shinigamiasuka

If I understood your question right: yes, some countries require embarkation/disembarkation paperwork to be filled (like my country, Bangladesh). For the US, you might need to fill a customs declaration form if asked by the officers. If you're carrying >=$10k, you'll need to report that as well in another form. They also might want to check your luggage. The main things required are

As in you don't have an area of interest, or anything particular you're passionate about? I've found most people will have developed an area they're interested in by the time they gradauate. For some, this happens much later. You can start by asking yourself which kind of courses in your undergrad you found more interesting than others. But more importantly, how is a master's degree going to help you? Do you want to go into research and/or academic fields, making the MS a stepping stone to a PhD? If so, you'd need to be passionate enough in an area of research. Or is it needed for a job? Then, you'd need the master's in the field related to the job. Hope that helps.

A professional master's in engineering (M.Eng, or its equivalent in CS) isn't funded because the degree requires little to no research; it's primarily course-based + might include projects. However, afaik, one may conduct research with a faculty member if he/she wishes and get funded w/ RA. These degrees are usually for professional development.

While school name and rank do carry some weight, grad application success usually depends more on what you did (i.e. coursework, labs, projects, research, etc.), and how your performance was at your school (i.e. GPA and/or class rank). Sections of the application package that are equally important are: LORs, SOP, and research experience. As for GRE scores, you'd usually need to be above a certain threshold set by the school that you wouldn't know, so try aiming for good/high scores. Here's a site I found that might interest you: http://www.studentadvisor.com/questions/do-grad-schools-consider-what-college-you

2016-2017 Looks like you're in luck.

This isn't about quals, but I often found myself doing worse on the courses others called were "easy As," and doing better on the ones most others had a tough time achieving a good grade.

But didn't we just go through that check at the embassy/consulate? Am I supposed to carry financial documents (i.e. for ties)? This is a little new to me because I've never been asked questions like that at airport immigration; they'd just see if I have the visa and if the I'm right person or not.

You have a terrific profile. Aim for the top 20 unis based on your research interests.

I was originally interested in the Surface, but I've instead bought an HP Pavillion x360 convertible laptop where I'm going to experiment with electronic note-taking when I start my graduate studies. Till yet I have only taken physical, handwritten notes in copybooks.

College towns are usually safer than larger cities since what attracts people to these towns is the university, and not any kind of shady business (unless the shady business involves attracting students). Most of the crimes in the area would be committed by students, so you might get to see ones like robbery and theft, so just try to be careful, and avoid staying out late, etc. Also, since you're worried about guns, a lot of universities have their own policies regarding carrying weapons, so you might want to check yours out--although these policies won't matter off-campus. A good way to know what places to avoid is looking up your town on google and reading reviews. Another way is to ask in the city guide sub-forum. If you're in trouble, dial 911. No, you're not breaking any forum rule by mentioning the name of your town afaik.

We've only used our printed out confirmations or receipts ever since we've started booking flights online, and they work just fine. Thanks for clarifying the conept of what the "e-ticket" is; I used to think it's the booking confirmation we print out. On the other hand, we've never printed our boarding passes since they give it to us at the airport anyway. Or maybe he/she meant the ticket booklets that were used previously? I remember travel agencies used to issue those kind of tickets. + Thanks for the mobile boarding pass tip!

The "ticket" is a piece of paper with your reservation number, confirmation number, your name, flight number(s), and your itinerary. All of these should be on your receipt, and that's all you need to carry. What other "actual ticket" do you mean?

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'n' number of people willing to get a visa: n * MRV visa fee

So I'm looking at copybooks on amazon and found a brand called "Mead". How is it in terms of paper of paper quality? I use ink pens primarily, so would the ink seep through? International student question: How feasible is it to take say a dozen pens and five copybooks with me instead of buying them from the US? The prices are a bit cheaper here (there are some cheap copybook options on amazon, but I can't buy any without inspecting the paper quality myself). I'm going to try out MoMa Muji pens that Monochrome Spring suggested. Till now I've mostly used Uni-ball eye fine, and Pilot hi-techpoint, both of which are higher priced on amazon compared to their prices here. Does anyone know any other similar (and slightly cheaper) options?

Never heard of the airline. I just got my tickets with Royal Jordanian (Jeddah > Amman > Detroit).

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Full House

It depends on the university. There are some whose departments are in charge of TA assignments, and for some the professors are. In most cases, professors are in charge of RA, so you'd have to contact them if your research interests match and ask if they're taking any students. For most top schools, securing MS funding before admission is extremely tough and only those who have previous (proper, solid) research experience can manage an RA. After admission however, it gets a lot easier--in which case you'd most likely have to pay the fees for a semester/quarter (or two at most), and you'll be funded from the next term onwards. On the other hand, lower ranked schools (say, below 80) are much more generous with MS funding, making it easier to secure an RA or a TA. You should look at the funding sections of the admissions pages of the universities. The ones that do fund usually say so. Ones like Northwestern explicitly pronounce that they don't fund any MS students. UMich says they don't fund MS students on admission, but students usually find funding after they're in. One of the PIs I contacted at UMich said he'll discuss our terms and the project he'll assign me to after I arrive on campus. His research area is organic photvoltaics and carbon nanotube materials. Interestingly, he was a physics major who did his PhD in EE.

Talking Tom

A lot of US schools also inflate GPAs, so I hardly suppose you're in much trouble here. In most cases, your GPA matters more than your class rank anyway. One way to do it is to get an MS with, say, plasma related research, and then while you're at it, take some of the required physics courses. That said, most MS programs are unfunded and will be expensive, so you're going to have to look for an RA, TA, or a GSA. After that, apply for a physics PhD program. In the meantime, that your interests will either change, or you'll get more motivated towards pursuing a physics PhD program. A friend of mine from undergrad is going this route with biomedical engineering, except that she's applying to Canadian programs. Please tell me more about this superconductivity lab! I've never once heard of it?? Good luck with publishing! That's going to give your profile a real boost! I never got around to publish my research though, and I'm thinking of consulting a professor at my new university to get his feedback on the topic. I believe you should consult some of the professors at your university and get their feedback as well. What you can do now is start prepping for the GRE to take it when you're ready, and start drafting a SOP. They'll all take time, and perhaps you'll end up applying after graduation like I did. Also, your interests might change in your last year of undergrad--I know mine did.

Your GPA looks pretty good regardless. Unless your class rank is mentioned anywhere officially, you're not required to include it in your application. Is it MS that you're aiming for, or a PhD? You may be a physics enthusiast, but you'll need to prove that with research experience. ECE departments also have plasma physics and optics research areas, so you won't really miss out on much (other than theoretical physics of course). If you want to transition to physics however, you'd need a number of undergrad physics courses + take the physics GRE subject test. I don't know if either of them (i.e. MS or PhD in physics) would be easy to get it, but MS in ECE/EE won't be much of a problem. I mean 3.75 - 3.8 is VERY good in most accounts. Just work harder from now on, get a good GRE score, write a strong SOP, and develop good relations with some of your professors for LORs. The only thing that's stopping you from a PhD is research experience. Since you're aiming for top universities, you'd need a pretty strong research background because the competition is high. Also, you could PM me for more questions on how I applied (I'm Bangladeshi btw; AUST Spring 2014 graduate ). I got a 3.67 and got into UMich-AA (came out 9th in my class of around 120).

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