fall2016parent

Totally agree.

Our other parent contributor @anailways is happily settled in India after years in US..

phr34k

@fall2016parent- True true.. Well I am honestly not looking at these things, I don't know which place I am heading too. Although I have made a personal promise to myself, that I won't ask my parents for more than a year's money.. And I will do my bets to cover the housing expenses myself.. So lets see ..

Tizil7

Hm, understandable, Ph43k. Personally, I think it is my parent's responsibility to provide a financial base for me, at least at this level of education.

nocensure

I would choose to go to India (despite being a US citizen) hands down after my education. Insult it as much as you want: It's dirty, it's sweaty, there's corruption etc but to be honest I like ALL OF IT. Well I don't like poverty per se but I like India's identity. There's something intangible about it, something vibrant as if its teeming with unadulterated life. Its as if the very air is alive. It can't be found anywhere else. Hindustan meri jaan.

Apoorva95

@phr34k I guess you applied for full financial aid? And If so, which universities did you get into?

Ascaris

I'll have a debt of about 20-30k but there is no way in hell I am remaining in America after my education.

pratyush795

The Middle East is the place to be baby! (not Iraq/ Iran or something like that). No taxes in the GCC. Hell yeah!

And one benefit of settling in the US is that our children probably won't have to face this dilemma :-P

While having enough money CAN give you a pretty good life in India, eventually, in 20 years, with our population increase rates, everywhere will be crowded, and even the rich will have no place to escape to.

Even now, while gated communities provide a sense of security, the real India is always bubbling away under the surface. Disease, poverty will be around for some time, and if we step out of our protected bubbles, they will hit us in the face.

The only decent places to live are hill stations, and I do not think that many MNCs will have offices in places like Mussoorie. Plus even these are getting screwed over with pollution.

Superficial amenities like cars can only placate one for a limited time. Eventually it will be difficult to ignore the reality.

Maybe I've been living outside India for too long and can't handle all this. IDK :-P

mechrockz

I am kinda very well aware of the job scene in US and thus would love to advice that plz consider that what if u are not gonna land up a job in US(most possible outcome ,extremely likely to happen) and have to move back to India then would u be able to easily pay off those loans because any of u ECE or CS engineer may expect to make 80,000-90,000 $ straight out of college but that is nowhere close to the amount ofmoney that any1 can ever make in India as an engineer straight after undergrad or even after 7-8years after undergrad.

The job opportunities in US are a lot better a lot a lot and again a lot better , I mean if working in a cubicle satisfies u than u can say that "India is a land of opportunities"lol but if u wanna be involved in R&D, innovation and want to be heard, then regional head offices of MNC's would look to u like hell.

There are tons of great opportunities, in India in terms of companies that have Indian roots -I mean Indian startups like TCS, SnapDeal,......................................... ..and lots and lots, because these are the companies where u can make urself an invaluable asset for the corporation.

To sum it up-
1)Recognize what the real opportunities are (In India they are not MNC's)
2)Take loans that u can pay off with a job in India
Lets say one can expect to earn 10-14 lacks initially just a rough estimate.
U can totally expect urself to earn say 15-20 by 26 but anyways starting salaries are never gonna be close to what one earns in US
So!!!dont get delighted or excited about the 6 number figures that engineers list on payscale US.
3)Just because US was blown away by recession does not mean that job opportunities in US are not good, Palo Alto , Mountain View,.......-" Bay region " is the place where tech startups took place and it is the place where most head offices are located, I mean if u live the "wanna get a job in MNC dream" then US is the best place for it not the regional head offices, work hard to get a job in US.

mechrockz

I would not suggest any1 to take loans greater than 30000$ it would be a really big risk , really big one trust me.

anriudha

@Person who's taking $150k in loans to go to a US college: Such a bad idea. Unless you're going to a TOP school (like MIT, Stanford, Cornell CS, CMU CS and the like), its a waste. Trust me.

anriudha

And if you're going to a US college to get a 80-90k job, don't. Do undergrad in India, save your parents' money (except if you get into a TOP school, if your parents are really stretching their finances) and then go to the US for a masters. I know people from highly mediocre Indian colleges doing their masters in Information Systems / HCI (for which CMU is number 1) here. So think about it.

Also, US education is never the easier option. Yes, getting in is definitely easier, but getting out is really hard. You need to be ready to work for 11-13 hours per day if you want to do well.

Just my two cents.

mechrockz

I have no idea how cany just any1 of u even compare grad and undergrad , grad aint a substitute for undergrad,I mean my case I am into entrepreneurship and I am not even sure that whether I will complete my undergraduate degree or would dropout( a lot more likely to happen)

Focus on things in near future, dont think that I will do undergrad from some 'x' college and then graduate from Harvard that sounds funny.The farther ahead of time you think the more likely you are gonna commit mistakes and predict wrong.

What I am trying to say is that, recognize what u want
1) Wanna become an entrepreneur- F*** grad school trust me if you have got what it takes to become an entrepreneur, you are gonna realize college is slowing u.
2) Are kinda 'hacker'- F*** undergrad I mean seriously, u are a dumba** hacker if u are pursuing undergrad (A guy pursuing undergrad and calls himself a hacker - is a pen**)
3)Wanna become a CTO someday-Need to have a strong undergrad, strong grad, nice public relations.
4)Wanna become a researcher- Dont settle for anything under a PHD.

anriudha

You can look at grad school as a cheap way of getting into the US.

Also, colleges care more about what you did in your time at X college. My sister was from Mumbai University and got into CMU, Berkeley, Penn and Cornell for her Masters. Go figure.

In addition, I really hope you have a compelling idea for a startup if all you want to do is entrepreneurship. Its easy to say that you want to start a business.

I definitely agree with points 3 and 4 though.

fall2016parent

@anirudh - thanks for putting a dose of reality
Also wanted to add, the salary that folks get here - remember the cost of living is high and 30% goes in tax. Even americans take years to pay off even a $50K loan.

mechrockz

@anirudh I agree that grad school is a cheaper way of getting into US but my point is that why the f*** is getting into U.S. an aim.
Aim must be to attend some nice university build a strong alumni network or anything of such scale.