BASIC FAQs for MS/MSE in USA

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FAQs:

1) Common Abbreviations used in this page:

2) I have got admission in San Diego State University and Arizona State University. I am planning to do my MS in Electrical Engineering. Which shall I choose?

3) What do I need to work on before I come?

4) What is the best course for DSP and Communication folks to start with?

5) What is GPA and credit hour? Can your explain me the education system?

6) How much money do I take and how do I carry them when I first come to USA?

7) How do I reach school and where do I stay when I land from the flight?

8) I am planning to take EEE-554 (Random Signal Theory) but EEE-554 has a pre-requisite course which is EEE-350(Random Signal Analysis). Do I need to register for EEE-350 as well? Can I register for EEE-350 and EEE-554 together in the same semester.

9) I am applying to universities in US for my MS. what do I need to do?

10) Can you give me a sample of the some necessary documents like reco letter, SOP, cover letter, CA statement and so on?

11) Where can I get DS forms? Can you help me fill my DS forms? 12) What do I do, MS with/without thesis or PhD?

13) I want to travel to India. How do I buy tickets to go?

14) Renewal of Indian Passport in USA.

FAQs
1) Common Abbreviations used in this page:

SOP - Statement of Purpose

RA - Research Assisstanceship

TA - Teaching Assisstanceship

GA - Graduate Assisstanceship

GPA - Grade Point Average

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2) I have got admission in San Diego State University and Arizona State University. I am planning to do my MS in Electrical Engineering. Which shall I choose?

Before I go ahead with the answer, I'd like to stress on the fact, that I was in SDSU for 1 semester (before I transferred to ASU) and my experience may not do justice to the worth of the university.

SDSU: it has a beautiful Campus and is excellent for communication. It has excellent job opportunities. that is what makes San Diego state university lucrative. competetion is indeed less. its a smaller university. on the other hand, you will not get to work any funded project. there are relatively less chances of RA/TA etc., though recently I have known friends who had been lucky with those. I, personally, saw no hopes of funding there. However, you will get the chance of getting internships in good companies. Qualcomm happens to be one of the major recruiters. I knew of one professor, in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who is related to industries, Dr. Fredric J Harris. The dept. chair, Dr. Tummala is an excellent advisor. The school is fine if you want to do communication and are not looking forward to research oriented career. It a word of wisdom that San Diego is an expensive city but it is not much of a difference if you are a student and are willing to share apartments. Personally, there had been no difference for me in my monthly expenses. The weather is excellent and its one of the most beautiful cities of the world. Its a paradise to live there.

ASU: this is in the middle of hot desert, in Tempe. The university is in the downtown of this city and not that beautiful but it has its own attractions. ASU happens to be one of prime schools as far as electrical is concerned. This university has a lot of funding and a lot of research scope. there are quite a few good professors here. Phoenix also has a lot of companies, comparable to California. If you consider research, then this is a much better option. Of course, your would have heard that this place is very suitable for circuit guys, but that is not the only career. Signal processing career is also quite nice, though it may not be as attractive as in San Diego. but you can still seek jobs in San Diego (exactly what my roommate has done lately) and there is nothing that restricts you from availing the best of every state. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of strong students and the atmosphere is extremely professional and competitive. In addition, you do have a lot of RA/TA/GA opportunities here. But, to get a TA here, you need to have taken TSE. Its compulsory. So if you are deciding to come here, taking TSE would be a worthy investment before you fly.

My personal experience as a transition from SDSU to ASU is that you may get a lot of easy going and nice friends there but all you have in store here are professional associates. even today, my real good friends are in san diego and barely any here. Before you kill yourself trying to evaluate universities, all that matters at the end of the term is your performance and how much you have learnt. So stress more on the courses available and the research that the professors are doing.

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3) What do I need to work on before I come?>

The are a lot of advices regarding this around the world, but all that I feel is most important are the following:

- Learn to cook good food
- Help your mom do the dishes and clean the house. It would come very handy.
- Learn to iron your clothes and polish your shoes.
- Learn to manage your finances and have confidence in what you do.
- Quit smoking if you can, otherwise it may turn out expensive. Smoke is expensive here.
- Enjoy your mom's cooking. You may crave for it after you come. Stay with your family as much as you can. More than you, your parents will miss you.

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4) What is the best course for DSP and Communication folks to start with?

If you have taken SDSU, please do not forget to start with Linear System Theory and Design. Dr. Sridhar Sheshgiri offered it and it was very helpful. Digital Signal Processing is and Random Signal Theory are good to start with. Before starting, make sure you have discussed your career interests with your advisor. Check course list (ex: School of Electrical Computer and Energy Engneering page and https://sec.was.asu.edu/soc/?year=2006&term=7)

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5) What is GPA and credit hour? Can your explain me the education system?

Each subject is called a course. Each course is worth certain points called credit hours or semester hours. You will observe that most of the courses are worth 3 credits. As a student of MS, you will have to complete 30 credits. If you are doing MS with thesis, you need to do 24 credit hours from course work, 3 credits for research and 3 credits for thesis. Research and Thesis are commonly counted together as 6. 

You would be wondering what is 500 level, 600 level courses people are talking about. Well, different Universities have different conventions. In ASU, 100 to 400 level courses are Undergraduate courses. 500 and upwards are considered graduate level courses. However, there are certain 400 level courses (max of 12 credits) that can be taken by a graduate student and will be coded as 591. For example, undergrad maths courses can read as MAT 101, MAT 201 and so on whereas if you have graduate maths courses, they will read as MAT 501, MAT 601 and so on. Along with the courses related to your specialization you need to have 6 credits from out of specialization courses. For instance, if your specialization is DSP and Communication, courses from Control Engg or VLSI can serve as out of specialization. These are referred to breath requirements.

There are different schemes of examination that we might not be aware of before. We have open book exams, open notes exam, take home exams and our formal way of examination as well.

GPA is your score. There are different scales on which GPA can be calculated. ASU and SDSU for example, does on a scale of 4. GPA 3.5 on a scale of 4 means you have got 3.4 out of 4. At the end of the semester, you will be given Grades 'A', 'B', 'C' ... Some professors also give +/- like 'A-' and so on. each grade corresponds to certain points, for example, A = 4 on a scale of 4. The following example shows how GPA is computed:-

Suppose you have scored 'A' in 3 credit subject and 'B' in a 2 credit subject. then you cumulative point is 4x3+3x 2 = 18 (assuming A=4 and B=3). So, your GPA will be 18/(3+2) = 3.6. The total points come in the numerator and the total credits go at the denominator.

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6) How much money do I take and how do I carry them when I first come to USA?

Well, this is a very subjective question. Ideally, you will need about $500 a month for your expenses as a student. Then how much ever more you want to spend, is up to you. I suggest, you carry the school fees in DD drawn in favor of the school (verify before you draw it). You need not get all the amount mentioned in the I-20. Just get 1st semester fees. Carry $3000 for your 6 months expenses in the 1st semester. If you need to take a cell phone, you may need to have $700 more more security deposit and stuff like that (if you need the phone in your name). Also, its good to keep $200 extra for paying security deposit when you sign the lease of an apartment.

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7) How do I reach school and where do I stay when I land from the flight?

First thing you need to do is go to International Students' Office and report your arrival. You need to have contacted Indian Students' Association of your school (in ASU, https://sites.google.com/site/isaasu/home/ ) and find out guys staying there. They will offer you temporary accommodation for a week. You need to finalize a place to stay by then. According to the Law here, in a single bedroom apartment, not more than 2 people and in a 2 bedroom apartment, not more that 4 people are allowed to sign the lease. There may be more occupants, but they are going to stay illegally or as a guest. It is not that serious an issue as some apartment managements do not mind any number of occupants. Some of them however, can be strict about it. But there are always ways around everything in USA if you are smart.

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8) I am planning to take EEE-554 (Random Signal Theory) but EEE-554 has a pre-requisite course which is EEE-350(Random Signal Analysis). Do I need to register for EEE-350 as well? Can I register for EEE-350 and EEE-554 together in the same semester.

The prerequisites are generally for you to know what you can expect from the course. Professors are not very particular generally. In fact, in your case, since (I guess) you have Electronics or Instrumentation or Telecomm background, they assume that you would know EEE-350. You do not have to take it. People coming from a different background like Civil and similar may need to take such prerequisites. However, you are free to take any course you want but a 300 level course will not be counted as course towards the completion of your MS/MSE. So, it would be a waste of money to take the course if you really are not keen on learning it. Prerequisites and the actual subject can't be taken in the same semester. If your professor wants you to take prerequisite, then they would expect you to have completed and passed the course before you can take the actual course. In your case, if you want, you may take it in the same semester as i'm sure your professor will not expect you to take a prerequisite for EEE-554. So I suggest, don't take EEE-350 and go directly for EEE-554.

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9) I am applying to universities in US for my MS. what do I need to do?

You should start by short listing at least 4 universities of your choice. Remember to include best, good and average and lower ranking schools to be on the safer side. Take GRE and TOEFL examinations. You can visit ETS for enquiries about other exams. You would need to send the scores to the universities you are applying. You have the option of sending the scores free of cost to 4 universities at the time you are taking the test. Each university has an application package requirement. Check the their requirements and the deadline for application. Different universities have different application deadlines and they are strict about it. Please watch out for that. You can apply to as many universities you want. Make sure you call up ETS to forward your scores to every university you apply. I would advise you NOT to resort to mail requests to send scores. Just make a call to ETS, that's the most reliable way.

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10) Can you give me a sample of the some necessary documents like reco letter, SOP, cover letters, CA statement and so on?

Some sample documents are as follows:
 - Cover letter
 - Statement of Purpose
 - CA statement
 - Recommendation letter
 - Contacting professor after admit
 - Visa cover Letter

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11) Where can I get DS forms? Can you help me fill my DS forms?

You will need DS-156 (pdf version), DS-157 (only in pdf) and DS-158 (only in pdf). DS-156 can be filled online and then printed, whereas the other two are available in pdf formats only. It is highly recommended that the forms (even the pdf) are filled on a computer and then the printed filled forms should be produced at the visa office. They DO NOT prefer hand written stuff. For more information, you can visit http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html This document will help you fill the DS forms. Click here.

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12) What do I do, MS with/without thesis or PhD?

This is a serious question. Before selecting the degree, you need to really know what your intentions are. If you are looking for research career and you do not have masters, you need to take up MS with thesis. If you just want to have a masters degree and want to work, MSE (MS with non thesis) will do. Regarding getting a job, they should not matter seriously. If you are taking MS, you will need to do 24 credits of course work and 6 credits of research and thesis. For MSE, you will need to do 30 credits of course work and take a comprehensive exam (that will have questions from all the topics you would have studied). Its a formal exam!! For PhD, the requirements are different. You can also enroll in direct PhD program where you can earn and MS in passing and a PhD. Please refer to the Graduate School page

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13) I want to travel to India. How do I buy tickets to go?

See the link here. It gives you a list of travel agents. There is no guarantee about their reliability.

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14) How do I renew my Indian Passport in USA?

Search on google for "consulate general of india" and choose the nearest consulate. All the instructions are available in the website. Follow the instructions and proceed carefully. Don't expect to get through on phone or email. It does not work. You might feel they are not responsive, but they are responsible. You will get your passport. It might sometimes take as long as a month!!

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Last updated on: April 17, 2007.