Happy Schools Blog

How To Prepare Financially for Fall 2011 Semester in USA

HSB — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:39:09 +0000

If you are planning to come to US for Fall 2011 semester, you have to prepare yourself with lot of things, with good information, you can make informed decision.

Sheethal Asks

hi sir.. i’ve just generated interest attaining a masters degree in USA.. i’m doing my engineering in information science . So the year i might be wanting an admission is 2011. Can i know what are the things which i need to keep in mind in these two years to prepare myself for the big leap. And how i can tell my family to prepare financially. Does it help if we have our immediate family and cousins in America to get a visa or admission.

Preparation to Study in USA

First of all you made a good decision. Some students decide late in Final year, and ambitious few decide in second year of the Engineering to study in US. Having decided to study in US with over 2 years to go, you have lot of time in your hand to pepare for the journey ahead.

You can do the following things

Start preparing for GRE. You will need to have passport to take GRE Exam.
Sketch out the project plan with time line
Subscribe to Happy Schools Blog News Letter, you will receive an Free Ebook. It contains flowchart with timeline. Use that to plan your moves.
You will need to show bank balance while applying for admission.
After getting admission, you will have to bank balance while appearing for student visa interview.
If you have good academic profile, you can study in US without spending a dime.
Consider joining Premium Membership Club – Happy Schools Blog. It will give a very good head start.
Try to present few parers, do an internship, summer projects in companies, ..will improve your academic profile.

If you have additional question, leave a comment to this article.

Image Credit – NDEvilSimilar Posts:

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H1B Denied! Approved after filing MTR

HSB — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:17:19 +0000

About 1400 H1B Petitions were either denied, revoked or withdrawn, but one of the reader got H-1B Visa petition approved after employer filed Motion to Reconsider (MTR) his H1B petition.

Comment @ 1400 H1B Visa Petitions Denied?

To all folks who’s application got denied: My application was also denined, but my employer filed for MTR (Motion to Reopen/Reconsider) and after 7 weeks, USCIS approved my petition.
The moral of the story is if your employer has sufficient documentation, USCIS has no reason to deny the petition.

Have faith in GOD and try again with all the possible evidences on which the denial notice was sent.

ALL THE BEST

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5 Best TOEFL iBT Books

HSB — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:36:39 +0000

If you are serious about improving your TOEFL iBT score, you better start preparing for TOEFL Exam. It will be hard to improve your TOEFL Exam score overnight, but with good preparation, you can improve your score. You can consider using the following books for TOEFL iBT preparation

Top TOEFL iBT Books

If you decide to study in US 2 to 3 years before actual semester you plan to apply, start watching English Movies, read novels and magazines. It will improve your Vocabular over period of time. It will also help with Reading Comprehension in GRE. Buying GRE and TOEFL books alone will not improve your score. Spend few hours of dedicated time to prepareffor the exams.Similar Posts:

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H1B FY 2011 Process to be Redesigned by USCIS?

HSB — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:02:42 +0000

Immigration Lawyer through AILA are saying that USCIS is working on redesign of H-1B Visa 2011 application filing process. Not much information is available about the exact redesign, but

Under the planned H-1B application process, employers will file a petition online with limited information and if the limited-information petition is selected, then the remaining forms and full documentation will be required to be submitted.

This essentially means, Attorney is not required to send all the documents on March 31, so it will reach USCIS on April 1 ( when official H1B Visa petition acceptance window opens).

So, how will USCIS evaluate the application ( H1B 2011 and forward) with limited information they request from the employer? Can this process reduce the H1B Visa processing time for General Cap applications? We have to wait for more details from USCIS. Capitol Immigration Law Group has more details.Similar Posts:

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In-State Tuition Fees for H-1B Workers in Washington State

HSB — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:25:20 +0000

Students coming to US in F-1Student Visa have to pay out of state tuition fee. There is huge difference between In State and Out of State tuition fee. New Bill was passed in Washington State ( where Microsoft and Amazon head office is located) that will allow H1B Workers to get In-State Tuition fee after staying in the state for atleast 1 year.

In-State Tuition Fee – H1B Visa

Here is few details about the new bill

Under House Bill 1487, which takes effect July 1, the foreign workers would qualify for the same tuition rate as state residents if they have been in the state at least a year on certain kinds of temporary work visas, such as the H-1B
But the measure was written so broadly that children of visa holders who also had graduated from a state high school became unintended beneficiaries.

Sample Tuition Fee Comparison

Instate Tuition Fee – $3000 ( per semester)
Out of State Tuition Fee – $9000 ( per semester)

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Impact Univeristy of Southern California on Economy – $5 Billion

HSB — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:32:46 +0000

University of Southern California is one of the largest universities with highest International Student population on campus. They have done a research study that shows an overall impact of around $5 Billion on economy.

Which essentially means USC, generates around $5 billion annually in economic activity in the Los Angles region and beyond. How does that happen?

University buys stuffs for its regular operation and money spent by students studying in USC. In one of previous article – cost of living in University of Southern California shows students spend around $600 to $700 per month by typical student from India.

Cost of Living in University of Southern California

Chart shows an average of $1,150 to $1,320 spend by each student ( Graduate and Undergraduate) living outside USC campus.

Note – Above figure is an average of students from all the countries.

So the question to you – Do you know why the average money spent by student saying outside USC campus is spending above $1,100, while student form India says average around $600? Write your thoughts below as comment.

Now you know the impact of an University in the economy. If USC along can generate $5 Billing in activity, think total money generated due to students in all the Universities across United States.

You can find more details about the report here.Similar Posts:

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H1B 2010 – Cap Count Update – June 24, 2009

HSB — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:40:35 +0000

From USCIS – H1B Latest News

On June 24, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of received and counted towards the 65,000 cap. As of June 19, 2009, 44,500 H-1B cap subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed. USCIS has advised that they will continue to accept petitions until the cap is reached. Additionally, USCIS reported that they received 20,000 advanced degree H-1B petitions. Although the limit on advanced degree petitions is 20,000, past experience has tended to show that not all petitions received are approvable.

Accordingly, qualifying applicants are still able to petition for an H-1B nonimmigrant visa either under the general cap, or as an applicant with an advanced degree. (i.e., U.S. Master’s degree)

H1B Cap Count Difference from Last Update

General Quota H-1B

June 11, 2009 – 44, 400
June 24, 2009 – 44, 500

Previous Cap Count Update was on June 11, 2009 where 1,400 H-1B application were either denied, withdrawn or revoked.Similar Posts:

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Education Loan Approval for Low GRE Score (850)?

HSB — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:10:29 +0000

Question on Low GRE Score

I have GRE Score 850, Can I get student education loan approval to study in US?

GRE Score and loan approval are not related. GRE Score is required by Universities to determine if you are competent enough to study in the University you plan to apply for admission. This is what happens

Write GRE & TOEFL
Apply for Admission to Graduate School in US
Send all required admission documents and forward GRE and TOEFL Score
If university decides on you eligibility
If you are admitted, they will send admission acceptance letter and form I-20
Use I-20 and admission letter to get Student Education Loan
Use the loan approval to get student Visa ( F-1 Visa)

So, GRE Score is not related to getting education loan. Good GRE Score will help you get into good university/college. Admission from University will help you get student loan. With Admission from good university and education loan approval, you can get student visa. So, you get the connection.Similar Posts:

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1 More Day Left – Premium Membership Club

HSB — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:02:10 +0000

June 25 is the last day to register for Premium Membership Club. If you miss this opportunity you may have to wait for 2 or more months to enroll for the Membership club again.

Will It Benefit You?

Premium Membership Club will be of much help if you fall into any of the following

If you are applying for Spring 2010
If you are applying for Fall 2010
If you are in the process of taking GRE in next 2-3 months

If you are in 3rd year, it may not be of much help now. But, if you are in final year 9 4th or senior), membership club will be of great benefit.

Premium Membership Club

You can read more details and Frequently asked questions about registration

If you still have additional questions, add a comment to this article. You just have one more day to register for the program.Similar Posts:

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6 Sample Students Air Fare To US – Fall 2009

HSB — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:40:03 +0000

If you are planning to travel one way from India to US you can use the following Airline fare as referral. Destination for the following flight details are in west cost.

Flight: AI / Lufthansa ( blocked both for now )
Date/tentative date: 3rd aug
Cost: AI 32.5k : Lufthansa 34.5k
Baggage allowance: 23 x 2
Boarding from: Bangalore
Stops: Frankfurt and Washington

Flight: Emirates airlines
Date/tentative date: 6th August
Cost: 40k
Baggage allowance: NA
Boarding from: Trivandrum
Stops: Dubai, Los Angeles

Flight:Delta
Date: 3rd Aug
Cost: INR 31,959
Baggage allowance: Not sure
Boarding from: Mumbai
Stops: Atlanta
Total Duration: 24 Hrs.

Flight: Continental Airlines
Date/tentative date: 3rd aug
Cost: 36782/-
Baggage allowance: 23+23+18
Boarding from: Mumbai
Stops: Newark

Flight: Continental Airlines
Date/tentative date: 3rd August
Cost: 36782/-
Baggage allowance: 23+23+18
Boarding from: Mumbai
Stops: Newark

Flight: Jet Airways+American Airlines
Date: 3rd August @ !2:15 A.M.
Cost: 33800 INR
Baggage allowance: 23+23+23
Boarding from: New Delhi
Stops: Chicago

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