This is not entirely the teacher’s fault according to me. Teachers are overwhelmed with a bunch of requests for recommendation letters. The students typically give minimal or no information about themselves. They simply go to the teacher an year or two after finishing their college and smile at the teacher asking for an excellent letter that praises them. How can the teacher help you if he/she doesn’t recollect any specific things about you? You can’t expect the teachers to keep a note of all the hundreds of students they teach every year.

The point here is NOT to copy paste recommendation letter from the internet and modifying it like most of the indian students tend to do. Those copied letters are useless as they say nothing about YOU as an individual. They speak of somebody but you.  And if you go straight to your teacher and ask for a letter, you may get nothing but an abstract letter that doesn’t pinpoint to the activities that you did.

Don’t give up. Don’t copy paste. There is an awesome solution to this problem. Take a print out of the document below, fill it with necessary details and give it to your teacher. This will help your teacher/professor write an essay that exactly describes the activies that you actually did and gives precise description your character.  Credit goes to Baylor university.

Happy Schools Blog

I’ve subscribed to their email newsletter, subscribed to their RSS feed, subscribed them on twitter and added their site to my bookmarks. But I just can’t get enough of what the blog offers. It’s a treasure trove of knowledge and advice for Indian students seeking admission in the USA and for Indian professionals seeking work at the USA. Abbreviated as HSB, Happy Schools Blog has over 800+ articles posted in it. I have read testimonials of hundreds of students who have taken value out of this blog since its inception in 2007. In that blog’s comments, there are stories of hundreds of students who made their journey to the US.

Kudos to the authors of Happy Schools Blog(HSB) to have consistently produced quality material that helped aspirants over last two years. I am not looking for admission in US universities. Technically speaking, HSB is a competitor to Interview Mantra — India. But, that fact doesn’t stop me from publicly lauding them for their work.

HappySchoolsBlog specializes at topics:

• GRE, TOEFL, GMAT Test — Tips, News and Stories.
• Statement of Purpose, Letter of Recommendation — Best practices, dos and donts, samples.
• US University Selection and rankings — produces exhaustive list of universities for various specializations. Compares colleges and reviews university rankings.
• Graduate School Application – covers A to Z of University application process.
• MS program in the US –  discusses sub-topics such as scholarships, OPT, PhD, internship
• MBA program in the US — discusses about what US business schools have got to offer.
• Education and Living Expenses –  detailed analysis of student expenses in the US based on city and state.
• H1-B news and updates — gives weekly updates and advice on H1-B status in the US.
• Job Application and Resume — gives valuable tips on sites such as LinkedIn for job search.
• Answers readers questions — asked by readers on comments and via email.
• Polls and surveys — related to graduate school application. Poll and survey results are pretty useful in making decisions.
• Live chat feature — helps aspirants to ask questions related to graduate school application live.

What I love about HappySchoolsBlog:

• The articles are written in a very simple language that is understandable by Indian students. And usually are short enough to be read in 60 seconds.
• HSB gives a real picture of education at the USA. It doesn’t distort any facts or information like the overseas education agents in India. It presents the information in a no nonsense way.
• Busts myths and rumours of students. Doesn’t encourage fake application and other illegal stuff. HSB never advocates shortcuts. It provokes people to challenge themselves to reach new heights.
• Shares plethora of information about education and living in the USA in the perspective of a common Indian Student. For that reason it ‘s very easy for an Indian student  to understand what issues they are talking about in HSB’s articles.
• Not only covers howto information but also speaks of general topics such as email etiquette while addressing a professor, how to plan education and finances in the US.
• Acts like a virtual guide and mentor to young Indian students. I have seen so many readers thanking HSB through blog comments for inspiring them to get a better GRE Score and get admit in better Universities in the US.
• HSB answers email queries of readers as public blog posts. What is astonishing is their attention to detail while answering specific questions related to education in the US.

In one of their posts, one of the authors of HSB explains the reason why HSB was started:

Students want to study in the US and that’s all they care and most of them don’t even know if the information they hear from friends or family members are correct. With so much misguided information, students make incorrect decision and end up at some university, when they could have opted for much better school.

So, HSB aims to help such students make better choices and saves them from getting into a trap of false hopes and misconceptions. I highly recommend HSB and wish their team a great future ahead!

So how about the rest of the 35%? How do they fund their education?

By doing part-time jobs. Part-time jobs in the US pay on an hourly basis. International students try to fund their living expenses by working in part-time jobs.

Are the international graduate students legally allowed to work part-time jobs?
The international students who hold F-1 visa can’t accept any off-campus employment at anytime during the study. Period. Before discussing about illegal off-campus jobs, let’s review the difference between “illegal and Legal jobs”, the difference is “Legal means paying taxes to the government and following the rules as an F-1 student” where as “Illegal means receiving a pay without paying taxes to the government and breaking rules as an F-1 student”.  If you pay the taxes, the government is aware of what you are doing and if you don’t, yes, you are in a risk. (F-1 is the visa status given to the international students who come to the USA to pursue academic courses).

On-campus jobs
Almost every college and university in the US have part-time jobs for students. To name a few on-campus jobs, Research Assistantship, Teaching Assistantship, college website maintenance, desktop maintenance, campus security personnel, jobs at the university’s international office, university library and college cafeteria. These jobs also called as on-campus jobs and are absolutely legal and safe to work. There is no problem with these jobs as long as the duration of work is 20 hours a week or less while school is in session. Students may be employed full-time during vacations and recess periods as long as they intend to register for the next term. Other legal  jobs include internships, Curricular Program Training(CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT).

Curricular Practical Training is an opportunity for international students in F-1 status to participate in professional, temporary employment such as an internship or similar situation, prior to the completion of studies.^[6] Optional Practical Training is an opportunity to get professional work experience which will enhance their overall educational experience in the US.  OPT can be obtained for off-campus employment and/or practical training completed prior to (pre-completion) or beginning after (post-completion) the completion of studies.^[6] CPT is compulsory part of curriculum whereas OPT is optional.

OPT, CPT programs grant legal authorization to work in professional off-campus jobs.  After the graduation, one can work full time or part-time with F-1 student status on OPT (Optional Program Training). OPT starts 2 months after the completion of graduation.

Off-campus jobs
There are also a lot of part-time jobs available outside college/university at external agencies. Such as jobs at malls, restaurants, gas stations, etc., These jobs are also called as off-campus jobs. It is illegal for international students(holding F-1 visa) to work in these jobs. Since most of the students come to the US with the desire to earn money and supplement family support or enjoy with that money by leading a luxurious life in the USA until the end of the graduation, Indian students tend to look for off-campus part-time jobs which are relatively easier to manage.

How much money do on-campus vs off-campus jobs fetch students
If its TA/RA they get about $12-15/hr with a waiver for 3 course credits. It will be for a semester or for an year(mostly for PhD but not always). This is because some courses are taken by only few students and if you are the first person in the ranking of class then you can get a TA. On-campus minimum wage is $8/hr and will be till $15.

Off-campus jobs pay just about the minimum wage as per the Fair Labor Standard act. It depends upon the state where you reside, approximately around 7$/hr.

Ease of finding an off-campus job vs on-campus job
The most common complaint against on-campus jobs by the students is that, they are hard to find and that they don’t allow students to work for enough time to be able to pay their bills.

Whereas off-campus jobs are ubiquitous. The US being an international hub for businesses attracts a lot of businessmen from Asia. They own motels, restaurants, fast food centers, sub-ways, pizza huts, conventional stores, gas stations etc. These owners are in constant need for some young people who are ready to manage their stores at minimum wages. They don’t prefer to employ natives because of the fear of being dominated by the natives. And another reasons for favoring Asians over natives, is because of the image of Asians for being more hardworking and less complaining.

Indian students tend to choose to work for Indian owners to keep themselves safe from the being caught. Indians students have a confidence for that their owner would support them in case something wrong happens.

Chances and consequences of getting caught
There is only one type of security in the USA who handle the illegal duties done by F-1 students. They are the “Home Land Security”.  The US department of Police doesn’t involve in the issues of F-1 visa holders. Even if cops come to know about illegal activities by F-1 students they delegate the issue to the Home Land Security.

There is a general notion among students that “Home Land Security is not strict. And tries not to involve much in these matters until an F-1 student is caught red-handed.” Chaitanya, a grad student from California supports this notion, says, “The chances of getting caught may increase only when a mishap occurs at the place you work.”

The chances of being caught are low. But the consequences of getting caught are extremely severe. There are no further steps to proceed with except that the student’s visa gets canceled and gets deported to their country of origin.

Incident of getting caught
I have known an Indian student who got caught red handed working in an off-campus job at a gas station. He was immediately deported to Canada and was asked to undergo a visa interview for entry to the US.

He had admitted his breaking of the rules and had promised that he would not repeat such violations. He pleaded guilty telling the visa officer that he had to take up off campus job to be able to repay his loan.

The visa officer had warned him that they would put a red stamp on the student’s visa and deport him to India. The visa officer was kind enough to let that student resume his study at the USA. But this is just a case where the boy was lucky. There is no guarantee that you would be acquitted if you were caught working in an illegal part-time job.

Fred, a top contributor at Yahoo Answers on the topic Immigration reacts:
“You need to quit your off-campus employment before you get caught, arrested and deported. Don’t you believe that it is foolish to jeopardize your education by making your self deportable?

In addition to being foolish, you are very unethical. You have knowingly violated the terms of your admission. When you applied for your F-1 visa, you submitted documentation attesting to the fact that you had sufficient funds to support yourself while in school without needing to accept employment. Did you deceive the visa officer?”^[2]

Off-campus jobs and academics:
In the US, grad school are geek schools and any one who attends them are considered as a scholar. Grad students are looked at as matured and independent individuals. So they are easily considered for off-campus jobs. But on the flip side, grad students are loaded so much with courses that they wouldn’t be able to spare even 10 hours a week for a part-time job. So off-campus jobs undoubtedly affect students’ academics.

Conclusion:
Graduate student life is precious, instead of studying for your masters degree, doing an illegal part-time job is certainly a bad choice. In master’s you learn a lot of things. Doing illegal part-times could ruin your learning and hamper your career opportunities.

If you came all the way from India to the US to really study, then you better focus on learning. It’s not in your best interests to find ways to earn quick buck. If you are poor, then try for getting Good score in G.R.E and try to get admission in a good university with some funding. If you think that you cannot pay your tuition fee, then try to get some internship and work for projects through which you can earn practical experience and also money. And remember that there is a special provision for students to apply for permission for working off campus jobs in case of unforeseen financial hardship.^[3]

Don’t ever misuse your F-1 status.

References:

1. International Students in the USA
2. Yahoo Answers – F1 student work off-campus
3. F-1 Student economic hardship employment
4. USCIS – Students and Employment
5. Core77.com – Can I work part time while study at US
6. Gannon University – Employment Benefits for International Students in F-1 status

We have taken a lot of efforts to furnish accurate information. In case errors have crept in, or wrong facts have been presented, feel free to point the mistake by writing it in the comments.

This image is attributed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License

This university that I am writing about is claimed to be the oldest International University in the world. Constructed in 427 AD in an Indian city that has got religious importance of Buddhism. A city which has got very ancient history and goes back to the days of Mahavira and Buddha in sixth and fifth centuries BC.

Can you guess the name of this university? Didn’t get it yet, read on for more clues.

This university boasts to be the largest residential university in the world accommodating 10,000 students in an academic year, taught by 2,000 learned professors.

Has a sprawling campus of this university,  spread across 16 square kilometers. It also has a community kitchen with meticulously planned infrastructure. It had 8 monastic building with 300 apartments.  The apartments contained single and double bedroom cells for students. The university is considered as an architectural master piece. It had eight separate compounds and ten temples, along with many other meditation halls and classrooms.

The library building at this university had nine storeys with hundreds of thousands of volumes related to science and religion.

This university was the greatest monastic-cum-educational institution for oriental art and learning in the whole Buddhist world, attracting students from like Hiuen Tsang and I-Tsing from China and other distant countries such as Japan, Singapore, Greece.

Various subjects such as theology, grammar, logic, astronomy, medicine, meta physics and philosophy were taught there. This university was the cradle of Buddhist civilization during that times.

To gain admission to the university, the entrants will have to answer difficult questions posed by the erudite guards of the university. On an average only 2-3 among 10 would be admitted into this university.

The alumnus of this university gain a celebrity status for all their life along with the education imparted by scholars. The students of this university lead a very disciplined and regarded as  ideal to be followed by Buddhists all over the world.

Here goes the final clue – this university is located in a city near Patna in Bihar, India. I am pretty sure you might have got it by now.

See this youtube video below describing more about the university.

Nalanda (Hindi:नालंदा) means “insatiable in giving”. An inscribed seal was found in the excavations at the site which read Sri-Nalandamahavihari-Arya-Bhikshu-Sanghasya (Hindi:श्री नालंदा महाविहार आर्य भिक्षु संघस्य).

This university is believed to be sacked and burnt by troupes sent by then military general, Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193 AD. So extensive was the library that the burning of books in the library continued for several months. That was a tragic end for such a great university. So, our generation doesn’t have the fortune of  studying in this university, but…

There are plans to build a modern university with the name Nalanda University near that site. In 2006, it was reported that China, India, Japan and other nations had come forward to raise funds of $500 to build a new post-graduate research university.

It would be such a pride to study in a university revived at that site. What do you think about it? Comment below whether or not you would like to study in a university in future, if it gets built.

References:

1. Wikipedia article on Nalanda
2. Excavated remains of Nalanda – UNESCO World Heritage Center

Below, I have listed five of the common but weird reasons for which people come to study in the UK .

1. Dowry

   Many Indian families wish to give their daughters to a person who has studied overseas or holds a good job overseas. Overseas tag when attached to a bachelor’s profile increases his “market-value” in the marriage circles and fetch him a lot of money as dowry. Take the case of my roommate who thinks it’s absolutely worthless studying here in the UK. He enjoys his life most of the time than study. One day, I got a chance to speak to his father. I told him about my concern about his son’s future. His response was a bit unexpected. He coolly said, “Don’t worry beta, let him enjoy his life. I have everything planned for him when he gets back to India. I’ve arranged a girl for him in my community. Her father is going to pay 30 million rupees as dowry as he studied in the UK.” I was like whoa man I should have a dad like that.

2. Sham Marriage

   This is one of the desperate reason for which people come to study in the UK. Acquiring permanent citizenship in the UK takes a long time. For an outsider, it takes at least 10 years, that too after satisfying the complex point system to qualify as a citizen. But there are some loop holes by which immigrants can get a permanent citizenship in less than 5 years. The most prominent loop hole is a sham marriage. This is an agreement of marriage between a British or an European Union citizen and an non European immigrant. Few students come to the UK with the sole reason of settling in this country quickly to enjoy the benefits of being a British passport holder.

3. Dependent Visa

   Work permit in the UK is not so easy to get when you apply it from India. But, there are ways by which people can legally work full time in the UK. One such prominent way for married couples is the dependent visa scheme. One of the person from the couple especially the girl comes to the UK as a student and applies for dependent visa of her fiance. Once he gets into the country, it will be comparatively easy for him to get a job and settle here. The husband of the girl about whom I had mentioned above, is now doing a full time job as a sales assistant in a retail clothing outlet earning around 2000 pounds a month.

4. Part time work

   Minimum wage level in the UK is 5.73£ p/hr which is equivalent to around 400 Indian rupees. For people who are keen in earning money and have an average academic scores tend to come to the UK on a student visa. With part time jobs being not too hard to find, people tend to look out for earning more working odd jobs rather than studying.

5. To be one of them

   This might seem a little out of context, but is definitely true. With a lot of western culture already imbibed, a modern Indian always fancies being one of the westerners. This might not be the sole reason of coming to the UK, but it is definitely one of the subconscious reasons. This inner desire becomes profound after landing in the UK. People tend to change their way of speaking, dressing sense, eating habits and also some of the cultural habits like clubbing, one night stands, binge drinking and drugs to mingle with Westerners and eventually adopt to be one of them.