Madeleine

I know I get a summer stipend anyway; research scholarships are additional to this. I read a guy at John Hopkins saying they don't get anything during the summer. You really need to ask about this. Also, keep in mind that we pay about 15% of taxes on fellowships, and the university takes away 20% of your TA wages in taxes.

No summer stipend mentioned?

I'm pretty sure you must apply for F-1 visa from your country of citizenship, so you CANNOT change a toursit visa into an F-1 visa. I don't know about the H1-B. As for the FPGEE, you should ask in the relevant forum: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/fpgee/

Cornell IS in the middle of nowhere. Then again, as Holden said "Ivy League". Plus since there are not many occasions to party, you will have plenty of time to get a great GPA/write a wonderful dissertation :D

First decisions are usually out around mid-February.

If they ask you to send things to the graduate admission office, and others to the department you're applying to, you need to send TWO (2) packages. Why contact them if it is specified on their website that you should send things to the grad.ad. office and others to the department? Straight from the website of UFL: http://gradschool.rgp.ufl.edu/students/application-and-admission.html That's pretty clear: TWO (2) packets.

I studied in two countries, one of which was not English-speaking. The transcripts from the British institution were in sealed envelopes with my name on it - and that was all. As for the other institution, I had copies of my transcripts translated and authentified (the translator was a judiciary translator, and had the right to use a stamp from the Court). I then put the transcripts and the translations in envelopes, sealed them, went to my university, and asked them to put a stamp on the seal - and everything went fine with the universities I applied to. Copies are fine as long as you can get some official stamp on it. And any envelope is fine. If you have transcripts in English in non-official envelopes, let them inside. If the envelopes were not sealed, seal them. Best of luck.

As far as I remember, you do not need a passport number to apply. I just checked my I-20, no passport number either. You'll need it when you apply for a visa. Good luck.

Frankly, that is scary to read "advice" like this. If you get caught, say goodbye to the USA and your degree. aashna, you will have to show that you have enough money before getting your visa. If the university says you need $40'000, you will need to prove you have them/are sure you will have them (because you have a TA/RA for example).

lol, see my avatar for a stressful school :D

I did not even think about not telling about other universities when I applied. So I listed all the universities I was applying too (not many anyway, three Ivies and a State university). I discovered in the end that they were in contact with each other, as the DGS of an Ivy who made me an offer knew that the State university had offered me admission and a financial package, even though I had not mentionned it. So be aware that in certain cases, DGS from different schools are in contact...

You should try and email: enseignement@pasteur.fr to get some more informations. The application process should be the same for international and domestic students. You need to have an MSc or an equivalent degree. You have to know that financial assistance for PhD students in France is rare, and I do not even know if an international student can get any help ("allocation de recherches"). Good luck, and I hope they can give you more accurate answers.

INSEE is the "Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques". I don't think they offer any PhD program. INSA is "Institut National des Sciences Appliquées" (there are several INSAs in France: Lyon, Rennes, Rouen, Toulouse, Strasbourg). These are engineering schools, but they may offer PhD programs in CS. You could also try: Centrale (I do not know how their admission process works, though) Sup'Elec, Polytechnique...

sudeep, that is your university that estimates the living expenses, and this estimation is the same for every student. Your I-20 will read: The cost for attending this school is: Tuitions and fees : $n Living expenses: $x etc. This school has information that Sudeep has: Personal funds: $y Aid from this school: $z Aid from other source: $k On-campus employment: $h So what you earn with your part-time job will be stated on your I-20, and you will have to show (n+x) - (y+z+k+h). Is that alright?

$17'000 + estimated living expenses (university estimation on the I-20). So, between $30'000 and $37'000, depending on where you will be living. I am in the Northeast, small city, the living expenses are $16'150. The aid you receive from the university is stated on the I-20. You will need to show the rest of the money. If aid from university = $17'000, you will need to show the amount stated for the living expenses. I thought that letters from sponsors, bank statements, etc, were enough. If you do not have sufficient funding, your visa will probably be denied. If you have sufficient funding and are able to prove you have, you will get a visa.

Erin, you do not have to apologize. I mean, you provide us with a great forum, free of charge. You try your best to fix any problem that may happen, so complaining and whining would just be plain rude :) I guess that having the forum down from time to time is the unfortunate price of fame :D I hope everything will go fine in the future. Thanks again for this great forum :)

Hello! AFAIK, when you apply for literature programs, you are most of the time automatically considered for a PhD. I do not know. But in "non-profit" programs such as literature, not getting financial aid is equivalent to a polite rejection. Why does your friend not want to take the GRE? It does not matter how he scores, as not scoring well is not too bad for literature programs if he has good academic records. On the other hand, not taking it at all means that he will not be able to apply to lots of universities, as most of them require GRE scores. Therefore, he should take it. Really.

Yes, I think the best thing to do is to tell them frankly that you did not get the original copy for your GRE scores. Maybe you can also try to call ETS one last time?

OK. I guess they don't require GRE scores for every country.

Why do you need the GRE scores for your visa interview? They never mentionned that one should have them :hmm:

I'm ready :) not, I'm really scared :( I hope I'll be good enough :doh:

Appointment made, I-20 to be received on Monday :) Thanks again, pold :tup:

They're going to re-send it via F**ex :blush: And I'm going to schedule the appointment. Thanks a lot, pold :)

pold, they actually sent it on April, 19. And I have not received it :mad: Damn the postal services :crazy:

Hello, I have not received my I-20 yet. I checked the US Embassy website yesterday, the first date for an appointment was June, 30. I just checked again, and the date is now July, 12. Should I take an appointment now or wait? I am afraid if I wait until I actually get my I-20, the only appointments available will be after the date I am due to enroll. What should i do? :(