It's December and many of you might have got admits for Spring from different universities. Now this is the time when every MS aspirant gets confused about selecting one university among several admits, thinks about post admit things like ordering i-20, appearing for VISA interview etc. I am writing this article to throw some light on such things by sharing my post admit journey.
'Real happiness is the time when your efforts get paid totally'. It was 10th January, I got an e-mail from University of Illinois, Chicago stating that I have got recommended by Civil Engineering department ad-com to be admitted. It was the first admit so I was too excited though it wasn't final decision.
I was waiting eagerly for the decision from UT Austin, TAMU and NCSU as these were way ambitious for my profile. It was a good start because first decision was an admit. After around one month I got second admit from UT Arlington. I was more inclined towards Texan universities due to their affordability, climatic conditions and more opportunities in my field. Meanwhile, I discussed with many seniors over there in all universities where I had applied. I took review about their academic standards, job opportunities, facilities etc.
Only the bad day dawned. The first mail I read in the morning was a rejection from UT Austin. I was totally broken but somehow I managed to control my emotions. On the same day, in the evening I read on a WhatsApp group that ASU has posted many decisions on portal. I was too scared because my day was started with a rejection. I logged in and it was posted there that they can't offer me an admit now. It was the second rejection in the same day. I could understand about UT Austin because it's much ambitious but according to my friends and family ASU was a safe option for me so getting rejected by ASU was a big shock for me. I was praying to God to give me an admit next but it wasn't in my destiny. On the same day at night I got a mail from NEU that I've got wait-listed due to lack of availability of seats. I was totally depressed after reading that mail because I had applied to 8 universities out of which I got rejected from 3 universities in a single day.
(I am telling this purposefully because I don't want you to feel sad if you get rejected from any university because that's not the end of opportunities. You may get better opportunities than this. So if you want to succeed in life then you must learn how to digest failure and success too.)
Failure is followed by success and same thing happened with me too. I got admits from TAMU and Clemson university by 11th April. Now, there were four options in front of me and I was supposed to select one from among them. After talking with seniors over there, going through faculty profiles of these universities, I decided to join Texas A&M University at College station.
I want to share some points which I think every student should consider while selecting a single university out of several admits.
- Academic standards: Many times student go with the university having great ranking which may mislead us. University rankings are decided depending upon various factors so rank should not be the only criteria. One must talk with the current students of that university because they know the present situation and academic standards over there. It's good to invest your money and valuable time if it's an academically strong place.
- Area of interest: Every university is famous for different coursework which depends on its faculties, coursework syllabus etc. So before taking final decision check whether it provides best coursework in the field which you are interested. Also, some universities have industry oriented coursework and some have research oriented so be sure whether you want to go for research or job and choose the university accordingly.
- Location of the university: USA is divided into number of sections depending upon the job opportunities for different fields, so check the location of the university to get idea about the availability of job opportunities.
- Affordability: This is the point which may seem foolish to be discussed but can't be ignored because everything comes to money at last so one must be wise while investing it. If you are going to get same or better knowledge in other university with less expenses then why you shouldn't join that?
- Geographical conditions and climatic status at the university should also be taken into consideration while selecting the university.
After deciding to join TAMU, I went through the university website and admission mail where next steps were mentioned. As per that information I ordered i-20 from TAMU. As soon as I got SEVIS id, I booked a slot for VISA interview and appeared for it. (I've already published my VISA experience through YOCKET). After getting VISA sanctioned, I booked a flight ticket and now waiting for the day on which I'll be flying to my dream university, Texas A&M University.
I hope this will help you people in your journey. All the best guys!
