Opening Doors to Success

VOLUME LXIII NUMBER 2

https://spanmag.com

30 2 Courtesy San Diego State University CONTENTS Courtesy U.S. Consulate General Mumbai

2* Opening Doors to Success 8 * Building Your Application Avatar 10 * Finding the Right Fit 14 * Electing Your Major 17 * Building Global Careers 20 * Keys to Success: Planning and Research

22 * Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate and More 27 * Acing Your Interview 30 * Getting a Student Visa to Study in the U.S. 32 * Getting Ready to Go 34 * Maintaining Legal Status 36 * Studying During the Pandemic 38 * A Bearcat for Life

40 * Vibrant Campus Life of U.S. Universities

22

Courtesy Barnard College

40

Courtesy Foothill and De Anza Colleges

Editor in Chief Michael L. Cavey Editor Deepanjali Kakati Hindi Associate Editor Giriraj Agarwal Urdu Associate Editor Syed Sulaiman Akhtar English Copy Editor Krittika Sharma Art Director/ Production Chief Hemant Bhatnagar Deputy Art Directors / Production Assistants Qasim Raza, Shah Faisal Khan Front cover: Photograph courtesy U.S. Consulate General Mumbai

Printed and published by Gloria F. Berbena on behalf of the Government of the United States of America and printed at Infinity Advertising Services (P) Ltd., Plot No.-171 & 172, Sector58, Faridabad 121004 and published at the Public Affairs Section, American Embassy, American Center, 24 K.G. Marg, New Delhi 110001. Opinions expressed in this 44-page magazine do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Government.

U n i v e r s i t y S t a t e O h i o M c C u l t y / T h e J o

Right: Students at the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and

Chemistry Building at The Ohio

State University. The graduate program in molecular, cellular and developmental biology prepares students for careers as research scientists and educators in an academic or industrial environment.

OpeningDoorsto

By STEVE FOX

The high quality of education, flexibility in curriculum and networking opportunities make U.S. higher education a unique value proposition.

Every year, thousands of Indian students seeking a high-quality education choose to attend a college or university in the United States. In fact, for the 2020-2021 academic year, almost one in every five international students in the United States was from India, according to the Open Doors Report produced annually by the Institute of International Education. Ahigh-quality education has many components, including a flexible curriculum that enables and encourages students to select majors and classes that meet their individual needs, top-notch research facilities, dedicated mentors, co-op programs that provide realworld experience, accessible financial aid and scholarships, an emphasis on critical thinking, and research opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students. On the personal side, international students benefit from specific services that facilitate cultural assimilation, provide volunteering opportunities, look after their physical and mental health, and help students build professional networks before they even graduate. It’s a tall order, but one that U.S. universities and colleges fulfill every year.

Courtesy Foothill College

Photographs by Jo McCulty/The Ohio State University

A world of options

Part of the reason students choose to study in the United States is the large number of schools available to international students— there were 3,982 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States as of the 2019-2020 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

“Students have vast options from which they can choose,” says Aditi Lele, an EducationUSAadviser in Mumbai with the United States-India Educational Foundation who received her Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas.

“There are small, medium and large universities, some in cities and some in more rural settings,” she says. “There are public and private universities. There are community colleges, where you study for two years, get an associate’s degree and then go on to a fouryear university. You can also choose universities that offer more financial aid to international students. It all depends on what your academic requirements and personal preferences are.”

Arsh Thaker, who began his higher

Above right: Students planning to pursue higher studies at U.S. universities have many options to choose from, including smaller institutions like Foothill College and large public land-grant research institutions like The Ohio State University (right). Above left, far left and left: The high-quality education at U.S. universities has many components, including top-notch research facilities, dedicated mentors and an emphasis on critical thinking.

Courtesy Foothill College

Go Online

Foothill College

https://foothill.edu

San Diego State University

www.sdsu.edu

University of Notre Dame

www.nd.edu

The Ohio State University

www.osu.edu

University of South Florida

www.usf.edu

EducationUSA

educationusa.state.gov

VasenkaPhotography/Courtesy Flickr

Courtesy San Diego State University

Top: With more than one million books, serials, media titles, ebooks and databases, the Love Library at San Diego State University supports the needs of students for research, activities and collaborations. Above: At San Diego State University, students get hands-on experience, which helps apply classroom knowledge in realworld settings. education at Foothill College, a community college in the Silicon Valley town of Los Altos Hills in California, found that starting small made adjusting to life in the United States easier.

“Studying at Foothill College made me independent and taught me to adapt,” says Thaker, who later transferred to San Diego State University, a four-year school. “I experienced high-quality teaching and support even though I was at a community college, and this made my transition to the United States easier. Access to counselors and the STEM center enhanced my educational experience. The small class size allowed me to work closer with my professors, which was helpful.”

For Vaibhav Arora, who is studying computer science engineering at the University of Notre Dame, located in South Bend, Indiana, meeting professionals in his field was an extra bonus.

“I not only had resources to apply what I learnt in the classrooms to the real world but there were also a lot of opportunities to meet people in the industry and bounce ideas off a lot of senior, knowledgeable professionals, allowing me to explore multiple perspectives and learn a lot more about problem solving in the industry,” Arora says.

Ananya Potlapalli, a business major on the pre-law track at The Ohio State University, found opportunities from a variety of sources.

“Studying in the United States can be a great opportunity to broaden your horizons and get a very unique college experience,” says Potlapalli. “You have opportunities to

When you arrive on campus you have the freedom and flexibility to get involved in the things you are interested in and create incredible communities and experiences.

learn so much in and out of the classroom through classes, student organizations, internship opportunities and more. When you arrive on campus you have the freedom and flexibility to get involved in the things you are interested in and create incredible communities and experiences.”

Nirmita Roy, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of South Florida (USF), hopes to be an example for other women.

“Always believing that more women are needed as engineers, I took up the opportunity to engage in research and graduated with a (master’s) thesis under the guidance of my supervisor,” says Roy. “Since graduation, I worked with Renesas Electronics America for two-and-a-half years and decided to come back to USF to enhance my research and skills with a Ph.D. I want to inspire more girls and women to become engineers to break the stereotype.”

Support networks

Lele stresses that U.S. universities help international students look ahead to their careers after graduation while also working to ensure that they are comfortable during their time on campus.

“U.S. universities put a lot of resources into helping students prepare for success,” she says. “They have state-of-the-art career management centers, alumni networks and additional resources like mental and physical health support services. They care about their students’emotional well-being.”

International students will find a tolerant and welcoming environment at U.S. universities, Lele says, with many opportunities to broaden their horizons. “U.S. universities promote diversity, both in the student body and in the faculty,” she says. “They are a great place to meet people from other parts of the world.”

Steve Fox is a freelance writer, former newspaper publisher and reporter based in Ventura, California. Below: Students at the University of Notre Dame. U.S. universities are a great place to meet people from many parts of the world. Bottom: The University of Notre Dame offers a variety of programs for undergraduate, professional and graduate students.

Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame