Shubhansh's journey from quitting his job to getting into NJIT:Shiksha Success Stories
Talk to ExpertStudyabroad.shiksha.com got in touch with one of the students – Shubhansh Srivastava, who got admission to New Jersey Institute of Technology in US for the course MS in Electrical Engineering.
Question: Why did you choose to study abroad?
Shubhansh Srivastava: After finishing my B.Tech I worked in the govt. sector for some time. After a year of completion, I realized this isn’t the perfect job for me. I felt I didn’t have enough knowledge depth in my subject. Rather than feeling incompetent, I chose to pursue my education further, and I kept the future prospects of either working in India or abroad open. My father has also been a government employee but I wanted to explore more opportunities as I had the chance. Thankfully he supported my decision right from the beginning. It was because of him that I had the courage to quit my job and join a coaching center to prepare for GRE.
Q: Which universities did you apply to?
SS: I applied to a total of eight universities University at Buffalo – SUNY, University of South Carolina, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas at Arlington, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), University of South Florida, Florida State University and Illinois Institute of Technology. I finally decided on attending NJIT for MS in Electrical Engineering.
Q: Was US your only choice as study destination or did you consider other countries as well?
SS: US was always my exclusive choice as US universities are the forerunners as far as providing quality MS education is concerned. Although a few European universities are also equally good, I have seen instances where my friends came back to India after their course and couldn’t find a suitable job. One of them even had to join a BPO. That wasn’t the career path I wanted to follow so I looked up to my friends who are in US and they convinced me that it is currently the best place to study MS.
Q: Once you were sure of going abroad to study, how did you research the application process? Was it a difficult stage?
SS: I had the knowledge of how to apply to American universities as a lot of my friends are studying there. So I knew all about how to apply, required scores, different intake sessions, about Statement of Purpose (SoP), letters of recommendations (LoR), essays etc. I knew the basic requirements and eligibility criteria. However, I didn’t know how to structure my essays, SoP and LoR.
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I didn’t want to visit any consultant because US universities are very strict about it. They do not promote hiring a consultant to apply on your behalf and want the student to complete the whole process by himself. So I always knew I had to write my SoP on my own. I wasn’t very confident about it, but thankfully Shiksha counselors helped me edit my documents. They didn’t write my statement of purpose for me but gave me relevant editing feedback for the draft I had written by myself.
Shortlisting universities was also something I struggled with. Shiksha counselors gave me a list of around 100 universities according to my scores and asked me which universities I wanted to apply from that pool. Then I finalized 10 universities and continued my discussion with the counselor about the pros and cons of each one of those.
Q: What were your scores in GRE and TOEFL?
SS: I scored 303 in GRE and I got 94 in TOEFL. I took a 2.5 month session to prepare for GRE with the coaching center. I initially joined the weekend batch and after a month I switched to the weekday one. I had planned to appear for the GRE a bit earlier but I couldn’t attempt the exam then. So I started taking mock GRE exams before I finalized a second date. Looking at the mock exam scores, I realized my scores were too low. So I took a couple of more months to prepare even harder and I finally gave my GRE.
Q: How did you come across Shiksha study abroad counseling services? What are your honest opinions about the help provided to you by the team?
SS: While I was preparing for my GRE exam, I attended an education fair in Delhi and came across Shiksha. I had a word with the representative and he explained the services to me in detail. That is how my dealings with Shiksha began.
My experience overall with Shiksha was very good. The counselor and editor both were prompt with their replies and feedback. When I had to submit my SoP and LoR I asked the team to finalize the document by the end of the day, I received the finalized draft by 4’o clock the same day. So that really impressed me.
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The only issue I faced was that sometimes my calls went unanswered when I called them up. However, I got a call back usually after 30 minutes and I understand that the team is caught up with other student cases and work as well.
Q: Did you have any apprehensions when you signed up for Shiksha study abroad counseling service?
SS: Not really as during my initial interaction with Shiksha representative at the education fair I was informed that the whole process will take place over the telephone and through e-mails or maybe a Skype session, I’d never have to visit the office for counseling. Since I knew what to expect I was OK with it as I’m from Lucknow it wouldn’t have made sense for me to come down to Delhi for counseling sessions.
Q: Do you have any advice for prospective international students?
SS: When you apply to any university abroad, you need to have three essential things in place 1. Your Statement of Purpose 2. Your Letters of Recommendations 3. Your scores. These documents need to be created with lots of care and planning and your academic scores along with GRE, IELTS, TOEFL scores need to be on the higher side. If not, it might be very difficult to get admitted to the top colleges. These create a first impression on the university admission officers and it is through these documents that you can convince them that you are a good fit for the university. Shiksha team gave me good critical reviews of my draft of the SoP and told me the points it was lacking and where I need to make edits. So I give the credit to the Shiksha counseling team for helping me get admitted to the University of my choice.
Shubhansh is now going to begin his college session in the US. Studyabroad.Shiksha.com wishes him a prosperous career.
Read more Shiksha Success Stories:
- How Priyanka scored a scholarship to study in US
- P. Gopinath's journey to making to the course of his choice at Sweden
- Sourabh shares his experience of successfully applying to universities at US and Canada
- Vaibhav on why European universities were his exclusive choice
- Why Aishvarya chose a Canadian university over American colleges
- How Ankit made it to Lakehead University's most popular course
- How Medha made the decision between pursuing MBA and MS
There is no minimum GPA score for UG admission at Ohio State. However, International students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale or equivalent) for graduate admission. Applicants may submit a standardized test score (GRE or GMAT) if their cumulative GPA is below 3.0 for the last degree.
According to various sources, University of Texas San Antonio has an overall acceptance rate of around 87% which makes it somewhat selective for international student admissions. Some of the general requirements to be considered for admission are given as follows:
- SAT/ACT scores
- Overall Student's GPA
- Letters of Recommendation
- High School Class Rank
- Additional Academic Records
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Starting research
Shortlisting colleges
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Statement of Purpose
Letter of Recommendation
Student Visa Application
Admission Essay Writing
Student Curriculum Vitae
The University of South Dakota expects a GPA score of 2.5 from undergraduates and 3 from postgraduates on the 4-pointer scale. Along with the GPA scores, undergraduates must meet the basic eligibility and submit an ACT score of 21 or higher and an SAT score of 1070 or higher. In addition, they must submit the required documents, such as academic history, transcripts, letters of recommendation, English language scores, and more.