Seeking

Since this is a question about "worldwide" - Royal College of Art, UK Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna

If you can afford Columbia, go there.

If you can afford Columbia, go there, or else go to UCLA.

Sorry to break into this conversation, but I agree that at least a B.Ed would be required to teach in school. But that's not the point. The point is that if all these Graduate students wanted to teach in school as their first career choice, they would go the B.Ed/M.Ed route. They chose to go to Grad School instead because this was not their first career choice. Now, if they get a B.Ed and go to teach in school, it's not exactly a success, when seen from the point of where they started. The writer of this article seems to be quite a capable researcher - it's not easy to get a PhD on Kafka. She also seems to be developing her publication profile quite well. Here is her short profile - http://germanic.osu.edu/people/schuman I doubt that many "Yale-Harvard category" students have better callibre than her. I have seen quite a few from the Ivies who don't even match her callibre. But she seems to have faced the injustice of a system that ignores the academic potential of a candidate and only looks at the brand name on their degrees. It's true that Humanities PhDs get a raw deal from this unfair system and this should not be happening in a country like the US. Or else, if this is a country so obsessed with the brand names on the degrees, then they should shut down the PhD programs at the schools that stand below the so-called "Top 20" level. At least, don't delude the Humanities students into thinking that a PhD on Kafka from UC-Irvine followed by further research and publication record can get you in the same standing with an average, non-descript PhD on a recycled topic from the so-called "Top-20" school, with little or no publication record. Perhaps the Grad funding available at these so-called "below top-20" should be diverted to the "Top-20" schools, so that they can have more PhD candidates, rather than running PhD programs at schools whose brand names don't sell in a brand-obsessed country. PS - The faculty at the University of Nebraska also come from the so-called "Top-20." So, I don't see how their teaching quality is lower than that at the "Top-20."

Yes, a hotel address also works - if you can show evidence of hotel booking.

The US Consulate requires the visa applicants to have an address in the US where they will be going. This means you need to have at least an email from someone saying you'll be staying at this address when you come to the US. Contacting the International students office may help you in finding flatmates, so the rent will come down to half.

Well, I have been a victim of this. I have a name that is incredibly common - wherever I go I find at least a dozen people having the same name - and often also surname - as mine. People often confuse me for someone else and I have to explain to them that I am a different person. But all this was fine till I published a book - from an international publisher. Most libraries across the world confused me with another author having the same name and surname as me, who writes in a related field. As a result, my book across the world in libraries and book-selling sites got catalogued as this other author's book and I went through hell to get it changed. Many of them asked me to get a statement from my publisher as evidence and my publisher refused to give a statement. Even now, this book is sold on many websites as someone else's book. I have given up now as I can't keep on pursuing millions of websites asking them to change the entry. Of course, I'll never publish with this publisher again. This other author never came out to say that this book was not written by them and I couldn't find their contacts online. I have managed to get the entry corrected in most major libraries across the world, but still there may be a few where my book is wrongly entered. Now, I am thinking of publishing my next book in another name, but my worry is, how do I prove then to the academic world that I am the same person as the name printed on this book? I don't want to officially change my name because of the hassles involved. While I had to go through all this just because of my common name, I do know of a European academic who works on India and writes in an Indian name without changing the name officially - but they began to use this Indian name early, so it has stuck to them. If I use a different name after publishing a book, I don't know how I can prove that I am the same person as the one known officially, if I don't change my name in official records. It's not just about being searched in Google. It's a much greater problem if you are publishing and want to be recognized for your work if you have a common name.

Because I can be nowhere but in the academia - this the career I love despite all its insecurities and not-so-hidden inequalities and injustices that plague the academic world. I come from a family of high-achiever professionals who make a lot of money, but none of them is an academic. As a person involved in the academia, I don't earn like them, but I am the most highly educated person in my family and they are proud of it, though I feel I have a lifetime to learn. Perhaps I won't be an Einstein, but let's see - after I die, I may be remembered by my books by the next few generations of students.

You can ask another person straightaway.

Yes, every application is unique. Essentially, you need to show strength and innovation in your research topic and writing skills and you need to have a clear focus on what you want to do and why. This is why SOP and writing samples are so important. While coming from an Ivy is not absolutely essential, it does add extra value to the application - so does coming from a well-respected non-Ivy school. For example, an application from U-Chicago will be reviewed with interest. But it doesn't guarantee selection in either case. GRE doesn't matter in Art History - unless your verbal and writing scores are dismal. I know candidates with failed Quant score, just above average - but not poor - verbal and writing scores who got selected with funding on the strength of demonstrated research skills. While the writing sample doesn't have to be related to the expressed topic of interest, it is preferable if it is related to the area of Art History (in terms of cultural region and time-scale) in which the candidate wants to research. This is because Art History is so culture-specific across time and space, that it's almost like studying another discipline if one specializes in one area of Art History and is reading/writing a paper in another cultural region and/or time-scale. Art Historical skills in one area don't easily transfer to another area. So, it may happen that if your writing sample doesn't gel with the interests of the faculty members reading it, they may quickly lose interest in your paper. Besides, by submitting a well-written writing sample in an area closely related to your expressed topic of interest, you also demonstrate that you have already done some work in this field and you are good at it. One also has to keep in mind that in most schools, a distinction is made between History, Fine Art and Art History-Theory-and-Criticism and there are different departments or at least segments for the three kinds of study, although a correlation can be drawn between them. The methodologies used in the three disciplines vary to some extent. If you are applying to an Art history Department, your research interests and methodology should draw from this discipline more than from the other two, although you can make it inter-disciplinary and use ideas from the other two as well - especially because Art has to be contextualized in its historical setting. But there has to be a primacy of Art History/Theory/Criticism over History or Fine Art in your research focus. Although the dividing line between these disciplines is blurred, but at some stage it is possible to see the divergences.

If you have a strong application profile and do a related job or project this year, then there is a fair chance that you'll get in the next season to some other school. In this case, you can take the risk of taking a year off. On the other hand, see the profiles of the faculty at the new program - especially your POI's. If they have good contacts and have good number of publications, they may be able to help you with job prospects after PhD - especially because it's a new program and they have to build a good reputation of it. But if you can't afford the second school and feel that your profile is not strong enough, then go to the first school.

If you have funding, apply to the best universities that you can reach depending upon the strength of your application in both US and UK. See where you get accepted and which is the best option. If it happens to be an American university, don't worry about the extra 2-3 years. Sometimes in the US, you can go on a fast track and complete in less than 5-6 years. Of course, you have to do very well in your initial 2-3 years for the fast-track option. If the best happens to be a UK university, then of course you go there. This will give you the advantage that later in life, if you want to change jobs, you can get a higher placement in a better organization - if you have a PhD from a well-respected university either in the US or in the UK. So, especially because you have funding, you should go for the best option available for you, regardless of how much time it takes. But if you want to stay in this job on a long-term basis, go to UK.

If your application is strong enough - Princeton

This seems like a cross-cultural misunderstanding. In most US schools, it's the Department that decides upon the admission list as well as Departmental and regular funding awards. University funding outside the Department and external funding possibilities are handled by the Fellowships and funding Division of the Grad School. However, the official letter of admission is sent by the Grad Admissions School. They also ratify the admission and funding decision of the Departments. In most cases, this ratification process by the Grad Admissions School is just a formality. They just go along with the decision made by the Ad-Committees. However, in some cases where the Grad Admissions wants to confirm the genuineness and the eligibility of the successful candidate, they may either get the credentials checked themselves, or they may ask the candidate to get their credentials verified, before they can make a formal offer of admission and funding to the candidate. This usually happens when the candidate's case is an uncommon one - such as when a candidate having a PhD in one discipline wants to apply for a Grad program in another unrelated discipline - or, when the candidate's previous education is not from a familiar institution. So, in all probability, the suggestion made above seems to be the most probable one that Ramswell was considered for admission and funding by the Department and the Grad Admissions wanted to verify the credentials before making a formal offer. For whatever reasons, they may have thought it was alright to ask the candidate to submit a verified evaluation of the credentials. They may not have realized that the candidate might take offence at this. On the other hand, the candidate may not have realized that just spending 200 USD would smooth out the process of admission and funding. When s/he showed unwillingness to do this, the Grad School may have changed their mind about funding and admitting such a candidate, interpreting this unwillingness as obstinacy. The phrase "I need time to look into it/think about it" can be interpreted by many as "I don't want to do it." I also understand that 200 USD can be a big amount for many, but if you can spend the money, it's better to do so. If you can't, just tell them very politely that at the moment you don't have the means to spend this money, so can they suggest an alternative. Chances are that they will get the credentials evaluated on their own. I am aware of cases where the Grad Schools accepted scanned copies of GRE scores and got the scanned copy of IELTS scores verified from the IELTS themselves, rather than insisting upon official copies. Anyway, Ramswell has got another interview, so hopefully this will turn out well. This incident doesn't mean that everyone who has got a funded offer from the Department should double-check with the Grad School. Wait to hear from them. Most probably they will send you the offer letter. If you don't hear from them in a week or so, just send them a short, polite email telling them you received this offer from your POI, but have not yet received the official letter. They will send you the letter, or will ask you if there are any doubts to be clarified.

Thanks for the advices!

Those who are already attending can give a realistic advice. But perhaps you can search the profiles of their alumni to see where they are now and also talk to some of their current grad students.

All programs don't necessarily hold interviews prior to making their decision. Some interview all shortlisted candidates, some do it only for those candidates about whom they can't make up their mind, while others don't interview anyone at all. So, not getting an interview call is not a cause for worry. You should check the results page and see the dates for past years' decisions and if the schools where you applied called anyone for interview. Besides, you can check if the schools where you applied have begun to notify this season. If others have been called for interview or have been selected/rejected, wait for a week or so and if still you don't hear anything, may be you can send an email to the Grad Admissions. Good luck with your applications!

My HP laptop is more than 6 years old now and it never gave me trouble - whenever I had problems, it was because of my own fault. Considering buying a Sony Vaio now.

Perhaps that's how they fund the few they do!

First about your thesis - apart from the modified code, you need to give a background of the original code, some brands that are using the different variations of it, the need to modify it, what kind of variables and principles you are following to modify the code, why you chose to modify it in this particular manner, theories related to it if applicable, then the code itself. Finally, you need to explain why this code is better than the original one, how it works, if there are comparable modifications available in the market and suggest the directions this field can take in future. All this should easily cover at least 60 pages, typed in 1.5 spacing, 12 pt font. and this is in addition to the technical writing that you normally include related to the code itself. Besides, I believe STEM candidates are not required to write a very long thesis. Now, the main question about your feeling about leaving or not - since you have already invested considerable time, money and energy in this program, perhaps you should complete this program and join in a job afterwards. While in job, you can figure out what exactly it is that interests you - search on the web, read some books and articles in that field to confirm that you will really enjoy your new field. Once you have decided upon your new field, take some undergraduate courses in it either online or as part-time. Get about 15-18 credit hours in the new field with a good GPA. After this, you'll be ready to transcend into your new Graduate field. While doing all this, you'll have your Engineering job to support you and you'll also save some money for your future Graduate study if needed. Leaving something halfway through after you have invested considerably in it doesn't reflect well on your profile and also is a waste of your time, effort and money. So, look upon your Engineering training as a stepping stone to your new field of interest, rather than abandoning it.

Well, I have know about it for quite some time and have talked about it often on the Gradcafe. I have seen absolutely below-mediocre candidates coming out of top-ranked schools without any publications trumping candidates with shining research, publications and teaching profiles - and not in one case, but repeatedly. And I don't really understand why these schools are top-ranked if they produce such below-mediocre candidates. When it comes to employment, the Academia is absolutely rigged and it's sacrilege to speak against it.

Results page again - Case Western Reserve admits mention funding for Masters.

A lot depends upon how influential your POI is. Perhaps you can see the POIs' profiles at both schools and how successful their students have been in finding a job after PhD. Schools usually have a list of alumni, where they are now and you can search the profiles of PhD candidates under your POIs in Google. But I speak as an outsider. Attending candidates in your sub-field may be able to say better if they know about the names of both schools - perhaps in PM.

Well, don't go by only the negatives. The best option for you is to join in the CS Masters and see what kind of opportunities open up for you. You may go on to do a PhD after this, you may get an understanding employer who may support your GC application, the priority dates for India may begin moving while you are doing MS or you may immigrate to Canada and come back to the US after a while. Or you may keep on getting employed on H1B and register for courses as so many others are doing. But you'll know exactly how people in your discipline are managing only if you join in your MS program and see how it's being done by others. The sooner you do it the better it is for you in the long run. You can't plan everything from India before you leave. You have to ensure your admission and funding from India and then work it out as the situation unfolds before you in the US. The basic rule of immigration is that you should be willing to take risks. So, take one step at a time and do it. If so many others are doing it, this means there is certainly some way to do it. See this link. It may be of use to you - http://www.ice.gov/sevis/practical-training/

Takeruk, Thanks for this information. Yes, a medical Doctor running a restaurant is sad, but PhDs, Post-Docs, University lecturers, Doctors and Engineers working as cab drivers, elevator operators, small-time fruit vendors, construction workers and cleaning attendants is much sadder. This is the reality of Canadian immigrants. Unfortunately, they didn't know about this till they reached there. But the realization is coming now and the new wave of applicants are not going for Canada as their first preference. Apart from Canada immigration not working, UK has closed its skilled immigration for the time being and the Indians in Australia have had to face violent attacks there leading to the drop in Australian applications to a drastic low level. The Indian students' immigration to Australia has almost come down to a trickle. So, all these applicants who would have otherwise applied to Canada, UK and Australia are turning towards the US now. You will still see a rise in the number of applications to Canada, but see it in terms of the growing (read "exploding") population of young, educated people in India - in proportion to this, there is a gradual slowdown in the Canadian applications.