<p>BTW, I know most of the Indians here on CC have applied for FA. Are there any who didn’t apply for FA?</p>
<p>I know about just Chromey.</p>
<p>^ Me !
Even aniruddh didn’t (I think so…)
itsmylife: You got in UCLA, right? But AFAI remember they don’t give aid. So do you plan on attending UCLA?</p>
<p>@Puttu-My teacher is, well, let me not get into it… I followed the IA criteria to the tee and so got almost full on my IAs. As for the external exams, I never waste time on books. I get straight to solving the questions. IB papers are almost fully numerical, very little of theory. That helps a lot. You tube helps a lot too! Great videos 
If you follow the study guide, you will score a high 7. Seriously, you will.
@Whotoldyou- Need-aware schools are always like that. I searched up UChicago and Middlebury’s official decision threads. Found 1 in a 100 Internationals asking for aid getting in. Relax mate. I haven’t got in anywhere yet. But I’m not fretting. Something good will happen. Justice will prevail over all the money and politics.
Anyone knows when Amherst and Williams are releasing decisions?</p>
<p>@compscifan</p>
<p>I don’t know yet. Most likely I won’t attend. I just applied for the heck of it. It was more like, “Get into a college first, then think about paying for it.” But I applied for FA at all places that I was eligible to do so.</p>
<p>I don’t know why, but I think I got wait-listed at HMC and UChicago only because of FA. Oh, well. </p>
<p>
That just sounds… funny. :p</p>
<p>And Amherst traditionally releases decisions during the week before April 1. No idea about Williams.</p>
<p>@itsmylife99- Haha yeah! Leave it. I’m not gonna die if all the colleges reject/wait list me.</p>
<p>Don’t worry guys everything WILL work itself out! :)</p>
<p>And yeah, didn’t apply for aid…</p>
<p>And yeah, IB Physics is pretty cool. Very very very simple compared to ISC though. I was going thru my friend’s book the other day…</p>
<p>BTW, Have you guys checked out the free classes of engineering departments of CMU, stanford, MIT and UCB available on iTunesU (stands for iTunes-university). They’re awesome !!
They cover Electrical + CS + Mechanical engineering classes of all these univs. Really cool.</p>
<p>Didn’t apply for FA either.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips nishadpotdar! I will try focusing more on the numericals now. I too followed the criteria to the tee but only ended up getting 40/48. :S But my IAs are being sent off for moderation so hopefully they will get moderated up. Which study guide do you use? @ani, IB physics is very different to ISC physics, more practical, which makes it difficult for some of us who have done only ISCE physics to catch up.</p>
<p>congrats desperado and collegebeckons, looking forward to meet u all in Mumbai! :)</p>
<p>@nbagga- Did you also get the TATA scholarship? Congratulations
Hey is this one only for Engineering/Architecture applicants? I guess others get Cornell’s regular FA packages.
@Putturani- I was referring to the IB Diploma Programme Physics Guide. Not the books. This is the IBO’s publication (pdf file) that has all the course details.
As for books, I use Tsokos and 2 books authored by Tim Kirk :)</p>
<p>Cool thanks. I will search for those. Need to start revising now!</p>
<p>@Nishad: Yeah those are the QS rankings. And rankings are subjective right? According to Times Higher Education its Caltech, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Berkeley and Cambridge. I dont know I distinctly felt it was easier for people from my school to get into Cambridge than Caltech. And yeah im aware of Cam’s reputation, its just I think American places are generally better for engineering. Dont you think so?</p>
<p>@Puttrani: Today the weather was even worse >.< And yeah ive been living in SE Asia for the past 4 years :)</p>
<p>Haven’t applied for FA :o</p>
<p>accepted American & GWU, wait listed UVA, waiting on Tufts, Yale, Georgetown now :/</p>
<p>I have noticed in my school too that people get into Oxbridge much more easily compared to any of the top colleges in the US. </p>
<p>I am wondering whether a degree from any of the top liberal arts colleges in the US will be useful if I plan to work in India later on. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>@gohan, I love cold and dreary days so I am enjoying the current weather</p>
<p>@mysticgohan- Yeah rankings are subjective. But QS rankings are exclusively for undergraduate or first degree courses. THE and ARWU look at Grad Schools too. Eg: “It should come as no surprise that Harvard University with its flagship Business School and world-famous John F. Kennedy School of Government tops the social sciences table.” This is what I read on THE’s website. Both are Graduate schools. QS looks more at undergraduate degrees. It’s no surprise that Caltech, with NASA’s Jet propulsion <em>thing</em> tops this ranking.
And rankings don’t really matter. You are so fortunate that you have these tremendous choices. You’re gonna enjoy it big time, wherever you go. But if you have the time and money, the wisest and best thing to do would be to visit these schools. 4 YEARS IS A LONG TIME! REMEMBER, GRADE 9, 10, 11 AND 12 (NOT YET OVER)-THIS IS GOING TO BE THE LENGTH OF YOUR DURATION. This is why I hope you choose the best place :D</p>
<p>“American places are generally better for engineering”. Maybe. I don’t really know. MIT>>>the rest. That’s all I know.</p>
<p>@Puttu-The major drawback of LACs is their notoriously bad reputation in developing countries, specially for not producing graduates who can be in demand in the job market.
Most LAC grads would go on to do research. However, if good internships are done during the vacations and contacts are built with corporates, chances of getting a job are pretty high.
I am not concerned with the job market. All I want is good education. If you go to a top LAC, I don’t think there should be a problem in getting a job. The ease with which you’ll get the job and the pay at which it’ll be offered to you, are, well, different matters :P</p>
<p>
But that is what matters.</p>
<p>I want to work in India/outside the US after graduation so … wonder if I should have applied to more universities. I guess most of you guys are considering big universities, right?</p>
<p>@mysticgohan: I don’t think its fair to say that engineering in the US (or specifically Caltech in your case) is better than engineering in Cambridge. You have to remember that both these universities differ considerably in their teaching methods. In Cambridge you’d have ‘supervisions’ whereas in Caltech most of the teaching is done through lectures and seminars along with a possibility of some one on one time with professors. So I guess if you want to decide between the two it would make more sense to compare these two teaching methods (since they will greatly determine your educational experience in those 4 years). And just otherwise, also compare their location, size, kind of people who usually go there (I know you can’t generalize completely but to an extent you can say that in Cambridge you will find a variety of people who will be interested in other things apart from engineering, that is predicated on your interest to meet people who are into things apart from the sciences). </p>
<p>@itsmylife99: I didn’t apply for aid either (I’m an Indian living in Dubai so I guess they’d still look at my profile as an Indian).</p>