Everything you need to know about studies abroad.

SUMMARY:

 Disclaimer
 Stage One: Knowing your reason to go to the U.S.
 Stage Two: 1) GRE
2) TOEFL/IELTS
 Stage Three: Applying to Universities (Statement of Purpose & Letter of
Recommendations)
 Stage Four: Scholarships and Interest-free loans
 About Me
 Free Online Study Material

DISCLAIMER

Everything mentioned in this document is from my personal experience and is in no way a

guarantee for anything. My sole motivation for writing this is to help out all those in need for
guidance and those who would like a personal recount to help them with their own preparation
and application procedure. Experiences and preferences may differ wildly from person to
person and thus this is not in any way a collective reflection of everyone’s opinion save my
own. Exceptions and differing results take place all the time and my suggestions on the scores
you should aim for is completely a personal point of view. I have tried to recall as much as
possible from my experiences last year and it is possible I may have missed out on some, but
the majority of those are intact and mentioned here. My sincerest apologies if any statement
mentioned here is in disagreement with or offensive to any individual and rest assured, my
purpose was solely to provide an informative and comprehensive document for all things
important for study in the US and not to use it as a platform for any form of personal
propaganda.

Heyo! Bonjour People! This is going to be a long drawn-out post for everything you need to
know to make a successful transition from India to USA.
I understand most of you have plans and ambitions to study abroad but let me tell you that
college application procedures are more random than my hair on a bad hair day.
You need to be focused, determined and consistent every step along the way and it can be a
harrowing journey, believe me, but if you take it one step at a time you’re going to be alright.

So let me help you out a little, maybe I could help you answer some of the questions you guys
have been asking me for a while. And hopefully, I will no longer have to repeat things over a
1000 times more. :P (just kidding, I’m happy to help y’all out)

First things First:

You need to first figure out what the hell it is you want to do. And I know it can be tough and
confusing and a hella annoying. But if you’re telling me that you’re going to study for GRE and
CAT and GMAT and apply for jobs in India at the same time, you’re in for a roller coaster like no
other. Please understand, each stream in itself consists of a highly exhaustive process, and if
you are not clear about what you want to do and are trying out everything at the same time,
you’re going to be completely drained. Not to mention, your attention and preparation will be
extensively divided, leading to a possible poor performance in all of them.

So, get clear on what it is you want. You don’t need to get the details right to the last name of
the professor you want to work with. That’s too much! All you need to know is whether your
plan is to go abroad or be in India; and whether you want to pursue a technical, managerial or
techno-managerial degree. That should be enough to begin the preparation, you can figure out
more specific details along the way. No biggie.

Moreover, if you do decide on going to the U.S., get clear on your motivation to do so. Are you
only going there because the majority are? Or because it’s fun or something? Because, your
tribulations are not going to end once you get into a university of your choice, no mister! Jobs
come by rarely, funding for PhDs are difficult, getting picked for an H1B is literally a one in a
hundred shot. There are tons of things that can go wrong, and if you’re not motivated for the
right reasons, you’ll find yourself packing your bags and heading back to India without even
getting a chance to recover your investment in your education. Or worse yet, you’re going to
thrive with little to no happiness.

So, no pressure.

Next Step: Le Deuxieme Etape

Now comes the stage where you’ve most definitely decided that you want to study in the US
(with some possible applications in the Europe) and need to start preparing for your entrance
examinations, viz., GRE and TOEFL/IELTS.

Before I talk about this, I would like to put a point forward: College applications care more
about your resume and your profile and less about your scores provided you have at least a
cut-off score.
So many people take their pointers and GRE scores so lightly hoping that their resume is going
to sail them, that they forget that every university has a screening criteria, which mostly
depends on your scores.

Now it is possible that a person with a phenomenal background may not need to worry about a
low pointer and a below average GRE, but unless you count yourself in that genius category,
you’ve got to put in some effort.

A good pointer (CGPA) to aim for would be an 8.5 or above. Certain European Universities focus
a tad bit more on your academic score and thus a CGPA of 9.0 and above puts you in a safe
zone.

No worries if you got your shit together a little late and have just realized that you cannot
possibly increase your pointer to this level at this stage, doing everything else right might give
you an edge and convince the authorities to overlook the lapse in your academic score.

Moving On: GRE

The ultimate monster of us nerdy undergrads.

Having sleepless nights thinking about the numbers 3,4,0? Join the club.

Here at the “Avengres” Club, we study endlessly for an exam which tests our rudimentary math
skills and monstrous English proficiency.

I would say that your GRE score is not everything; a good score doesn’t guarantee a seat in MIT,
nor does a bad score mean the end of the world. But remember the cut-off I was talking about?
The screening process. Yeah, turns out a lot of the colleges (specifically in US) hail this score as
the ultimate screening criteria. They may not care if you have a 325 or a 340, but they might
not even look at applications below a 315 (terms and conditions applied).

So yeah, who knows what procedure is followed by what university, there are still people who
get into incredible universities even with a low score. But do you want to take that gamble?

If not, it is safe to say that a score of 320 or above is considered good in all professional circles
and should get you sailing through the screening process (if any).
If however, you do score higher, you might have a competitive advantage. A score of 330 or
above is what I feel would be important for aiming at the top 10.

Note: GRE scores are more important for MS applications. The profile matters more for those
applying for a direct PhD.

PREPARATION GUIDELINES:

Here, I am going to talk about the kind of preparation procedure I followed for GRE and what I
think is important:
[I’m making special emphasis on that personal pronoun because what works for one person
may be a recipe of disaster for another. You need to figure out what works best for you by
trial and error and hopefully you’ll hit the right chord in plenty of time. This is just a guideline
that might be of help while beginning your studies]

Before I talk about exactly what I did for my GRE Preparation, I would like to get one thing clear
to all of you. Don’t look at this exam as something you need to learn and memorize for. Look at
this as an opportunity to improve your English vocabulary. Don’t spend nights learning lists and
reading off of flash cards, instead, spend more time on cultivating your English as a language, it
is only when you look at this as a learning exercise, will you actually get something out of it and
manage to get a good score.

The earlier you’ve figured out you’re going to give GRE, the easier the preparation will be. Get
into the habit of reading novels and newspapers. They are an indispensable part of your
preparation, and contrary to popular myth are very important in building your vocabulary. You
don’t need to study just the list of words given in the high frequency lists of many books, you
need to cultivate an enhanced English proficiency. The first step to which is novels.

If you’re not into the habit of reading novels, I suggest you get into one. If not the big kinds, at
least read short stories. Reading is very, very important. Even if you forget about the vocabulary
part of GRE, the Reading Comprehension is the ultimate battle you need to overcome, and as
the name suggests, a habit of reading will most certainly help you with your RC questions. That
is one of the surest ways to get a decent score in that section. Provided you have started with
these small steps for GRE preparation let me tell you what I did:

My dedicated preparation duration was of 2 months; 2 hours a day (I was already in a habit of
reading novels for a few years before this, if you’re new to reading, or extensively using English
in general, I would suggest an extra month dedicated to English study to catch up for that).

The First Month: The first month I studied only from the official ETS Books. Many people
overlook this section and do not solve the official ETS books because they are terribly easy.
They are one level lower than the actual examination. And yes, even though it is quite simple
and may seem like a waste of time, doing this section is important. Here, you get a complete
idea about what kind of questions will be asked, what sort of vocabulary a person must know
and what topics in Math are important to study again.

1st Day: Mock GRE Test to know your level

15 days: ETS Book: English Section
10 days: ETS Book: Math Section
5 days: ETS Book: AWA
End of First Month: 2nd Mock GRE Test to measure improvement

The AWA is not a section that matters too much, but getting a good score in this section will
definitely create a good impression in the person viewing your score. Having a knack for good
writing comes off well to universities because you must be adept at expressing yourself, which
leads to good paper publications and good university performance in general. AWA measures
your ability to express yourself clearly and you must aim for a 4.0/6.0 in the AWA (Analytical
Writing Assessment). So don’t neglect this entirely. Just practice a few essays, have someone
read it, or use a free online software, or just read essays that have been scored well.

Moreover, the more you practice writing, the better your vocabulary becomes (more on this
below).

The Second Month: The second month I studied only from Manhattan 5lb. This book is the
bible for GRE takers, and if you plan on getting a good score, you must solve this at some point
during your preparation.

While solving questions of Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence, do not just look at the
right answer, see its meaning and move on. You need to look at the word meanings of all the
other options as well. This way you’ll only be able to do a few questions at a time, but the
quality of your study matters a lot, lot more than the quantity. It doesn’t matter if you only do
10 questions a day, but do them properly.

In this month: Every day I would solve 10 questions from each section, viz., Text Completion
(TC), Sentence Equivalence (SE), Reading Comprehension (RC) and Maths. So around 40
questions daily, can be easily done in 2 hours time. If possible, try to solve one question daily
from Advanced Quant.

For the Maths Section: Start with the all chapter questions or mixed practice tests, based on
that section, you’ll know which chapter you need to focus more on, and solve chapter-wise
questions from that chapter.
In the second month give one practice test each at the end of the first week and the second
week. This is when I gave my official PowerPrep Practice test from ETS. It is a good
representation of how your actual performance might be like, but it is not an Oracle. So don’t
stress about those scores. I scored 320 on both my practice tests and still got a 330 in the final
exam. So, believe! Anything and Everything is possible.

Note: If you have joined a coaching class then you may follow the kind of timetable and
resources offered to you by them. Secondly, the resources mentioned above are a bare-
minimum if you are preparing by yourself, whenever I would get time I would also go through
practice guides and certain other books for practice. Thirdly, I studied for two hours a day
because that’s all the time I had. I gave my GRE a little late (4 th October) and 7th sem is one of
the busiest semesters for B.Tech students. Moreover, my summer internship was at a company
that had crazy timings and would run from Monday to Saturday. If you do have the opportunity
to study more, then please don’t squander it.

Another very important part of GRE that I would like to bring to your attention to is preparing
for the day of the exam. A lot of the people spend so much time studying for GRE that they
forget about other important things such as what are the necessary documents apart from your
passport that you need to carry with you. Also, what food items are you going to carry with
yourself on the day of the exam? GRE is a long test and you need to be mentally prepared to
give it that amount of concentration. You will receive a break in between the exam. In that
break you need to go to the washroom and have some quick snacks so it gives you a boost for
the remaining sections. When you give your practice test, give it like an actual exam, carry your
food items and make sure it’s not making you feel sleepy afterwards.

The snacks I preferred to carry with me was: A bottle of water/juice, 2 bananas and oreo
biscuits. This combo made me feel alert and was just enough so I wouldn’t feel hungry during
the test. You need to keep your snack bag outside on a table, so don’t put it inside the locker or
you won’t be able to access it during the test. Also, be quick during the break time, don’t utilize
the entire 10 minutes as they will carry out the security check again after you enter the exam
hall after the break. And there might be a few more people in line ahead of you so plan to use
only 5-7 minutes of the stipulated time.

Come to your test centre in plenty of time, if you’re ahead in the queue they’ll begin your test
early and you’ll therefore finish it off early. So, it’s always important that you’re present at the
test centre with plenty of time to spare.

Don’t do last minute preparation during the exam. No learning words while you’re travelling, no
checking answers and everything before you go inside. Just let it go. 5 more minutes of
preparation won’t make any difference at all. Whatever you’ve done so far is going to help you,
last minute preparation will only unsettle you.

And lastly, it is my personal preference to book the test time as early in the morning as
possible. I chose the 8:30 time, and I had to leave my house at 6 AM; but I think that helps
because you are calmer in the morning and you’re not going to find any traffic. As the day
wears on, you’ll feel more and more queasy about the test and will want to do last minute
revisions etc., which is not advisable. So, book the earliest test time convenient to you.

Last one, I promise: travel conveniently, it’s okay if you book an Uber/Ola for the entire trip
even if they’ll charge you a lot because travelling by public transport will tire you even before
you begin your exam. Especially, if you’re not used to travelling by a local train or bus, don’t try
it on the day of your exam. Book a taxi, go comfortably and just relax!

Some Random GRE Tips:

1) DO NOT give any practice tests in the last week before your GRE. It works for some
people, but for the rest it will just stress you out.
2) While doing the verbal section, don’t just look at the word meaning, look at a sentence
where it is used. For eg, I used to type the word in google and then go to the ‘News’
section, so all news articles relating to that word would show up and this way you would
affiliate that word with the news article and it is more likely to stay in your head for
longer.
3) Get into the habit of writing: Writing anything from Diary entries, to short stories to
blogs will help you with your vocab as well. Try to use the words you’ve learned that day
in your essay. Using it yourself in conversation or stories, helps you remember it for
longer. Also, try to make funny sentences out of the words instead of looking at generic
sentences. Associate that word and its corresponding sentence with a person in your
class or neighbourhood. This way you’ll remember who you used that word for.
4) DO NOT book your GRE test centre as Thane. The Thane centre is like a slum compared
to the Goregaon centre. I don’t care if you live in thane, you could even live next street
to their centre, but DON’T choose it. I had the unfortunate luck of getting my TOEFL
rescheduled to Thane from Goregaon, and all the while I kept thinking I would’ve scored
10 points less if I was forced to give my GRE here.
The Goregaon centre is big and luxurious, there’s plenty of space to write and relax,
there are fewer students there so the invigilators can focus more on you like giving you
sharpened pencils and everything on time.
5) GRE dates get booked really fast in the June-July-August season, if you have a date in
mind, go ahead and book it. Don’t wait for your preparation to start to book the date.
Once you book the date, the preparation will automatically begin.
 6) GRE classes are absolutely unnecessary. You are very much capable to compete in the
GRE on your own and trust me; the vocabulary is not even that hard, it’s just being over-
exaggerated. Give an initial mock test, if you score really low you can opt for classes, but
if you score above 315, I don’t suspect you’ll need classes.

Another thing before you give your GRE: you need to mention 4 universities at the end of your
exam where you will want to send your scores for free. As you all know, you need to pay every
time you send your score to a university and you must redeem your chance to send four free
scores, that’ll save you more than 100$. So you should have a brief idea of where you’ll be
applying.

P.S. Northwestern University doesn’t ask you to have your scores sent. So don’t choose
Northwestern University as one of the four free score sending options. It’s not required to send
them the official scores anyway. They verify it later on from their end itself.

Choosing Universities (MS point of view): This is what I did: I made a list of the top 50
universities (QS Rankings in the stream of your choice), anything beyond 50 should be
considered a safe university.

For each one of them you need to go to their website and look at the kind of research they’re
doing and the curriculum they offer and whether it suits your interests. If it is exactly what you
want mark a star on it, if it is somewhat related to what you want, put a tick mark, and if it is
someplace you definitely don’t want to apply then cross it off your list.

From 50 you’ll boil it down to around 30 universities. And please don’t cross off names just
because you don’t think that you’re good enough for that University. If you’ve read this post
this far I’m sure you’re finding it useful, and if there’s anything of value I want you to take from
me it’s that you need to believe that great things will happen for you and that you’re meant to
get into that top university. On the other hand, please don’t apply to universities just because
they have a good standing, look at what you like and what you want and then apply. I’m sure
we are past that point that the reputation of the university shouldn’t hang over our heads. Isn’t
one IIT experience enough? Aim for what you like irrespective of where the university stands.

From that 30, boil it down to the range of 15-20 by assessing other factors such as job
opportunities, funding, professors, location etc. Of these chose any 4 that you are sure to apply
to irrespective of your score. I applied to MIT, Stanford, CMU and Cornell; accepted by 2
(Stanford, CMU) and rejected by 2 (MIT, Cornell). You can do further short-listing, additions,
changes etc., after you’ve given your GRE and know your score.

Remember, rankings are not to be followed to the T. There is no difference in suppose a Rank
15 university and rank 17 university. Under a certain block (say top 20), the universities are
pretty much the same and you need to figure out which one suits you the best according to
your interests and several other factors.

Now for TOEFL/IELTS:

Once you’ve diligently prepared for GRE and given that exam, TOEFL/IELTS will look like a piece
of cake. As someone who has given both, I think it’s safe to say that IELTS is even easier than
TOEFL but then again it is not accepted by certain universities.

Universities like Stanford don’t even recognize IELTS score and MIT prefers IELTS. As a thumb
rule, if you’re only applying to US, you need only to give TOEFL. If you’re applying to Europe,
you can choose to give only IELTS (it’s cheaper too, however the score sending process is a little
confusing) and if you’re planning to apply to both places then either give just TOEFL or give
both.

For TOEFL: All you need is a week of preparation. 5 days, 5 practice tests is all I did along with
going through some of the online material on their official website. This is enough to get a score
of 115 and above. If you’re aiming for a TA (Teaching Assistantship) you should aim for at least
26/30 in the speaking section of TOEFL. A good speaking score is important for TA positions.

In general, the TOEFL score doesn’t matter much. It should just be above the cut-off for the
university mentioned on their website. In general, I feel you should aim for a score above 110
for TOEFL.

For TOEFL again you have the opportunity to send 4 free scores, you must choose them before
the exam unlike GRE, where you had to choose it after. You can choose/edit these universities
upto 10 days before you give your exam. While booking your TOEFL date you will be prompted
to choose the universities at the time, you can skip that step for now and do it later up till 10
days before your test.

Another important resource for TOEFL preparation is the MAGOOSH mobile application. It’s
quite useful, especially for practicing the speaking section of TOEFL.

For IELTS: Here too, a week to 10 days of preparation is more than enough. They will give you a
practice book after you book your date, solving that entire book as well as online material on
their official website is more than enough to get a good score. The writing section needs to be
practiced for IELTS. They need your essay to be in a specific format, so go through online
examples to get an idea about how it should be written.

Again, go through the cut-off mentioned on the website of the university to get a clear idea.
You should aim for a score above 7.0/9.0 with no section having less than 6.5/9.0. However,
scoring above 8.0/9.0 is not a difficult task.
The IELTS has its speaking test on a different date than its reading, writing and listening
sections. Please go through the application procedure of IELTS thoroughly before you apply to
avoid any confusion. It is quite different from how TOEFL is conducted.

IELTS gives you the opportunity for sending 5 free test scores. These can be chosen after your
exam as well, however, you can only send free test scores to universities which are affiliated
with IELTS (which is limited) so you need to check whether your university is affiliated with
IELTS on the official IELTS website. If not, you can’t send that score electronically and will have
to courier it to the university (you’ll have to bear the expenses for that yourself).

Step Three: The Application Procedure

Phew. You made it this far and you’re still alive. Kudos! You’ve completed the most difficult
part, you’ve given all your exams and decided the universities you want to apply to. Now would
feel like a good time to start day-dreaming about your life in the US.

But not so fast. Nuh-uh! The Application Procedure can be a whole new challenge on its own.
Two most important parts here are your: Statement of Purpose and your Letter of
Recommendation.

Statement of Purpose:

It would be tempting to have your statement of purpose written by someone else who either
has good writing skills or provides a counselling service. But let me please inform you, colleges
are not dumb and they know whether the statement of purpose sent was written by you or by
someone else. SOPs are very, very important in your application (just when you thought you
were done with all the important things!) and you must take great care while drafting it.

The kind of process I followed is this: I would go to a quiet place: a garden or the terrace of your
house in the early morning or evening when it’s going to be relatively quiet and would just jot
down points I thought were important like: why am I coming to the US? Why am I studying this
field? Why am I applying to this university? And what is my future aim?

Sounds like a procedure one would follow if they were having an existential crisis. Believe me,
this is not far off. You need to really grill yourself and ask those questions, and find out the true
reason of it all. You’re not going to get all the answers in one shot so you might want to sit with
it for a few days. Once you’re kind of aware of the reasons behind your motivation, try to frame
these, one answer at a time.
Now remember, you want your SOP to be kind of like a story, you want the person to be
involved with what you’re writing. Don’t just list facts and bullets; weave a story. You should
have an intriguing beginning and a powerful end.

SOPs for every university MUST BE different. If you write an SOP that could be used for any
other university just by replacing the name, then it’s not acceptable.

As for me, I had one paragraph in the SOP, that was dedicated for the research work carried at
the university and names of few professors I thought were excellent. For this you’ll have to go
on their website, look at all the professors and the work they do, short-list the professors you
think are good and possibly read a couple of research papers attributed to their name and try
to bring all that up in your SOP. I would keep all of my other paragraphs same and change just
this one paragraph for every university. This shows that you’ve put in the required amount of
effort into researching about the university and that you’re a dedicated candidate.

Personally, I feel that a one page SOP is enough to convey your message. The second page of
anything (CV, SOP etc.) is given a lesser time than the first. So make sure you mention all the
important points in the first page itself. The same goes for your CV. An undergraduate must
send only a one page CV. If you have lots of accomplishments, remove the ones that are not
that important or accomplishments nobody outside of ICT would care about. You also don’t
need to give a two-para detail about your project work. But then again, if you really have too
much to accommodate in one page, a two-page CV can sometimes be acceptable.

Remember, that your SOP is not a written form of your CV/Resume. Don’t use bullets and don’t
reiterate the same things mentioned in your CV. Go above and beyond that and show the
authorities who you really are and why you’re perfect for their institute.

Note: A Personal Statement is different from a Statement of Purpose and certain universities
ask for both. A personal statement is a chance to talk about your personal motivations and
experiences and can be a tad bit more informal. A statement of purpose on the other hand is
more academic oriented.

Do not read other SOPs before having written a rough draft of your own, it influences you and
subconsciously you’ll end up writing something like they had. Stay honest to yourself and write
a first draft, then read other good SOPs and fix problems you find in your own. Ask your peers,
seniors, family members to review your essay and ask for an honest opinion. Keep drafting it
until you’re happy with what you’ve written and then make no further changes. The more times
you read it after its perfect the more you start thinking it’s garbage, which isn’t true.

Letter of Recommendation:
Many professors whom you’re going to ask for a letter of recommendation are going to ask you
to write one yourself and they’ll just put it on their letter head and send it along.

If that’s the case then you need to craft a very well-written LOR, which can be a boon because
you can exactly choose how to write your positive points, points your professor otherwise may
not even be aware of.

Keep in mind that university officials are skilled at finding similarities between your LOR and
SOP and if they think it’s too much alike and contain similar points, they’ll know you wrote it
yourself. It’s nothing to stress about but just something you should still be wary of.

Moreover, writing your own LOR is an excellent chance to give specific examples about your
own excellence which your professor may not know or remember about you. Writing an LOR
stating examples to justify the statements goes an extra mile. Please don’t be ashamed to
praise yourself, you can’t help it if you have to write your own LOR.

College applications usually ask if you want to waive your rights to see the LOR. In this case it is
always advisable to say: “YES”. Even if a professor is writing an LOR on their own and you really
want to know what they wrote, it is often advised to waive your rights as it shows that you trust
your professor/mentor to write good things about you.

You may have to write a lot of LORs for yourself, whom you ask to write an LOR for you is
completely dependent on you. It would be better if it’s someone you worked very closely with
or someone who knows you in a good capacity and can vouch for you. If it is also someone in
the same field as that you’re applying too then that acts as an extra bonus. Make sure all the
LORs you write for yourself aren’t identical with the same format because that’s a sure fire way
to let the authorities know you wrote them all yourself.

Last Stage:

Now is the stage when you can finally relax and let go of your anxieties and just have faith that
all your efforts will come to fruition.

Uh Oh. Spoke too soon.

There are few “interest free loans” available for students for which you need to apply for.
You’re wondering all this loan business comes after I get my accepts right? No. The deadline for
these will often be late February or early March when you wouldn’t even have gotten more
than a couple accepts and would still be deciding on your university.
This is the part which I came to know about very late (late March) and thus missed out on all
deadlines. Even if you don’t plan to fund your education with a loan, these interest free loans
give you an opportunity to save your interest. Let’s face it, American education is inexorably
expensive and it’s your parents’ hard-earned money that goes into it. You want to save every
bit you possibly can, and while these loans offer you an amount that is very little compared to
your overall fees, you can still save some interest on it and saving is always a good strategy. If,
however, there is a lot of paraphernalia associated with it (for instance, getting a life insurance
etc.) you might want to let it go.

These are the three I am aware of (there may be more so just look into it):

1] KC Mahindra Scholarship

2] J N Tata Endowment Fund

3] NSF (Narotam Sekhsariya Foundation] Scholarship

And so, that’s it. Now you can finally relax and just pray for your results, and how much ever I
tell you to take it easy, you won’t be able to. There will be days where the first thing you’ll do in
the morning is to refresh your email. You’ll keep checking your result status every few hours.
Yep, you’ll just have to patiently wait with bated breath but you know all this effort that you’ve
put in is going to pay off. Life after that will feel insanely simple, that is, until you join your
university.

Lastly, it doesn’t matter if you couldn’t get the perfect score or have the perfect profile or feel
that you could’ve done more. I saw a video of the inside working of the application selection
process once wherein one of the professors said, “I sometimes don’t know why I’m vouching
for a particular candidate and sometimes I don’t know why I’m not vouching for a good
candidate.” Applications are not judged on the basis of a guaranteed formula, you just have to
stay truthful to yourself, honestly fill out the applications and hope that you’re accepted into
the University of your choice.

Till then, keep working hard and give it your best shot! And remember, incredible things are
meant to happen for you, a little belief never hurt anybody.

ABOUT ME:

My name is Komal Prasad and I just completed the Final Year of B.Tech (Fibres
and Textile Processing Technology)
I will be pursuing my Master’s (MS) in Materials Science and Engineering from
Stanford University from Fall 2019.

My Scores:

CGPA (Till Sem VII): 8.82/10

GRE: 330/340

Quant: 168/170
Verbal: 162/170
AWA: 5.0/6.0

TOEFL: 118/120

Speaking: 30/30
Reading: 29/30
Writing: 29/30
Listening: 30/30

IELTS: 8.5/9.0

Speaking: 7.5/9.0
Reading: 9.0/9.0
Writing: 8.0/9.0
Listening: 9.0/9.0

Universities Applied to (5 Accepts & 4 Rejects): [All for MS in Materials Science

and Engineering]

Accepts:

1) Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) – with scholarship

2) University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne (UIUC)
3) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
4) Stanford University
5) Northwestern University
Rejects:

1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

2) EPFL Switzerland
3) Cornell University
4) North Carolina State University (NCSU) – Don’t know how that happened :P

If you have any queries you can email me anytime at:

komalsujitprasad@gmail.com or 1212komalprasad@gmail.com or
komal12@stanford.edu

FREE ONLINE STUDY MATERIAL:

(These are links gathered from different places at different times and hence I do not know how
many of them are still working, or how many of them require access, but a lot of them are
available easily through these links and will hopefully save you money on buying expensive
books. I am also unaware of the authenticity, veracity or usefulness of many of these links; use
them at your own discretion.)

1] Random GRE Material:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7pHmA0_3jXRNE5kTVVxRmh3UW8

2] Princeton 1014: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7sWQEWGG8KVa2h2Z3I0OF9UZTA/view

3] RC 99: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzAGuwgxcqXBZy1yWWtKNjRtS0k/edit

4] Manhattan 1-8 Detailed Study:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7pHmA0_3jXRMzFxdVpock01RnM&usp=drive_web

5] Manhattan 5 lb book: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B01ryZg8Xk2TUllXdEFlS1dYa28/view

6] GRE Math NOVA:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7pHmA0_3jXRSmRWSE1VOVZDNFE/view

7] Kaplan GRE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B01ryZg8Xk2TRXBYbkxuZU16OHM/view

8] Random Material: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4I2krQSCsvUbFZaR0k1a0UxeXM

9] Random Material:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxdSQRxHMVdDflJkdkViTnVhSmJaejFrd3dHWGR3THkzLX
MtRi1WVVVvLXZWWmdKMjJYczQ
10] Random Material:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7sWQEWGG8KVcG9sWTdoeHBFTEk

11] A-Z: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/3/folders/0B4I2krQSCsvUbFZaR0k1a0UxeXM

12] IELTS: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4jUITic1j4pWHBhZUxXclRGVWs

13] All Materials:

https://drive.google.com/folder/d/0Bx3ATsTWBh6efmdZTEoxdC15RC1FbzYxcVlCTzRrZUYyLV
Jna2FOc2VYcVE2ZnAwdWNGeU0/edit

14] Tests:

Learnwordlist.com
Freegretest.net
Number2.com
Www.greguide.com
Takenthegre.com
800score.com
Testden.com

GRE PRACTICE TEST LINKS:

15] http://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/practice-gre-test-full.cfm (Register with the website to

access free test)

16] http://www.princetonreview.com/grad/free-gre-practice-test#!practice
Click on ENROL and then checkout. After registering with them the paper will be made
available.

17] http://www.kaptest.com/GRE/Explore-the-GRE/gre-practice-test.html
Register for self-proctored and instructor- proctored tests.

18] http://www.mygretutor.com/tests.aspx
Sign up and have access to free gre test.

19] http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/powerprep2/download
Download the software and give 2 full length practice tests.

20] https://www.4tests.com/gre#StartExam
Click on ‘Continue’ and Start your Test.

21] 8.http://www.greguide.com/free-gre-full-length-tests/gre-full-test-1.html

9.http://www.greguide.com/gre-practice-tests.html Click on ‘Continue’ and Start your Test.

10.http://www.testden.com/challenge/free-gre.asp Register and have access to free tests.

11.http://www.mockgre.com/ Login and get a free mock test.

12.http://www.mhpracticeplus.com/gre.php MC Graw and Hill (click on begin Practice Test)

13. http://www.wiseswan.com/practice-tests/gre Register and get access to the test

14.14.https://gre.crunchprep.com/login/auth Login and get access to the tests

15.http://www.testpreppractice.net/GRE/Free-Online-GRE-Practice-Tests.aspx Click to
Continue

16. http://barronstestprep.com/gre/practice.php Register and get a free test

17.http://takemocktest.com/ Create and Account to get access

18.18.https://www.greedge.com/prepare-gre-mock-test-papers-online Register for a free mock

test.

19.http://www.examfocus.com/gre/ Click on Begin test to continue.

20.http://takemocktest.com/login/index.php

Create an account to get access.GRE Practice Test Links:

1. http://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/practice-gre-test-full.cfm

2. https://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/resources/ It requires registering with the website first to

access the test.

3.http://www.princetonreview.com/ChooseProducts.aspx?&testtype=TCA&producttype=FRE&pr
oductdetail=Online

FreePracticeTest

http://www.princetonreview.com/grad/free-gre-practice-test#!practice

Click on ENROL and then checkout. After registering with them the paper will be made
available.

4. http://www.kaptest.com/GRE/Explore-the-GRE/gre-practice-test.html Register for self-

proctored and instructor-

proctored tests.

5. http://www.mygretutor.com/tests.aspx Sign up and have access to free gre test.

6. http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/powerprep2/download Download the software

and give 2 full

length practice tests.

7. https://www.4tests.com/gre#StartExam Click on ‘Continue’ and Start your Test.

8.http://www.greguide.com/free-gre-full-length-tests/gre-full-test-1.html

9.http://www.greguide.com/gre-practice-tests.html Click on ‘Continue’ and Start your Test.

10.http://www.testden.com/challenge/free-gre.asp Register and have access to free tests.

11.http://www.mockgre.com/ Login and get a free mock test.

12.http://www.mhpracticeplus.com/gre.php MC Graw and Hill (click on begin Practice Test)

13. http://www.wiseswan.com/practice-tests/gre Register and get access to the test

14.14.https://gre.crunchprep.com/login/auth Login and get access to the tests

15.http://www.testpreppractice.net/GRE/Free-Online-GRE-Practice-Tests.aspx Click to
Continue

16. http://barronstestprep.com/gre/practice.php Register and get a free test

17.http://takemocktest.com/ Create and Account to get access

18.18.https://www.greedge.com/prepare-gre-mock-test-papers-online Register for a free mock

test.

19.http://www.examfocus.com/gre/ Click on Begin test to continue.

20.http://takemocktest.co

22] IELTS: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4jUITic1j4pWHBhZUxXclRGVWs

23] GRE: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4I2krQSCsvUbFZaR0k1a0UxeXM

24] GRE Verbal Prep: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5LsbJ23ClP6YmRwckVnVThqMmM

25] IELTS Answer Sheet writing task 2:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5M3KMGbjNoxcGc5bk5GYmJrQ21lZXdlbklsMXBJN2p6OGxN/
view

26] Manhattan GRE 8 sets

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7sWQEWGG8KVRWZmLVF5U3liZ1E

27] Latest GRE files

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7h6gQ9JPgazN1o1S1ZkWWYzU3M

MS in US all materials
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B37jTPECnneEZ0doV2ZfNlhEMHM

GRE
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4I2krQSCsvUbFZaR0k1a0UxeXM
28] IELTS reading tips
https://youtu.be/cNc0lvUYhXI

Sample ETS report when you send your scores to the university
https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/institution_score_report.pdf

29] Random: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4I2krQSCsvUbFZaR0k1a0UxeXM

30] Random:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxdSQRxHMVdDflJkdkViTnVhSmJaejFrd3dHWGR3THkzLX
MtRi1WVVVvLXZWWmdKMjJYczQ

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7sWQEWGG8KVcG9sWTdoeHBFTEk

31] A-Z: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/3/folders/0B4I2krQSCsvUbFZaR0k1a0UxeXM

32] IELTS: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4jUITic1j4pWHBhZUxXclRGVWs

33] Random:
https://drive.google.com/folder/d/0Bx3ATsTWBh6efmdZTEoxdC15RC1FbzYxcVlCTzRrZUYyLV
Jna2FOc2VYcVE2ZnAwdWNGeU0/edit