<p>Hey Guys,</p>
<p>I am sure most of us have already accepted the admission offer from the university of our choice and are now eagerly starting the long paper work (visas, contracts etc. lol). I guess it would be great if we could post our queries and answer those of those of others in this thread.</p>
<p>So go ahead and post any query ranging from those related to the visa to buying airline tickets and so on.</p>
<p>All the Best!</p>
<p>Hey Pals,</p>
<p>I wanted to know if it is possible to apply for a F-1 visa before the final transcripts (12th) come in? I ask this because I might be getting my transcripts around mid-June, so wondered if that would be late to apply for a visa then ;)</p>
<p>Hey, of course june isn’t too late! I think the I-20 is sent by colleges in June only. You’ll get your visa pretty soon after the interview.</p>
<p>That reminds me, my college is giving me the option of getting the I-20 in May if I want it early, instead of June. I’m not really sure what time in june they send it so I’m wondering if I should ask them to send it in May only, coz I have plans for June and I don’t want a visa interview to come in b/w forcing me to cancel them… 
May plans can be pretty much adjusted since they don’t depend on my mom.
Or maybe I should schedule a visa interview in July? I’m worried it might be peak time then. Decisions, decisions.</p>
<p>And while we’re at it, what are all of you going for? Macs or PCs? 
It doesn’t feel like you’re getting much of a bang for your bucks when you buy a Macbook and compare the specs to those of a Windows laptop, but Macs seem to be the next big thing. Plus their battery life is awesome. I’m unsure.</p>
<p>it’s mac for me! On mac, u can run windows legally along with Mac OS, so best of both the worlds u see. A Macbook is more sturdier than laptops from dell etc.</p>
<p>U might wanna ask someone(senior etc.) from ur college on which is more compatible :)</p>
<p>Also, IMHO don’t buy the Macbook now, but when u reach there because by then OS Lion would have been launched.</p>
<p>Ultimately, ur budget also counts ;)</p>
<p>BTW I already have my I-20</p>
<p>I have a Macbook Pro and I definitely get the bang for the buck. Go for it if you can.</p>
<p>Also, MBP 2011 was launched only last month so now is the THE time to buy the mac. Next hardware update of the MBPs would be in late 2012. It’s your call if you want to wait until then.</p>
<p>@pinkpanther: Lion is the OS. You can easily upgrade the OS and such upgrades come out like every couple of months or so (though they are merely updates rather than a complete change of OS, which is the case with Lion)</p>
<p>Long story short, even if you take the snow leopard now, you CAN upgrade to Lion once the commercial version comes out. (next 3~4 months ?)</p>
<p>** EDIT **: Technically, there’s isn’t anything that a MBP would do that a windows can’t or vice versa. The difference is in the quality and performance and of course, price.</p>
<p>Thanks for your opinion CSF, I’m probably going for the MBP I think.
Everyone’s recommending the 13", but I don’t think I’ll be able to stand such a small screen.
15"?
I’ll see. Anyway, I’ll probably get mine through the college store. We get a free ipod shuffle or something through that, and my six year old cousin has her eye on one (I think when I was six, all I had was a jump rope:rolleyes:).</p>
<p>Btw, CSF, are you coming for the F1 Visa counseling session at USIEF today? I’m wondering if it’ll be useful.</p>
<p>Nah, I left Delhi on 26th. Had I known about it, I would’ve come stayed … Anyway, I have some friends who are attending it so …</p>
<p>Ya, get it through the college store. I think it would also come out to be cheap …</p>
<p>Oh, too bad, I probably shall attend. Dw, I think USIEF has more than one such session, so you can attend one of the later ones.
If my memory serves me right, they had one in June too last yr, it was before one of their mentoring sessions.</p>
<p>i had a question regarding cell phones as well.</p>
<p>Blackberry vs I Phone vs Android</p>
<p>Whats the best for college??</p>
<p>I love the BBM feature but the apps and feel of the I Phone are too good. Android is also good as all apps are free.</p>
<p>What do you guys suggest??</p>
<p>I probably will be getting an iphone as it has skype so you can make international calls cheaply to your family back home</p>
<p>My current Laptop plan seems to be continuing to use my Dell XPS 16 for atleast a year, but for classes etc I think i’ll use my netbook (sooo convinient to carry, outstanding battery life). Which brings me to laptop size. Pixie, it depends. I’m guessing you’ll be running with your laptop from classes to classes? Then you might want to go with a 13" although, tbh, 13" is really small for general use. </p>
<p>Re: Windows vs OSX (Macs)
Both are equally good. I just don’t like apple generally and don’t want to get sucked into Apple’s ecosystem. So i’m sticking with Windows. IMHO, Windows 7 (and the Windows ecosystem) > OSX. Apple Hardware > Most Hardware of Window’s manufacturers.</p>
<p>CSF: I checked out the next dates for the visa counselling session, there are four more! So you can definitely catch up! But I didn’t find it extra special, I think it’s all available on the internet. And btw, there’s a pre departure program for members in July too, which sounds like fun. They even have cheesy things like “culture quiz” with “prizes”, LOL. :D</p>
<p>@goodwood, Idk. Upperclassmen at my college are telling me that, wait let me quote,
</p>
<p>But anyway, I still think 13" would be small. My eyes will thank me later. 
I’m used to a 17" and I tried a 15" recently (Windows OS) and it felt annoyingly small. I wonder what a 13" would feel like! But I hear there’s something about apple displays and OS that makes them feel larger. :/(that totally makes sense. not)</p>
<p>I don’t plan on taking notes on my pc, I prefer the old way, which is why I don’t really visualize myself lugging over a pc to classes (is there any reason other than taking notes, or <em>coughs discreetly</em> certain social “causes” like FB ;)) but things could change.
Mind you, seeing that we Indians are used to carrying a large backpack with books weighing a ton to school everyday, I doubt we’d mind. :p</p>
<p>re phones: I have no idea. I dislike touchscreen phones in general, maybe bbm. </p>
<p>I kinda like this phase of my life, when one day you realize that you don’t know the date, and (the best part) it doesn’t matter!!! :D</p>