Visitor Visa/ Tourist Visa Questions

The following are the questions a Visa interviewer would ask if you are applying for a tourist visa. This set of questions is focused on "USA", but its the same set for any visiting country. Definitely not all, but if prepared for these clearing the interview would be easy. But remember,

1. Answer to point.
2. Dont lie.
3. Carry necessary documents.
4. Convince them that you would return back :)

Here they are:

1.   Why are you going to the US?
2.  Have you been to the U.S. before?
3.  Do you have relatives in the US? If yes, who?
4.  Who is going to sponsor your visit?
5.  Where will you stay in the US?
6.  What does your son/daughter do for a living?
7.  How much does your son/daughter earn?
8.  Where does your son/daughter work?
9.  What does your son/daughter-in-law do?
10.  Who is paying for your son/daughter-in-law's studies?
11.  How long has your son/daughter been in the US?
12.  Which visa is your son/daughter and son/daughter-in-law on?
13.  Did your son/daughter study in the US? Where?
14.  What visa did your son/daughter enter the U.S. on?
15.  Is your son/daughter married?
16.  Does your son/daughter have any children?
17.  Is your daughter/daughter-in-law pregnant?
18.  Will your wife/husband accompany you on your trip?
19.  If only one person is traveling to the U.S. then they may ask: Why are you traveling alone? OR Why isn't your husband/wife accompanying you?
20.  When do you plan to travel?
21.  Why do you want to travel at that time?
22.  What are you going to do in the US?
23.  What is the purpose of your trip?
24.  Have you blocked your tickets?
25.  Do you have return air tickets, medical insurance etc.
26.  How much expense do you expect from this trip?
27.  Have you been outside India before?
28.  Is this your first visit to US?
29.  What places do you want to visit?
30.  How long will you stay in the US?
31.  Can't you finish your visit earlier? Why do you want to stay for so long?
32.  What is the guarantee that you will come back?
33.  When did you last see your son/daughter?
34.  When did your son/daughter last visit India?
35.  When does your son/daughter plan to visit India next?
36.  Where do you stay in India?
37.  When did your son/daughter go to US?
38.  What work do you do and where?
39.  What is your job profile?
40.  How much do you earn/ What is your annual income?
41.  If you are working, you may be asked: Did you take leave?
42.  Your income is not enough to support international travel. What do you plan to do?
43.  If you run a business, you may be asked: Who will look after your business in your absence?
44.  When did you retire?
45.  How much pension do you get?
46.  What assets/property do you have in India?
47.  Who will take care of your property in India while you are gone?
48.  Can I see you Business/visiting card?
49.  Do you have a credit card?
50.  Will you work in the US?
51.  How many children do u have ? And where are they? What do they do? Are they married?
52.  What is your son/daughter's birth date?
53.  When is your son/daughter's wedding anniversary?
54.  Can you tell me your son/daughter's contact details?
55.  Show me your documents OR Has your son/daughter sent any documents?

My F1 Visa experience

Consulate: Chennai

Atmosphere

Personally i wansn't that much tensed. The atmosphere is very relaxing. At the VFS website, they asked us to be there 15 minutes before. That must be fine. There were people whose interview was at 8 and they turned up at 8.30 and the like and yet they were casually called in. So no worries. Theres a lavish rest room also.The exact scene of you talkin t to the interviewer can be compared to that of a you having a talk with the cashier in bank. It is exactly the same way. A glass window separates you both with Space below to send in documents.

Documents

At the entrance of the consulate you have to show your Interview letter & passport. So keep them a lil' aside.

Before the interview, your "Primary documents" will be taken from you. They will be checked and put in a different file which you  gottu hand t to interviewer during the interview. In my case, apart from these documents, i DIDNT show them any other document. Had carried in a harmonium file, with names of the documents written in the space given for easier access. BTW the primary documents include

a) Interview letter b) Passport c) I20 d) Sevis fee reciept e) Confirmation letter  f) Gre & toefl original score cards g) Degree certificate

People

The gaurds and officials there will take of everything. They will periodically be calling out the slots. Any issues you can report to them. They will keep guiding you to respective counters, just follw them. The ones at the counter will have a mic with them; they will be very clear and audible. When they take your primary documents, they will ask for finger scan. Please see to that there are no cuts or burns.

Interviewers

Damn nice people. So please greet them with a smile. I was observing the entire process for like more than a hour and realised they are so understandin and never want to reject an application. All they need is answers to their questions. There were students/people who would aswer so senselesly and yet the interviewers would ask them upto 3 times to get the exact answer they want. There are interviewers who are laughin and talkin to students/family like good old friends. I did see 3/4 rejections too. The interviewees couldn convince them, so they were rejected.

My interview

My interview was at 8 am. I went there by 7.15 and there was a long queue. I thought it will be very much on time and stuff. It was very organised though but my interview was at 9:15 am. At 8 am they took us to the other building and made us wait there. Even though i had a DD for 9$, they asked me to pay cash. I carried Rs 500 which was very helpful. I was only asked 

1. Why Binghamton?
2. Where did you do your bachelors?
3. What did you do since 2009? {She was completely impressed by my answer.}
4. How much is your parents savings?

At last she said "Your visa is issued madam. Please continue your good work there too. All the very best for your course." I was beaming. :)

P.S: Every one's experience is different. Don't just rely on one.

You can see my other iterviews as well here: F1 Visa interview & H1B Visa interview & H4 Visa interview. 

F1 Visa Questions & Suitable Answers

Trust me other than the following 21 Questions, they cant  ask anything more. But yes they can be Rephrased! Firstly the interviewer will be busy updating your information in her/his records. Secondly its just a max 2 minutes interview {mite increase if & only if you are unable to comprehend what he/she is saying i.e more of "Excuse me" or "Pardon me" or "Come again"} :)

Questions:

1. Why are you going to US?
2. Why US & not India?
3. Why not IIT?
4. Why xxx university only?
5. How many university's did you apply to? How many accepts & How many rejects?
6. Why xxx specialization? Whats its scope in India?
7. What was major in Bachelors?
8. What were your grades in Bachelors?
9. Tell about your project.
10. Schooling?
11. Gre & Toefl Scores.
12. What did you do since you graduated?
13. Would you work on/off campus?
14. Wont recession affect you?
15. Who's sponsering you?
16. What are you parents? Their Income?? Their Savings?
17. I see recent transactions in the bank certificate, how would you explain?
18. If you utilise all their money, how would they run the family?
19. How many siblings? Is there sufficient funds for them?
20. What are your plans after masters?
21. Where would you want to work in future? Where do you see yourself after 5 years? What salary do you expect?

Answers :

1. To pursue masters in xxx in xxx university.
2. a) International Exposure b) Flexibility(can complete a course in 15-18 months) c) Pratical approach d)Advanced Technology
3. IIT is excellent, but its intake is around 100 for 20/30000 students who write. Plus my interest is in xxx University.
4. a) Rank of the university chosen (Courtesy: USNews) b) Seniors gave excellent feedback c) My area of interest is found here  d) Professor MrABC has done amazing research in field i want.
5. You need not tell complete truth. If u have more rejects, put it across as "waitin"/"on hold".  
6. You gottu surf about your interest. Tell its scope in US, India its advancements and one/two applications.
7. Your turn.
8. Here we use a % system i.e its calucated for 100. My % is blah blah.
9. Use technical jargons That will work :)
10. Your turn.
11. Tell truth. If they are less use the standard answer " I made mistake in the first 10 questions which are very crucial and carry high score. Hence i got less. Future i will take care i wont mess up."
12. {This question changed the entire course of my interview}Its ur say. Better to carry certificates as proof for the work/course you have done.
13. A definite NO. I want to study hard and complete my masters soon.
14. I am going to enhance my technical knowledge and skills. It is no where realated to recession.
15. My blah, blah and an education loan are sponsoring me.
16. Your turn.
17. My blah blah had invested money in other accounts and also lent them to needy friends and relatives. Now for the purpose of my education he has pooled them into this account.
18. My course needs x lakhs. My loan covers x-n lakhs. My blah blah hav the savings which is more than n lakhs. Hence its sufficient for them.
19. Your turn. If you have you could say, he/she is interested in working. If he/she changes plans after working for 2/3 years, by then i would hav started repayin the loan so it wont be a problem for him/her.
20. Return to India and work in the company of my choice which has xxx specialization.
21. Your turn. tell a salary which is more than the EMI you gottu return to bank

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TIP:

• "Smile" is the mantra!
• Try explaining in points than long sentences.
• Answer to point. An Extra word will lead to a new thread of questions. 
• While talkin abt money talk in terms of indian money than dollars.
•  Remenber the interviewer is an American, they wont be familiar with Indian terms. "% --> gpa", "puc --> preuniversity", "Btech/BE --> Bachelors" etc.
• Write down the exact answers & read them once o twice. It will definitely help you.
• All the best. ;)

You can see my iterviews as well here: F1 Visa interview & H1B Visa interview & H4 Visa interview. 

F1 Visa Help Forums

Few edulix forums which might help u:

1. Consolidated Information reg Visa application
2. Visa Preparation
3. Visa Questions
4. Mistakes done at a Visa Interview
5. VI Thread - list of Experiences

Personally i got all my answers here! ATB 2 u!

Visa Booking..!

This is how i went through:

Home page where u can find all the below ones mentioned: https://www.vfs-usa.co.in/USIndia/index.html 

Step wise, here below:

Step 1: Pay the SEVIS fee here.

Step 2: Check ur consulate district here.

Step 3: Check the photo requirements here. If you go to GK Vale, they will know all the requirements.

Step 4: DS160 is available here. If doesn't open in one browser then try another browser! It works!

Step 5: Check for the earliest visa dates here!

Step 6: Book visa dates!

Tip: DS160 is set of 8 pages. Keep all the information ready & keep saving your account. It will time out after 20 mins.

Post Application Process!

All you need to do is WAIT! You can carry on with your daily activities.... till the month of  March arrives( if you have applied for fall!) Nothing to worry much! A few tips from my side are:

1. Please don't forget to track the documents you have sent.
2. Once you have tracked, save the packet number, i.e. the unique number given to your packet/package/envelope.
3. Note down the email id's of the respective persons in the Graduate Council of the respective university. Mail them any query you have. Am pretty sure they will respond!
4. Please keep checking your spam mails too as there are all possibilities of an important mail being there, which might go unnoticed.
5. If u have got acceptance from more than one university, then make a wise choice. Consult many friends, communities on networking sites and pay the fee once you have made the final choice.

It so happened that in mid March, two universities that i had applied to stated "Transcripts not reached".
The point was, all the documents sent by me were in one envelope and had reached as a single entity, i don't know how only the transcripts could go missing. I couldn't do anything other than providing the tracking ID as proof. Yet, there was no proof for the existence of the transcripts in the envelope that i had sent.

All the best! 

P.S: I got into Suny,Binghamton. Hope the Visa process too goes unhindered! U can expect a post on that soon enough too!

The EXCEL Sheet!

Prepare a Excel sheet with these headings in bold and start off going through the universities and simultaneously start updating this sheet. It will definitely help you a lot. When in need, you can check through this sheet rather than the University website. :P K Here goes the list:

1. Serial No
2. University
3. Univ Code + Dept code
   
4. Deadline
5. Postal Address
6. Important contact info with email id
7. No of applications and to where
8. Application Fee
9. Transcripts (O/Hc)
10. No of Transcripts
    
11. Statement Of Purpose (O/Hc)
12. Resume (O/Hc)
13. Letter Of Recommendation (O/Hc)
14. No of LOR's
15. Gre Scores (O/Hc)
16. Toefl Scores (O/Hc)
17. Additional Information

No = Number
O = Online
Hc = Hard copy
Trust me this is damn helpful!

LOR's!

Most of the universities request minimum of 3 LORs. Ask your recommender a month in advance and help him/her with the LOR. You have two options for Letter Of Recommendations:

1. Online Recommendations: You have to provide your recommenders email id and he/she will be sent a link, the recommender will be given some time to respond say 2 days, a week etc. The recommender will have to fill in details about him/herself, details about his/her relationship with applicant, grade the applicant, write few lines on the applicant, submit it.
   
2. Hard Copy Recommendations: You have to download the LOR form given by the university and get it filled by your recommender and post it to the university along with the other hard copies i.e. your application packet. Envelopes need to be signed and sealed at both the joints. Better not tamper with them.

An LOR Format for reference for the recommender:

Introduction

• Introduce yourself as the recommender. State your professional position, how you know the applicant, the length of your relationship, and any other pertinent information to build your credibility as a knowledgeable contributor.
• Provide an overview of your general impressions of the applicant.

Body

• Cover one exceptional quality of the applicant in each paragraph
• Use specific examples to show how you observed each quality
• Address qualities in order of importance
• Keep the body of the letter to two or three paragraphs

Conclusion

• Confirm that the applicant would be a desirable employee/student, adding any other comments you feel appropriate.
• Encourage the reader to contact you for additional information or with any questions.
• Don't forget to personally sign the letter.

Sincerely

SIGNATURE
your name

Statement Of Purpose- SOP!

"A good SOP could get you a very good university in-spite of low acads/scores!"

What to write in a SOP:

1. Be clear about what u want to do in your masters and elaborate the same on paper. Justify your stance clearly by giving specific examples either through academics/projects etc. You might have done innumerable projects
   
2. Mention about the University,faculty,infrastructure,research which u r interested in!
   
3. Avoid quotes and flowery complex language ...
   
4. Download Word Web. Here's the link where you can download Word Web ( if u want a good word for a particular simple word enter in word web and u get synonyms and choose one among them suitable to your sentence.Use apt words which suit the context and makes sense.)
5. Communication skills are very important. This is the edulix link which gives good tips !
6. Mention valid reasons why you are choosing USA and not your own country{in spite of having the best institutions} for your higher studies, like

• World Class Education
• Excellent research facilities
• Easy to survive
• International exposure
• Immense Opportunities for the deserving

% <--> Grade <--> GPA

Many a times while filling the application you might encounter with the word GPA(Grade Point Average). That is actually not for us. Personally I didn't fill anything for GPA, but you could do this calculation. I just came across this and these mite help you. Ask some senior/lecturer and find out which one's better of the two??

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grade ----------	GPA ------------	% ---------
A+	4.33	90-100
A	4.00	85-89
A-	3.67	80-84
B+	3.33	76-79
B	3.00	72-75
B-	3.67	68-71
C+	2.33	64-67
C	2.00	60-63
C-	1.67	55-59
D	1.00	50-54
DFT	0.00	49

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Percentage ---------------	US Grade ------------	Equivalent GPA (approximate) ------------------------------------
60-100	A	4.00
55-59	B+	3.33
50-54	B	3.00
43-49	C+	2.33
35-42	C	2.00
0-34	F	0.00

Quant Section in Gre!

Me being from a CBSE back ground, didn't have much to work on quant. I joined GREedge training and that was enough for me. They gave enough training and practice tests. That was sufficient for me. Barrons, Kaplan and Big Book are more than enough for a 750+.

These links might help you:

1. http://www.west.net/~stewart/gre/grtestq.htm
2. http://www.studyplaces.com/testcenter/sample-test/GRE

Note: If you need any pdf's or e-books, quant material do drop in ur mail id. Will try my best to help you! All The Best!

A senior's advice!! Helped me lots!

Hi Shru,

Do the following..

1) Apply for transcripts. This includes all ur 8 sem marklists, degree certificate. For this you have to take xerox in A3 sheet (strictly). The no.of copies depends on how many univs u r going to apply.. So xerox them accordingly.. In case if your university provides you ppl with a consolidated marksheet, while taking xerox ask that guy to reduce it to A3 size and then take xerox.

P.S: While taking xerox make sure you have enough room for applying seal (university seal) and signature of the person attesting it..

2) Take sufficient copies of ur 10th, PUC and univ marklists.

3) Once ur GRE, TOEFL score reports comes xerox them as well..

4) Mos of the univs ask a copy of your passport as part of document. But ne way after seeing at the univ's docs requirement, include it in the list of docs only if it is asked.

5) Experience letter need not be included in the list of docs but it sure adds weightage to ur profile.. In case if you are getting a reco from someone where you have been working then you need not attach this.. Make sure the person who gives you Reco knows you very well because university might contact them and verify.. Reco must not exceed one page..

6) Start your SOP whenever you find time.. After multiple correction fine tune it in such a way it is not more than a page.. If you want i can provide mine as an example..

7) Prepare your resume. This is as important as ur SOP.. Make sure whatever you put in ur resume is true and you you have proof for it..

8) Many univs expect a bank certificate stating your financial position while applying itself.. Make sure it is enough to cover your full expense (living, tuition, etc,.)

9) Affidavit is also very important.. Incase if you are being funded by your father and mother you need one from ur mom and one from ur dad.. while sending the docs, staple affidavit and bank statement together.. Make sure ur affidavit is like ur father declaring that hez taking care of ur educational expenses and that he has so much in his accounts and he has attached the proof (bank statement) along with the affidavit..

10) Passport size photos you may require a lot.. In addition to that take 4 for visa.. that has got a separate dimension.. it wil be slightly bigger than ur normal passport size photo..

11) While sending docs, send through DHL.. reliable safe and you can track ur shipment as well.. they have a separate students pack for sending couriers to univs.. plus they have bulk coupons.. opt for that it'll be cheaper..

One thing i would suggest is till you give ur GRE TOEFL exams dont think abt these..

Once you finish, start doing this.. try to complete as many as the above mentioned points before ur results..

Giving GRE TOEFL is just 5% of the process.. the rest 95 is reeal pain..

Dont worry i'm there to help you..

Ne doubt ne time you can ask me..

All the very best..

My tip for Toefl speaking and writing!

Might be of some use to you:

1. Address to the people involved in the script/video by their names.
2. Be slow and calm and composed.
3. Don't refer Barrons for toefl. Try to read/work out from Kaplan. Barron gives you the feeling "Toefl is too damn easy!", which isn't good!
   
4. Coming to my tip: After the reading and the listening sections, a time break of 10 mins is given. Make use of this time, to jot down anything that you feel will be useful for the next two sections - Speaking and Writing, in the sheet of paper given. What to jot down will vary from person to person, What i would write, to keep things ready may be: Words or Phrases. You can read plenty of essays and come up with more phrases and strong words which help your essay sound more intense.
   

Like:
+ve=Confident, re-assure, anticipate, amiable,
-ve=refute, oppose
others- justifies,influence,spontaneous,redundant,contrary,consequence

All The Best!

TOEFL's worst section! Speaking!

“How Can I Prepare for the Speaking Section of the TOEFL iBT?”

The independent and integrated speaking competencies required for the TOEFL iBT are formidable challenges, but the following suggestions, if implemented through a regular course of study over an extended period of time, will help you to achieve the speaking confidence needed for a strong score.

To perform well on the independent speaking tasks, you should consider the following:

1. Create a list of familiar topics and practice speaking about them: “Describe your favorite vacation destination,” and “Describe an important person who has influenced you” are representative of familiar Independent Speaking topics for the iBT

2. You could also practice by stating an opinion or a preference and then by presenting reasons clearly and in detail. “Which do you think is better: living on campus in dorms or off campus in apartments?” is representative of an opinion-preference Independent Speaking topic for the iBT.

3. Making a recommendation and explaining why it is the best way to proceed is another type of speaking task that you should practice. “What is the best method of travel when going on a vacation? Explain why?” represents this type of Independent Speaking topic for the iBT.

4. Practice giving 1 minute responses to these types of speaking tasks.

Lastly, to perform well on the integrated speaking tasks, you should consider the following:

1. Find a college textbook that includes discussion questions at the end of the chapter. Read the chapter, take notes, and practice orally answering the discussion questions.

2. Read short 100-200 word articles. You can find such articles on the Internet, in the library, or in your TOEFL textbook. After reading the article, make a brief outline which includes its major points Then use the outline to orally summarize the information, after which you can add detail to the outline and orally summarize again.

3. Using the Internet, the library, or your TOEFL textbook + CD Rom, find listening and reading materials on similar topics. The material can provide similar or opposing points of view. After taking notes on the listening and the reading materials, you should do the following:

Orally summarize the information. Make sure that you paraphrase the information using different words and grammatical structures.

Orally synthesize by combining information form the listening and reading materials and by explaining how they relate.

4. Increase your knowledge of vocabulary and idiomatic language. Learn to use them in your speech.

5. Learn grammatical structures, particularly basic and complex sentences, so well that you are comfortable using them in your speech.

6. Learn to solve pronunciation problems, paying particular attention to word stress, intonation patterns, and pauses.

7. When practicing for the TOEFL iBT, take about 15 seconds to prepare a response before beginning to speak.Write down some key words and phrases, but do not write down exactly what you want to say.If you read your response, raters will give you a lower score.

8. Use signal words and phrases to create a coherent flow of information: to introduce new information, to connect ideas, and to emphasize important points.

9. Make regular recordings of your iBT speaking tasks and make sure your pronunciation and fluency are clear and easy to understand. If possible, have ESL/EFL instructors evaluate your speech using the appropriate TOEFL iBT Speaking rubrics.

Practice, practice, and practice doing these suggestions, and you will conquer the speaking section of the TOEFL iBT.

Michael Buckhoff is an ESL and English Professor at California State University, San Bernardino California and has been teaching TOEFL preparation courses since 1994.
Mbuckhoff
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
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Some of the speaking topics for question no. 1 are: {Its definitely gonna be one among these}

1. Describe your best friend.
2. Favorite holiday spot/ Hobby/Subject/teacher in school/animal (pet)/Icon/author/book/sport/Movie/Food/color.
3. Given one-month time to do whatever you like to do, what would you like to do?
4. Most cherished moment at school
5. Which country/city would you like to visit?
6. Toughest challenge faced by you
7. If you could know your future, what would you like to know?
8. What would you send to an international exhibition? Your object should represent your country.
9. Your strangest dream.
10. What do you miss when you are away from your home?
11. What would you like to do between study time, to take a break or to relax?
12. Some students prefer university in the home region while others prefer studying abroad. What would you prefer?
13. Some only go to the movies if they know about the film, whereas others like to go to get surprised and watch movies they know nothing about. What do you prefer and why?
14. What are important considerations in choosing a job/career according to you?
15. Some prefer traveling independently whereas others prefer traveling in a pre-arranged package tour. Which do you prefer and why?
16. Which mode of transport do you prefer traveling by and why?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S-
read sample essays here !
sample-toefl-speakin-practice !
sample-toefl-writing-practice !
1 Practice toefl test !
Many practice tests !

Check list!- A Simple one!

A University requires:

1. GRE scores (valid for 5 years)
2. TOEFL scores (valid for 2 years)
3. Passport
   
4. Transcripts (A completed Bachelor degree from any university.)
5. A Statement of Purpose (in short SOP)
6. Resume/CV
7. Letter of Recommendation (in short LOR)
8. Financial certificates

A month wise plan can be found here: Road-Map-to-US ! you need to join Edulix forums for that! You will almost get everything you want! Trust me they are the best!

India-Link-GRE-Link-Toefl-Link-Universities-Link-Documentation-link-USA

Here are few links, which helped me and my friends through out this Master's journey! A lil' detailed information on each topic, you can refer to other posts! Hope they all help u!

Gre:
http://www.tcyonline.com/india/Home
http://learnwordlist.com/
http://www.greword.com/?cat=1
http://bighugelabs.com/magazine.php

http://princetonreview.com/grad/testprep/testprep.asp?TPRPAGE=80&TYPE=GRE-PRACTICE-TEST
http://www.Number2.com
http://greguide.com
http://www.syvum.com/gre/
www.takegre.com
www.mygretutor.com
www.grebible.com
www.kaptest.com
http://pllab.kaist.ac.kr/~gladius/gre/
http://www.intelligentedu.com/newly_researched_free_training/GRE.html
http://www.gre.org/pracmats.html
http://www.petersons.com/testprepchannel/gre_free.asp?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=248&WT.mc_r=180
http://www.catprep.com/exams/gre/launch-win.html
http://www.grammatix.com/shop/cgi-bin/grammatix.cgi?pg=freeinfo#gre
http://www.gorillatestprep.com/gre_resources.html
http://www.indianchild.com/GRE/gre-practice-test.htm
http://www.english-test.net/gre/vocabulary/meanings/330/gre-test.php
http://www.grebible.com/download.htm
http://www.computerbasedtest.com/download.html
http://www.testmagic.com/
http://www.supervoca.com/  

Visa: 

www.visafever.blogspot.com


Remaining/Haphazardly listed:

http://800score.com/
http://edulix.com/
http://www.testmagic.com
www.syvum.com
www.vyomworld.com
http://www.gistguide.com/
http://www.minibikesonline.com/linkspages/Education.asp
http://www.collegejournal.com/exams/
http://www.onesmartclick.com/exams/gre-gmat-tofel-sat.html
http://www.greguide.com/gre-issue-essay.html
http://www.800score.com/gre-essay.html
http://shivampatel.net/msapp/default.asp
http://www.usaeducationguides.com/?gclid=CKuR_M7R05wCFY0vpAodTRgsJw
http://www.greedge.com/?gclid=CLnNtZfT05wCFQtN5QoddRDBIw
http://msinus.com/gre.htm
http://www.usdreamz.com/2008/12/free-profile-evaluation-for-ms-in-us.html
http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2005/jun/23gre.htm
http://www.universityvisitorsnetwork.com/search_compare.php
http://www.i20fever.com/school.htm

Transcripts Trouble!- VTU!

VTU contact no:
Belgaum code : 0831
Ph nos: 2498136 / 2498135
{I have heard only music n nothing else! But people have responded to many so TRY them!}

DD details:
Get a D.D in favour of " The Finance Officer, VTU, Belgaum "

Amount Calculation: ( you get the same answer anyways!)
1) Rs [(1 * 250) + { (number_of_transcripts_u_need - 1) * 150 }]
2) Rs [(number_of_transcripts_u_need) * (150 + 100 for finance officer)]

For Transcript : ( Reply i got from the VTU registrar)

1. Letter of requisition with the mailing address to the Registrar
(Evaluation), VTU Belgaum.
2. DD for Rs. 150 X No. of Transcripts + 100 favouring Finance Officer,
VTU Belgaum, Karnataka State, India, Payable at Belgaum
3. Zerox copy of All Marks Cards
4. No transcripts will be posted outside India
5. Candidates are required to submit their Indian address only

Transcripts from Belgaum finding their way to your home (Mailing procedure):

MAIL 1 to "re@vtu.ac.in" :
(wait for their reply! dont expect a reply though, but its gr8 if they reply!)

To: "Registrar (Evaluation), VTU"
Subject: Request for transcripts

Dear Sir,

I am a B.E graduate from VTU and have passed out in year. I would be grateful if you would tell me the exact detailed procedure to obtain B.E transcripts from VTU by mailing? Else, could you please give me the link in the VTU site where I can download the transcripts application form?

Awaiting your kind response,

Thank you,
name

MAIL 2 to "re@vtu.ac.in" :
To,
The Registrar (Evaluation)
Examination Section,
Visvesvaraya Technological University,
Belgaum

From,
Name
Complete mailing address
Phone Number
Mail ID

Dear Sir/Madam,

Sub : Requisition for B.E transcripts

I, name, have graduated from VTU with a B.E degree in year. I hereby request you to kindly mail me my B.E transcripts (number of transcripts needed).
My mailing address is as mentioned below.

Your complete mailing address with pincode.

Below furnished are my particulars:

Number of transcripts needed :
Name :
USN :
Year of graduation :
Undergraduate Institution :
Enclosed DD amount :
DD Number :
Photocopies of marks cards from 1 to 8 semesters are enclosed.

Thanks,
Name

Mail to:
The Registrar (Evaluations)
Examination Section,
Visvesvaraya Technological University,
Jnana Sangam,
Belgaum-590018

Enclose with: DD, photocopies

You going to Belgaum (Belagavi) to get your transcripts:

I opted for this because i somehow felt i didn't have that much time that i could get them posted to my house and i needed a change. I don't want to write the whole story but if you want the exact journey details about the "the trip to VTU" you can refer this and this ! U wont get better information from anyone else! However a few words from me and my friend who accompanied me to the VTU!

1. Bus fare: Rs 450+ and Train fare: Rs 250+ from Bangalore. We went by Airavatha. Book at least 3 days prior else you will be in waiting list.
   
2. Identity Proof's are required. Please carry your License/Passport.
3. The local bus numbers going to VTU are : 113,78,161 and122.
4. Name correction and the like might require a sslc marks card. So better carry all your originals with you.
5. Submit documents before 12 o' clock. ==> Reach VTU by 10. ==> Reach Belgaum by 8 ==> Leave a day before.
6. Don't book your return tickets either bus/train before 7 or 8 pm. It gets late many a times.
7. Food at VTU isn't that good. Take your own food.
8. VTU fresh rooms are good, you can directly board a bus to VTU from the main bus stop.
9. There is this hotel called Milan, near Chennamankere circle. It offers an executive room for 2hrs for Rs 200. Breakfast food is good here. VTU is 45 minutes journey from here.
   
10. Belgaum is famous for Kunda and Kardantu. Best place to get them is "Purohit Sweets".
    
11. Ahem Ahem... Panaji is 154 kms from here. Make use of it! :P

Any more doubts you can mail to VTU only. Am sure they will reply. :)

Verbal Nuisance! - GRE

If you have loads of time, then please work on barrons words list. If you don't have the book, any of the following sites mentioned will give you the entire barrons list! I faced two problems- had less time and i couldn't manage to mug more than 8 word-lists. So i chose, Norman-Lewis's Word Power Made Easy! I got a score of 500 in my verbal. If that's fine with you, then u can go for the latter too. Don trouble yourself too much, work more on the quant section for a higher score!

When you are bored you can see through this site.

This is my favorite! I have no particular reason but, i would finish studying words of one alphabet and would take up a test from here! It was sort of fun! Dig into this site and you'll find more helpful stuff!

Guidance n stuff can be got from this site! I didn't refer much from this though.

You can also:
Learn words with Pictures!
Tips to crack Gre !

My tip! - You can enter your mail-id and can subscribe from the following sites and create a label for them in your in-box. Then you can keep looking into these once a while! Trust me, it helps!

Note: If you need any pdf's or e-books, do drop in ur mail id. Will try my best to help you!

Start Offf!- Masters Journey!

Hi all,
I personally had a tough time with this Masters process. So just thought i could help out people like me. Have Fun! Relax! n All The Best! Bonn Voyage! :P {Start with a positive note!}

I would suggest you to start with TOEFL and book your TOEFL dates first! Advantages being,
1) It would boost up your confidence.
2) The preparation for TOEFL is easy. hmmm... quarter of verbal preparation for GRE would suffice for TOEFL!
3) TOEFL scores take much more time to reach than GRE scores.
What more aren't 3 advantages enough to convince you..?? Anyways its your choice! I made a mistake, you needn't repeat it! :P
Registration can be done at Educational Testing Service website: Registration for TOEFL !

Write your GRE. Book your dates at least a month before and i would suggest maximum 2 months before if you are free, else much before if you are working. Registration can be done at the same ETS website : Registration for GRE !

Take a sample test from here, you'll get a faint idea of how GRE exam actually goes. Why i suggested this site was because after you take a test, you will get a call from them, they will tell you how you have fared in it. If you have got a low score, then they will offer to help you out too. If you are satisfied then you can join else chuck it!

Join yahoo groups and GRE forums on orkut! A must join for anyone who even got the thought Masters/GRE/Toefl/USA is the edulix forums!

Download these following 2 applications. They are useful at all times. Not only now!

1. Download Word Web !
2. Download Word Tracker !
   

Calculate your GPA yourself from here. You'll get an aproximate idea as to where you stand and what to do next!

Once the Gre and Toefl exams are over, starts the actual head ache. The "application work"! For this all that is needed is to be a little organized. All i would suggest for this is:

1. An excel sheet - refer this to know how you can make use of the excel sheet here.
   
2. Folder/Cover- a separate one for each university. Just go on dumping into the respective univ folders and one day your application packet will be ready :P
   

Its not that very tough, but as i said a little planning, organization and little more seniors help is required, just to know that you are on the right track.

Preparing for GRE Essays made easy..!!

GRE Essays = Blah.. Blaaahh... Blaaaaaaahhhh :P

The essays section, we particularly needn't worry about much! We have been through essay-writing, letter-writing, diary-entry etc etc in "English" in our school curriculum! But to get the hold of essay-writing for GRE, i just went through the following sites! They are pretty helpful!

If you have a faint idea about essay writing and you want to practice essays and want them evaluated, then click here! There are about 10 practice essays, you can try all of them!

If you are the kind who would give more attention to your verbal n quants and you are sure you just want to read and look into few sample essays prior to your GRE, then you could go for these:

10 sample issue essays!
10 sample argument essays!

If you are the kind who wants only topics n you will practice essays on your own, then the pool of topics are lined here for you,

Pool of issue topics!
Pool of argument topics!

Apart from this you want to read many and many more essays then follow this link!
If u need tips then this!

My preparation was just this much and nothing more! Happy Essay Writing!