Happy Schools Blog

H1B Visa 2010 – Cap Count; Nov 13, 2009

HSB — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:05:12 +0000

H1B Visa 2010 Cap Count Table Updated [ Includes Timeline from April 1, 2009]

As of November 13, 2009, approximately 55,600 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed. USCIS has approved sufficient H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. Any H-1B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree will now count toward the general H-1B cap of 65,000. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

H1B Visa 2010 – Cap Count; Nov 13, 2009

How I Prepared for GRE Exam (3 Steps)

HSB — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:58:09 +0000

3 Step GRE Exam study plan – Written by Sameer

Raw Skills : Know Where do you stand?
GRE Exam Preparation
GRE Sample – Practice, Practice and More Practice

Raw Skills – Know Where do you stand?

It is important to clear the misconception from within. You should have been exposed to English thats good but may not be enough to crack the GRE test. You must know what your current level of skills (Verbal, quantitative and Analytical writing).

You need to find where you stand and prepare your GRE Exam study plan accordingly. Hence, give Practice test. Infact there are Diagnostic Mock GRE tests on websites like Kaplan. Get registered for free and attempt Diagnostic test nnd Diagnose your performance.

Actual – GRE Exam Preparation

Get your resources from 2-3 different good resources. Joining an Coaching center is ok, but not compulsory. There are good resources online. Some of them are below at the end of this writeup.

GRE Practice Exams and Practice

Taking GRE Exam practice tests is the most important step in preparation. Practice and Diagnosis go hand in hand [ How to Improve GRE Exam Score] . Just writing series of mock exams won’t help unless you sit after each exam and diagnose how did you get a question wrong.

You must know your own pitfalls and avoid them in exam. There could be some sections that you do well. You need not worry much about them. Also, there could be questions you think you did well but you get them wrong. This is the point of contemplation. How you fell into the trap for a question? answer yourself.

Day before the Exam

Please note this, Prior to Exam Day:

Prepare well in advance to select your Graduate schools. Remember the correct Details of University,School,Department and Course names.
When you are finished with your exam, GRE test sofware prompts you to select the University, Name, School names (in some cases), Department name and Course name the test centre.

Useful GRE Exam Preparation sites

number2.com – create an account and do practice (only meanings Q’s are unlimited and other Q’s are limited- good to bulid ur vocab and test ur vocab )
gre-verbal.blogspot.com : has a good collection of gre words aggregated monthly..they say these are Q’s from exam for that month… I have not verified the claim. they are pretty useful
visualthesaurus.com : its the website . Its gives a good visual experience relating a jargon of words differentiating its shades.. you got to register here to use it fully, although a trail is available for limited use.
dictionary.reference.com : this was my dark horse. I used this for looking up every new word along with synonyms and antonyms..It also gives the words usage and history.
syvum.com/gre : instant test and results on set of 10 Q’s
800score.com/gre-index.html : i dont remeber if this was a paid site..just explore this as well.
freshersworld.com : it has GRE preparations material
koolkareers.com/gre : it also has GRE preparation material

If you have any comments and questions, leave a comment to this article. Sameer is going to write series of articles about this experience.

If you like the article, Re-Tweet this article by clicking on the Green Re-Tweet button on the right side.

Guest Article By – Sameer, I’m doing Master’s student in Cleveland state univ. I have completed Bachelors in Computers from Osmania and 3 years with Infosys. Back then, when i was applying to schools I found the blog very informative and I would like to share my experience to other Happy Schools Blog Readers

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

How I Prepared for GRE Exam (3 Steps)

Will Professor Pay My College Tuition Fees?

HSB — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:01:09 +0000

Paresh posted the following second comment at Admission to PhD – Scholarship and Semester. Before reading this article, read the previous comment posted by him.

And sir as per my information outstation tuition can be converted into instate tuition.Am i right,sir?
Moreover,i was informed that professor will pay our tuition which will not accounted towards fellowship or stipend.So,we should not worry about fees and just concentrate on study without fear.At which extent this is true? And is it true for every US university?

Rumors and Wrong Information

This exact reason why Happy Schools Blog was started. Students want to study in US and that’s all they care and most of them don’t even know if the information they hear from friends or family members are correct. With so much mis-guided information, students like Paresh make incorrect decision and end up at some university, when the could have opted for much better school.

I was informed that professor will pay our tuition which will not accounted towards fellowship or stipend. So,we should not worry about fees?

Tuition Fee – Out of State, Instate

Read the following articles to understand the difference between In-state and Out of State Fees

Professors will not pay your fees. They will either do one of the following

Hire you as their Research Assistant
Recommend you for Teaching Assistant position to the department

Professor will pay you per month for working as Research Assistant and when you get RA you qualify for In-state Tuition fees. Same applies to TA, but department will pay for TA. If you get RA or TA, you will qualify for In-State Tuition fees.

Scholarship is completely different from RA or TA. Scholarship are given to students based on academic qualification. International students are not given scholarship based on students financial need. Some scholarship will not get you In-State Fees, it will be just a fixed amount.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Will Professor Pay My College Tuition Fees?

H1B 2010 Cap Count Update – Nov 6, 2009

HSB — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:26:52 +0000

As of November 6, 2009, approximately 54,700 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed. USCIS has approved sufficient H1-B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. Any H1-B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree will now count toward the general H1-B cap of 65,000. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn. Via -USCIS

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

H1B 2010 Cap Count Update – Nov 6, 2009

Study Tips: How I Scored 770 in GMAT

HSB — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:07:12 +0000

GMAT – 770 – (lengthy article, but if you are serious about getting high score in GMAT, its a MUST read) You can use the tips listed by Slingfox for GRE Exam preparation too.

Except as noted below, the quant section turned out to be largely in line with my expectations. Very early on, I had a string of 8 questions of which 7 were data sufficiency! Halfway through the quant section I was running about 5 minutes ahead of pace. Nonetheless, as the section went on I started falling behind and had to guess on the last question, which was not conceptually difficult, but was mathematically time consuming so I ran out of time.

Verbal, on the other hand, was harder than I expected. I must have spent 7-8 minutes staring at the first two reading comprehension question I got. The hard reading comprehension passage put me behind pace at the 30% mark so I started to speed up, trying to earn back time by doing the SC and CR questions as efficiently as possible. By the 66% mark I was a full ten minutes ahead of pace, so I started to slow down and stared at difficult questions for an inordinate amount of time.

You can read the detailed GMAT Exam preparation at GMAT Club Forum

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Study Tips: How I Scored 770 in GMAT

How to Think and Function as a Scientist

HSB — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:14:01 +0000

In several articles about Phd, we have stated that PhD is about interest towards research and not about financial aid and money. It requires dedication and determination to complete PhD and Post Doc.

On Becoming a Scientist

Bruce Michael Alberts is an American biochemist who published an article in Science Magazine On Becoming a Scientist. It’s a MUST read for any students to considering to study Masters or PhD.

He talks about

how to think and function as a scientist
importance of your mentor
how to find problems and solve them
importance of creativity, risk taking and identifying problems

So, are you still interested to study PhD and go on to become a sceientist or you think Masters degree is sufficient? PhD takes about 4 to 5 years to complete and Post Doc takes another 2 years.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

How to Think and Function as a Scientist

New Poll – What is Your GRE Exam Score?

HSB — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:17:54 +0000

Hello everyone, it would be nice to know your GRE Scores. This poll will give an idea on what kinds of readers visit HSB and customize articles based on that.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

New Poll – What is Your GRE Exam Score?

Invalid GRE Score, if Last Name Changes in the passport ?

HSB — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:17:34 +0000

Rahul Posted the following comment at Blank Surname in the Passport – GRE and Admission

I am Rahul Ramachandran, as posted by many ppl in this thread, i too dont have a surname in passport, but while registering for gre and tofel, i gave first name as Rahul and last name as Ramachndran.
I came to know all this when i was applying for universities only.
if i change my name in passport(Ramachandran as surname) .Will they change in same passport? or new one?if i get a new one,won’t my gre and tofel score become invalid.
pls help me.
i am in big confusion whether to apply or not.
what problems could i face later, will i have problems while getting visa? can i change my name in passport after going there?

GRE and TOEFL Registration

While registering for gre and tofel, i gave first name as Rahul and last name as Ramachndran.

You made the right decision by using Ramachndran as the last name while registering for GRE and TOEFL. Many students either use full first name as last name or don’t use the last name at all.

Name Change in Passport

If i change my name in passport(Ramachandran as surname) .Will they change in same passport? or new one?if i get a new one,won’t my gre and tofel score become invalid.

No you GRE Scores will not become invalid by changing you name in passport. Passport is used to verify and validate you before taking the exam, thats about it. It will not serve any purpose later.

So, you can go ahead and change the name in your passport and apply to Universities. You will not have any issues. Many students have to retake GRE because, they messed up completely. But, you made the right decision to use Ramachandran as last name. This saved you lot of time and money.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Invalid GRE Score, if Last Name Changes in the passport ?

Cost of Living: Most and Least Expensive College Town

HSB — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:14:27 +0000

Cost of living is directly proportional to location where college is located. Many students consider cost of living to be one of the Major factor when selecting the Universities. Forbe’s have published an article based on research done by Coldwell Banker Real Estate for home prices near college town/campus.

Using the value of the 4 bedroom apartment at various cities, least and most expensive college towns was calculated. We have published cost of living at University of Southern California, which is why USC is listed under Most Expensive College category below.

Least to Most Expensive College Towns

Akron, Ohio
Status: Least Expensive
School: University of Akron
2009 Avg. Price: $121,885

Muncie, Ind.
Status: Least Expensive
School: Ball State University
2009 Avg. Price: $144,996

Ann Arbor, Mich.
Status: Least Expensive
School: University of Michigan
2009 Avg. Price: $148,000

Ypsilanti, Mich.
School: Eastern Michigan University

Tulsa, Okla.
School: University of Tulsa

Denton, Texas
Town, State: School: University of North Texas

Houston, Texas
School: University of Houston, Rice University

Bloomington, Ind.
School: Indiana University

Kent, Ohio
School: Kent State University

Seattle, Wash.
Status: Most Expensive
School: University of Washington
2009 Avg. Price: $568,317

Boulder, Colo.
Status: Most Expensive
School: University of Colorado
2009 Avg. Price: $622,000

San Jose, Calif.
Status: Most Expensive
School: San Jose State University
2009 Avg. Price: $808,926

Berkeley, Calif.
School: University of California, Berkeley
2009 Avg. Price: $1,299,750

Boston/Chestnut Hill, Mass.
School: Boston College
2009 Avg. Price: $1,337,578

Los Angeles, Calif.
School: University of Southern California, University of California, LA
2009 Avg. Price: $1,347,125

Palo Alto, Calif.
School: Stanford University
2009 Avg. Price: $1,489,726

Source of the above article : Forbes . As you can see 4 bedroom apartment costs from $121,885 to $1,489,726. So, based on the cost of the apartment, rental cost will also be high. When rental costs goes up, cost of living for the students also goes up. If your monthly expense is $700, atleast$350 will be used for apartment rent and rest will be used for other expenses.If you have choice between two similar universites, compare the cost of living, before making the final decision.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Cost of Living: Most and Least Expensive College Town

Got Reply from Professor – Disappointing!

HSB — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:03:07 +0000

Getting in touch with Professors before applying to Universities should be part of your Graduate School Admission strategy. You can use the sample email template to contact professors. One of the blog reader used the email template contact a professors and got reply, but he feels disappointed with the reply

I contacted a professor in XXXXXXX. But his response isn’t very encouraging. What should I reply him? Did I go wrong anywhere in the mail I sent him?

Email to Professor

Following was the email sent to the professor.

Dear Dr.XXXXXX,

I, XXXXXX, am pursuing bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Anna University, Chennai, India. I am applying for MS(EE) program offered by XXXXX in Fall 2010. I am interested in joining your research group at the Multimedia and Networking Lab.

I studied your article “Hand Gesture-based Computing for Hearing and Speech Impaired,” which appeared in the IEEE Multimedia Magazine. I am currently working on a voice controlled robot for physically challenged persons. I am very much interested in the part that deals with generation of gestures from speech input. I would like to contribute to your work in that area.

Will you be accepting students into your lab for the year 2010? I would be glad if you could direct me to few other related publications.

Thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Reply from Professor

You can touch base after you arrive here. However, I do not have any funding for Masters’ students.

MS or PhD

What do you expect a professor to say to you? Getting financial aid is not as easy as you think, you have to prove to them, your ability, skills and problem solving skills when work is assigned to you. You can do that by working for a professor for 1 or 2 semesters. You said 3 lines about your project, with that you cannot expect to get financial aid.

We have said many time about very high chances of getting admission to PhD with financial aid along with admission in numerous blog posts. Above reply makes things very clear about financial aid.

You approcah is right and not many professors usually respond to prospective students applying to Masters degree. If you have stated thta you are interested in Phd, response will be very different ( positive according to you). Feel happy that you got reply and they have funding for PhD, so consider applying for PhD to the same University.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Got Reply from Professor – Disappointing!