Universities & admissions - Application process Questions

Yes, strongly consider it. Your US citizenship eliminates F-1 visa limits, employer sponsorship needs and H-1B lottery risk, and makes you eligible for FAFSA federal aid. Real challenges remain around out of state tuition, holistic admissions, and adjusting to independent daily living.

Yes, this is standard practice: US universities require a non-refundable deposit, usually $100 to $1,000, before issuing your I-20, and you cannot pay the SEVIS fee or book your visa interview without that I-20, though many schools refund the deposit or defer admission if your visa is denied.

An average profile without published papers does not block you: target coursework-only or professional MS and MEng tracks, build a public GitHub portfolio with deployed projects, aim above 167 on the GRE quant section, and shift your recommendation letters toward coding and problem-solving strength instead of research.

Enter your marks exactly as shown on official CBSE report cards without converting to US grades, select the exam-based education system, use final board results for grade 10, mark grade 12 as in progress with predicted scores, and check the box confirming your school does not rank students.

Register with an approved evaluator such as NASBA NIES or WES, pay the fee, and upload your own scanned documents, then have your Indian university send official transcripts directly to that agency using your reference ID, since evaluation typically takes four to eight weeks after documents arrive.

Yes, this is realistic and the standard US pathway: most PhD programs admit students straight from a bachelor's, folding master's coursework into the first two years while fully funding tuition, a stipend of roughly thirty to forty five thousand dollars a year, and health insurance through research or teaching assistantships.

Under the reported Compact for Academic Excellence directive, universities face a fifteen percent overall cap on international undergraduates with a five percent sub-cap per country. Because Indian students form the largest international group, this sharply increases competition among Indian applicants, coinciding with a steep reported drop in F-1 visas issued.

Application fee waivers rarely apply to international MS in CS applicants at UC or CSU schools, since most categories target domestic or undergraduate cases. Once enrolled, a Teaching Assistantship at twenty five percent time or higher covers in-state tuition and a stipend, though UC students still owe the non-resident surcharge.