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zuska

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  • Gender
    Woman
  • Location
    The Netherlands
  • Application Season
    2019 Fall

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  1. So it definitely seems like it is a school policy thing. My current situation is that the program webpage says F1 or J1 is available for grad students within the program and doesnt specify any requirements that are different for J-1. The international department then says nope, we do not issue J-1 to students like you. Do you guys think it is reasonable to ask them for some sort of guidelines that they use? I am sure there is some kind of document that describes the actual requirements/decision making in more detail besides " you do not meet our requirements". Of course I understand it will not change my situation right now, but having these requirements available would be very helpful for me if I wanted to seek other options in the future. I mean, they did send that link from gov. webpage, but since now it has been confirmed also by them that this is specific per university, I was hoping maybe there is some document or anything that could help me... I have always asked for these guidelines as a part of longer e-mail and that part was always ignored (well, if twice counts as always...) My issue is that the lady at the international department seems quite agitated with me asking questions. I really believe I am being very polite and also make sure they understand I absolutely accept their decision, I only have more questions as this has huge impact on my private life. Do you guys believe it is ok for me to keep (politely) asking for better guidance or I should just accept they want me to leave them alone? Previously I have attended institution in US that is a bit smaller and so I got used to a friendly and helpful relationship with international office...
  2. Haha no poor phrasing, I am just freaking out so I wanted to double check. Thank you for your help!
  3. Hi!! Thank you so much for responding! Now I have another silly question - does this mean that I need to give my decision on the 14th? From all of my previous correspondence I assumed this is including the 15th! Would this mean that on Monday morning my offer is canceled?
  4. Hi guys, I think this may be a silly question, but oh well. As an international student, I am not quite sure how common is it to wait until the last minute to give your final decision? I have anticipated that by this time I would know where I am going, but I just can't decide between two options and it is driving me crazy. I am starting to get worried that I now look like an asshole to both programs no matter what I will do. I am thinking that the program I will pick will think they were my safety choice, and the other one will think I was waiting for better offer. Neither is true, but I would understand if they would think that. Is this a very common situation in USA or is it usually just the waitlisted people that wait so long? Is it worth it trying to explain on Monday that as an international student I had to account for many other things besides the program as well and that is why I took so long? I feel horrible about the fact that the other program will have to invite people AFTER 15 april, when many other applicants probably chose their program already I will appreciate any comments/suggestions. I suspect that my overthinking took over and this is a relatively normal situation, but it would be best to hear from other people.
  5. Hi guys, I hope to revive this thread a bit and find somebody that was able to receive J1 visa for their PhD, or that knows such person/case. :( One of the universities that accepted me guarantees funding for full 5 years. However, they say they still can not issue J-1 to me based on these: https://j1visa.state.gov/programs/college-and-university-student 2nd condition: "be carried out according to an agreement between the U.S. government and a foreign government, or according to a written agreement between American and foreign educational institutions, an American educational institution and a foreign government or a state or local government in the United States and a foreign government; or Student is participating in a student internship program that will fulfill the educational objectives for the student’s degree program in his or her home country; Does this mean that all the people who previously received J-1 were somehow arranged by their home country?? I am a bit desperate because this would mean there is no chance ever for me to get J-1 even though it seemed like a viable option if the full PhD is funded. Honestly this is such a mess ,every school tells me something a bit different... Any tips and suggestions will be helpful!
  6. Hi there, you mentioned that living outside of Charleston may be much cheaper than living within the city. I am ready to invest in a reliable car and do not mind commuting 30-45minutes. I am not sure if these are just scams, but it appears that living further away can mean having an ok 2 bedroom house for barely 1000$, that's including water/gas/electricity and internet. Coming from Amsterdam, that sounds like heaven. I was guaranteed a tuition waiver and health insurance. Do you think 28.500$ year is an ok stipend for my situation, or is it likely that I will struggle? In addition, what is the availability of part-time/seasonal jobs in Charleston? I thought it may be pretty easy to score some jobs at the beach hotels/restaurant. I have visited Charleston in summer and it felt like there must be a need for seasonal workers as it was packed with tourists. Finally, are you aware of any cities/areas surrounding Charleston that you would definitely avoid when looking for housing? Thanks for any suggestions and tips, it would be very very helpful!
  7. zuska

    Roanoke, VA

    Thank you, that's very helpful! ?
  8. zuska

    Roanoke, VA

    I was offered 27.5k so almost the same amount as you. I am also a bit worried it may not be enough, but I know it is not too bad for that area.
  9. zuska

    Roanoke, VA

    Thank you very much for your response! I have read that there is/was a problem with a lot of empty buildings and crime so I am a bit sad that you can confirm this is true. Other than that Roanoke seems really great to me! Which areas specifically would you avoid? I have read that Melrose Ave is not good. Thanks again!
  10. zuska

    Roanoke, VA

    Hi guys, I am thinking of accepting an offer from Virginia Tech and I was hoping to hear from somebody that is based in Roanoke. I am aware that VTech is mainly located in Blacksburg, but I would most likely be based in Roanoke where Fralin and Carilion research institutes are located. Based on my internet research I really really think I would love this city, but it would be great to hear from somebody that lives/lived there. Thanks in advance for any comments
  11. Hi, thank you for your response! I would be at the Burnaby campus. I heard that students typically do not use cars because the public transport is great, but not having a car when you own a 50kg dog is not really an option . Honestly I also can not imagine life without a car (even if I would traveled to SFU by bus), we had car even in The Netherlands which is a tiny country with well working public transport. I have purposely called my boyfriend a "partner" - while he is still just a boyfriend we have already lived together for over 4 years and will likely just sign the paper to make things official before moving back to North America (perhaps this sounds a bit pragmatic but we are not big on weddings and that kind of stuff) . You are correct that it would be easier for him to work in Canada, but at least one university in USA offers a J-1 visa for me, which means eventually he should also be able to work in USA. The 21000 CAD that SFU offers is approximately 16.000$. The US university that I like offers me 27.000$, that just seems like an insanely large difference, doesn't it? I feel a bit guilty to become the kind of person that chooses based on money/comfort but at the same time I believe I have to also consider these things....
  12. Hi all, I hope to revive this topic a bit and hear from somebody that is familiar with Vancouver. I have been accepted to SFU with a stipend of 21.000 CAD a year. Now, most of the people claim that is totally fine and one person can live on that. But I am starting to have serious doubts about this. The housing situation in Vancouver seems at least as bad as in Amsterdam and even tiny basement units are quite expensive. Canadian dollar is also weaker than US dollar, yet every US university that I applied to offers more in much smaller and cheaper cities. Unfortunately, I will not be able to live in studio or student housing as I would be coming with my partner and a dog. I wouldn't mind commuting to school from outside of Vancouver, but it also seems that owning a car in BC is a luxury (very high insurance rates). Is there anybody that could please please let me know what they think? Should I just admit this will not be the right option due to my personal situation?
  13. Hi all, I am hoping to revive this topic and hear from somebody that actually traveled to an interview in USA on ESTA. While UMaine had no problem with me coming and actually were very welcoming about it, Virginia Tech told me that unfortunately international students can not visit due to visa limitations. They know which country I am from (They have a copy of my passport) and so I am now worried whether there indeed is some sort of rule that does NOT allow you to use ESTA for university visits? I can not find any clear information about this. Of course, I have also asked VTech where did they get this information but if anybody has a personal experience that would be absolutely great
  14. Hi guys, did anybody apply for Translational biology, medicine and health at Virginia Tech and heard from them? ?
  15. Hi there, I am also an international student and I got my bachelor degree in the US. My undergrad GPA is 3.76 and I am also currently in a masters program (in Europe), I have around 3 years of research experience and I am a co-author on two papers. I think part of the problem may be your choice of programs, lot of them are quite fancy They have so many applicants to choose from that you can hardly be sure you will get in, I think you also need a bit of luck... I have also selected many high profile programs, but my previous supervisor advised me to only select a couple and add some "safety" schools. I know nobody wants to end up in their safety school, but I do agree it is important especially for international students to have some back up options. Also 11 applications in 3 days sounds really fast to me. Perhaps it is just me being slow, but it took me several days to apply to my 5 programs and most of that time was actually spent on personal statement (which I really really hated to write), since that needs to be tailored for each program. I have already heard from 4 out of 5 programs and it looks promising, but no official admission yet. But the institutions to which I applied are lot less known I think. I think in my case it was very helpful that I have reached out to faculty members. Although I am applying for biomedical sciences in general, I know I want to continue with vascular biology and so I contacted faculty working on such topics. The admissions people seemed to like it a lot. Did the programs that declined you also give some explanation?
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