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paparazzi

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  • Location
    Athens
  • Application Season
    2013 Fall
  • Program
    CS

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  1. Well, we haven't discussed that yet. I had the impression that advisors check the grades of their students on their own but I am not very sure that mine did. He knows that I was sick but probably not how difficult it was for me. It's very difficult for me to express the exact situation my health was, so I do not want to make big fuss out of it. I will probably meet the DGS to hear what is the department's policy and then talk with my advisor on the subject.
  2. Hey guys, I would like to hear your opinion on my problem. I am a first year Phd in Computer Science and I scored an average GPA under 3.0 in the first semester (I took 3 courses, in one of them I scored a 'C'). There are some reasons for me being in that situation, beyond the obvious ones (first time exposure in US grading system, being away my country), however I would say that my biggest fault was time management. I spent too much time on research and while studying hard for midterms, I simply could not write good grades. My hands were shaking each time the clock was ticking. Apart that, I did a really bad selection of courses because I took courses that I literally knew nothing so that I could learn new things - this didn't work out for me. Finally, I had to be hospitalized twice just before the final exams and for two weeks I could not even walk. However it's not that I was doing great before that. I know that many people had to surpass these things and did much better so I don't want to make excuses - I just want to give the whole picture. Now things are (much) better, I took two courses in my field and I will probably score two A's (I still can't score perfect midterms though). I am worried about what the department will say when my evaluation time comes. I work hard to do something nice in my research but I will not probably submit a paper till next christmas. Anyone in the same situation (now or in the past)? Can I offset a bad first semester by doing great in the next one(s)? Thanks!
  3. @MPPgal: Yes, they kept all of my documents. I do not remember if the same happened the previous time I took a visa (J1). @Andean Pat: They only asked for my passport, a 5x5 cm picture of my face, my I-20, my DS160 and my SEVIS fee receipt. They didn't ask my letter of admission nor my grades, degrees and visa application fee (I had them with me).
  4. Hmm, not really, I do not remember the VO telling something special about my case or giving a precise information. Only when I asked him about my visa result he made comment on background checking (I would say that he did not say anything about a special check in my application). My status saying "administrative processing" is what makes me nervous. Indeed, I will contact them in about two weeks and I hope that I will hear something good.
  5. Thanks fuzzy! Everything else should be fine as long as I am concerned. I am worried because without the visa I can not set up my travel plans and the last day I can afford not have the visa is around the beginning of August...
  6. Hello, I hope everyone is fine I would like to share my visa experience because I am a little bit concerned with my interview. I was admitted for PhD studies in Computer Science at Univ of Minnesota - TwinCs. As a short note, I already had a J1 visa issued before 1.5 year without any delay. I had my F1 interview done yesterday at the US embassy in my country (in European Union). I thought I had all of my documents in folder but I forgot to take with me a bank note which was showing that I have personal funds of $500 (the amount was written in my I20). As a matter of fact, the lady who first gathered my documents (passport, photo, I20, Sevis fee) told me that the VO will request this document. I replied that I understand that he will request it and I can bring the note if I instructed to do so. When the VO called my number, the interview did not took more than 3 minutes. He asked me the following: 1) Why I am going to the US 2) If I am married 3) If I have relatives in the US 4) If I have ever been in the US before After I gave the answers, he asked me if the university will pay my salary (although he had an expression like: "I can see this information from your documents and I ask you just for the records"). I think that after he saw and canceled my old J1 visa he did not asked me anything else and we were done. Now comes the interesting part: I asked him if I got the visa and he told me: "I can not really say if you did because there is some background checking to be done, if everything is ok then you are fine". He also asked me if I knew how I will pick-up my passport. However, when I returned home I saw that my visa status is set to "administration processing". I understand that a missing document will delay the process (since I will have to submit it in a later date) but the VO didn't mention anything about the missing document (maybe because my income from the assistantship is greater than the estimated expenses, even without considering this small amount of money I have as personal funds) nor he gave me a 221(g) paper nor I received any email from the embassy. Could the administration processing be a typical initial visa status or there is something that I will be notified in a later manner? Any opinions? Thank you very much!
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