What after admits?

Students often wonder what to do once they receive their desired admits. Firstly, it is important for the student to check the available options, compare and select the best university they wish to continue their higher education at. In case they have received an admit from their dream university, there is no doubt about where to go. Otherwise, it is important to compare the universities you have received an admit from on the following basis:

• Course structure
• Research projects and laboratories
• Internships
• Funding and scholarships (if offered)
• Available Funding
• Total cost
• Location and weather
• DS-160:
  VISA form containing all your information. The VISA official will go through this form before interviewing you. Hence ensure you answer everything truthfully. This form doesn’t require you to pay any application fees.
• Form to Schedule an Appointment with the Consulate:
  This will take a few of your details including the 10 character DS 160 Application ID. You will be required to pay approximately Rs. 10,000 (depending on the Dollar rate) in cash at an Axis bank Branch. Once the payment has been processed, your account for booking the appointment will be activated. An appointment for a 10-print OFC and a VISA interview can be booked then.
• SEVIS form:
  this is a US $200 fee the student needs to pay for registration into the US system as an international student. The SEVIS number required for this form is unique for every I-20 issued in the US and is mentioned on the top right hand side corner of the first page on the I-20.

The order mentioned is the way the student needs to list his priorities. The Location and weather should be the least of his/her concerns while choosing a career path.

The next important step to take is start arranging the finances. The VISA approval demands the availability of twice the amount of funds as stated by the I-20. The first half has to be in the form of savings whereas the second half of it can include Fixed Deposits, PFs, PPFs, Mutual Funds and even Gold. Property is NOT to be considered as a part of this amount. Immovable assets i.e. property is to be shown by the student as reason for them to return to India once they graduate. Anyway the property and gold evaluation is an essential step and the documents should be ready prior to the VISA interview at the US Consulate. In case the parents/sponsors plan on applying for an education loan, the student should avoid mentioning it to the VISA official. Usually students opt to appear for the interview sometime around May-June (Fall admits) or December-Early January (Spring admits)

On selecting the apt university and arranging the financial documents, the student can start filling the VISA forms:

After filling these forms, the student needs to prepare to answer the questions posed by the VISA official. Confidence, honesty and clarity are the key to crack the interview and get that VISA stamped in your Passport booklet.

Author:
Karishma Tijoriwala
Counselor with at ISSC