Bumblebee
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Posts posted by Bumblebee
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break down
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perfect fit
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I also did the paper practice test by Kaplan and scored less than 1000. It was a horrible score. Then, when I took it for real I scored 1250. And I know from other people that this usually is the case: you score a lot less in the Kaplan test than in the real one. And I totally ran out of time for the quantitative section in the Kaplan test and had enough time to finish it in the real exam. Keep practicing and don't worry too much about the Kaplan test (I think they do it to sell you their courses). Good luck!
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You're usually subject to the rule if you're either partially or fully funded by the US gov't (esp. USAID) and/or the training/education you're pursuing on the J visa is on your country’s skills list (i.e., your country needs you!
).As far as I know, the two year rule makes you ineligible for immigration and dual-intent visas (like the H visas), but you can still get a B (tourist), F (student) or even another J (exchange) visa (which doesn't remove the requirement, you still have to complete your initial 2 year residence for it to go away).
Thanks for the clarification!
I knew there were some visas you couldn't get with that rule, I just didn't know which ones. 
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I hope I can help you with this.
The F1 visa is a student visa and allows you to work ON CAMPUS for 20h/week and 40h/week during breaks and recesses. You're not allowed to work off-campus.
The J1 visa is an exchange visitor visa and can have different categories. But, since you're going to be a grad student, you'll most probably get the student J1 visa, which, as the F1 visa, only allows you to work on campus, not off campus. Moreover, many times if you have the J1 visa you'll be subject to the 212 rule (AKA two years residence rule), that obliges you to live in your home country for two years after the end of your program before applying for some US visas (I'm not sure which, though). Sometimes, especially if you don't receive any money from the US government or your own government, you're waived that rule, but you should make sure you won't be subject to that rule before getting the visa.
I think that's how it works, but if somebody knows more details about it, all comments will be welcomed!
By the way, I've been here with a J1 visa (not subject to the rule) and I'm going to get the F1 visa, to avoid all the possible restrictions.
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heavy load
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bad advice
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I would contact Admissions office and explain the situation. Tell them you can provide them with the previous transcript and the letter confirming the completion of your thesis and that you will have your final transcript sent to them as soon as it's ready. Ask them if it's possible for you to register conditionally (not sure if it can be done, but you don't lose anything by asking). I don't think you're the first person in this situation.
I really hope it all works well for you. Good luck!
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garage band
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base camp
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game show
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Yes.
I agree with this too.
And as a side note, there's a married professor in my current department. She hyphenated her husband's last name after her maiden name. The curious thing is that HE took her maiden name as well. I'm not sure whether he did so as a middle name or he actually took it as his first last name. Sometimes you can see him as First name Last name or First name Wife's maiden name Last name. Their children have both last names.
As for the other professors in my department, they all kept their maiden names.
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For what I heard about my school is that they pay on a monthly basis. The currents students I talked to during my campus visit told me so. But, as somebody has mentioned here, it depends on the school. Maybe you can ask current students.
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alarm clock
clock tower or,
glass eye
(not sure which post to reply to)
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bay window
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I don't know about possibilities compared to US students, but I think not all programs offer you the possibility of applying for the Spring term. Check with the schools first.
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baby elephant
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no kidding
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I think the two posts above are right in saying that you should take the GRE again but somewhat wrong about the reason why. You should take the GRE again mainly to improve your QUANT score. For any well-regarded science or engineering program 700 is not acceptable. Most, if not all, schools will be lenient on you regarding your verbal and AW scores. All the same, raising those two scores can only help you in the long run when it comes to distancing yourself from all of the other international students applying. Your verbal and AW scores are slightly below average for competitive international students.
Sorry about that!
I'm an international going for Linguistics, and didn't know a GRE Quant score of 700 was not acceptable. But thanks for the info! 
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box office
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two cents
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I would take GRE again. The verbal and analytical writing scores are quite low (no offense intended
). I imagine in your field the quantitative score is the most important, but as far as funding is concerned, you want to make sure you have a very competitive GRE. I think in some schools they look at it when they decide who's getting the funding.And as for the TOEFL, although you have more than the required score (and I know of people getting full funding with a lower TOEFL score than yours), I think it would be a good idea to improve it if you have time. In some schools, even if you "pass" the TOEFL you are required to pass their own English exams or take a course, and if your score is high enough, you get a waiver. A professor of the department where I'll be next year told me that I'll probably get a waiver from the department to take the exam, since my score was really good (I honestly was surprised when I received it).
That's just my 2 cents.
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Wow! I think pangor-ban covered pretty much everything. I would just add a couple of things. For the boots, Columbia has nice ones. I got myself a pair my first winter here and they have lasted all three winters (I've worn them everyday for several weeks in a row). They are so warm that I don't even need special socks for the winter. The normal ones are enough. The boots I got resist up to -25ºF and they didn't get damaged with the salt (they just got a little bit discolored).
I would also recommend getting ear muffs, specially for the days when there are extreme windchill values. I had never used them before coming to Central New York, but I'm glad I got them. When it's very cold it really hurts in the ears. You may also try getting a hat with earflaps, but I still think the ear muffs will be better. Land's end has nice ones.
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Did the other schools give you a deadline to make a decision? If they didn't or you still have time, maybe you could wait until the end of this week. And if you still haven't received anything by then, then perhaps you can get in touch with them again. That way a month will have passed and you won't risk sounding pushy (although I don't think you would be pushy anyway).
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