My decision!

Yes…….my decision! Well friends; first up, let me assure you that I have not come to any decision as yet. To add on to that I would like to REAFFIRM that I have not received any admission offers till now and so a decision is a story tucked away in seemingly distant future. But I was just sitting and thinking of all the places I applied to and how very unique opportunities, each of them present in the form of cultures, climate….and what not! I decided I need to script an article to try and understand how these factors might play a role in the decision I make eventually and also how other prospective applicants with far more options than me right now, might use them to their advantage!

I must confess that my choices were influenced more by the quality of research and the faculty present in the schools I applied to. I guess I have been accustomed to many types of weather and this has made me quite immune to this kind of thought process. To add on, I have lived in metros and smaller towns as well and I have had the good fortune of getting a taste of many cultures right here in India. But I still feel these factors can prove to be very important and worth a little deliberation.

USA is a huge country. In fact I sometimes feel how they managed to keep such a vast country in one piece! But along with size comes other factors which can become important. Imagine a person who belongs to a staunchly Islamic country with women following typical strictures that go with the religion. How will a person coming from such an ultra conservative society fit into a place like Florida Keys!? It is not just about adjusting to this cultural shock – Most of us have the ability to do so, but it is about feeling at home! After all we are going there for our graduate studies; some of us might have to stay there for many years on end. If we are unable to fit in and feel right at home, it might spell havoc on our main motivation and cause even more distress.

Most places in USA are unique. A Texan is as different from a New Yorker as a Mumbaikar might be from a Bengali. I feel it presents unique opportunities which need to be tapped as best as possible.

There are advantages and disadvantages associated with each of the cities and towns in USA. A big town might give us a trans-cultural setting with big restaurants, theatres, concerts and what not, but at the same time a smaller town might provide us with the valuable time (as there will be very few things to do) so that we may focus on the main task at hand – grad studies of course! A larger city might also provide opportunities for those who intend on staying in States for a job (I must confess I don’t qualify in this regard). At the same time a smaller town might have the disadvantage of making you feel away from home (as there will be very few internationals for sure in such a setting). Again, I feel it is a matter of realising what kind of a setting suits one best and then going for it!

Climate can play a very crucial role (probably the most important). My Mumbai based friends find Delhi unbearable in winters. I amuse myself by thinking how they might react in a place like Fairbanks (Alaska). The truth is, it is upto us where we apply. But we must understand these issues and keep them in mind while doing so. A program might be very good wrt research and curricula, but if it makes us live in subzero temperatures all round the year, I will think ten times before applying! The same might hold true for a guy from Russia going to Texas for his higher education (situation exactly reversed). If I am used to wearing Sheepskin coats, it takes time to get used to Texan heat!

Another important factor which I came across in a website and it had me really intrigued is the distance from our homeland. To explain it better let’s imagine two French guys studying in USA – one in New York and the other in San Jose. They would like to come back to their homeland during hols but it makes such a big difference where they stay in USA. New York to San Jose is about 7 hours – now imagine this in the context of a trans-Atlantic flight which takes about 7 hours. So in essence, for the guy in California, it takes twice the time (and additional money – a scarce commodity for grad students) to get home.

Some people prefer staying close to people they like or prefer. In a foreign country, it very easily becomes people from the same place or region. One thing we should always remember is the real plus which a degree in USA provides – the ability to get to know people from all around the world. Ending this post, I would only go on to recommend that life is full of opportunities and vulnerabilities. It is upto us to make the best of all situations and be blissful in the wake.

I hope readers would delve upon this a bit more and add other points which they might come up with! I am afraid I am not that good in 10-second analysis myself and I confess, it is my biggest worry at this point in time!!

Slangs (USA)

I decided to give you guys a healthy (and maybe not so healthy) dose of american slangs as I felt that for prospective grad students planning for USA, it might turn out to be a very important tool. It is not that I profess it’s use in the day to day conversation. It is just that it might happen that we lose track of what’s being said in a conversation of which we are a part! Moreover, I have always found american lingo to be very amusing and hope you guys have fun as well in reading them!

link: http://www.manythings.org/slang/

taster:

What an awesome sunset. (great)

I was blown away by his donation of a million dollars. (greatly impressed)

Put the hammer to the floor or we will be late for the wedding. (accelerator)

It’s OK. Don’t get so bent. (angry)

I hope it is useful. I for one am planning to go through all of them (taking a few months probably, considering how lazy I can get!)

Overrated Careers!!! – stay away!!

As most of you who are regulars would know, I am an avid reader of US News articles and have been chipping in posts here from the same source from time to time! recently, I was going through an article on the best careers of 2008 and saw a link to the most overrated careers. So as curiosity got the better of me, I decided to immediately click and get it done with! So here I am once again giving you things which you probably don’t need to know …. anyhow, I just hope that things which apply to US don’t necessarily do in India and thus would like all of you to seriously understand the pros and cons and the context before deriving any conclusions! Each of the names would take you to a detailed discussion on how exactly the appeal shrouds the reality and also many have interesting videos as well!! So, happy reading. I would post another article tomorrow on the best colleges in 2008. Till then…….have fun!!!

“Attorneys and advertising executives, for example, often find their work is more tedious than outsiders would guess. People enter such careers as teacher or nonprofit manager to make a difference, only to encounter frustrating roadblocks at every turn. And most chefs and small-business owners will find that it’s much more difficult than they imagined to achieve others’ storied success. New to this year’s list are three of the most prestigious careers: physician, medical scientist, and architect. They, of course, are not bad careers, but they have downsides that many career seekers are unaware of, and those drawbacks are becoming ever more serious. That’s why, for each of the jobs on our list, we list an alternative career that might be more rewarding.”

The most overrated careers:

• Advertising executive
• Architect
• Attorney
• Chef
• Chiropractor
• Clinical psychologist
• Medical scientist
• Nonprofit manager
• Physician
• Police officer
• Real estate agent
• Small-business owner
• Teacher

Source: http://www.usnews.com/

Sweet grapes…..always!!!!

Well, I have decided to change for the better. Though I must confess I have been on a rant of sorts (subdued at that), in the last few weeks about the dangers of a graduate course, I felt that It is surely an experience worth rewarding. The very fact that my excitement level has reached a pinnacle (in spite of not getting a single call till now….. ……) made me realize that its all about enjoying the experience the best I can!!! I decided to look for some funny stuff and here’s what I found!!!

“No job, no interviews, and you’re still living at home. But you’re happy. You are a graduate, and that is all that matters. No one needs to know you’re unemployed. You’re alumni. You’ve got your license plate holder — it’s official.
For most college graduates, getting the alumni license plate frame is almost more important than the actual diploma.
Since most people don’t place their diplomas in their car windows, the alumni license plate frame is the next best thing.
The frame is an accomplishment. It shows the world you are so smart you have a college degree.
Chico State’s A.S. Bookstore carries a large selection of alumni frames. They can be found with red, black or silver writing, in different fonts, but all marked with the word alumni.
Alumni are proud of their schools.
Tamara Hobgood, a graduate from University of California, Davis, said, “I want people to know I graduated from Davis. I earned that degree, now I can show it off.”
Long after graduation, when the diploma is hung, and the job hunting begins, the alumni license plate frame is still on the car. A graduate drives this car, and that’s all that matters.”
by – Stephanie Carmichael

Guess I would sit and design one for myself right now…..even before I get admitted!!!!!….photoshop, here I come!!!

Future Trends in Higher Education!!! – Part-3

Continued from the previous post…..

Expectations/Value/Accountability

• Cost of attendance. Tuition will continue to rise. Affordability will continue to be a major issue and public pressure will increase to hold rates down. The concern will continue that higher tuition will keep some students from attending, and will force others to attend part time, reducing their chances of completing a degree. Public institutions will begin to use price sensitivity as part of their analysis of affordability.
• Accountability. At the state and federal level, accountability will continue to be defined, at least in part, as keeping tuition as low as possible. Performance measurement and assessment, and demonstrations of efficiency, i.e., easy credit transfer among institutions, will continue to be top issues. Traditional structures may be changed, i.e., with new, flexible charters with states in exchange for more accountability.
• Private benefit. Over a 20 year period, the benefit of college was estimated at more than $2 million in 2003; compared with $1 million in 1977, and is expected to continue to increase. The difference in median entry-level wage for a college vs. high school education was $26,900 annually in 2003 dollars. (Mercatus Center for the U. S. House of Representatives March 1, 2004). The gap in income grew from 31% in 1979 to 66% in 1997 between college and non-college educated people.
• Economic impact and public benefit. Institutions will need to show how they leverage the investment in higher education into jobs. (In FY 2004, the UT System collectively made a $12.8 billion impact on the Texas economy, generating 215,700 jobs. For every dollar in initial spending, an average of 44 additional cents was spent within host regions. Of this, UT System health institutions were estimated to add $7.7 billion and 112,200 jobs to the Texas economy; 60 percent of the total UT System economic impact.)
• Impact of technology transfer. Research universities and health centers will continue to make a significant impact on regional economies through transfer of discoveries into the marketplace. Expansion will require institutional systems and policies to support the development of complex partnerships, and laws and public policies that favor technology transfer.

Science and Technology

• New cross-disciplinary research fields. Biological sciences, medicine, mathematics, and engineering – new scientific fields will continue to raise critical policy issues, cloning and stem-cell research.
• Science workforce. Proposals and initiatives will continue to address the weakening of science/technology education and the workforce. For example, the Association of American Universities recommends a comprehensive, multi-agency national defense education initiative be developed aimed at stemming national educational deficiencies and encouraging more U.S. students to study in critical fields of knowledge. AAU recommends that the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation – the federal agencies with primary responsibility for national security and scientific research and education – play a central role in the coordination of this initiative working closely with the Department of Education and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Ways of Doing Business

• Integrated global economy. Outsourcing is not limited to manufacturing and help centers. High valueadded services like education, tax preparation, medical diagnostics, and legal services are already going to India – could U.S. universities outsource research? Data collection?
• Wireless access is on the rise; the market is likely to go over $200 million n the next three years; 79 percent of campuses have wireless networks. The convergence of wireless devices is speeding up, and eventually the U.S. will have to adopt global standards. Powerlines will be the way that people will get access into their houses; the rural-urban divide will disappear. Students are expecting more technical support for a range of devices they bring to and use on campus. Should campuses have “computer health insurance” plans for students?
• Collaborative research partnerships (government/university; business/university; university/university) will increase and become increasingly complex.
• Compliance and legal issues, fueled by attention to corporate ethics, will continue to have a high profile: hyperregulation; crisis management; real estate and construction; employment flexibility and faculty tenure and rank; entrepreneurial activities.

Human Resources

• Aging faculty. While the national population is aging as a whole, factors specific to academe magnify the trend. Ten years have passed since Congress ended mandatory retirement. Many professors hired during the great expansion of academe in the 1960s and 70s are now reaching their golden years. And, because many people are living longer, and need financial resources to do so comfortably, more and more professors are delaying retirement, some of them indefinitely.”
• Part-time faculty will be recruited increasingly to teach where numbers or background of regular faculty do not match demand.

Fiscal and Capital Resources

• Cost of doing business will increase; so will search for ways to save money. The cost of doing business in U.S. higher education will continue to increase faster than the rest of the economy; the building boom will slow (money won’t go as far; state support will slacken); energy efficiency will return to the forefront as one way to control costs in new and aging buildings; sustainable and green design will become more cost-effective.
• State and federal funding. State and federal funding for public higher education is likely to continue to decline relative to funding of other major obligations.
• Financial aid. Increases have slowed in federal research funding; the amount available may actually be cut in the 2006 budget. Institutions will compete even more for dwindling funds.
• Private philanthropy will be an increasingly important and strategic source of funding as state and federal resources decline. Competition for private giving will increase; large campaigns will be announced by increasing numbers of campuses. Will contributions keep up with the need? They increased 3.4 percent in 2004, when most half of the $24.4 billion raised came directly from individuals, representing a 9.7 percent increase from the previous year. Alumni giving, the traditional base of higher education giving, increased only 2 percent, but gifts from individuals other than alumni shot up by 21.5 percent.
• Debt financing. Tuition Revenue Bonds (TRBs) comprise approximately 10 percent of the UT System’s five-year, $4.9 billion Capital Improvement Program and Permanent University Fund debt program have the highest possible credit ratings from each of the three major national rating agencies. The ability to utilize TRBs, and for the state to reimburse TRB debt service, will play a critical role in the ability of public universities in Texas to maintain their credit worthiness and to provide the capacity to expand facilities to meet growing demand.
• Facility expansion. Based on demographic projections, the UT System estimates that by 2030, enrollment in UT System academic institutions (except UT Austin) will increase by approximately 79,000 students by 2015 and by at least 116,000 students by 2030, if THECB enrollment targets to “close the gaps” are met. On average, each student will require 145 gross square feet of E&G space; the resulting space deficit is estimated at between 18 million to 27 million square feet of new E&G space by 2030, at a cost of $4 billion to as much as $7 billion.
• IT investments. Spending on technology has begun to slow; productivity promises have arrived and technology may not be able to contribute much more to efficiency of educational delivery; public institutions cannot continue to pour money into hardware.

The credit for this entire article goes to

The University of Texas System
Office of Institutional Planning and Accountability

Future trends in Higher Education!!! Part-1

Going through the University of Texas at Austin website, I accidently stumbled upon this informative piece which I now present to you in different parts (to tackle the sheer size of the article!). I must confess that there have been some changes in the past few years (this article dates back to Sept, 2005) but most of the insights presented are still valid!

Trends Affecting Higher Education

1. International Economics and Geopolitics:

• Income gaps. Internationally, the gap between “haves” and “have-nots” is growing. The divide between rural areas and cities is also growing. In the U.S., intergenerational mobility is no longer increasing.These trends may be weaker in the United States than in other parts of the world, but will have a growing impact on domestic education and business.
• Changing leadership and conflict. While the United States may sustain its position as an economic, education, philanthropic, and military leader, the European Community and China will become even stronger economically. Increasing demands for energy, compounded by turbulence across Islamic countries, and military conflict, economic destabilization, and health crises across much of Africa, will present security and health challenges for decades to come.
• International students. Foreign enrollments in U. S. postsecondary institutions are at their lowest level since 1971; major graduate programs report a drop of 6 percent in foreign enrollments, with sharpest drops among students from India, China, and Japan. China and India are rapidly building their own higher education infrastructure. This trend is seeing a reversal of sorts since the last two years….most likely due to the lessening of the heat after 9/11.

2. Market Competition

• It’s A Flat World, After All – technology-fueled convergence. In his latest vision of the future, Tom Friedman writes that the world is in the midst of a convergence of new players, on a new playing field, developing new processes for horizontal collaboration that is the most important force shaping global economies and politics in the early 21st century. Global competition for knowledge work is accelerating as a result of 10 politically and technology- driven forces (1. 11/9/1989 — fall of Berlin Wall; 2. 8/9/1995 – day Netscape went public (compounded with laying of fiber-optic cable across the oceans) and benefited countries that could not invest in it); 3. Y2K and development of “Workflow” software and middle ware that connects computers worldwide; 4. outsourcing; 5. offshoring; 6. open-sourcing; 7. insourcing; 8. supply-chaining; 9. “Informing” – a new form of collaboration, like Google, Yahoo, and other search engines; 10. wireless access and voice over Internet protocol so you can do voice, data, etc. anywhere from any device. … America is not really ready for this.
• Political and economic convergence. Three billion more people have entered “into the game,” as China, India, Russia, Eastern European, Latin American, and Central America as their economies and political systems opened up during the 1990s. Leaders in India and China want to race us to the top. Nothing guarantees that Americans or Western Europe will continue leading the way.
• Ambition, numbers, and education gaps. We face a “quiet crisis” eating away at America’s scientific and engineering base: 1. an ambition gap — “the entitlement we need to get rid of is our sense of entitlement”; 2. a numbers gap — we are not producing enough engineers and scientists, and fewer are coming to be trained here; 3. an education gap – business can find better skilled and more productive workers (not just cheaper labor) elsewhere.
• Resources. Higher education cannot count on increases in public funding from state or federal sources;new ways of funding capital and program growth will be necessary.
• For profit and virtual institutions. Traditional institutions are losing their monopoly on higher education. The industry is becoming deregulated. For profits and distance education universities are dwarfing enrollments in traditional schools abroad, in some cases for considerably less than the cost of traditional instruction. The University of Phoenix enrolls 200,000 students, and will expand to 500,000 by 2010. It has used automated processes to address the challenges of geographic growth across 37 states. Forty percent of admissions decisions are made without human intervention; the rest are handled by admissions officers working from home. By FY 2006, it will have a fully automated degree audit process for students to use if they meet all requirements for graduation.
• International credit transfer. Global students will want to move their learning credits across all boundaries. The first country that recognizes this and allows easy transfer will capture a large chunk of future learners.
• Security. Response to security issues has had a negative impact on US institutions’ ability to attract leading international students and researchers. Leading academic, science and engineering associations are renewing a call for the U.S. government to accelerate its effort to reform the visa process for international students, scholars, and researchers.

3. Health and Health Institutions

• Fiscal constraints will continue, brought about by escalating health-care costs, unsponsored care, cost of technology, decreased reimbursement for clinical services.
• Sustainability of correctional managed care. The proportion of Medicare and indigent care in the payer mix will increase over coming 4-5 years; managed care and commercial sources will decline Workforce shortage, particularly in nursing, but also physicians and non-health care professionals (information technology, laboratory technicians, etc.) caused by declining enrollments, aging and retiring workforce, and an older and sicker population requiring more nurses.
• Increased demand and capacity limitations for services for an aging population.
• Emerging health threats. Bioterrorism; obesity, mental health challenges; exploding health care costs; highest rate of uninsured patients; rapid population growth; low immunization rate; challenges of border region; sharp health disparities; substance abuse. (Texas is at the 50th percentile of the national average in per capita public health expenditures; a goal would be to move the state to 75% of the national average by 2010.

Source :
The University of Texas System 1
Office of Institutional Planning and Accountability

Website: http://www.utsystem.edu/

I pray to god everyday!!!!!!

Well guys! Lately I have somehow stepped into this completely new phase of my life where there is not a single day when I don’t pray to God. But surely I would like to continue doing the same even in the states (provided I get an admission first…..;-)…….). However if not for me, then for everybody else……..here is a city wise list of temples in US. I concede that it is not very exhaustive but it does provide some useful information.

TEXAS

miscellaneous
ISKCON
807-A E. 30th St
Austin, TX
(512) 320-0372
5.0
Shree Rajeshwari Temple
Austin, TX
(512) 288-7180
5.0
Hindu Temple of Central Texas
P.O. Box 3162
Temple, TX
NA
27.2
Islamic Society of South Texas
3419 N. Western Ave
McAllen, TX
(956) 618-4180
51.2
Shri Swaminarayan Temple
11321 Webbs Chapel Rd
Dallas, TX
(214) 243-8669
75.0
ISKCON
5430 Gurley Ave
Dallas, TX
(214) 827-6330
75.0
Marthoma Church of Dallas FB
Dallas, TX
(972) 445-0188
75.0
Jain Society of North Texas
538 Apollo
Richardson, TX
(214) 470-0606
75.4
Indian Catholics of Houston
Houston, TX
(713) -995-6811
144.9
Islamic Society of Greater H…
Main Center 3110 Eastside Dr
Houston, TX
(713) -524-2045
144.9
Islamic Society of Greater H…
17250 Coventry Park Dr
Houston, TX
(281) 859-8203
144.9
Jain Society of Houston
3905 Arc St
Houston, TX
(713) 789-2338
144.9
Satya Sai Baba Center
2929 Unity Dr
Houston, TX
(281) 370-0145
144.9
Vivekananda Vedanta Society
5906 Cypress
Houston, TX
(713) -270-1127
144.9
Zoroastrian Association of H…
Houston, TX
(281) 449-1832
144.9
American Federation of Musli…
Houston, TX
(281) 980-7127
144.9

Arya Samaj Greater Houston
14375 Schiller Rd
Houston, TX
Hare Krishna Dham
1320 W. 34th St
Houston, TX
Shri Swaminarayan Temple
1150 Brand Ln
Stafford, TX
Ramakrishna Vedanta Center
1338 Edenderry
Missouri City, TX

Meenakshi Devasthanam
17130 McLean Rd (C.R 104)
Pearland, TX
Islamic Society of Greater H…
4506 North Main
Baytown, TX

I have covered Texas…Just covering one state made me realize that surely the number of temples in US is going to be too large for me to post here………………….If anybody wants any extra information about other states ……. ….then either contact me through mail or use the source : http://yp.usaindians.com/