the morning. Just two hours in the morning will be better than four hours at night.
Work to a schedule. Always have a time plan for working. Divide the chapters you want to cover and allot dates for each. This way, you can cover more than working without a plan.
Overcoming shyness
Studies are just one aspect to succeed in life. Becoming confident and speaking in public is often the insurmountable part, especially because these skills are not taught in schools or colleges. There are some students who take part in college debates and declamations, while the majority of students either do not get an opportunity or are unable to get over their shyness.
In most careers, team work is required. The inability to speak coherently or being shy will thus be a major drawback. Shy people often have a negative self-image and may feel that other people may make fun of them, even though nobody has enough time to think about others. The self-inflicted thoughts prevent people from being normal and the impression they project is one of being snooty and arrogant. Shy people may, thus, end up being looked down upon, turning their fears into reality.
Very often we create our own limitations. "I live in a small town and people living in cities are better than me", says one. Another person will say, "I live in a city but I was not educated in a convent school, so others are better." This goes on, almost as if people are trying to justify their weaknesses. Needless to say, the walls are imaginary. People from small towns or government schools often do quite well for themselves, cometimes even better than those who consider themselves better off. Take the example of the President of India Mr K.R. Naraynan. He was neither educated in convents nor did he live in big cities. When we analyse the backgrounds of successful people, we will discover that only a few of them were from large cities or educated in convents.
The way to overcome this niggardly feeling is startlingly simple: take control and volunteer for everything. Take part in outdoor activities. Play games. Volunteer for any group activity taking place in the neighbourhood. In college, seek opportunities to make presentations and speeches. That is how confidence is acquired.
The tensions of life
The pressures of studies and inter-personal interaction usually results in tension. One is beset by self-doubts and every small failure appears magnified. This leads to a feeling of being let down. Most people are able to bounce back and recover after a little while. In some cases, it may lead to depression. Affluent young people, of course, use the term to describe boredom or restlessness.
Real or clinical depression is a more serious thing. It may be marked by incapacity of work, thoughts of failure and death, fatigue and suicidal leanings. It results from disturbances in the brain's neuro-chemistry and is a crippling disease. With an estimated 6.5 per cent of adult Indians suffering from depression, it may not be as rare as we might expect.
Self-doubts are natural to a great extent and parents, while being supportive, should ensure that they are not overbearing. If you have negative feelings, or know of someone who is thus inclined, confide in someone you know. Contrary to popular feeling, friends and teachers will go out of the way to help you.
A hobby can drive away depression, keep you sane and give hours of pleasure. Yet, even though the number of activities have increased over the years, youngsters seem to have fewer hobbies.
Youngsters can develop hobbies for pleasure and profit. Collecting stamps, interior decoration, reading, gardening, fashion designing and writing are some of the common hobbies. Some of the more exotic hobbies could be to fly gliders, enrol at the local radio or television station for becoming a presenter, operating a ham radio. Of course, these depend on the kind of facilities available in your town. Remember that watching television for long hours is not a hobby. You will lose out on many friends and experiences if you are stuck on television.
A hobby will add to your knowledge as also the kind of person you are. For example, if you are taking part in some activities as a hobby, your self-confidence will undoubtedly improve.
Dealing with the opposite sex
As one grows, one begins to become aware of the opposite sex. One wants to be noticed and make friends. For its part, the media is relentless in projecting images of young people going around with someone of the opposite sex: the staple diet of films is a boy-girl relationship, while in advertisements, it seems that everything must be used to attract the opposite sex. Soap, toothpaste or talcum powder is not to be used for personal hygiene, but for the attention they may help in getting.
Can you blame a young person from getting confused? It is common to come across complaints from youngsters that they do not have a steady girlfriend or boyfriend and are considered backward by their peers. In every college, there is always a small group of Westernised students who seem to have no inhibitions or parental restriction, giving an inferiority complex to the others.
Let us pause and think whether this complex is justified and how it can be tackled. A school or a college are preparatory stages, providing opportunities to interact with many people. If there are sixty people in your class, it is an opportunity to have sixty friends. Being part of a group is enjoyable. Why do you want to reject all those wonderful people and get limited to the friendship of just one person? Often, it would mean moulding oneself to the whims and fancies of that one person. Is it advisable to give up your freedom? Needless to say, an involvement at a young stage would also mean saying goodbye to your dreams of making a professional career. A romantic involvement is never without its costs.
Moreover, intimacy with one person may also result in something more serious as a sexual relationship. Statistics show an increase of teenage pregnancies all over the country, pointing to the mess that young people are making of their lives. Are you up to handling a pregnancy during college?
The smart person, on the other hand, does not get involved. Friends of the opposite sex are all right and one enjoys their company in a group. This is a healthy relationship which will add to your confidence. At the same time, it is important to have your head firmly on your shoulders and not get carried away by peer pressure or media images. One must develop the ability to say no politely. If you do feel strongly about a person, wait till you start earning. There will be plenty of time to romance and to find out whether the feelings are mutual.
The next time you see a commercial on television where young couples are close to each other, remember it is a con-game: an entire industry of gifts and cards rests on making you fall in love. The manufacturers will no doubt succeed in selling their products, but what happens to your life is none of their business. If you want to fall in love, ask yourself the question whether you want to be conned by images designed by marketing experts. Make sure that you have evaluated all the consequences before committing yourself.
Surviving as a girl
Whatever one may say about advancement of women in all spheres of life, it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive as a girl in modern India. Blame it on the media which projects the image that every girl wants fun, or on anything else you wish. The dangers are many, from being teased by unknown people to being touched in crowded places. In extreme cases, this has taken serious turns: rejected males have thrown acid at girls or tried to harm them in other ways. Every once in a while, a scandal erupts which makes one wonder whether girls are really equal at all. Cases of rape and sexual exploitation are common. The latest scandal was exposed in Kerala where girls going to an ice cream parlour were drugged and their photographs taken, which were used to exploit them. Such scandals have been reported in the most unlikely of places.
Outdated laws in India encourage males to take liberties; girls do not press charges because of shame and the culprits are usually acquitted. The atmosphere in the country has been vitiated to a very great extent that most girls face a tough time just doing simple tasks. The more beautiful you are, the more difficulties you are likely to face.
Girls, thus, need a special survial kit which includes the confidence of dealing with unwanted attention. Of course, it is not advisable to fight with everyone. But the following tips will help:
Move around in a group. If you have to take the public transport, try to be with friends. Ask your friends to accompany you on errands. A girl in a group is less vulnerable to advances than being alone.
Avoid unknown places. Do not go to unknown beauty parlours or restaurants, even with friends. Stick only to places most frequented by students.
Beware of confidence tricksters. People will try to win your confidence by many ways, like getting you tickets for a movie. Refuse politely and go home.
Dress in a traditional manner. Yes, we all want to appear modern. The sad fact is that roadside males think that every modern girl is fair game. They will make comments and try to come close. What is the harm of appearing backward if only to avoid unwanted attention? Of course, you can dress as exotically you want when you are with known people.
Confide in parents, friends or teachers. Crimes against girls continue because they are too ashamed to speak out. Take control of the situation and confide, even if it is harmless eve-teasing you are confronted with.
Appearance
Your appearance speaks the world about you. That, however, does not mean that you have to stand for hours before a mirror trying to perfect your hairstyle. People usually do not pay attention to such things. What matters is whether you are presentable or not.
That effect is usually obtained by looking clean. Boys are well advised to shave everyday: a beard or a three-day old stubble gives an unclean impression. Regular haircuts give a well-groomed look. Sporting a ponytail or wearing earrings are best left to television presenters, since these are not signs of smartness. Long hair is unnecessary baggage which turns off the people dealing with you. Wear clean clothes. For formal occasions, make sure you have some ties. For everyday wear, pick up some jeans and smart T-shirts, but do avoid garish prints. It is good to use a de-odorant in summers. Avoid all other cosmetics.
Girls too need some dresses to be worn on special occasions. For everyday wear, suits and jeans are advisable. Colours can be used to advantage. Forget all those bold clothes made by fashion designers unless you want to make a fool of yourself. A girl can usually obtain a decent effect in clothes on her own. The hair must be trimmed to give a well groomed look. As for make-up, a light lipstick is all you need. Have your eyebrows shaped and get rid of facial hair. There is no point spending more time and money in trying to look good. Leave the fancy things to those who want to enter beauty contests. The formal look, required for jobs and interviews, is achieved by wearing a plain suit.
The idea is not to spend too much time on one's appearance because there are more important things to life. Moreover, it is doubtful that you have friends because of the way you look. People appreciate you for your nature and the kind of person you are. This does not mean that one can be sloppy, of course, but the fact is that you can have as many friends as you want with your manners and attitude than by spending a fortune on looking good. Of course if you want to be a model or beauty queen, your appearance will be paramount.
Today's young person
This brings us to the kind of persons we should strive to be. There are a number of wrong notions that are being circulated, including the need to be pushing, aggressive and competitive, of getting rich no matter what the methods, of getting an attitude, whatever that means and doing one's own thing. Modern sales institutes teach the importance of "selling a comb to a bald man" without realising that it will erode the credibility of the salesman. One can, after all, sell something useless only once. In the real world, bluffing works for but a short while.
Being confident is one thing, showing needless aggression is quite another. On the contrary, well-mannered youngsters will be appreciated and are likely to go far. It is important to maintain composure even if things go wrong.
Instead of being aggressive, young people will do well to acquire grace, manners and politeness. This is essential baggage to succeed in the long run.
One way of getting ready for life is to take up part-time jobs. Use summer vacations to help out in an office. This will help you gain confidence in dealing with people and learn manners so essentially required in the modern world. It will also help you decide which career to take up later. The spin-off is that one can afford a number of things with one's earnings, without depending on others.
Today's smart person is a team player, confident about oneself. Yes, they are ambitious. As compared to youngsters of the past, they probably have more confidence and are much more aware. The idea is to use these advantages constructively. We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, since there is nobody who has everything. We can be achievers too, if we give ourselves a chance. If less fortunate people have made it big, what really stops us, who are young and educated, who have our lives in front of us?
Let's face it: It's tough being young these days. The world is much more competitive than it ever was, and there are so many things that need to be done. Newspapers and television tell us what kind of people we should be and the kind of clothes we should wear. Everyone wants us to earn a five figure salary. At the same time, we have to keep the values of Indian culture flying high. How does one find a balance between the two?
Add to this the dangers that lurk around corners. Some of them are pretty obvious, such as the importance of keeping to the right side of parents and teachers. Others are more devious: one can have an accident or worse, fall in love. This is to say nothing about other tragedies, like getting rejected in an interview, losing out on admissions to prestigious colleges, AIDS, pollution, restrictions on wearing jeans, teenage pregnancies.... the list is endless.
Who said that being a young person was an easy task? We know it isn't. The canvas of a student's life is filled with daily risks and uncertainties. Each brings us to the end of the world, well, almost. But the tragedy is that nobody understands that. What we need is a survival kit, something that tells us the kind of persons we should be and what we should be doing to succeed in life. No, we should not end up on a rope attached to a ceiling fan just because we can't cope up. We have to be made of sterner stuff.
Here it is, then, the Survival Kit, containing essential tools designed to make you a better person. It takes you through a maze of common problems and suggests solutions that will help you become a winner.
Cracking tests
Usually, the foremost problem faced by youngsters is related to studies. For the top students it is the fear of losing one's position by a few marks, while for those lower down, it is not being able to get enough no matter how much effort is put in. The uncertainties of the examination system seem to make it so impossible to excel. What matters is the quality of our concentration. Here are some ways by which our efforts can be better rewarded:
Always attend classes. Bunking classes may be a fashion, but it is always better to have somebody explain things rather than reading a book later on. Take notes. Revise the topic at home on the same day and mark your book with simple explanations which you will otherwise forget.
How to stay awake. Feeling sleepy in class is a common feeling. Asking questions or taking notes is a way to keep awake. Do not accept what the teacher is saying, but keep debating in your mind. Try to make points which need explanation.
Studying at home. It is an accepted fact that the human mind cannot concentrate for long periods. It is better to break up your study plan into 45 minute intervals. Take a break after each. Studying for five hours continuously would yield less result than putting in 5 intervals of 45 minutes each.
Wake up early. Many students study into the night, but it is more efficient to put the same effort in the morning. That's because one can concentrate better in the morning. Just two hours in the morning will be better than four hours at night.
Work to a schedule. Always have a time plan for working. Divide the chapters you want to cover and allot dates for each. This way, you can cover more than working without a plan.
Overcoming shyness
Studies are just one aspect to succeed in life. Becoming confident and speaking in public is often the insurmountable part, especially because these skills are not taught in schools or colleges. There are some students who take part in college debates and declamations, while the majority of students either do not get an opportunity or are unable to get over their shyness.
In most careers, team work is required. The inability to speak coherently or being shy will thus be a major drawback. Shy people often have a negative self-image and may feel that other people may make fun of them, even though nobody has enough time to think about others. The self-inflicted thoughts prevent people from being normal and the impression they project is one of being snooty and arrogant. Shy people may, thus, end up being looked down upon, turning their fears into reality.
Very often we create our own limitations. "I live in a small town and people living in cities are better than me", says one. Another person will say, "I live in a city but I was not educated in a convent school, so others are better." This goes on, almost as if people are trying to justify their weaknesses. Needless to say, the walls are imaginary. People from small towns or government schools often do quite well for themselves, cometimes even better than those who consider themselves better off. Take the example of the President of India Mr K.R. Naraynan. He was neither educated in convents nor did he live in big cities. When we analyse the backgrounds of successful people, we will discover that only a few of them were from large cities or educated in convents.
The way to overcome this niggardly feeling is startlingly simple: take control and volunteer for everything. Take part in outdoor activities. Play games. Volunteer for any group activity taking place in the neighbourhood. In college, seek opportunities to make presentations and speeches. That is how confidence is acquired.
The tensions of life
The pressures of studies and inter-personal interaction usually results in tension. One is beset by self-doubts and every small failure appears magnified. This leads to a feeling of being let down. Most people are able to bounce back and recover after a little while. In some cases, it may lead to depression. Affluent young people, of course, use the term to describe boredom or restlessness.
Real or clinical depression is a more serious thing. It may be marked by incapacity of work, thoughts of failure and death, fatigue and suicidal leanings. It results from disturbances in the brain's neuro-chemistry and is a crippling disease. With an estimated 6.5 per cent of adult Indians suffering from depression, it may not be as rare as we might expect.
Self-doubts are natural to a great extent and parents, while being supportive, should ensure that they are not overbearing. If you have negative feelings, or know of someone who is thus inclined, confide in someone you know. Contrary to popular feeling, friends and teachers will go out of the way to help you.
A hobby can drive away depression, keep you sane and give hours of pleasure. Yet, even though the number of activities have increased over the years, youngsters seem to have fewer hobbies.
Youngsters can develop hobbies for pleasure and profit. Collecting stamps, interior decoration, reading, gardening, fashion designing and writing are some of the common hobbies. Some of the more exotic hobbies could be to fly gliders, enrol at the local radio or television station for becoming a presenter, operating a ham radio. Of course, these depend on the kind of facilities available in your town. Remember that watching television for long hours is not a hobby. You will lose out on many friends and experiences if you are stuck on television.
A hobby will add to your knowledge as also the kind of person you are. For example, if you are taking part in some activities as a hobby, your self-confidence will undoubtedly improve.
Dealing with the opposite sex
As one grows, one begins to become aware of the opposite sex. One wants to be noticed and make friends. For its part, the media is relentless in projecting images of young people going around with someone of the opposite sex: the staple diet of films is a boy-girl relationship, while in advertisements, it seems that everything must be used to attract the opposite sex. Soap, toothpaste or talcum powder is not to be used for personal hygiene, but for the attention they may help in getting.
Can you blame a young person from getting confused? It is common to come across complaints from youngsters that they do not have a steady girlfriend or boyfriend and are considered backward by their peers. In every college, there is always a small group of Westernised students who seem to have no inhibitions or parental restriction, giving an inferiority complex to the others.
Let us pause and think whether this complex is justified and how it can be tackled. A school or a college are preparatory stages, providing opportunities to interact with many people. If there are sixty people in your class, it is an opportunity to have sixty friends. Being part of a group is enjoyable. Why do you want to reject all those wonderful people and get limited to the friendship of just one person? Often, it would mean moulding oneself to the whims and fancies of that one person. Is it advisable to give up your freedom? Needless to say, an involvement at a young stage would also mean saying goodbye to your dreams of making a professional career. A romantic involvement is never without its costs.
Moreover, intimacy with one person may also result in something more serious as a sexual relationship. Statistics show an increase of teenage pregnancies all over the country, pointing to the mess that young people are making of their lives. Are you up to handling a pregnancy during college?
The smart person, on the other hand, does not get involved. Friends of the opposite sex are all right and one enjoys their company in a group. This is a healthy relationship which will add to your confidence. At the same time, it is important to have your head firmly on your shoulders and not get carried away by peer pressure or media images. One must develop the ability to say no politely. If you do feel strongly about a person, wait till you start earning. There will be plenty of time to romance and to find out whether the feelings are mutual.
The next time you see a commercial on television where young couples are close to each other, remember it is a con-game: an entire industry of gifts and cards rests on making you fall in love. The manufacturers will no doubt succeed in selling their products, but what happens to your life is none of their business. If you want to fall in love, ask yourself the question whether you want to be conned by images designed by marketing experts. Make sure that you have evaluated all the consequences before committing yourself.
Surviving as a girl
Whatever one may say about advancement of women in all spheres of life, it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive as a girl in modern India. Blame it on the media which projects the image that every girl wants fun, or on anything else you wish. The dangers are many, from being teased by unknown people to being touched in crowded places. In extreme cases, this has taken serious turns: rejected males have thrown acid at girls or tried to harm them in other ways. Every once in a while, a scandal erupts which makes one wonder whether girls are really equal at all. Cases of rape and sexual exploitation are common. The latest scandal was exposed in Kerala where girls going to an ice cream parlour were drugged and their photographs taken, which were used to exploit them. Such scandals have been reported in the most unlikely of places.
Outdated laws in India encourage males to take liberties; girls do not press charges because of shame and the culprits are usually acquitted. The atmosphere in the country has been vitiated to a very great extent that most girls face a tough time just doing simple tasks. The more beautiful you are, the more difficulties you are likely to face.
Girls, thus, need a special survial kit which includes the confidence of dealing with unwanted attention. Of course, it is not advisable to fight with everyone. But the following tips will help:
Move around in a group. If you have to take the public transport, try to be with friends. Ask your friends to accompany you on errands. A girl in a group is less vulnerable to advances than being alone.
Avoid unknown places. Do not go to unknown beauty parlours or restaurants, even with friends. Stick only to places most frequented by students.
Beware of confidence tricksters. People will try to win your confidence by many ways, like getting you tickets for a movie. Refuse politely and go home.
Dress in a traditional manner. Yes, we all want to appear modern. The sad fact is that roadside males think that every modern girl is fair game. They will make comments and try to come close. What is the harm of appearing backward if only to avoid unwanted attention? Of course, you can dress as exotically you want when you are with known people.
Confide in parents, friends or teachers. Crimes against girls continue because they are too ashamed to speak out. Take control of the situation and confide, even if it is harmless eve-teasing you are confronted with.
Appearance
Your appearance speaks the world about you. That, however, does not mean that you have to stand for hours before a mirror trying to perfect your hairstyle. People usually do not pay attention to such things. What matters is whether you are presentable or not.
That effect is usually obtained by looking clean. Boys are well advised to shave everyday: a beard or a three-day old stubble gives an unclean impression. Regular haircuts give a well-groomed look. Sporting a ponytail or wearing earrings are best left to television presenters, since these are not signs of smartness. Long hair is unnecessary baggage which turns off the people dealing with you. Wear clean clothes. For formal occasions, make sure you have some ties. For everyday wear, pick up some jeans and smart T-shirts, but do avoid garish prints. It is good to use a de-odorant in summers. Avoid all other cosmetics.
Girls too need some dresses to be worn on special occasions. For everyday wear, suits and jeans are advisable. Colours can be used to advantage. Forget all those bold clothes made by fashion designers unless you want to make a fool of yourself. A girl can usually obtain a decent effect in clothes on her own. The hair must be trimmed to give a well groomed look. As for make-up, a light lipstick is all you need. Have your eyebrows shaped and get rid of facial hair. There is no point spending more time and money in trying to look good. Leave the fancy things to those who want to enter beauty contests. The formal look, required for jobs and interviews, is achieved by wearing a plain suit.
The idea is not to spend too much time on one's appearance because there are more important things to life. Moreover, it is doubtful that you have friends because of the way you look. People appreciate you for your nature and the kind of person you are. This does not mean that one can be sloppy, of course, but the fact is that you can have as many friends as you want with your manners and attitude than by spending a fortune on looking good. Of course if you want to be a model or beauty queen, your appearance will be paramount.
Today's young person
This brings us to the kind of persons we should strive to be. There are a number of wrong notions that are being circulated, including the need to be pushing, aggressive and competitive, of getting rich no matter what the methods, of getting an attitude, whatever that means and doing one's own thing. Modern sales institutes teach the importance of "selling a comb to a bald man" without realising that it will erode the credibility of the salesman. One can, after all, sell something useless only once. In the real world, bluffing works for but a short while.
Being confident is one thing, showing needless aggression is quite another. On the contrary, well-mannered youngsters will be appreciated and are likely to go far. It is important to maintain composure even if things go wrong.
Instead of being aggressive, young people will do well to acquire grace, manners and politeness. This is essential baggage to succeed in the long run.
One way of getting ready for life is to take up part-time jobs. Use summer vacations to help out in an office. This will help you gain confidence in dealing with people and learn manners so essentially required in the modern world. It will also help you decide which career to take up later. The spin-off is that one can afford a number of things with one's earnings, without depending on others.
Today's smart person is a team player, confident about oneself. Yes, they are ambitious. As compared to youngsters of the past, they probably have more confidence and are much more aware. The idea is to use these advantages constructively. We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, since there is nobody who has everything. We can be achievers too, if we give ourselves a chance. If less fortunate people have made it big, what really stops us, who are young and educated, who have our lives in front of us?
Monday, November 28, 2005
Tips to overcome fear of Public Speaking
Tips to overcome fear of Public Speaking
Do your knees feel like Gumby's when you have to get up and speak in front of a group? Do you feel like the next words out of your mouth are going to be the dumbest words ever uttered by a human?
Over 41% of people have some fear or anxiety dealing with speaking in front of groups. People who have this fear can experience all kinds of symptoms: Sweaty palms, accelerated heart rate, memory loss and even difficulty in breathing.
Everyone, even experienced speakers, has some anxiety when speaking in front of a group of people. This is perfectly normal. The best way to deal with this anxiety is to first acknowledge that this fear is perfectly normal and you are not alone. To reduce your fear, you need to make sure you properly and thoroughly prepare yourself before you speak. Proper preparation and rehearsal can help to reduce this fear by about 75%. Proper breathing techniques can further reduce this fear by another 15%. Your mental state accounts for the remaining 10%.
Few suggestions you should use to overcome your speaking anxiety. The first and most important of all is preparation. I like to think of it as the 9 P's: Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance of the Person Putting on the Presentation.
10 steps you can take to reduce your speech anxiety.
1. Know the room - become familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early and walk around the room including the speaking area. Walk from where you will be seated to the place where you will be speaking.
2. Know the Audience - If possible, greet some of the audience as they arrive and chat with them. It is easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
3. Know Your Material - If you are not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech or presentation and revise it until you can present it with ease.
4. Learn How to Relax - You can ease tension by doing exercises. Sit comfortable with your back straight. Breathe in slowly, hold your breath for 4 to 5 seconds, then slowly exhale. To relax your facial muscles, open your mouth and eyes wide, then close them tightly.
5. Visualize Yourself Speaking - Imagine yourself walking confidently to the lectern as the audience applauds. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
6. Realize People Want You To Succeed - All audiences want speakers to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They want you to succeed - not fail.
7. Don't apologize For Being Nervous - Most of the time your nervousness does not show at all. If you don't say anything about it, nobody will notice. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you'll only be calling attention to it. Had you remained silent, your listeners may not have noticed at all.
8. Concentrate on Your Message - not the audience. Your nervous feelings will dissipate if you focus your attention away from your anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience, not yourself.
9. Turn Nervousness into Positive Energy - the same nervous energy that causes stage fright can be an asset to you. Harness it, and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.
10. Gain Experience - Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. Most beginning speakers find their anxieties decrease after each speech they give.
About author
Lenny Laskowski is an international professional speaker and President of LJL Seminars (tm), in Newington, CT. He can be reached at (860) 666-4855 or by email at President@LJLSeminars.com.
Do your knees feel like Gumby's when you have to get up and speak in front of a group? Do you feel like the next words out of your mouth are going to be the dumbest words ever uttered by a human?
Over 41% of people have some fear or anxiety dealing with speaking in front of groups. People who have this fear can experience all kinds of symptoms: Sweaty palms, accelerated heart rate, memory loss and even difficulty in breathing.
Everyone, even experienced speakers, has some anxiety when speaking in front of a group of people. This is perfectly normal. The best way to deal with this anxiety is to first acknowledge that this fear is perfectly normal and you are not alone. To reduce your fear, you need to make sure you properly and thoroughly prepare yourself before you speak. Proper preparation and rehearsal can help to reduce this fear by about 75%. Proper breathing techniques can further reduce this fear by another 15%. Your mental state accounts for the remaining 10%.
Few suggestions you should use to overcome your speaking anxiety. The first and most important of all is preparation. I like to think of it as the 9 P's: Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance of the Person Putting on the Presentation.
10 steps you can take to reduce your speech anxiety.
1. Know the room - become familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early and walk around the room including the speaking area. Walk from where you will be seated to the place where you will be speaking.
2. Know the Audience - If possible, greet some of the audience as they arrive and chat with them. It is easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
3. Know Your Material - If you are not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech or presentation and revise it until you can present it with ease.
4. Learn How to Relax - You can ease tension by doing exercises. Sit comfortable with your back straight. Breathe in slowly, hold your breath for 4 to 5 seconds, then slowly exhale. To relax your facial muscles, open your mouth and eyes wide, then close them tightly.
5. Visualize Yourself Speaking - Imagine yourself walking confidently to the lectern as the audience applauds. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
6. Realize People Want You To Succeed - All audiences want speakers to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They want you to succeed - not fail.
7. Don't apologize For Being Nervous - Most of the time your nervousness does not show at all. If you don't say anything about it, nobody will notice. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you'll only be calling attention to it. Had you remained silent, your listeners may not have noticed at all.
8. Concentrate on Your Message - not the audience. Your nervous feelings will dissipate if you focus your attention away from your anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience, not yourself.
9. Turn Nervousness into Positive Energy - the same nervous energy that causes stage fright can be an asset to you. Harness it, and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.
10. Gain Experience - Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. Most beginning speakers find their anxieties decrease after each speech they give.
About author
Lenny Laskowski is an international professional speaker and President of LJL Seminars (tm), in Newington, CT. He can be reached at (860) 666-4855 or by email at President@LJLSeminars.com.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Studying in the US? Get a work visa
Studying in the US? Get a work visa
Unless they have decided on further education, most students who finish their graduation face a dilemma.
They worry about what to do next; whether they will get a job and, if they do, whether they would need to move to another city.
For Indian students studying abroad, the dilemma multiplies.
Consider, for example, the options you have if you are a student in the United States.
When you finish your Bachelor's/ graduate degree, your time as an F-1 (F-1 is a student visa) foreign student will also come to an end. Yes, you are proud of your accomplishments. But, you also wonder: ~ Should I aim at a career back home or should I consider remaining in the US for a while?
~ I want to stay in the US. Will US employers be willing to hire me?
~ How can I retain my personal independence while pursuing an employment-based visa in the US?
Let's attempt to answer some of these questions.
If you have visited an immigration lawyer about your upcoming graduation, the possibilities are you may have been advised to work towards getting an H-1B (a work visa) visa right away.
While this advice may be useful for a select few, your best bet is to accept a one year post-completion practical training option if it is available.
Why do many immigration lawyers recommend an immediate switch from an F-1 student visa to H-1B professional visa? There are many reasons.
If you come from a developing nation that has a high rate of illegal immigration to the US, you could be identified as an 'intending immigrant' if you have to travel while doing your practical training on your F-1 student visa.
In other words, even though your F-1 visa would still be valid because you are involved in post-graduate career training, the immigration officer at the port of entry can make an arbitrary decision that you have no intention of returning home and may not allow you to re-enter the US.
Nonetheless, occupational practical training is advisable for graduating students for the following reasons:i. Unlike H-1B visas which are employer-specific and require changes every time you change your job, the F-1 Practical Training visa (valid for one year) is simply issued by the Designated School Official.
ii. This means your employer does not have to fill out forms, does not have to promise your return ticket home, etc. A US employer would be uncomfortable hiring a foreign professional because of the immigration consequences; the process of applying for an H-1B visa can be scary, especially when the person you are hiring is an unknown entity.
iii. If you have your practical training visa in hand, you can confidently sit through your employment interviews and assure your prospective employer that, while you are a foreign student, you have the necessary employment authorisation to pursue your career; the company does not have to worry about getting you permission to work for them.
This route will open up doors for a future H-1B visa as you will have the time to develop a good relationship with your employer. The obvious benefits are: i. It allows you to get a job without your employers having to consult their in-house attorneys, who are usually petrified of foreign workers.
ii. Once you are in the door, you can show them just how talented you are.
You begin to develop your relationship with the employer and become a valuable member of the team, not just the new kid on the block.
iii. As that first year of employment reaches its final quarter, you raise the issue with the personnel department and advise them that you will need their assistance in switching to an H-1B visa.
Unless they have decided on further education, most students who finish their graduation face a dilemma.
They worry about what to do next; whether they will get a job and, if they do, whether they would need to move to another city.
For Indian students studying abroad, the dilemma multiplies.
Consider, for example, the options you have if you are a student in the United States.
When you finish your Bachelor's/ graduate degree, your time as an F-1 (F-1 is a student visa) foreign student will also come to an end. Yes, you are proud of your accomplishments. But, you also wonder: ~ Should I aim at a career back home or should I consider remaining in the US for a while?
~ I want to stay in the US. Will US employers be willing to hire me?
~ How can I retain my personal independence while pursuing an employment-based visa in the US?
Let's attempt to answer some of these questions.
If you have visited an immigration lawyer about your upcoming graduation, the possibilities are you may have been advised to work towards getting an H-1B (a work visa) visa right away.
While this advice may be useful for a select few, your best bet is to accept a one year post-completion practical training option if it is available.
Why do many immigration lawyers recommend an immediate switch from an F-1 student visa to H-1B professional visa? There are many reasons.
If you come from a developing nation that has a high rate of illegal immigration to the US, you could be identified as an 'intending immigrant' if you have to travel while doing your practical training on your F-1 student visa.
In other words, even though your F-1 visa would still be valid because you are involved in post-graduate career training, the immigration officer at the port of entry can make an arbitrary decision that you have no intention of returning home and may not allow you to re-enter the US.
Nonetheless, occupational practical training is advisable for graduating students for the following reasons:i. Unlike H-1B visas which are employer-specific and require changes every time you change your job, the F-1 Practical Training visa (valid for one year) is simply issued by the Designated School Official.
ii. This means your employer does not have to fill out forms, does not have to promise your return ticket home, etc. A US employer would be uncomfortable hiring a foreign professional because of the immigration consequences; the process of applying for an H-1B visa can be scary, especially when the person you are hiring is an unknown entity.
iii. If you have your practical training visa in hand, you can confidently sit through your employment interviews and assure your prospective employer that, while you are a foreign student, you have the necessary employment authorisation to pursue your career; the company does not have to worry about getting you permission to work for them.
This route will open up doors for a future H-1B visa as you will have the time to develop a good relationship with your employer. The obvious benefits are: i. It allows you to get a job without your employers having to consult their in-house attorneys, who are usually petrified of foreign workers.
ii. Once you are in the door, you can show them just how talented you are.
You begin to develop your relationship with the employer and become a valuable member of the team, not just the new kid on the block.
iii. As that first year of employment reaches its final quarter, you raise the issue with the personnel department and advise them that you will need their assistance in switching to an H-1B visa.
HOW TO WRITE A SUCCESSFUL STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
HOW TO WRITE A SUCCESSFUL STATEMENT OF PURPOSE - REVISITED
FOR GRADUATE SCHOOLS
Based on a presentation by
PROFESSOR EDWARD HOWER*
The personal statement is a difficult piece of writing, maybe the most difficult piece of writing you will ever do, and therefore you have to do it very carefully. It is an opportunity for you to give a picture of yourself. It may take a great deal of time and energy but at least you will have written something you are proud of, which says something important about you. So I would suggest first of all: write it for yourself as much as for graduate schools in America; do a job that you like, something that has integrity, which says something important about you. If things don’t turn out the way you hope, at least you will have written something difficult but satisfying.
How important is the essay part of the application? This depends on your marks to a certain extent. If your marks are very high, then it may not be as important as it is for someone whose marks are not so good. Nevertheless it is important. A person with high marks can spoil his/her chances of admission with a bad essay. At highly competitive schools, where most applicants score at the 97th percentile level on standardized tests, a winning personal statement may be the deciding factor in admission.
WHAT ARE ADMISSIONS OFFICERS LOOKING FOR?
First of all don’t second guess. Don’t try to figure out what you think they want and supply it because you won’t be able to do that. Nor can you understand the mind of a 50 year old American who is living 10,000 miles away from you and may have woken up that morning with a headache and then was bitten by a dog on his way to the office. There is no way you can second guess, you cannot read their minds. Having said that, I can tell you some things which all college admissions officers want to see in the application:
A picture of your overall personality
How will you give a picture of your personality? I would suggest that you imply rather than state the facts. For instance, don’t say ‘I am a smart person.’ Demonstrate it, imply it. Don’t say ‘I am energetic.’ Give evidence by the fact that you worked after school for six hours every day and still had time to play on the volleyball team.
Academic background and work experience
It would be a mistake to talk about your high school. Start with your undergraduate career. School records may be worth mentioning if there is something extraordinary about them.
A connection between your background, your proposed study and your future goal
Admissions officers are looking for some continuity in what you have done, what you want to do in the near future and what you hope to do in the distant future. So, connect them.
A sense of commitment and motivation
Rather than simply saying ‘I am committed’, find a way of inferring that you are indeed highly committed and motivated to your proposed field of study.
Your ability to discuss thoughts clearly and intelligently in writing
They will be looking at your writing skills - how well you can present yourself clearly and intelligently when writing, hence the importance of spending considerable time on the statement.
These five points are very general but almost every university wants to know about them. They may be too general but if you miss one of them you are probably missing something important.
SOME GENERAL DO’S AND DON’TS:
· Do take a lot of time. Don’t do this at the last minute. Plan to spend a month or so preparing for the essay. Plan to let it rest for a week, so you have time to mull it over and get a perspective on it. Don’t be hasty and sloppy.
· Do read the question carefully. If they ask you why you want to go to law school, answer that. If they ask “What are your career goals,” answer that. Don’t go off on a tangent or get too verbose.
· Do write the length of essay they ask for. If they ask for 200 words give them that or 190 or 220. You don’t give them a 1000 and you don’t give them 50.
· Type your final draft unless they tell you not to. Type it well with no mistakes. Buy some good paper. If you’re writing it, see that it is clear and legible.
· Do write a separate essay for each university that you are applying to. There is no reason why you can’t take a paragraph from one essay and apply it to another. Your essays don’t have to be every word different but each university would like to think that you are especially interested in their program. Each university is different. Make something about your essay distinctive to that university and mention its name. Don’t write an all-purpose general essay. Admissions faculty don’t like that.
· Do as much research on the university as you can. If you can get hold of a catalogue, read it. If you can find someone who went to the university, talk to them. Find out as much as you can about the university. You don’t want to say ‘I have always wanted to go to Harvard because I wanted to find out about the Great American West’. As most of you know, Harvard is not in the Great American West. It is in Massachusetts.
· Don’t try to second-guess admissions faculty, as I have already said, and don’t flatter them. Don’t say ‘I’ve always wanted to study at the University of Montana because I have heard that it is the best university in the world to study medicine.’ It may not be and even if it is, it sounds like flattery.
· Don’t be phoney. Be honest. Admissions faculty can spot a dishonest essay a mile away. It would not be to your advantage to be dishonest as you might get into a university and then find it was not the right place for you.
· Accentuate your positive qualities. If you had the highest mark in class, make sure that they know it. Make sure that they know that you were able to hold a full-time job while going to school. Make sure that they know that you won any awards. Make sure that they know that you were captain of a team.
· Don’t glorify yourself. Don’t say - ‘I was the best tennis player in the whole city of Madras’. That is boasting. However being modest and subtle are also not good qualities. There is a medium between being modest and boastful.
· Mention your positive achievements as they apply to your graduate admission. The information you provide about your important achievements must be related to your field. If you are applying for medicine and you have won a poetry prize, don’t mention your poetry prize because you may not have space. It is a good thing, but you may need to fill your application with more relevant information. On the other hand, you could mention your work as organizer of blood donation camps or your internships as a psychiatric care worker.
· Do not repeat materials that are already on the application. Don’t say ‘My major is Physics’ because you have already said that somewhere else. Instead say ‘While I majored in Physics I also took ...’ or ‘My Physics major enabled me to take special courses in... and...’. Do mention your knowledge and experience in the field at the university level. It is usually a poor idea to mention your high school experience unless something exceptional happened at that time that changed your life or affected your career choice.
· It is important to mention your work experience, or volunteer work that you may have done or extra-curricular activities if they relate to your field. For example, if you are going to apply to business school and you were on the basketball team you may think that it is not relevant. However if you learnt leadership qualities, if you learnt how to endure defeat, if you learnt management skills by being captain of the basketball team, then it is relevant. You have to show the relevance. If you had a job after school, working in the college bookstore or you have done volunteer work at a hospital, this is relevant - you have learnt management skills at the shop. You have learnt to interact with people while you worked in the hospital.
· Be definite in your application. Don’t say - ‘I hope to do this,’ ‘I might like to do that’. Say ‘I want to do this,’ ‘I am planning to do this,’ ‘I intend to do that’. Your language is definite. It is not hesitant and indecisive.
DO’S AND DON’TS ON HOW TO WRITE
· Write simply, not in a flowery and complicated manner.
· Write in a straightforward way. In other words don’t be subtle or cute. Write in a clear and logical manner. If you have to be creative that is fine, but be so in a straightforward way. These people are really interested in your vocation. They don’t want to read something that is in the form of one act plays nor do they want to read three adjectives per noun. They want you to be direct and straightforward.
· Be clear in what you are saying. Make sure you are logical. Explain yourself with great clarity. Finally, most important of all, be specific, not vague. Don’t say - ‘My grades were quite good’ but say ‘I belonged to the top 5% of my class’. Don’t say - ‘I am interested in sports’. Say ‘I was captain of my hockey team’. Don’t say ‘I like poetry’. Say ‘I did a study of Shakespeare’s sonnets and wrote a twelve-page bachelor’s degree dissertation on Imagery’. Don’t say - ‘I want to be a Supreme Court Judge that is why I want to go to law school’. Say things like ‘I was an apprentice in a court’ or ‘I often went with my father to the courts to listen to cases’ or ‘I wrote a legal column for a school newspaper’. That is being specific.
HOW DO YOU WRITE THE ESSAY?
There are three stages: preparation; writing the essay; revision.
Preparation
Brainstorming is an important part of preparation. Take some time and write down in note form the important events and facts about your recent life - from the time you graduated from high school. List the things that you have done and the things that have been important to you. For example:
· Won a poetry contest
· Got A’s in Physics and Mathematics
· Member of volleyball team
· Worked after school in shop
· Won a contest
· Worked with a social welfare group on a slum project
· Went to Hyderabad for six months to stay with an aunt because she was sick
Write out the answers to some questions. Write them out in some detail, being as specific as you can.
· What is special and impressive and unique about you? This is not an easy question to answer. You should ask someone ‘Hey what is so special about me’. Your mother may not always have the same ideas you have: ‘You eat well’. That’s not going to help you figure out an answer. Ask a friend.
· What details in your life have shaped you and influenced your growth? What details in your life have made you the person you are and have influenced your choice of career goal?
· What have you learnt about your field that has stimulated you and given you the conviction that you are best suited to that field?
· How have you learned this?
· Classes
· Important reading
· Work experience
· Extra-curricular activities
· How have your work experiences contributed to your personal growth? If you have not had a job, don’t worry about it, but mention it if you have - even if you were not paid for it. Perhaps you took care of neighbours’ children for a number of years. If you are applying for graduate study in social work, psychology or education, you can make this relevant.
· What are your career goals? Be as specific as you can be. Not all students are clear about what they want to do ten years from now. If you don’t know it, don’t fake it. Be as specific as you can be. Not everyone can be clear - some students are not old enough or experienced enough to know what their future goals are.
· Explain any discrepancies or gaps in your record. If you dropped out of university for a year to take care of your father who was ill, that will show up in your student record or transcript. You will have to explain that. You don’t have to make a big deal about it. However admissions faculty will want to know why you were not at university for a certain period. Suppose you had poor marks in the first two years and then your grades picked up and the reason you had poor marks is because you were not sure what you were doing or you were sick a lot or you were moving from one city to another. Explain that. For example, ‘My marks in the first two years were not up to my expectations but once I got settled into a new home, they improved remarkably’ or ‘My father was ill at that time and I had to take care of him. After his death, I had to face university again.’ If such experiences have influenced your record you should mention them. Don’t make silly excuses. But if something really needs explaining, don’t skip over it.
· Have you overcome any special obstacles? Some of you may have faced troubled times in your life - financially, medically or have had family problems. If they are really obstacles explain how you have overcome them. This makes you appear like a person of considerable character.
· What personal characteristics do you have that will enhance your prospects for success in your field? Can you demonstrate that, give evidence? If you can’t give evidence that you are a hard- working person then don’t say you are hard-working. If you are a hard-working person and you have worked ten hours a day at a job and studied, that is worth noting. Again inference may be the best way of stating it.
· What special skills do you possess? Ask your friends. You may have special skills in communication, articulation, or are you especially good at leadership, do you have sharp analytical skills, or are you creative. This is where your autobiography would be useful. You acted in a college play and people thought you were terrific. What does this mean in terms of applying to a graduate school of law? It means you are able to get people to pay attention to you. Being a good actor can make you a good lawyer. Actors have gone on to become lawyers and politicians as we all know, so look over your life. What special skills do you have? Perhaps you have a technical skill, a pilot’s licence or you know how to repair motors.
· What are the most compelling reasons the committee should be interested in you? What is so great, so wonderful about you? If you have done a good job with your autobiography and you have done a good job answering these questions half of your work is done. It takes time to do this. Spend time on it.
Writing the essay
Write several outlines and decide which you like best. Remember the essay has an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Outline the things you want to say and from all the material you have written, select the material which you think will go well in your essay. Select the most significant details. Put that into your outline. Make your outline useable, make it neat and leave lots of space. Now you are ready to write the essay. Write on lined paper, double spaced, using only one side of the page.
The first attempt at writing the essay is going to be terrible, but don’t worry; it is only the first draft. Do not edit as you write. Write it out. Make it too long.
Revision
Let the essay sit for a day or two. Then go over it with a red ink pen making little lines; cross out words or sentences. Revise it carefully and write your second draft. This may also be disappointing. Don’t expect too much from your first attempts. It takes a lot of work. I have often put in a lot of work, put it in an envelope, taken one last look and said ‘Oh hell, I have to do it again’ and I did it again. Do as many drafts as you feel are necessary.
Spend time on the first paragraph. Make sure that first paragraph is terrific and interesting. Don’t make it cute or flowery. Don’t say anything less than fascinating. You won’t get it on your first draft. You will probably get it on your sixth or seventh try. Also pay attention to your last paragraph which may be only one sentence - make it a snappy last sentence.
Be clear, specific and interesting.
You are likely to be exhausted, fed up and sick of the whole project. At that time don’t push yourself. Let it sit. Give the essay to somebody else to look at. Someone who is older, perhaps a former teacher: not a friend who is afraid to criticise you. Somebody who cares enough to be critical and tell you the truth. Then write it again.
Once you think you have got the final draft, what do you do? Proofread it as if you were the editor of India Today or Times of India. Not a single mistake must survive - spelling or grammatical. Look every word up in the dictionary that you are not absolutely sure of.
Remember that content and style are both important (60%:40%). Make sure that the essay looks perfect.
*Professor Hower is a visiting professor from Cornell University, Department of English. He wrote this piece while he was in Madras.
FOR GRADUATE SCHOOLS
Based on a presentation by
PROFESSOR EDWARD HOWER*
The personal statement is a difficult piece of writing, maybe the most difficult piece of writing you will ever do, and therefore you have to do it very carefully. It is an opportunity for you to give a picture of yourself. It may take a great deal of time and energy but at least you will have written something you are proud of, which says something important about you. So I would suggest first of all: write it for yourself as much as for graduate schools in America; do a job that you like, something that has integrity, which says something important about you. If things don’t turn out the way you hope, at least you will have written something difficult but satisfying.
How important is the essay part of the application? This depends on your marks to a certain extent. If your marks are very high, then it may not be as important as it is for someone whose marks are not so good. Nevertheless it is important. A person with high marks can spoil his/her chances of admission with a bad essay. At highly competitive schools, where most applicants score at the 97th percentile level on standardized tests, a winning personal statement may be the deciding factor in admission.
WHAT ARE ADMISSIONS OFFICERS LOOKING FOR?
First of all don’t second guess. Don’t try to figure out what you think they want and supply it because you won’t be able to do that. Nor can you understand the mind of a 50 year old American who is living 10,000 miles away from you and may have woken up that morning with a headache and then was bitten by a dog on his way to the office. There is no way you can second guess, you cannot read their minds. Having said that, I can tell you some things which all college admissions officers want to see in the application:
A picture of your overall personality
How will you give a picture of your personality? I would suggest that you imply rather than state the facts. For instance, don’t say ‘I am a smart person.’ Demonstrate it, imply it. Don’t say ‘I am energetic.’ Give evidence by the fact that you worked after school for six hours every day and still had time to play on the volleyball team.
Academic background and work experience
It would be a mistake to talk about your high school. Start with your undergraduate career. School records may be worth mentioning if there is something extraordinary about them.
A connection between your background, your proposed study and your future goal
Admissions officers are looking for some continuity in what you have done, what you want to do in the near future and what you hope to do in the distant future. So, connect them.
A sense of commitment and motivation
Rather than simply saying ‘I am committed’, find a way of inferring that you are indeed highly committed and motivated to your proposed field of study.
Your ability to discuss thoughts clearly and intelligently in writing
They will be looking at your writing skills - how well you can present yourself clearly and intelligently when writing, hence the importance of spending considerable time on the statement.
These five points are very general but almost every university wants to know about them. They may be too general but if you miss one of them you are probably missing something important.
SOME GENERAL DO’S AND DON’TS:
· Do take a lot of time. Don’t do this at the last minute. Plan to spend a month or so preparing for the essay. Plan to let it rest for a week, so you have time to mull it over and get a perspective on it. Don’t be hasty and sloppy.
· Do read the question carefully. If they ask you why you want to go to law school, answer that. If they ask “What are your career goals,” answer that. Don’t go off on a tangent or get too verbose.
· Do write the length of essay they ask for. If they ask for 200 words give them that or 190 or 220. You don’t give them a 1000 and you don’t give them 50.
· Type your final draft unless they tell you not to. Type it well with no mistakes. Buy some good paper. If you’re writing it, see that it is clear and legible.
· Do write a separate essay for each university that you are applying to. There is no reason why you can’t take a paragraph from one essay and apply it to another. Your essays don’t have to be every word different but each university would like to think that you are especially interested in their program. Each university is different. Make something about your essay distinctive to that university and mention its name. Don’t write an all-purpose general essay. Admissions faculty don’t like that.
· Do as much research on the university as you can. If you can get hold of a catalogue, read it. If you can find someone who went to the university, talk to them. Find out as much as you can about the university. You don’t want to say ‘I have always wanted to go to Harvard because I wanted to find out about the Great American West’. As most of you know, Harvard is not in the Great American West. It is in Massachusetts.
· Don’t try to second-guess admissions faculty, as I have already said, and don’t flatter them. Don’t say ‘I’ve always wanted to study at the University of Montana because I have heard that it is the best university in the world to study medicine.’ It may not be and even if it is, it sounds like flattery.
· Don’t be phoney. Be honest. Admissions faculty can spot a dishonest essay a mile away. It would not be to your advantage to be dishonest as you might get into a university and then find it was not the right place for you.
· Accentuate your positive qualities. If you had the highest mark in class, make sure that they know it. Make sure that they know that you were able to hold a full-time job while going to school. Make sure that they know that you won any awards. Make sure that they know that you were captain of a team.
· Don’t glorify yourself. Don’t say - ‘I was the best tennis player in the whole city of Madras’. That is boasting. However being modest and subtle are also not good qualities. There is a medium between being modest and boastful.
· Mention your positive achievements as they apply to your graduate admission. The information you provide about your important achievements must be related to your field. If you are applying for medicine and you have won a poetry prize, don’t mention your poetry prize because you may not have space. It is a good thing, but you may need to fill your application with more relevant information. On the other hand, you could mention your work as organizer of blood donation camps or your internships as a psychiatric care worker.
· Do not repeat materials that are already on the application. Don’t say ‘My major is Physics’ because you have already said that somewhere else. Instead say ‘While I majored in Physics I also took ...’ or ‘My Physics major enabled me to take special courses in... and...’. Do mention your knowledge and experience in the field at the university level. It is usually a poor idea to mention your high school experience unless something exceptional happened at that time that changed your life or affected your career choice.
· It is important to mention your work experience, or volunteer work that you may have done or extra-curricular activities if they relate to your field. For example, if you are going to apply to business school and you were on the basketball team you may think that it is not relevant. However if you learnt leadership qualities, if you learnt how to endure defeat, if you learnt management skills by being captain of the basketball team, then it is relevant. You have to show the relevance. If you had a job after school, working in the college bookstore or you have done volunteer work at a hospital, this is relevant - you have learnt management skills at the shop. You have learnt to interact with people while you worked in the hospital.
· Be definite in your application. Don’t say - ‘I hope to do this,’ ‘I might like to do that’. Say ‘I want to do this,’ ‘I am planning to do this,’ ‘I intend to do that’. Your language is definite. It is not hesitant and indecisive.
DO’S AND DON’TS ON HOW TO WRITE
· Write simply, not in a flowery and complicated manner.
· Write in a straightforward way. In other words don’t be subtle or cute. Write in a clear and logical manner. If you have to be creative that is fine, but be so in a straightforward way. These people are really interested in your vocation. They don’t want to read something that is in the form of one act plays nor do they want to read three adjectives per noun. They want you to be direct and straightforward.
· Be clear in what you are saying. Make sure you are logical. Explain yourself with great clarity. Finally, most important of all, be specific, not vague. Don’t say - ‘My grades were quite good’ but say ‘I belonged to the top 5% of my class’. Don’t say - ‘I am interested in sports’. Say ‘I was captain of my hockey team’. Don’t say ‘I like poetry’. Say ‘I did a study of Shakespeare’s sonnets and wrote a twelve-page bachelor’s degree dissertation on Imagery’. Don’t say - ‘I want to be a Supreme Court Judge that is why I want to go to law school’. Say things like ‘I was an apprentice in a court’ or ‘I often went with my father to the courts to listen to cases’ or ‘I wrote a legal column for a school newspaper’. That is being specific.
HOW DO YOU WRITE THE ESSAY?
There are three stages: preparation; writing the essay; revision.
Preparation
Brainstorming is an important part of preparation. Take some time and write down in note form the important events and facts about your recent life - from the time you graduated from high school. List the things that you have done and the things that have been important to you. For example:
· Won a poetry contest
· Got A’s in Physics and Mathematics
· Member of volleyball team
· Worked after school in shop
· Won a contest
· Worked with a social welfare group on a slum project
· Went to Hyderabad for six months to stay with an aunt because she was sick
Write out the answers to some questions. Write them out in some detail, being as specific as you can.
· What is special and impressive and unique about you? This is not an easy question to answer. You should ask someone ‘Hey what is so special about me’. Your mother may not always have the same ideas you have: ‘You eat well’. That’s not going to help you figure out an answer. Ask a friend.
· What details in your life have shaped you and influenced your growth? What details in your life have made you the person you are and have influenced your choice of career goal?
· What have you learnt about your field that has stimulated you and given you the conviction that you are best suited to that field?
· How have you learned this?
· Classes
· Important reading
· Work experience
· Extra-curricular activities
· How have your work experiences contributed to your personal growth? If you have not had a job, don’t worry about it, but mention it if you have - even if you were not paid for it. Perhaps you took care of neighbours’ children for a number of years. If you are applying for graduate study in social work, psychology or education, you can make this relevant.
· What are your career goals? Be as specific as you can be. Not all students are clear about what they want to do ten years from now. If you don’t know it, don’t fake it. Be as specific as you can be. Not everyone can be clear - some students are not old enough or experienced enough to know what their future goals are.
· Explain any discrepancies or gaps in your record. If you dropped out of university for a year to take care of your father who was ill, that will show up in your student record or transcript. You will have to explain that. You don’t have to make a big deal about it. However admissions faculty will want to know why you were not at university for a certain period. Suppose you had poor marks in the first two years and then your grades picked up and the reason you had poor marks is because you were not sure what you were doing or you were sick a lot or you were moving from one city to another. Explain that. For example, ‘My marks in the first two years were not up to my expectations but once I got settled into a new home, they improved remarkably’ or ‘My father was ill at that time and I had to take care of him. After his death, I had to face university again.’ If such experiences have influenced your record you should mention them. Don’t make silly excuses. But if something really needs explaining, don’t skip over it.
· Have you overcome any special obstacles? Some of you may have faced troubled times in your life - financially, medically or have had family problems. If they are really obstacles explain how you have overcome them. This makes you appear like a person of considerable character.
· What personal characteristics do you have that will enhance your prospects for success in your field? Can you demonstrate that, give evidence? If you can’t give evidence that you are a hard- working person then don’t say you are hard-working. If you are a hard-working person and you have worked ten hours a day at a job and studied, that is worth noting. Again inference may be the best way of stating it.
· What special skills do you possess? Ask your friends. You may have special skills in communication, articulation, or are you especially good at leadership, do you have sharp analytical skills, or are you creative. This is where your autobiography would be useful. You acted in a college play and people thought you were terrific. What does this mean in terms of applying to a graduate school of law? It means you are able to get people to pay attention to you. Being a good actor can make you a good lawyer. Actors have gone on to become lawyers and politicians as we all know, so look over your life. What special skills do you have? Perhaps you have a technical skill, a pilot’s licence or you know how to repair motors.
· What are the most compelling reasons the committee should be interested in you? What is so great, so wonderful about you? If you have done a good job with your autobiography and you have done a good job answering these questions half of your work is done. It takes time to do this. Spend time on it.
Writing the essay
Write several outlines and decide which you like best. Remember the essay has an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Outline the things you want to say and from all the material you have written, select the material which you think will go well in your essay. Select the most significant details. Put that into your outline. Make your outline useable, make it neat and leave lots of space. Now you are ready to write the essay. Write on lined paper, double spaced, using only one side of the page.
The first attempt at writing the essay is going to be terrible, but don’t worry; it is only the first draft. Do not edit as you write. Write it out. Make it too long.
Revision
Let the essay sit for a day or two. Then go over it with a red ink pen making little lines; cross out words or sentences. Revise it carefully and write your second draft. This may also be disappointing. Don’t expect too much from your first attempts. It takes a lot of work. I have often put in a lot of work, put it in an envelope, taken one last look and said ‘Oh hell, I have to do it again’ and I did it again. Do as many drafts as you feel are necessary.
Spend time on the first paragraph. Make sure that first paragraph is terrific and interesting. Don’t make it cute or flowery. Don’t say anything less than fascinating. You won’t get it on your first draft. You will probably get it on your sixth or seventh try. Also pay attention to your last paragraph which may be only one sentence - make it a snappy last sentence.
Be clear, specific and interesting.
You are likely to be exhausted, fed up and sick of the whole project. At that time don’t push yourself. Let it sit. Give the essay to somebody else to look at. Someone who is older, perhaps a former teacher: not a friend who is afraid to criticise you. Somebody who cares enough to be critical and tell you the truth. Then write it again.
Once you think you have got the final draft, what do you do? Proofread it as if you were the editor of India Today or Times of India. Not a single mistake must survive - spelling or grammatical. Look every word up in the dictionary that you are not absolutely sure of.
Remember that content and style are both important (60%:40%). Make sure that the essay looks perfect.
*Professor Hower is a visiting professor from Cornell University, Department of English. He wrote this piece while he was in Madras.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Will You Get Accepted?
Will You Get Accepted?
Knowing Your Chances
The admissions process is inevitably arbitrary, and admissions committees often make surprising decisions. You can, however, get a rough idea of your chances of getting into a certain program. Find out the GRE score and college GPA of the average grad student; these figures are usually available, and they're the only way to compare yourself to a large number of other people.
Your Numbers
If your numbers are substantially better than a program's average numbers, then your chances look pretty good, as long as the rest of your application materials are consistent with your scores. If your numbers are close to a school's average, they work neither for you or against you, and the rest of your application will determine your competitiveness in the application pool. If your numbers are substantially lower than a school's average numbers, consider that school a long shot.
The Rest of Your Application
Your complete application includes your essays, transcript, recommendations, work experience, awards and activities, writing sample, and publications, if any. There's another, "invisible" part of your application: your conversations with professors at certain schools and the impressions you left behind -- both vitally important. All of these factors affect your chances of admission. Even your ethnicity or region of origin can help you.
Your best source of information about your chances of getting into a school is a well-informed professor -- one who knows you and the programs you're interested in. Such professors can give you straightforward answers about how impressive your credentials look to someone in the field. They can also advise you about how best to present yourself and what questions to ask. These professorial insights are crucial to deciding how hard-hitting your applications are going to be.
If you have any kind of relationship with a professor at one of your prospective schools -- or if you get to know any in the course of your research -- then that professor is an ideal resource. Most professors can generally give you some idea of your strength as a candidate. The responses of professors at your prospective schools are more than just guesses; these professors may be able to influence admissions decisions directly.
Talk to Them
It's impossible to overemphasize the importance of talking to the professors at the schools you're considering. Admission to graduate school isn't about standardized tests or GPAs. It's about people: the people in the academic community you're trying to join, and the people you've worked with in the past. The opinions of the professors in your prospective graduate program, together with the recommendations you receive from professors you've worked with, are the most significant determinants in the admissions process. When you're trying to gauge your chances of success in applying to a program, nothing tells you more than the opinions of the professors involved.
Knowing Your Chances
The admissions process is inevitably arbitrary, and admissions committees often make surprising decisions. You can, however, get a rough idea of your chances of getting into a certain program. Find out the GRE score and college GPA of the average grad student; these figures are usually available, and they're the only way to compare yourself to a large number of other people.
Your Numbers
If your numbers are substantially better than a program's average numbers, then your chances look pretty good, as long as the rest of your application materials are consistent with your scores. If your numbers are close to a school's average, they work neither for you or against you, and the rest of your application will determine your competitiveness in the application pool. If your numbers are substantially lower than a school's average numbers, consider that school a long shot.
The Rest of Your Application
Your complete application includes your essays, transcript, recommendations, work experience, awards and activities, writing sample, and publications, if any. There's another, "invisible" part of your application: your conversations with professors at certain schools and the impressions you left behind -- both vitally important. All of these factors affect your chances of admission. Even your ethnicity or region of origin can help you.
Your best source of information about your chances of getting into a school is a well-informed professor -- one who knows you and the programs you're interested in. Such professors can give you straightforward answers about how impressive your credentials look to someone in the field. They can also advise you about how best to present yourself and what questions to ask. These professorial insights are crucial to deciding how hard-hitting your applications are going to be.
If you have any kind of relationship with a professor at one of your prospective schools -- or if you get to know any in the course of your research -- then that professor is an ideal resource. Most professors can generally give you some idea of your strength as a candidate. The responses of professors at your prospective schools are more than just guesses; these professors may be able to influence admissions decisions directly.
Talk to Them
It's impossible to overemphasize the importance of talking to the professors at the schools you're considering. Admission to graduate school isn't about standardized tests or GPAs. It's about people: the people in the academic community you're trying to join, and the people you've worked with in the past. The opinions of the professors in your prospective graduate program, together with the recommendations you receive from professors you've worked with, are the most significant determinants in the admissions process. When you're trying to gauge your chances of success in applying to a program, nothing tells you more than the opinions of the professors involved.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Detailed list of documents required for Visa
Hello friends,
This is a detailed list of documents required for Visa and details
about those documents.
Courtesy: http://www.state.gov
Required Documents for F1 Visa:
They can be classified as follows.
A. Consulate Documents.
B. US University Documents.
C. Qualifying Test Documents.
C. Educational Documents.
D. Proof of Funds Documents.
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*
Consulate Documents:
1. Copy of Web appointment (TTS).
2. Form DS-156. (Can be downloaded and printed back-to-back (Both
sides on a single paper or sheet)
Download it from:
http://travel.state.gov/DS-0156.pdf
3. Form DS-157 (Only for all male applicants in the age group of 16
to 45 years)(Not required for Female applicants)
Download it from:
http://travel.state.gov/DS-0157.pdf
4. Form DS-158 (for applicants seeking visas in F category)
Download it from:
http://travel.state.gov/DS-0158.pdf
Note: You can fill the above forms in your own handwriting or if you
are using Adobe Acrobat reader 5.0, you can directly type in the
form (except a few columns) and take printouts directly.
5. One Demand Draft from the for Rs.4,600/- as mentioned below.
6. One Photo 50mm X 50mm (or 2inches x 2 inches Square) on form DS-
156. (Photo guidelines are given below within this section. Kindly
follow them as described.)
7. Passport - Each applicant must possess an individual passport
valid for travel to the U.S. with a validity date at least six
months beyond the intended period of stay;
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Banks to take DD's (For Chennai consulate Applicants Only):
The following is a list of nationalized or foreign banks with a
branch in Chennai from which the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai
will accept Demand Drafts (current as of October 2003):
ABN AMRO Bank
American Express Bank
Andhra Bank
Allahabad Bank
Bank of America
Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur
Bank of India
Bank of Maharashtra
Bank of Muscat
Bharat Overseas Bank
Bank of Tokyo & Mitsubishi
BNP Paribas
Central Bank
Canara Bank
Citibank
Duetsche Bank
Global Trust Bank
HDFC Bank
Honkong Bank
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
Karnataka Bank
Lakshmivilas Bank
Oriental Bank of Commerce
Punjab National Bank
Reserve Bank Of India
Standard Chartered Bank
State Bank of Hyderabad
State Bank of India
State Bank of Indore
State Bank of Mysore
State Bank of Travancore
Syndicate Bank
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank
Tamilnadu state apex co-op Bank
The Jammu & Kashmir Bank
The Federal Bank
UCO Bank
UTI Bank
Vijaya Bank
Demand Draft Details:
Visa fees are as follows:
1) Non-immigrant visa application fee (non-refundable) Rs. 4600/-
2) Courier fee: Rs. 400 (Courier fees may be paid in cash or via a
demand draft favoring "T.T. Services" to be paid on the day of
appointment at the TT Services counter located at the Embassy.)
One Demand Draft/Bank Draft/Pay Order/Bank Managers
Check taken for the following amount from any Nationalized Banks and
Local Branches of Foreign Banks. DD's drawn on Co-operative Banks
are not accepted.
DD specifications for different centers are as follows:
1. New Delhi:
One Demand Draft for Rs.4600/-, drawn in favor of the "American
Embassy, New
Delhi." Drafts should be drawn on a bank with a branch in New Delhi.
2. Calcutta:
One separate DD on "American Consulate General, Calcutta," Payable
at Calcutta for the amounts of Rs.4600/
Write your full name and date of birth on the back of each and every
bank draft, using only a pencil to do so.
3. Mumbai:
In Mumbai a single DD includes both Visa application fee and Courier
fee.
Demand Draft for Visa Application Fee: Rs.5000/- Favoring "VFS a/c -
US Visa", payable in Mumbai.
Note: Drop Box applicants from Western Region opting the courier
service (Blue Dart) for home/office pick-up of application - please
add Rs. 120/- per passport. Total fee payable with pick-up service:
Each application must contain the Demand Draft for Visa
Application Fee: Rs 5120/- Favoring " VFS a/c - US Visa" payable in
Mumbai
4. Chennai:
One DD on "American Consulate General, Chennai." Payable in Chennai
for the
amounts of Rs.4, 600/- Important: Please write your complete name
and passport number on the back of each draft.
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B. US University Documents:
1. Offer letter from university or Acceptance letter from university.
2. SEVIS generated i-20 form from US University.
3. Any special letter of Aid or Funding.
4. Any useful correspondence with university officials or department
officials or
professors, in the form of mails or snail mails. If emails take
printouts of the same. When VO asks for them, present them.
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Regarding i-20's read the following:
(As of January 30, 2003 all new forms I-20 issued on or after that
date must be SEVIS compatible documents. First time students will be
able to enter the U.S. with non-SEVIS documents issued prior to
January 30, 2003. All continuing students must present a SEVIS-
generated form I-20, if they are applying for a visa after January
30, 2003. These new forms are printed on a single sheet of paper and
will have a large black bar code down the top right hand side of the
form.)
Note: If a student receives More than one i-20, he/she should take
all the received i-20's to visa interview. If the visa officer asks
for the proof of more i-20's then you can show them to VO. But
unless the VO asks for them don't show. Just
keep them with you. And also remember that VO will be knowing about
all your
admissions (If I-20 was ever issued)
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******************************************
C. Qualifying Test Documents:
Original Score Reports of
1. TOEFL
2. GRE/GMAT
D. Educational Documents:
1. Original Degree of Graduation or any other available highest
degree as per the
specifications applicable to individual cases.
(What if Degree certificate is not available? kindly follow the
following FAQ available with Chennai consulate web-site.
Q. What if I have not yet received my degree certificate?
A. Yes - you may still apply, but please be sure to include your
Individual and
consolidated mark Sheets and provisional certificate along with
Course Completion Certificate duly signed and stamped with college
seal by principal.)
2. Intermediate or (10+2 exam) original certificates or as
applicable to your case.
3. SSC / CBSE - (+10th standard) original certificates or as
applicable to your case.
4. Original Degree Consolidated marks list (if available and
applicable to your case.) along with all semester/year marks lists,
which is now became mandatory.
*****************************************************************
E. Proof of Funds Documents:
1. Proof of ability to finance the education
A. Scholarship letters,
B. Bank letters,
C. Salary slips of parents and other sponsors if any,
D. IT returns for last 2-3 years etc of parents and other sponsors
if any.
E. Rental receipts of own shops or buildings if any with revenue
stamps.
F. Sponsors Business P/L Account duly certified by a CA if sponsor
is a businessman.
G. Pension Papers - if sponsor is retired.
H. 6 months of Bank records - i.e. Bank transaction statements. Or
Bank Passbooks of sponsors. (At times VO ask for more than 6 months
also.)
I. Chartered Accountant Statement of Monetary worthiness of the
sponsors.
J. Affidavit of supports by sponsors and student separately.
K. Loan approval letters (if you want to show loans.) Regarding
loans kindly look into FAQ's given below .
Note: As a matter of fact you need to show the funds available with
you through liquid cash, liquid assets and properties and other
immovable assets and annual income.
1. Liquid Cash
The Bank in which the sponsor is having an account on bank's
letterhead and duly stamped along with a seal can certify this. It
can be supported by 6 months Bank statements or Pass books whatever
available with Bank.
Your sponsors bank account should contain cash for first year funds
of university fee + Living expenses + insurance + misc expenses +
airfares to USA and + Reserve cash funds for second year. Generally
it will be between 20-25 lakhs and sometimes up to 30- 35 lakhs
depending upon the university expenses (Tuition + Living expenses as
mentioned for 9-12 months on I-20 for the length of study as
mentioned in I-20 ranging from 24 months to 39 months)
If it's for 24 months you have to show availability of liquid funds
for 24 months. If the normal length of course is for 36 months, then
you have to show availability of funds for all three years, even you
know course is for 24 months. So a lot depends upon what your I-20
is mentioning.
Liquid funds also covers any Fixed deposits + Bonds + Shares + NSC +
Mutual funds + Gold + Jewellery etc. In fact it's better to show
Fixed deposits in our opinion. They carry much weight. For
everything you intend to show get a latest valuation certificates
basing on which CA will be giving his certificate. If you are
showing Gold and Jewellery, you should produce their valuation from
a Government approved official valuer, along with a declaration of
possession of Gold and jewellery by the sponsorer. But remember in
recent times Gold and jewellery has lost its shine in visa
processing, as many a times VO's commenting that they don't think
parents or sponsorers will sell of their Gold and other
valuables for the sake of their wards education. So be careful,
while showing Gold and Jewellery. Try to show it only as an asset
but not as a means of funding for college expenses and fees.
So from bank you need to produce:
A. Bank Letter stating the funds available with sponsors account and
how much it will be equivalent in US$.
B. Fixed Deposits Original certificates.
C. 6 months or more Bank Transaction statements and Pass Books and
any other related documents.
2. Properties:
There's no uniformity in these issues. Generally it should be around
70-80 lakhs or more. These may be Buildings, plots, flats, shops,
agricultural fields, farm houses etc immovable property in any form
if you are able to justify. All these should be evaluated and
certified by a CE - Chartered Engineer or Tehsil or concerned
metro/revenue officials etc to give their certificate of opinion on
the value of these immovable assets.
3. CA statement:
A CA - Chartered Accountant will give his certificate of Monetary
worthiness of
sponsors basing on the documents he is having related to sponsor.
His certificate
mentions all the Cash, liquid assets and immovable assets available
with the sponsor, which can be available for immediate use for the
applicants study in USA.
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NOTE:
There are a couple of changes about the documents required for visa:
now as per the new rules many changes were done....
the dd is rs4400 and not 4600 and it shuld b paid in advance at hdfc
bank in our city itself...
and also the courire fees in now around rs296 i suppose....
plz check out these........
This is a detailed list of documents required for Visa and details
about those documents.
Courtesy: http://www.state.gov
Required Documents for F1 Visa:
They can be classified as follows.
A. Consulate Documents.
B. US University Documents.
C. Qualifying Test Documents.
C. Educational Documents.
D. Proof of Funds Documents.
*********************************************************************
*
Consulate Documents:
1. Copy of Web appointment (TTS).
2. Form DS-156. (Can be downloaded and printed back-to-back (Both
sides on a single paper or sheet)
Download it from:
http://travel.state.gov/DS-0156.pdf
3. Form DS-157 (Only for all male applicants in the age group of 16
to 45 years)(Not required for Female applicants)
Download it from:
http://travel.state.gov/DS-0157.pdf
4. Form DS-158 (for applicants seeking visas in F category)
Download it from:
http://travel.state.gov/DS-0158.pdf
Note: You can fill the above forms in your own handwriting or if you
are using Adobe Acrobat reader 5.0, you can directly type in the
form (except a few columns) and take printouts directly.
5. One Demand Draft from the for Rs.4,600/- as mentioned below.
6. One Photo 50mm X 50mm (or 2inches x 2 inches Square) on form DS-
156. (Photo guidelines are given below within this section. Kindly
follow them as described.)
7. Passport - Each applicant must possess an individual passport
valid for travel to the U.S. with a validity date at least six
months beyond the intended period of stay;
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
Banks to take DD's (For Chennai consulate Applicants Only):
The following is a list of nationalized or foreign banks with a
branch in Chennai from which the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai
will accept Demand Drafts (current as of October 2003):
ABN AMRO Bank
American Express Bank
Andhra Bank
Allahabad Bank
Bank of America
Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur
Bank of India
Bank of Maharashtra
Bank of Muscat
Bharat Overseas Bank
Bank of Tokyo & Mitsubishi
BNP Paribas
Central Bank
Canara Bank
Citibank
Duetsche Bank
Global Trust Bank
HDFC Bank
Honkong Bank
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
Karnataka Bank
Lakshmivilas Bank
Oriental Bank of Commerce
Punjab National Bank
Reserve Bank Of India
Standard Chartered Bank
State Bank of Hyderabad
State Bank of India
State Bank of Indore
State Bank of Mysore
State Bank of Travancore
Syndicate Bank
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank
Tamilnadu state apex co-op Bank
The Jammu & Kashmir Bank
The Federal Bank
UCO Bank
UTI Bank
Vijaya Bank
Demand Draft Details:
Visa fees are as follows:
1) Non-immigrant visa application fee (non-refundable) Rs. 4600/-
2) Courier fee: Rs. 400 (Courier fees may be paid in cash or via a
demand draft favoring "T.T. Services" to be paid on the day of
appointment at the TT Services counter located at the Embassy.)
One Demand Draft/Bank Draft/Pay Order/Bank Managers
Check taken for the following amount from any Nationalized Banks and
Local Branches of Foreign Banks. DD's drawn on Co-operative Banks
are not accepted.
DD specifications for different centers are as follows:
1. New Delhi:
One Demand Draft for Rs.4600/-, drawn in favor of the "American
Embassy, New
Delhi." Drafts should be drawn on a bank with a branch in New Delhi.
2. Calcutta:
One separate DD on "American Consulate General, Calcutta," Payable
at Calcutta for the amounts of Rs.4600/
Write your full name and date of birth on the back of each and every
bank draft, using only a pencil to do so.
3. Mumbai:
In Mumbai a single DD includes both Visa application fee and Courier
fee.
Demand Draft for Visa Application Fee: Rs.5000/- Favoring "VFS a/c -
US Visa", payable in Mumbai.
Note: Drop Box applicants from Western Region opting the courier
service (Blue Dart) for home/office pick-up of application - please
add Rs. 120/- per passport. Total fee payable with pick-up service:
Each application must contain the Demand Draft for Visa
Application Fee: Rs 5120/- Favoring " VFS a/c - US Visa" payable in
Mumbai
4. Chennai:
One DD on "American Consulate General, Chennai." Payable in Chennai
for the
amounts of Rs.4, 600/- Important: Please write your complete name
and passport number on the back of each draft.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
B. US University Documents:
1. Offer letter from university or Acceptance letter from university.
2. SEVIS generated i-20 form from US University.
3. Any special letter of Aid or Funding.
4. Any useful correspondence with university officials or department
officials or
professors, in the form of mails or snail mails. If emails take
printouts of the same. When VO asks for them, present them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------
Regarding i-20's read the following:
(As of January 30, 2003 all new forms I-20 issued on or after that
date must be SEVIS compatible documents. First time students will be
able to enter the U.S. with non-SEVIS documents issued prior to
January 30, 2003. All continuing students must present a SEVIS-
generated form I-20, if they are applying for a visa after January
30, 2003. These new forms are printed on a single sheet of paper and
will have a large black bar code down the top right hand side of the
form.)
Note: If a student receives More than one i-20, he/she should take
all the received i-20's to visa interview. If the visa officer asks
for the proof of more i-20's then you can show them to VO. But
unless the VO asks for them don't show. Just
keep them with you. And also remember that VO will be knowing about
all your
admissions (If I-20 was ever issued)
---------------------------------------------------
******************************************
C. Qualifying Test Documents:
Original Score Reports of
1. TOEFL
2. GRE/GMAT
D. Educational Documents:
1. Original Degree of Graduation or any other available highest
degree as per the
specifications applicable to individual cases.
(What if Degree certificate is not available? kindly follow the
following FAQ available with Chennai consulate web-site.
Q. What if I have not yet received my degree certificate?
A. Yes - you may still apply, but please be sure to include your
Individual and
consolidated mark Sheets and provisional certificate along with
Course Completion Certificate duly signed and stamped with college
seal by principal.)
2. Intermediate or (10+2 exam) original certificates or as
applicable to your case.
3. SSC / CBSE - (+10th standard) original certificates or as
applicable to your case.
4. Original Degree Consolidated marks list (if available and
applicable to your case.) along with all semester/year marks lists,
which is now became mandatory.
*****************************************************************
E. Proof of Funds Documents:
1. Proof of ability to finance the education
A. Scholarship letters,
B. Bank letters,
C. Salary slips of parents and other sponsors if any,
D. IT returns for last 2-3 years etc of parents and other sponsors
if any.
E. Rental receipts of own shops or buildings if any with revenue
stamps.
F. Sponsors Business P/L Account duly certified by a CA if sponsor
is a businessman.
G. Pension Papers - if sponsor is retired.
H. 6 months of Bank records - i.e. Bank transaction statements. Or
Bank Passbooks of sponsors. (At times VO ask for more than 6 months
also.)
I. Chartered Accountant Statement of Monetary worthiness of the
sponsors.
J. Affidavit of supports by sponsors and student separately.
K. Loan approval letters (if you want to show loans.) Regarding
loans kindly look into FAQ's given below .
Note: As a matter of fact you need to show the funds available with
you through liquid cash, liquid assets and properties and other
immovable assets and annual income.
1. Liquid Cash
The Bank in which the sponsor is having an account on bank's
letterhead and duly stamped along with a seal can certify this. It
can be supported by 6 months Bank statements or Pass books whatever
available with Bank.
Your sponsors bank account should contain cash for first year funds
of university fee + Living expenses + insurance + misc expenses +
airfares to USA and + Reserve cash funds for second year. Generally
it will be between 20-25 lakhs and sometimes up to 30- 35 lakhs
depending upon the university expenses (Tuition + Living expenses as
mentioned for 9-12 months on I-20 for the length of study as
mentioned in I-20 ranging from 24 months to 39 months)
If it's for 24 months you have to show availability of liquid funds
for 24 months. If the normal length of course is for 36 months, then
you have to show availability of funds for all three years, even you
know course is for 24 months. So a lot depends upon what your I-20
is mentioning.
Liquid funds also covers any Fixed deposits + Bonds + Shares + NSC +
Mutual funds + Gold + Jewellery etc. In fact it's better to show
Fixed deposits in our opinion. They carry much weight. For
everything you intend to show get a latest valuation certificates
basing on which CA will be giving his certificate. If you are
showing Gold and Jewellery, you should produce their valuation from
a Government approved official valuer, along with a declaration of
possession of Gold and jewellery by the sponsorer. But remember in
recent times Gold and jewellery has lost its shine in visa
processing, as many a times VO's commenting that they don't think
parents or sponsorers will sell of their Gold and other
valuables for the sake of their wards education. So be careful,
while showing Gold and Jewellery. Try to show it only as an asset
but not as a means of funding for college expenses and fees.
So from bank you need to produce:
A. Bank Letter stating the funds available with sponsors account and
how much it will be equivalent in US$.
B. Fixed Deposits Original certificates.
C. 6 months or more Bank Transaction statements and Pass Books and
any other related documents.
2. Properties:
There's no uniformity in these issues. Generally it should be around
70-80 lakhs or more. These may be Buildings, plots, flats, shops,
agricultural fields, farm houses etc immovable property in any form
if you are able to justify. All these should be evaluated and
certified by a CE - Chartered Engineer or Tehsil or concerned
metro/revenue officials etc to give their certificate of opinion on
the value of these immovable assets.
3. CA statement:
A CA - Chartered Accountant will give his certificate of Monetary
worthiness of
sponsors basing on the documents he is having related to sponsor.
His certificate
mentions all the Cash, liquid assets and immovable assets available
with the sponsor, which can be available for immediate use for the
applicants study in USA.
*******************************************************************
NOTE:
There are a couple of changes about the documents required for visa:
now as per the new rules many changes were done....
the dd is rs4400 and not 4600 and it shuld b paid in advance at hdfc
bank in our city itself...
and also the courire fees in now around rs296 i suppose....
plz check out these........
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Some Important Facts on F1 Visa
Some important facts on f1 visa
1. Visa issuance is a very objective decision, and is not subjective:
Every visa official has a list of requirements (s)he looks for in a
visa application. If they are met, then (s)he issues the visa. If
not, (s)he doesn't. It is how these requirements are met that makes a
visa decision seem subjective. For instance, take the requirement of
showing that you will return to India. If you provide unambiguous
pragmatic evidence pointing to reasons for return, he will have no
reason not to grant a visa. US Visa Official Quote: "Give a rational,
objective reason that even a banker would believe".
If, on the other hand, you only play with words and have nothing
substantial to show, it looks like a subjective decision, since it
is based upon subjective evidence.
2. Proper documents are only half the story:
Visa officials know that documents in India can be easily forged. So
what is on paper is not enough. What you say, how you say it, matters
a lot. Sometimes it can even make up for inadequate documentation. US
Visa Official Quote: "Some people complain that we did not see their
documents. Remember, if we go through your documents when you are
standing there, then that is a negative sign. It means we don't
believe you and are checking the documents for proof or for grounds
to reject you. So not seeing your documents in front of you is a good
thing for you."
3. Success Rates of Visa:
Success Rates of Visa Issuance (overall) is 60 % .i.e. 60% of all
applicants, across all categories, are issued visas. 40 % are
rejected.
Success Rates of specific visas:
Visa - Success Rate
J1 Visa - 75 %
F1 Visa - 65 %
M1 Visa - 35 %
US Visa official Quote: "People who are between 18 and 37 and single
attract our attention".
4. How to increase your chances of Success ?
A. Legitimate Student:
Show that you have a coherent plan of study. e.g. B.A. English in
undergrad in India then MS in Computer Science in US is not a
coherent plan. B.E. Electronics & Communications then M S
(Telecommunications) is very clearly coherent. Also, try linking the
plan of study to India. There should be a connection between past
study and future plan.
B: Reputation of School:
The better the ranking of the school that you finally choose, the
higher your chances of getting a visa. Visa officials have actually
been quoted saying that they never cancelled the visa application of
a Harvard or Stanford student (they don't even look at anything else
if he has a Harvard offer). Of course, everybody doesn't get Harvard,
but then if you choose an obscure university, your chances of a visa
decrease correspondingly, as suspicion about your choice rises. The
official thinks "he's going there only to get to the US, there are
better univs than this in India".
Exclusiveness of course: If the course chosen is not offered in
India, then it is a positive sign - as long as you can still show
that it is logically related to your past studies. So you can't
choose Evangelism after a BSc Chem and then say "it's not offered in
India". Well, actually, you can but you have to show compelling
reason why you want that subject.
C: Evidence of having researched all options:
Show all schools that you chose (say, printouts of websites,
photostats of brochures), show clearly which ones you short listed
and why, which ones you got offers from, which ones you chose and
why. Basically, show yourself as a thorough student.
D: Proper documentation of previous study:
Have original copies of Board certificates, college degrees,
diplomas, extra courses (like NIIT) etc. Also have original results
of GRE, A-GRE TOEFL, TSE and other standardized tests handy.
E: Show proof of networking (if any) with professors:
If you have emailed (or written to) professors, have copies of the
mails ready to show, to establish seriousness of intent to study and
to show that you consider your education as an investment.
F: Multiple Offers:
If you have received offers from many universities, show that.
Especially if you have a scholarship offer from a lower ranked
university and are still going to a higher one, then attach proof of
this with your application.
G: Covering Letter:
Prepare a covering letter which covers all these points and all the
supporting documentation.
H: Be Systematic:
Carry a folder with the covering letter and all these papers in
order, so that (a) you don't fumble around in front of the counter
window looking for the right papers (b) you look systematic and
thorough.
Friends - All the best.
1. Visa issuance is a very objective decision, and is not subjective:
Every visa official has a list of requirements (s)he looks for in a
visa application. If they are met, then (s)he issues the visa. If
not, (s)he doesn't. It is how these requirements are met that makes a
visa decision seem subjective. For instance, take the requirement of
showing that you will return to India. If you provide unambiguous
pragmatic evidence pointing to reasons for return, he will have no
reason not to grant a visa. US Visa Official Quote: "Give a rational,
objective reason that even a banker would believe".
If, on the other hand, you only play with words and have nothing
substantial to show, it looks like a subjective decision, since it
is based upon subjective evidence.
2. Proper documents are only half the story:
Visa officials know that documents in India can be easily forged. So
what is on paper is not enough. What you say, how you say it, matters
a lot. Sometimes it can even make up for inadequate documentation. US
Visa Official Quote: "Some people complain that we did not see their
documents. Remember, if we go through your documents when you are
standing there, then that is a negative sign. It means we don't
believe you and are checking the documents for proof or for grounds
to reject you. So not seeing your documents in front of you is a good
thing for you."
3. Success Rates of Visa:
Success Rates of Visa Issuance (overall) is 60 % .i.e. 60% of all
applicants, across all categories, are issued visas. 40 % are
rejected.
Success Rates of specific visas:
Visa - Success Rate
J1 Visa - 75 %
F1 Visa - 65 %
M1 Visa - 35 %
US Visa official Quote: "People who are between 18 and 37 and single
attract our attention".
4. How to increase your chances of Success ?
A. Legitimate Student:
Show that you have a coherent plan of study. e.g. B.A. English in
undergrad in India then MS in Computer Science in US is not a
coherent plan. B.E. Electronics & Communications then M S
(Telecommunications) is very clearly coherent. Also, try linking the
plan of study to India. There should be a connection between past
study and future plan.
B: Reputation of School:
The better the ranking of the school that you finally choose, the
higher your chances of getting a visa. Visa officials have actually
been quoted saying that they never cancelled the visa application of
a Harvard or Stanford student (they don't even look at anything else
if he has a Harvard offer). Of course, everybody doesn't get Harvard,
but then if you choose an obscure university, your chances of a visa
decrease correspondingly, as suspicion about your choice rises. The
official thinks "he's going there only to get to the US, there are
better univs than this in India".
Exclusiveness of course: If the course chosen is not offered in
India, then it is a positive sign - as long as you can still show
that it is logically related to your past studies. So you can't
choose Evangelism after a BSc Chem and then say "it's not offered in
India". Well, actually, you can but you have to show compelling
reason why you want that subject.
C: Evidence of having researched all options:
Show all schools that you chose (say, printouts of websites,
photostats of brochures), show clearly which ones you short listed
and why, which ones you got offers from, which ones you chose and
why. Basically, show yourself as a thorough student.
D: Proper documentation of previous study:
Have original copies of Board certificates, college degrees,
diplomas, extra courses (like NIIT) etc. Also have original results
of GRE, A-GRE TOEFL, TSE and other standardized tests handy.
E: Show proof of networking (if any) with professors:
If you have emailed (or written to) professors, have copies of the
mails ready to show, to establish seriousness of intent to study and
to show that you consider your education as an investment.
F: Multiple Offers:
If you have received offers from many universities, show that.
Especially if you have a scholarship offer from a lower ranked
university and are still going to a higher one, then attach proof of
this with your application.
G: Covering Letter:
Prepare a covering letter which covers all these points and all the
supporting documentation.
H: Be Systematic:
Carry a folder with the covering letter and all these papers in
order, so that (a) you don't fumble around in front of the counter
window looking for the right papers (b) you look systematic and
thorough.
Friends - All the best.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
REGARDING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS WHAT YOU WANTED TO KNOW.
REGARDING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. WHAT YOU WANTED TO KNOW.
You must be preparing to file your applications. Here are some tips on Financial Documents which may help you.
1.Financial Statements what are they?
Financial statements are meant to show to the universities that you or your sponsor have enough liquidity to finance your study and living expenses while you are a student in the American University.
This is a requirement by law and you have to provide it . There is no waiver on this score.
2.What does liquidity imply?
Cash in the saving bank account,Fixed deposits in the bank,savings in the post office accounts. I call these as "Pure Liquid Assets" and if you have these then there is no hassle with the univs.
People who do not have enough funds in the above do group some allied items in their Financial Statements. These I call as "Allied Liquid Assets". Demat accounts, PF, LIC policies are normally mentioned here.
Some Univs do accept the Allied Assets and some do not. It is a matter of convincing the univs.
3. Need I take certificates from each bank having my sponsors account?
Yes. Certificates from each of your sponsors banker is required. Your sponsor may have several bank accounts there is no restriction on this.Remember that each of these certificate has to be original no photocopies are allowed.Thus if you are applying to 10 universities you need 10 original sets.
4.How much funds need to be shown?
You have to show two semesters cost comprising of Fees,living and miscellaneous expenses.
Check the univs requirements on these and show the funds accordingly.Each univ has it's own cost structure.Select the univs you want to apply and prepare the documents showing the highest expenses. This is done in order that you use the same Financial statement for all your Univs.
Note Read below "What if you I target for assistantship"
5.How to prepare the affidavit?
The affidavit of support should be on a stamp paper and attested by a Notary Public after your sponsor signs it.
This is done to impress the univ otherwise it has no legal standing in USA.
The affidavit should carry supporting documents from your(sponsors) bank certifying the amount you are having in your account. For FDs get another certificate. Similarly for other items.
Remember that you are targeting several univs. This implies that all your affidavits and bank certificates should be sent in original to each univ. So prepare as many as you intend applying plus one or two more. Preferably send the Univs financial forms along with your affidavit
6. When should the financial affidavit be sent?
It is best to send it along with the application. This helps the university. Sending it later some times causes hassles to coordinate the documents.
However if you are not prepared with them you can send these documents later when the univ asks for them. This will not affect your admission decision.
7.What if I target for assistantship?
If you are targeting for assistantship and are confident that you will get it and have decided not to go to a particular univ unless the assistantship is granted need not send the financial documents initially.
If any assistantship is granted you can reduce the amount of grant from the required finances and prepare the document accordingly.
8. I do not have funds so how should I go about?
People propagate several unethical ways do this. I do not.
Maybe with experience I have mellowed down .
Enough to say that I know some univs do verify with the banks about your documents. If you are caught on the wrong foot then there is no one to save you. The advisor shall not come forward nor the person who prepared the documents for you.
I can only comment that there are legal ways to overcome this difficulty. Use your ingenuity.
To this I will add that over 50% of persons who aspire to study abroad face this difficulty and your are not unique in this.
Think and you will find a correct and legal way out.
9.What is the period of validity of these documents?
About 4-6 months.
10. Can I use these financial documents for Visa purpose?
Yes and No.
While you must carry these documents while going for visa however it will be prudent to prepare separate documents when you go for visa.
You must be preparing to file your applications. Here are some tips on Financial Documents which may help you.
1.Financial Statements what are they?
Financial statements are meant to show to the universities that you or your sponsor have enough liquidity to finance your study and living expenses while you are a student in the American University.
This is a requirement by law and you have to provide it . There is no waiver on this score.
2.What does liquidity imply?
Cash in the saving bank account,Fixed deposits in the bank,savings in the post office accounts. I call these as "Pure Liquid Assets" and if you have these then there is no hassle with the univs.
People who do not have enough funds in the above do group some allied items in their Financial Statements. These I call as "Allied Liquid Assets". Demat accounts, PF, LIC policies are normally mentioned here.
Some Univs do accept the Allied Assets and some do not. It is a matter of convincing the univs.
3. Need I take certificates from each bank having my sponsors account?
Yes. Certificates from each of your sponsors banker is required. Your sponsor may have several bank accounts there is no restriction on this.Remember that each of these certificate has to be original no photocopies are allowed.Thus if you are applying to 10 universities you need 10 original sets.
4.How much funds need to be shown?
You have to show two semesters cost comprising of Fees,living and miscellaneous expenses.
Check the univs requirements on these and show the funds accordingly.Each univ has it's own cost structure.Select the univs you want to apply and prepare the documents showing the highest expenses. This is done in order that you use the same Financial statement for all your Univs.
Note Read below "What if you I target for assistantship"
5.How to prepare the affidavit?
The affidavit of support should be on a stamp paper and attested by a Notary Public after your sponsor signs it.
This is done to impress the univ otherwise it has no legal standing in USA.
The affidavit should carry supporting documents from your(sponsors) bank certifying the amount you are having in your account. For FDs get another certificate. Similarly for other items.
Remember that you are targeting several univs. This implies that all your affidavits and bank certificates should be sent in original to each univ. So prepare as many as you intend applying plus one or two more. Preferably send the Univs financial forms along with your affidavit
6. When should the financial affidavit be sent?
It is best to send it along with the application. This helps the university. Sending it later some times causes hassles to coordinate the documents.
However if you are not prepared with them you can send these documents later when the univ asks for them. This will not affect your admission decision.
7.What if I target for assistantship?
If you are targeting for assistantship and are confident that you will get it and have decided not to go to a particular univ unless the assistantship is granted need not send the financial documents initially.
If any assistantship is granted you can reduce the amount of grant from the required finances and prepare the document accordingly.
8. I do not have funds so how should I go about?
People propagate several unethical ways do this. I do not.
Maybe with experience I have mellowed down .
Enough to say that I know some univs do verify with the banks about your documents. If you are caught on the wrong foot then there is no one to save you. The advisor shall not come forward nor the person who prepared the documents for you.
I can only comment that there are legal ways to overcome this difficulty. Use your ingenuity.
To this I will add that over 50% of persons who aspire to study abroad face this difficulty and your are not unique in this.
Think and you will find a correct and legal way out.
9.What is the period of validity of these documents?
About 4-6 months.
10. Can I use these financial documents for Visa purpose?
Yes and No.
While you must carry these documents while going for visa however it will be prudent to prepare separate documents when you go for visa.
HOW TO FIND MONEY FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL
HOW TO FIND MONEY FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL
(Mainly For Domestic Students )
Steps to Getting the Dollars
Select general area of graduate program (i.e., humanities, sciences, engineering, etc.)
* Some fellowships are designated to support specific areas (i.e., Mellon Fellowships for the humanities, Howard Hughes for the biological sciences, etc.)
* Select sources which match up, and eliminate those fellowship programs which are not applicable.
* Institutions may also have discipline-specific awards
* Search the Internet for funding sources (utilize list provided below).
Determine Degree Objective
* Further define sources available to you.
* Many institutions, agencies, foundations, organizations support students seeking the doctorate only.
* Contact graduate/professional school
o Reliable source for fellowship applications, reference manuals, etc.
o Access to financial support resource person likely who can assist in identifying support for which you may qualify.
Locate faculty members whose work most resembles your area of interest.
* Graduate Student Researcher positions mostly tied to faculty research grants
* Make contact with those professors.
Notify department of interest in consideration of all possible support
* Inform department/program of any fellowships (extramural) awarded to you.
* ;Inquire as to how your award will be supplemented for the non-fellowship years (i.e., TA, GSR/RA, etc.)
* Ask about the amount of fees and the method for paying them. (i.e., who will pay them?)
* Extramural funding deadlines likely to occur much earlier than institutional funding deadlines
* Assume normal requirements apply (i.e., transcripts, GRE, letters, etc.)
o Provide addressed, stamped envelopes to those from whom letters are requested.
o follow up to ensure that letters have been sent
* Fulfill entrance exam requirements early during senior year.
* November GRE will be too late for many extramural (i.e., NSF, Ford, Howard Hughes) funding opportunities.
* Work concurrently to gather information from Ford, NSF, Howard Hughes as these deadlines are all around the same time.
* Request letters of recommendation early
* Order transcripts in plenty of time to meet deadlines
* Submit fellowship application early; where possible utilize on-line applications
* Read and follow all instructions carefully and accurately.
* Late application are never accepted.
Reasons to seek extramural support
* Promotes professional development
* Some awards considered prestigious
* Graduate programs very interested in students applying for these funds.
o more inclined to be supportive of such students
o shows students' academic preparedness and motivation
* Students categorized as Honorable Mentions may also be funded.
* Best financial packages offered through some these programs (i.e., per year award substantial and usually covers multiple-year period).
* Along with departmental support, relieves concern of how educational/living expenses for duration of degree will be covered.
Institution-based fellowship support
* Explained in section below
Possible need for financial aid, need-based loans
* Loans should only be considered when financial need cannot be met.
* Contact campus-based Financial Aid Office for information. (see below for specific loans available)
* Select the loan option over the use of personal credit cards.
o no monthly payments incurred with loans
* Short-term emergency loans may be available in very limited amounts and when possible should be utilized in lieu of credit cards.
CAMPUS FUNDING
Types of Financial Support
Fellowship
* merit-based stipend plus fees should provide enough funds to pay for books, supplies and the cost of living
* single or multi-year
* will likely include TA or GSR/RA
Teaching Assistantship
* salaried position which requires attending professor's class and preparing discussion section, grading, reading and otherwise assisting faculty member with course instruction
Graduate Student Researcher (a.k.a. Research Assistantship)
* usually a laboratory environment where you learn research/technical skills while assisting a faculty member on his/her research project and eventually conduct your own project
Block Grants
* range of support varies and is provided mostly to supplement students' income or pay fees
Associate-In
* provides an opportunity for more advanced graduate students to teach a course
Traineeship
* grants to institutions to support various numbers of students in discipline- specific fields
Loans
* need-based support, formulated on student’s income rather than that of parent's
* eligible for Federal Direct Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans (available through Financial Aid Offices)
Internships
* provides practical experience (usually relevant to student's research interest) and may be provided by an outside institution or agency (government, private industry) and may occur during a summer or an academic year.
Fee Fellowships
* usually provides fees and tuition for one year or multiple years
* fee differential may be provided when student employed
Dissertation Fellowships
* Applicants must be ABD
* Committee selected
* Created dissertation proposal
* Degree completion usually required by end of academic year but may be extended to include summer and/or fall quarter.
* Often plays major role in promoting the completion of the dissertation/degree as it allows student to focus.
Policies Governing Award Recipients
Making Satisfactory Progress
* Maintaining minimum Grade Point Average fellowship requirement
* Taking/passing all required departmental coursework, exams, etc.
* Fulfilling any TA requirements satisfactorily
o TA recipients awarded fellowships must also meet fellowship GPA requirements (normally exceeds TA requirement).
For Multi-Year Recipients (continuing students)
* Continuation of award contingent upon meeting academic standards
* Reporting requirements
* Maintaining required courseload
* Fulfilling advancement to candidacy requirements
* Not exceeding maximum (8 units) incomplete, "F" and/or NC grades
* Annual FAFSA filing by Spring deadline
* Reporting any change in status immediately (e.g., change in degree bjective, change of field/department, leave of absence, extended absence from class or withdrawal must be reported to Graduate Division/Graduate School immediately).
* Responsible for reporting fellowship awards when filing taxes
EXTRAMURAL FUNDING
Portable Awards
* all students should seek these funds
o if not successful first time, apply again
o first-year graduate students and seniors eligible to apply
* apply directly to funding agency/foundation
* multi-year award (usually three years of fellowships and fees)
*
* award may include the use of unused cost of education allowance for students' (COE) own research and other educational needs (i.e., purchasing a computer, a printer, or attending conferences, etc.)
* award amounts are usually substantial (i.e., $14,000+)
* often 12-month awards
* important professional experience
Other Types of Extramural/Portable Awards
* may be need-based award
* stipend plus fees
* usually multi-year
* recipient must qualify for each year awarded
* level of funding based on level of need
* could be awarded less than the maximum (up to $15,000)
SOURCES OF FUNDING
Institutional
* fellowships, teaching assistantships, researcher positions, supplies, equipment through department
State Government
* mostly need-based with residency required to be eligible
* filing Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) required for many states
* federal dollars not transferrable from one state to the next
Federal Government
* available through various U.S. agencies, foundations and departments including National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education and Energy
* fellowship programs include Jacob K. Javits, Grants for Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN), and loan programs such as Stafford Direct and Indirect Loans
* Work-Study for graduate students may be administered by a financial aid office or the Graduate Dean
Foundations
* funding provided in specific areas or for specific groups
* Ford funds predoctoral, dissertation-year and postdocs, specifically for minority students
* Howard Hughes funds predoctoral students in the biological sciences
* Mellon awards students in the predoctoral humanities
Individual and Organizations
* provide various amounts of awards for particular purposes and sometimes for particular individuals
FINANCIAL PACKAGE
A Good Financial Package
Provides a combination of funding sources
* fellowship - no work involved
* teaching assistantship - gives you teaching experience
* research position - learning to conduct research while earning salary
* TA and or GSR/RA position promotes socialization of the student into the program/department
* TA may be core requirement of graduate program
A Poor Financial Package
Unvaried funding source
* total teaching assistant - too demanding
* total fellowship - lack of teaching experience, lab expenses
* total research position - does not provide teaching experience; may not allow you to work on your own research (some exceptions)
Process for Consideration of Financial Support (on campus)
Nomination Process
* Most institutions consider all their admitted applicants for support
* Admission Application may allow selection of interest in financial support, including type of support (e.g., TA, GSR, fellowship, etc.).
* Department/Program sends Graduate Dean nomination requests for new or continuing student(s)
* Decision to award made
o Student informed of admission/award package simultaneously
o April 15 national deadline for notification of acceptance/declination of admission/award
o Notify declinations to institutions as soon as decision made as may allow reallocation of funds to other students
Following Award Acceptance
* File FAFSA
* For nonresidents, after arriving in institution state, immediately begin establishing residency.
o Open a bank account
o Register to vote
o Obtain state driver’s license or I.D.
o File residency paperwork with Office of Registrar
o By no later than twelve months later, file additional required paperwork with Office of Registrar.
o Nonresident tuition paid first year only
< ul>
General Requirements for Funding Opportunities to Qualify for State Funding
Eligibility
o U.S. Citizen
o Permanent Resident
o California Resident (If not resident, must obtain residency status by the next academic year.)
o Follow All Application Instructions to the Letter
Merit
o High Quality Academic Standing, based on bachelor's record and/or master's record
o Strong Letters of Recommendation from faculty advisors
o Strong GRE Scores
o Good Research Experience
o TA Experience
o Publications
o Accomplishments
o High Quality Writing Sample
o Department/Program Interview
All or several of the above items will be required no matter where you apply to graduate school, especially academic standing, GRE scores, letters and research experience. Also, some of the same requirements may be applicable for extramural awards. Other criteria relevant to successful completion of a graduate degree may also be considered. Often, the graduate dean will provide some oversight with the administration of both campus and extramural awards. This is the case even when fellowship stipends are paid directly to the students. The fee portion of the award is always administered by the institution and is usually included in what is termed "educational allowance." Any excess of the educational allowance not used for fees and/or tuition may be requested for use by the student for other educational costs (e.g. attending a conference, purchasing research supplies or equipment or computers, printers, etc.).
GRADUATE STUDENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES
American Geological Institute for Minority Participation program
Eligible applicants are doctoral students in geological sciences.
American Indian Graduate Center Fellowships
Eligible applicants are American Indian and Alaskan Native students seeking master's, doctoral or professional degrees.
American Political Science Association Graduate Fellowships for Minority Students
Eligible applicants are doctoral students in political science.
American Psychological Association for Minority Fellowship Program
Eligible applicants are doctoral students in psychology.
American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program
Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowships
Eligible applicants are students with outstanding potential in the applied physical sciences
Ford Foundation for Minority Fellowships (Predoctoral and dissertation-year awards)
Eligible applicants are ethnic minority interested in academic careers.
Forgivable Loan/Doctoral Incentive Program for doctoral students at accredited universities nationwide, providing five years of support for a total of $30,000. Loan forgiveness: twenty percent of the loan is forgiven for each year of full-time postdoctoral teaching at a California State University campus.
Forgivable Loan/Doctoral Incentive Program
Office of the Chancellor
The California State University
400 Golden Shore, Suite 222
Long Beach, CA 90802-4275
GEM Fellowships in Engineering
Eligible applicants are American Indian, African American, Mexican American, Hispanic and Puerto Rican students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in engineering.
Gates Millenium Scholars
c/o The United Negro College Fund
8260 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive
P O Box 10444
Fairfax, VA 22031-8044
GEM Fellowships in the Natural Sciences
Eligible applicants are American Indian, African American, Mexican American, Hispanic and Puerto Rican students pursuing doctoral degree in physical or life sciences.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowships in the Biological Sciences
Eligible applicants are pursuing a doctorate in the life sciences.
Jacob K. Javits Fellowships
Eligible applicants are those pursuing the doctorates in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Jacob K. Javits Fellows Program
P.O. Box 84
Washington, D.C. 20044
(202) 260-3574
Mellon Fellowships in the Humanities
Eligible candidates are doctoral students in the humanities
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowships
Eligible candidates are pursuing graduate studies in science and engineering disciplines with military importance.
http://www.battelle.org/ndseg/
National Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Grants for up to $1,000 for Hispanic undergraduate and graduate students.
http://www.hsf.net
National Medical Fellowships
Eligible applicants are minority students in first- and second-year medical studies.
National Medical Fellowships, Inc.
110 W. 32nd Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 714-0933
National Physical Science Consortium Graduate Fellowships
All are welcome to apply. Emphasis is placed on eligible candidates who are African American, Hispanic, or American Indian or women who are underrepresented, pursuing a doctorate in the physical sciences.
http://www.npsc.org
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships
Awards multiple-year fellowships for students in engineering or the natural or social sciences.
http://www.nsf.gov
UNCF/MERCK Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowships
Awards science dissertation research fellowships to African Americans enrolled full-time in the life sciences or physical sciences.
http://www.uncf.org/merck/program.htm
U.S. Department of Energy Integrated Manufacturing Predoctoral Fellowships
Eligible applicants are doctoral students in engineering and other applied science fields whose research interests relate to integrated manufacturing systems.
http://www.energy.gov
OTHER INTERNET SOURCES OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT
American Association of University Women Fellowships (Dissertation Fellowships, International Fellowships & Selected Professions Fellowships)
http://www.aauw.org
California Student Aid Commission
http://www.csac.ca.gov/
Cornell University Graduate Fellowship Notebook - database of minority scholarships
http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN/
Department of Education EASI (Easy Access for Students and Institutions) Program
http://www.easi.ed.gov
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on the Web
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Fast Aid - Free Online Scholarship Database
http://www.fastaid.com
Fastweb.com - Free Internet Financial Aid Search Services
http://www2.fastweb.com/fastweb/
Financial Aid Page
http://www.finaid.org/finaid/focus/grad.html
Humanities Research Institute
http://www.ucop.edu/research/human.html
Institute of Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
http://www-igcc.ucsd.edu/igcc/Z/igccmenu.html
Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Research Grants
http://nrs.ucop.edu/info/grants/mathias_annc.html
Minority On Line Information Service, U.S. Government
http://www.rams-fie.com/molis/scholar.html
National Research Council
http://www2.nas.edu/fo/
NRS Student Research Grant Program
http://nrs.ucop.edu/info/grants.html
President's Research Fellowships in the Humanities (PRFH)
http://www.ucop.edu/research/prfh.html
Princeton University's Graduate School List of External Funding Sources
http://webware.princeton.edu/GSO/finance.htm#
Purdue Research Foundation S.P.D. External Funding Sources for Non-Purdue Students
http://www.purdue.edu/dsp/ResearchServices/databases.html
Rockefeller Foundation Organization
http://www.rockfound.org/frameset.html
UCR Graduate Student Financial Support
http://www.cnas.ucr.edu/~graddiv/FinSupport.html
Yahoo.com Financial Aid Website
http://www.yahoo.com/education/financial_aid/
OTHER SOURCES OF GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWSHIPS/GRANTS
A Selected List of Fellowship Opportunities and Aid to Advanced Education
Public Office, National Science Foundation
1800 'G' Street NW
Washington, DC 20550.
A Selected List of Post-Secondary Education Opportunities for Minorities and Women
U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
Office of Bureau of Higher Education
Room 4913, ROB-3
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202.
A Selected List of Fellowship Opportunities and Aid to Advanced Education
National Science Foundation
Publication Office
Arlington, VA. Free
A Selected List of Post-Secondary Education Opportunities for Minorities and Women
U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
Office of Bureau of Higher Education
Room 4913, ROB-3
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202.
Admission Requirements of U.S. and Canadian Dental Schools
American Association of Dental Schools
Department of AR
1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036-2212.
Allied Health Education Directory
American Medical Association
Order Department, OP 417594
P. O. Box 7046
Dover, DE 19903
Annual Register of Grant Support
Reed Elsevier-New Providence
121 Chanlon Road
New Providence, NJ 07974.
Barrons Guide to Graduate and Business Schools
Barrons Educational Series
250 Wireless Boulevard
Hauppage, NY 11788
Free Money for Graduate School
Blum, Laurie, 1996
http://www.amazon.com
Financing Graduate School
McWade, Patricia, Peterson's 1996
http://www.petersons.com
Graduate and Professional School Opportunity for Minority Students
Educational Testing Services
Princeton, NJ 08540
Graduate Financial Resources for Minority Students in Engineering and Science
National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM)
P.O. Box 537
Notre Dame, IN 46556.
Graduate and Professional Opportunity for Minority Students
Educational Testing Service
Princeton, NJ 08540
Grants for Graduate and Predoctoral Study and Financing Graduate School
Petersen's Education Center
P.O. Box 2123
Princeton, NJ 08543-2123
Grants at a Glance
published by the Association for Women in Science and lists funding sources for women in science programs
Association of Women in Science
2410 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 303
Washington, DC 20037.
Grants for Graduate Study
1992, 3rd ed. Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides.
Guide to Study in Psychology
American Psychological Association, Order Department
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242.
Guide to Graduate Education in Urban and Regional Planning
Planners Bookstore
American Planners Association
1125 S. Michigan, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60603-6107
Guide to Corporate Support of Graduate Education
Council for Financial Aid to Education
680 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Guide to Graduate Study in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Public Administration and Doctoral Programs in Business Administration
The Economics Institute
115 Stoneridge Drive
Chapell Hill, NC 27514
Guide to Architecture Schools
1735 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Guide to Corporate Support of Graduate Education
Available from Council for Financial Aid to Education
680 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Health Services Administration Education
The Association of University Programs in Health Administration
1911 North Fort Myers Drive, Site 503
Arlington, VA 22209
How to Get Money for Research
Mary Rubin by Feminist Press as source for dissertation research funds for women (mostly in women studies area)
Medical School Admissions Requirements, US and Canada
Association of American Medical Colleges
2450 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Minority Student Opportunity in US Medical Schools
Association of American Medical Colleges
2450 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools
Law School Admission Services
Box 2400
Newton, PA 18940-0977
Pharmacy School Admission Requirements
American Association of Colleges and Pharmacy
1426 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-2841
Programs in Public Affairs and Administration
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
1120 G Street, NW, Suite 730
(or P.O. Box 92984)
Washington, DC 20005(20090)
Project 1000
Arizona State University
(administration site, toll free #1-800-327-4893)
goal is to recruit/retain Latino students in graduate programs
The Graduate Scholarship Book: The Complete Guide to Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants and Loans for Graduate and Professional Study
2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1990
The Veterinary Medical School Admission Requirements: the Official AAVNC Handbook
Betz Publishing Company, Inc.
351 W. Camden Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Additionally, check with Graduate Schools for funding sources as many maintain libraries which include campus and external funding sources. Career Centers also offer an abundance of information on financial support opportunities.
ACRONYMS
While some of these acronyms are not mentioned in this document, in your search for graduate institutions and financial support, you may come across many of them.
AACRAO Association of American Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
ABD All But Disseration
APA American Psychological Association
ASA American Sociological Association
AAAS American Association of University Professions
ASEE American Society for Engineering Education
AY Academic Year
BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs
COE Cost of Education Allowance
ED U.S. Department of Education
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
ETS Educational Testing Service
FAF Finanacial Aid Form
FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Assistance
FICA Federal Insurance Corporation of America (Soc.Sec.Tax)
FDSLP Federal Direct Student Loan Program
FY Fiscal Year
GEM National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science
GRE Graduate Record Exam
GSHIP Graduate Student Health Insurance Program
GSR Graduate Student Researcher
HEA Higher Education Act
HHS Department of Health and Human Services
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NAS National Academy of Science
NIH National Institute of Health
NIMH National Institute of Mental Health
NRC National Research Council
NRT Nonresident Tuition
NSA National Science Academy
NSF National Science Foundation
PAF Personnel Action Form
PFR Partial Fee Remission
RA Research Assistantship
SAR Student Aid Report
SC Student Contribution
SS Social Security
TA Teaching Assistantship
TF Teaching Fellow
TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language
USDA United States Department of Agriculture
USDE United States Department of Education
USED United States Department of Education
GLOSSARY
Acceptable Progress Demonstrating good academic standing and overall performance in program requirements, based on an approved graduate program time frame.
Advancement to Candidacy After completing all University and graduate program requirements, student must pass a series of written and oral qualifying examinations.
Defense Final requirement for dissertation and the final oral examination on doctoral candidate’s dissertation.
Dissertation Prospectus a statement of the dissertation topic, how the research will be conducted, what it will entail and what it will accomplish.
Financial Aid Transcript A listing of all financial aid student has received while attending a particular institution.
Need Analysis The process of determining the estimated income student will need to successfully progress through degree (usually required annually).
Normative Time This is the approximate amount of time in which a student should go from graduate admission to filing the dissertation.
Teaching Fellow An advanced graduate student teaching a lower division course to a group of students, under Faculty supervision.
Terminal Master's The highest degree offered in a given graduate program.
(Mainly For Domestic Students )
Steps to Getting the Dollars
Select general area of graduate program (i.e., humanities, sciences, engineering, etc.)
* Some fellowships are designated to support specific areas (i.e., Mellon Fellowships for the humanities, Howard Hughes for the biological sciences, etc.)
* Select sources which match up, and eliminate those fellowship programs which are not applicable.
* Institutions may also have discipline-specific awards
* Search the Internet for funding sources (utilize list provided below).
Determine Degree Objective
* Further define sources available to you.
* Many institutions, agencies, foundations, organizations support students seeking the doctorate only.
* Contact graduate/professional school
o Reliable source for fellowship applications, reference manuals, etc.
o Access to financial support resource person likely who can assist in identifying support for which you may qualify.
Locate faculty members whose work most resembles your area of interest.
* Graduate Student Researcher positions mostly tied to faculty research grants
* Make contact with those professors.
Notify department of interest in consideration of all possible support
* Inform department/program of any fellowships (extramural) awarded to you.
* ;Inquire as to how your award will be supplemented for the non-fellowship years (i.e., TA, GSR/RA, etc.)
* Ask about the amount of fees and the method for paying them. (i.e., who will pay them?)
* Extramural funding deadlines likely to occur much earlier than institutional funding deadlines
* Assume normal requirements apply (i.e., transcripts, GRE, letters, etc.)
o Provide addressed, stamped envelopes to those from whom letters are requested.
o follow up to ensure that letters have been sent
* Fulfill entrance exam requirements early during senior year.
* November GRE will be too late for many extramural (i.e., NSF, Ford, Howard Hughes) funding opportunities.
* Work concurrently to gather information from Ford, NSF, Howard Hughes as these deadlines are all around the same time.
* Request letters of recommendation early
* Order transcripts in plenty of time to meet deadlines
* Submit fellowship application early; where possible utilize on-line applications
* Read and follow all instructions carefully and accurately.
* Late application are never accepted.
Reasons to seek extramural support
* Promotes professional development
* Some awards considered prestigious
* Graduate programs very interested in students applying for these funds.
o more inclined to be supportive of such students
o shows students' academic preparedness and motivation
* Students categorized as Honorable Mentions may also be funded.
* Best financial packages offered through some these programs (i.e., per year award substantial and usually covers multiple-year period).
* Along with departmental support, relieves concern of how educational/living expenses for duration of degree will be covered.
Institution-based fellowship support
* Explained in section below
Possible need for financial aid, need-based loans
* Loans should only be considered when financial need cannot be met.
* Contact campus-based Financial Aid Office for information. (see below for specific loans available)
* Select the loan option over the use of personal credit cards.
o no monthly payments incurred with loans
* Short-term emergency loans may be available in very limited amounts and when possible should be utilized in lieu of credit cards.
CAMPUS FUNDING
Types of Financial Support
Fellowship
* merit-based stipend plus fees should provide enough funds to pay for books, supplies and the cost of living
* single or multi-year
* will likely include TA or GSR/RA
Teaching Assistantship
* salaried position which requires attending professor's class and preparing discussion section, grading, reading and otherwise assisting faculty member with course instruction
Graduate Student Researcher (a.k.a. Research Assistantship)
* usually a laboratory environment where you learn research/technical skills while assisting a faculty member on his/her research project and eventually conduct your own project
Block Grants
* range of support varies and is provided mostly to supplement students' income or pay fees
Associate-In
* provides an opportunity for more advanced graduate students to teach a course
Traineeship
* grants to institutions to support various numbers of students in discipline- specific fields
Loans
* need-based support, formulated on student’s income rather than that of parent's
* eligible for Federal Direct Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans (available through Financial Aid Offices)
Internships
* provides practical experience (usually relevant to student's research interest) and may be provided by an outside institution or agency (government, private industry) and may occur during a summer or an academic year.
Fee Fellowships
* usually provides fees and tuition for one year or multiple years
* fee differential may be provided when student employed
Dissertation Fellowships
* Applicants must be ABD
* Committee selected
* Created dissertation proposal
* Degree completion usually required by end of academic year but may be extended to include summer and/or fall quarter.
* Often plays major role in promoting the completion of the dissertation/degree as it allows student to focus.
Policies Governing Award Recipients
Making Satisfactory Progress
* Maintaining minimum Grade Point Average fellowship requirement
* Taking/passing all required departmental coursework, exams, etc.
* Fulfilling any TA requirements satisfactorily
o TA recipients awarded fellowships must also meet fellowship GPA requirements (normally exceeds TA requirement).
For Multi-Year Recipients (continuing students)
* Continuation of award contingent upon meeting academic standards
* Reporting requirements
* Maintaining required courseload
* Fulfilling advancement to candidacy requirements
* Not exceeding maximum (8 units) incomplete, "F" and/or NC grades
* Annual FAFSA filing by Spring deadline
* Reporting any change in status immediately (e.g., change in degree bjective, change of field/department, leave of absence, extended absence from class or withdrawal must be reported to Graduate Division/Graduate School immediately).
* Responsible for reporting fellowship awards when filing taxes
EXTRAMURAL FUNDING
Portable Awards
* all students should seek these funds
o if not successful first time, apply again
o first-year graduate students and seniors eligible to apply
* apply directly to funding agency/foundation
* multi-year award (usually three years of fellowships and fees)
*
* award may include the use of unused cost of education allowance for students' (COE) own research and other educational needs (i.e., purchasing a computer, a printer, or attending conferences, etc.)
* award amounts are usually substantial (i.e., $14,000+)
* often 12-month awards
* important professional experience
Other Types of Extramural/Portable Awards
* may be need-based award
* stipend plus fees
* usually multi-year
* recipient must qualify for each year awarded
* level of funding based on level of need
* could be awarded less than the maximum (up to $15,000)
SOURCES OF FUNDING
Institutional
* fellowships, teaching assistantships, researcher positions, supplies, equipment through department
State Government
* mostly need-based with residency required to be eligible
* filing Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) required for many states
* federal dollars not transferrable from one state to the next
Federal Government
* available through various U.S. agencies, foundations and departments including National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education and Energy
* fellowship programs include Jacob K. Javits, Grants for Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN), and loan programs such as Stafford Direct and Indirect Loans
* Work-Study for graduate students may be administered by a financial aid office or the Graduate Dean
Foundations
* funding provided in specific areas or for specific groups
* Ford funds predoctoral, dissertation-year and postdocs, specifically for minority students
* Howard Hughes funds predoctoral students in the biological sciences
* Mellon awards students in the predoctoral humanities
Individual and Organizations
* provide various amounts of awards for particular purposes and sometimes for particular individuals
FINANCIAL PACKAGE
A Good Financial Package
Provides a combination of funding sources
* fellowship - no work involved
* teaching assistantship - gives you teaching experience
* research position - learning to conduct research while earning salary
* TA and or GSR/RA position promotes socialization of the student into the program/department
* TA may be core requirement of graduate program
A Poor Financial Package
Unvaried funding source
* total teaching assistant - too demanding
* total fellowship - lack of teaching experience, lab expenses
* total research position - does not provide teaching experience; may not allow you to work on your own research (some exceptions)
Process for Consideration of Financial Support (on campus)
Nomination Process
* Most institutions consider all their admitted applicants for support
* Admission Application may allow selection of interest in financial support, including type of support (e.g., TA, GSR, fellowship, etc.).
* Department/Program sends Graduate Dean nomination requests for new or continuing student(s)
* Decision to award made
o Student informed of admission/award package simultaneously
o April 15 national deadline for notification of acceptance/declination of admission/award
o Notify declinations to institutions as soon as decision made as may allow reallocation of funds to other students
Following Award Acceptance
* File FAFSA
* For nonresidents, after arriving in institution state, immediately begin establishing residency.
o Open a bank account
o Register to vote
o Obtain state driver’s license or I.D.
o File residency paperwork with Office of Registrar
o By no later than twelve months later, file additional required paperwork with Office of Registrar.
o Nonresident tuition paid first year only
< ul>
General Requirements for Funding Opportunities to Qualify for State Funding
Eligibility
o U.S. Citizen
o Permanent Resident
o California Resident (If not resident, must obtain residency status by the next academic year.)
o Follow All Application Instructions to the Letter
Merit
o High Quality Academic Standing, based on bachelor's record and/or master's record
o Strong Letters of Recommendation from faculty advisors
o Strong GRE Scores
o Good Research Experience
o TA Experience
o Publications
o Accomplishments
o High Quality Writing Sample
o Department/Program Interview
All or several of the above items will be required no matter where you apply to graduate school, especially academic standing, GRE scores, letters and research experience. Also, some of the same requirements may be applicable for extramural awards. Other criteria relevant to successful completion of a graduate degree may also be considered. Often, the graduate dean will provide some oversight with the administration of both campus and extramural awards. This is the case even when fellowship stipends are paid directly to the students. The fee portion of the award is always administered by the institution and is usually included in what is termed "educational allowance." Any excess of the educational allowance not used for fees and/or tuition may be requested for use by the student for other educational costs (e.g. attending a conference, purchasing research supplies or equipment or computers, printers, etc.).
GRADUATE STUDENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES
American Geological Institute for Minority Participation program
Eligible applicants are doctoral students in geological sciences.
American Indian Graduate Center Fellowships
Eligible applicants are American Indian and Alaskan Native students seeking master's, doctoral or professional degrees.
American Political Science Association Graduate Fellowships for Minority Students
Eligible applicants are doctoral students in political science.
American Psychological Association for Minority Fellowship Program
Eligible applicants are doctoral students in psychology.
American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program
Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowships
Eligible applicants are students with outstanding potential in the applied physical sciences
Ford Foundation for Minority Fellowships (Predoctoral and dissertation-year awards)
Eligible applicants are ethnic minority interested in academic careers.
Forgivable Loan/Doctoral Incentive Program for doctoral students at accredited universities nationwide, providing five years of support for a total of $30,000. Loan forgiveness: twenty percent of the loan is forgiven for each year of full-time postdoctoral teaching at a California State University campus.
Forgivable Loan/Doctoral Incentive Program
Office of the Chancellor
The California State University
400 Golden Shore, Suite 222
Long Beach, CA 90802-4275
GEM Fellowships in Engineering
Eligible applicants are American Indian, African American, Mexican American, Hispanic and Puerto Rican students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in engineering.
Gates Millenium Scholars
c/o The United Negro College Fund
8260 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive
P O Box 10444
Fairfax, VA 22031-8044
GEM Fellowships in the Natural Sciences
Eligible applicants are American Indian, African American, Mexican American, Hispanic and Puerto Rican students pursuing doctoral degree in physical or life sciences.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowships in the Biological Sciences
Eligible applicants are pursuing a doctorate in the life sciences.
Jacob K. Javits Fellowships
Eligible applicants are those pursuing the doctorates in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Jacob K. Javits Fellows Program
P.O. Box 84
Washington, D.C. 20044
(202) 260-3574
Mellon Fellowships in the Humanities
Eligible candidates are doctoral students in the humanities
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowships
Eligible candidates are pursuing graduate studies in science and engineering disciplines with military importance.
http://www.battelle.org/ndseg/
National Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Grants for up to $1,000 for Hispanic undergraduate and graduate students.
http://www.hsf.net
National Medical Fellowships
Eligible applicants are minority students in first- and second-year medical studies.
National Medical Fellowships, Inc.
110 W. 32nd Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 714-0933
National Physical Science Consortium Graduate Fellowships
All are welcome to apply. Emphasis is placed on eligible candidates who are African American, Hispanic, or American Indian or women who are underrepresented, pursuing a doctorate in the physical sciences.
http://www.npsc.org
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships
Awards multiple-year fellowships for students in engineering or the natural or social sciences.
http://www.nsf.gov
UNCF/MERCK Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowships
Awards science dissertation research fellowships to African Americans enrolled full-time in the life sciences or physical sciences.
http://www.uncf.org/merck/program.htm
U.S. Department of Energy Integrated Manufacturing Predoctoral Fellowships
Eligible applicants are doctoral students in engineering and other applied science fields whose research interests relate to integrated manufacturing systems.
http://www.energy.gov
OTHER INTERNET SOURCES OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT
American Association of University Women Fellowships (Dissertation Fellowships, International Fellowships & Selected Professions Fellowships)
http://www.aauw.org
California Student Aid Commission
http://www.csac.ca.gov/
Cornell University Graduate Fellowship Notebook - database of minority scholarships
http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN/
Department of Education EASI (Easy Access for Students and Institutions) Program
http://www.easi.ed.gov
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on the Web
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Fast Aid - Free Online Scholarship Database
http://www.fastaid.com
Fastweb.com - Free Internet Financial Aid Search Services
http://www2.fastweb.com/fastweb/
Financial Aid Page
http://www.finaid.org/finaid/focus/grad.html
Humanities Research Institute
http://www.ucop.edu/research/human.html
Institute of Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
http://www-igcc.ucsd.edu/igcc/Z/igccmenu.html
Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Research Grants
http://nrs.ucop.edu/info/grants/mathias_annc.html
Minority On Line Information Service, U.S. Government
http://www.rams-fie.com/molis/scholar.html
National Research Council
http://www2.nas.edu/fo/
NRS Student Research Grant Program
http://nrs.ucop.edu/info/grants.html
President's Research Fellowships in the Humanities (PRFH)
http://www.ucop.edu/research/prfh.html
Princeton University's Graduate School List of External Funding Sources
http://webware.princeton.edu/GSO/finance.htm#
Purdue Research Foundation S.P.D. External Funding Sources for Non-Purdue Students
http://www.purdue.edu/dsp/ResearchServices/databases.html
Rockefeller Foundation Organization
http://www.rockfound.org/frameset.html
UCR Graduate Student Financial Support
http://www.cnas.ucr.edu/~graddiv/FinSupport.html
Yahoo.com Financial Aid Website
http://www.yahoo.com/education/financial_aid/
OTHER SOURCES OF GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWSHIPS/GRANTS
A Selected List of Fellowship Opportunities and Aid to Advanced Education
Public Office, National Science Foundation
1800 'G' Street NW
Washington, DC 20550.
A Selected List of Post-Secondary Education Opportunities for Minorities and Women
U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
Office of Bureau of Higher Education
Room 4913, ROB-3
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202.
A Selected List of Fellowship Opportunities and Aid to Advanced Education
National Science Foundation
Publication Office
Arlington, VA. Free
A Selected List of Post-Secondary Education Opportunities for Minorities and Women
U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
Office of Bureau of Higher Education
Room 4913, ROB-3
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202.
Admission Requirements of U.S. and Canadian Dental Schools
American Association of Dental Schools
Department of AR
1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036-2212.
Allied Health Education Directory
American Medical Association
Order Department, OP 417594
P. O. Box 7046
Dover, DE 19903
Annual Register of Grant Support
Reed Elsevier-New Providence
121 Chanlon Road
New Providence, NJ 07974.
Barrons Guide to Graduate and Business Schools
Barrons Educational Series
250 Wireless Boulevard
Hauppage, NY 11788
Free Money for Graduate School
Blum, Laurie, 1996
http://www.amazon.com
Financing Graduate School
McWade, Patricia, Peterson's 1996
http://www.petersons.com
Graduate and Professional School Opportunity for Minority Students
Educational Testing Services
Princeton, NJ 08540
Graduate Financial Resources for Minority Students in Engineering and Science
National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM)
P.O. Box 537
Notre Dame, IN 46556.
Graduate and Professional Opportunity for Minority Students
Educational Testing Service
Princeton, NJ 08540
Grants for Graduate and Predoctoral Study and Financing Graduate School
Petersen's Education Center
P.O. Box 2123
Princeton, NJ 08543-2123
Grants at a Glance
published by the Association for Women in Science and lists funding sources for women in science programs
Association of Women in Science
2410 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 303
Washington, DC 20037.
Grants for Graduate Study
1992, 3rd ed. Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides.
Guide to Study in Psychology
American Psychological Association, Order Department
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242.
Guide to Graduate Education in Urban and Regional Planning
Planners Bookstore
American Planners Association
1125 S. Michigan, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60603-6107
Guide to Corporate Support of Graduate Education
Council for Financial Aid to Education
680 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Guide to Graduate Study in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Public Administration and Doctoral Programs in Business Administration
The Economics Institute
115 Stoneridge Drive
Chapell Hill, NC 27514
Guide to Architecture Schools
1735 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Guide to Corporate Support of Graduate Education
Available from Council for Financial Aid to Education
680 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Health Services Administration Education
The Association of University Programs in Health Administration
1911 North Fort Myers Drive, Site 503
Arlington, VA 22209
How to Get Money for Research
Mary Rubin by Feminist Press as source for dissertation research funds for women (mostly in women studies area)
Medical School Admissions Requirements, US and Canada
Association of American Medical Colleges
2450 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Minority Student Opportunity in US Medical Schools
Association of American Medical Colleges
2450 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools
Law School Admission Services
Box 2400
Newton, PA 18940-0977
Pharmacy School Admission Requirements
American Association of Colleges and Pharmacy
1426 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-2841
Programs in Public Affairs and Administration
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
1120 G Street, NW, Suite 730
(or P.O. Box 92984)
Washington, DC 20005(20090)
Project 1000
Arizona State University
(administration site, toll free #1-800-327-4893)
goal is to recruit/retain Latino students in graduate programs
The Graduate Scholarship Book: The Complete Guide to Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants and Loans for Graduate and Professional Study
2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1990
The Veterinary Medical School Admission Requirements: the Official AAVNC Handbook
Betz Publishing Company, Inc.
351 W. Camden Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Additionally, check with Graduate Schools for funding sources as many maintain libraries which include campus and external funding sources. Career Centers also offer an abundance of information on financial support opportunities.
ACRONYMS
While some of these acronyms are not mentioned in this document, in your search for graduate institutions and financial support, you may come across many of them.
AACRAO Association of American Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
ABD All But Disseration
APA American Psychological Association
ASA American Sociological Association
AAAS American Association of University Professions
ASEE American Society for Engineering Education
AY Academic Year
BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs
COE Cost of Education Allowance
ED U.S. Department of Education
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
ETS Educational Testing Service
FAF Finanacial Aid Form
FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Assistance
FICA Federal Insurance Corporation of America (Soc.Sec.Tax)
FDSLP Federal Direct Student Loan Program
FY Fiscal Year
GEM National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science
GRE Graduate Record Exam
GSHIP Graduate Student Health Insurance Program
GSR Graduate Student Researcher
HEA Higher Education Act
HHS Department of Health and Human Services
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NAS National Academy of Science
NIH National Institute of Health
NIMH National Institute of Mental Health
NRC National Research Council
NRT Nonresident Tuition
NSA National Science Academy
NSF National Science Foundation
PAF Personnel Action Form
PFR Partial Fee Remission
RA Research Assistantship
SAR Student Aid Report
SC Student Contribution
SS Social Security
TA Teaching Assistantship
TF Teaching Fellow
TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language
USDA United States Department of Agriculture
USDE United States Department of Education
USED United States Department of Education
GLOSSARY
Acceptable Progress Demonstrating good academic standing and overall performance in program requirements, based on an approved graduate program time frame.
Advancement to Candidacy After completing all University and graduate program requirements, student must pass a series of written and oral qualifying examinations.
Defense Final requirement for dissertation and the final oral examination on doctoral candidate’s dissertation.
Dissertation Prospectus a statement of the dissertation topic, how the research will be conducted, what it will entail and what it will accomplish.
Financial Aid Transcript A listing of all financial aid student has received while attending a particular institution.
Need Analysis The process of determining the estimated income student will need to successfully progress through degree (usually required annually).
Normative Time This is the approximate amount of time in which a student should go from graduate admission to filing the dissertation.
Teaching Fellow An advanced graduate student teaching a lower division course to a group of students, under Faculty supervision.
Terminal Master's The highest degree offered in a given graduate program.
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