Table of Contents
1. Why this Book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
2. Why Study in the USA? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
A
dvantages of studying in USA

.................................. . . .6
T
rend of Indian Students in USA:

............................... . . .8
3. About F.A.C.T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

V
ision and Mission

............................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Rol

e of F.A.C.T. in career development

..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

O
ur offices:

................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Our Working Pattern: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

4. Career Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

G
eneral objectives of students

.......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

L
imitations of Indian Education System

............... . . . . . . .16

W
ho should plan to study in the USA?

.............. . . . . . . . . . .17

5. Cost of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

T
uition and Fees

................................................. . . . . . . . . . .18

L
iving Expenses

.............................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

H
ow to fund the cost of education

........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

6. Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

S
chools with Awards to More than 150 Students . . . . . . . .22

S
chools with Awards to 100-149 Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

P
erformance based scholarships

....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

N
eed based scholarships

................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

S
ports scholarships

................................................. . . . . . .24

7. Entrance Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

G
RE

........................................................................ . . . . . .26

S
AT

........................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

G
MAT

............................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

T
est-taking Strategies for GMAT

........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

T
OEFL

.................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

T
raining at FACT

............................................... . . . . . . . . . .34

8. Application Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

S
election of Universities

.......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

S
election of Program

.............................................. . . . . . .37

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A
cademic Documentation

.................................. . . . . . . . . . .37

F
inancial Documentation

......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

A
fter applications:

.............................................. . . . . . . . . . .39

O
nce you have been accepted:

................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

A
dmissions Counseling at FACT .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

9. VISA Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Re
quirements of students visa

................................... . . .41

W
hat Visa Officers look for while issuing visa . . . . . . . . . .41

H
ow to Apply

.................................................... . . . . . . . . . .41

V
ISA documentation

................................................. . . .41

A
. Consulate Documents:

.............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

V
ISA Interview

............................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Ri
sk of VISA rejection

........................................... . . . . . .43

V
ISA Consultancy at FACT

................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

10. University Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

T
op Engineering Schools

............................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

T
op Management schools

................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

11. Pre Departure Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

T
ravel Tips

............................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

T
hings to be done in advance

............................... . . . . . . .55

P
acking

.............................................................. . . . . . . . . . .55

T
hings to be kept in the boxes

...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Cl
othes

.......................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

T
hings to be kept in Hand Baggage

........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

T
hings to be left at home

........................................... . . .58

T
o do in the last week before the flight


.......................

58

O
n the day of the flight, in-flight and later . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

12. Testimonials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

13. The last Words... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

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Higher Education Opportunities in USA
1. Why this Book?

India is emerging as a major economy of the world. Also,
the Indian education system was always considered to be
one of the best in the world. We have some of the best
educational institutions of the world in India. Even the
Indian professors are teaching in universities all over the
world. Then what is the need for studying in USA? What
is it in US education that is not available in Indian
education? These and many more questions may be
floating in your mind while browsing through this book. It
is our effort to give you the most correct and relevant
information about education system in the USA so that
you can make a conscious and informed decision.
Over the last 12 years the number of students going to
America for higher studies have increased manifold. With
liberalization and Internet revolution, even students of the
middle-income families find it an extremely practical and
affordable option. In spite of this, we have experienced that
more students lose the opportunity of studying in the USA
not because they cannot afford it but because they do not
have accurate and relevant information about how to go
about it.
F.A.C.T. and its team have been guiding students towards
higher studies in the USA through its network of offices,
newspaper articles, TV programs and seminars. This book
is also aimed at providing accurate guidance and up to date
information about educational opportunities in the USA.
We sincerely hope that the students and more particularly
the parents will find information in this book very useful
while planning careers. We once again state that students
lose on to the opportunity of studying in the USA not
because they cannot afford but because they do not have
information about the possibility.
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Tushar More was an average student with only 62%
marks in HSC. However, he was keenly interested in
pursuing degree in automobile engineering. He tried
everywhere in India for an admission but failed.
Disappointed, he took an admission for bachelors program
in mass management. During his first year, he attended
one of our seminars and understood the opportunity of
pursuing higher studies in the USA. He completed all the
formalities in six months and went to pursue his dream
career in Southern Illinois University. We feel happy for
being of help to such students and we take pride in helping
them build their careers.
Abhijeet was a brilliant student during his engineering.
During his final year of B.E., he had already taken GRE
and had an impressive score of 1320. Simultaneously, he
also got selected in a reputed software company at the
campus interview. Thinking that education in the US will
be expensive, and getting tempted to a high paying job, he
joined the software company as a trainee.
Six months of working in the monotonous environment,
he realized that this is not the career that he can enjoy for
a long time. He was however, still very skeptical about the
option of pursuing MS in the US as he was reluctant to
put his ageing father in heavy expenditure. He attended
one of the seminars of FACT and voiced his concern.
FACT assured him of admissions in the best universities
where scholarships will be available. This was really not a
difficult task considering his academics, GRE score and
work experience. Furthermore, in order to make him feel
comfortable, he was told to just apply to 5-6 universities
and see the result. That would cost him only a few
thousand rupees but he will atleast come to know his
worth in the US universities.
He agreed and today, he is pursuing his MS in systems
engineering from one of the top ranked universities in the
US with full scholarship.
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There are hundreds of students like Tushar and Abhijeet
who have gained from the information about study
opportunities in the USA. You can also go through the
various chapters in this book and understand all the pre
requisites for studying in USA. If you need any further
information, you are most welcome to visit any of the
offices of FACT. A list of FACT office addresses is given
in this book. For the most up to date information about
where we have our offices, visit our web site
www.USeducation.in.
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2. Why Study in the USA?

Globalization and Internet revolution has shrunk the world
into a global village. Boundaries of the nations are only
politically important now. For the trade, commerce and
industry, the world has become one market place. In such
times, we need to have global compatibility to survive and
grow. We need to have exposure to the various cultures and
business practices of various countries.
Advantages of studying in USA
One must understand the advantages that America offers as a
place for higher studies before investing the time and money.
Also, it is not just enough to decide to study in the USA just
because it is trendy. We are therefore putting forth the most
distinct advantages offered by the US education system:

International Exposure: more than 500,000
international students come to study every year in the
United States from different countries. No other
country in the world attracts so many international
students. Naturally, the international exposure that
you get while being a part of such a diverse students
body is one of the most important advantages of
studying in the United Sates.

Educational Infrastructure: as you study higher and
higher, you need educational infrastructure, which is
as important as the quality of syllabus and quality of
teachers. While the quality of syllabus and teachers
are quite high in India, the availability of educational
infrastructure is far better in the USA.

Research in the Universities: this is the most distinct
advantage of American Education System. Unlike
most other universities in the world, the universities in
the USA are engaged in conducting practical research
work for the benefit of the industry and government of
the USA. These researches are conducted under the
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supervision of the college professors and the students
get an opportunity to work on these research projects.

Career Choices: with more than 3,000 universities
and colleges offering tens of thousands of different
programs, the choice of careers is the widest in the
United States. There is nothing which is worth
pursuing a career in which is not covered by the
American higher education system.

Flexibility: American education system is credit hour
based. These credits are widely transferable from one
university to another. Also, you can take credit hours
as per your requirements and therefore the duration of
completing a four-year degree may range from three
to five years as per the capacity of the student.

Acceptability: this is a very important advantage
from the Indian student point of view. How many
times we come across a deserving Indian student not
getting a career of his choice in India? Students lose
their careers by a fraction of percentage and then they
have no other choice but to either change their field of
study or settle for an inferior institution by paying
heavy donation. Such things rarely happen when you
are applying to an American institution. The
universities in the USA give due consideration to the
desire of the students and admissions are based on a
complete assessment of the students overall
personality and not just the mark-sheet.

Overall, the advantages of studying in America are far too
many and most of the parents and students already know
about them. But most of the time they are unaware about the
affordability of the courses or the exact procedure and
timetable for preparation. This book will deal with these issues
in the subsequent chapters.
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Trend of Indian Students in USA:
Over the last 10 years, the number of Indian students studying
in the United States has increased more than 2 times. From a
mere 35,000 students in 1993-94, the number of Indian
students has gone up to almost 80,000 students in 2003-04.
This significant increase is an indication of the growing
confidence of Indian students in the American education
system and more importantly its relevance in the current era
of globalization.
Not only that, India is the largest country sending students to
USA amongst all countries of the world. Almost 13% of the
total international students studying in USA are Indians.

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About 20% of the students studying in the USA are studying
for a bachelor's degree. Most of the students are studying in
fields such as engineering, information technology, core
sciences and business management programs.
Also, if we compare the popularity of different countries
amongst the Indian students, once again, USA is on the top
with substantial lead. A comparison of Indian students in the
major four countries of the world is "All the above statistics
clearly indicates that Indian students have preferred USA as
their most suitable destination for higher education abroad."
This trend is likely to continue in future.
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Indian Students in Foreign Countries by Percentage
10

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