britishstudent

Does anyone find the information provided by the US government a bit confusing. So far I've got my I-20, I've made an appointment and paid my MRV fee, my SEVIS fee, I've filled out DS-156, DS-158 (although I really don't have that much work history), DS-157. I have my passport, provided a photo and am getitng my hands on transcripts. I have a letter from my university confirming that I am funded I *think* I've done everything that a young male has to do except prove that I intend to return home through evidence of family professional or employment ties. I don't have any property or employment - how do they want me to prove that my parents will be a factor in making me return home?!

Does anyone know if it will be possible for me, as an international, to learn how to drive and get a state licence in new york? I've never had the need to drive and never learnt but moving to Ithaca it sounds like a good idea.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... gender_soc might give you a good starting point. I'm interested in economic sociology and basically asked for some advice from members of the department with similar interests where they would recommend. Also afew people are fairly prominent in my field so I looked to where they were to inform me of where was strong in my field

Hi I was wondering if anyone could confirm whether I need to get a visa for visiting the university I'm thinking about going to next year in the states? I'm only planning to come to the states for a few days and am British. I couldn't work out whether this counts as a holiday under US immigration

A few places seem to be doing admissions over a long period of time. For instance some people have heard from Harvard and Michigan but not others... where else have you applied?

Great! Thats what I went for. Living in communal housing/apartments seems much friendlier than the studios available so I went for that. Having had single accomodation in my first year at university I've found I much prefer communal kitchens etc (even if the pile of plates does mount up on occasion!).

I'm also into Cornell and hoping to visit sometime in March and April. Has anyone else submitted accomodation information?

Does anyone know much about graduate housing provided by Cornell? Sent my application off yesterday

Thanks, and sorry for the whiney post. I am really excited by the Cornell offerand going to the states. I;ve got applications in here to LSE and Cambridge (put in recently) but the atmosphere and the longer course structure is awesome. In Britain your funding isn't decided until your final grades so I'm almost certain to come to the states (at cambridge your final result in sociology is completely dependent on 3x3 hour exams and a dissertation, nothing up to that point counts, so one slip up can screwup funding). I think a few rejections in a row has just hit hard and I'll get over it... If anyone else is heading cornell way PM me

Heard on the 8th from Cornell. 5 years fully funded (2 years wihtout having to do RA/TA) $20,000 + tuition and medical insurance + 4 years of summer RA $4,000 on top

Hello there I've been lurking for a while and finally thought I would post - pressing send and recieve on Outlook Express every couple of minutes was kinda getting dull. Congratulations to everyone whose got into a program that they love. Anyone thinking about heading to Cornell?

Coming from abroad I really don't know where I went wrong with my applications. I've been rejected by 3 and I suspect the other two will be as well as many have already had offers it seems. I'm at Cambridge, and came top of my year within my subject with strong grades last year (including a starred first in one paper - very rare). I submitted a strong piece of work that had been graded a first and is the basis for a journal article that is currently being written. I scored 630V 720Q and 6.0A and had excellent references. I had also contacted faculty at most universities that I applied to who thought I was a good match with the program. I submitted everything on time (albeit close to the deadline and two late references in the post but only by a few days). I'm at a loss to see where I went wrong. In Britain we write very different proposals to those in the States and I had a hard time writing my statements of purpose in an "americanised way" but I had help from faculty members who had taught and studied in America. I do have an awesome offer from Cornell which I am more than happy to take ($24,000 stipend + tuition ahd health insurance) and I'm concentrating on that. But I can't help wondering if I am cut out for research at the top level with so many rejections and equally I really want to know where I went wrong. I wasn't expecting a clean sweep and I know how competitive it is but I'm still a bit surprised. I'm not alone in thinking that either - Grad schools in Britain are less competitive than the states of course, and this is what most faculty in my department have experience with but most of them are surprised I didn't get more offers. Sorry this isn't very coherent. Just wanted to write it and get it off my chest.