ETS recently announced two important policy changes in the areas of score reporting and retaking the test. The new ScoreSelect option will be available, starting in July 2012, for both the GRE General Test and GRE Subject Tests, and can be used by anyone with reportable scores from the last five years.

The new ScoreSelect option lets you decide which GRE scores from your reportable history to send to the institutions you designate. Now you can send the scores that you feel reflect your personal best.

Whether you plan to take the GRE revised General Test or a GRE Subject Test again – or simply wish to send Additional Score Reports to other institutions, you can take advantage of the ScoreSelect option.

Here’s how it works:


On test day, when viewing your scores at the test center (If taking the paper-based GRE revised General Test or a GRE Subject Test, you can select your options prior to test day), you can select the:

ScoreSelect Most Recent option – Send your scores from your current test administration (FREE).

ScoreSelect All option – Send your scores from all test administrations in the last five years (FREE).

You can decide which option to use for each of your four free score reports.

After test day, you can send Additional Score Reports for a fee by selecting from the following:

ScoreSelect Most Recent option – Send your scores from your most recent test administration.

ScoreSelect All option – Send your scores from all test administrations in the last five years.

ScoreSelect Any option – Send your scores from one OR many test administrations in the last five years.

Scores for a test administration must be reported in their entirety. Regardless of whether you choose the Most Recent, All or Any option, you will select specific test administration dates so your scores are all from the same testing session. Institutions will receive score reports that show only the scores that you selected to send to them. There will be no special indication if you have taken additional GRE tests.

And, starting July 1, 2012, the policy for retaking a test will also be updated. You will be able to take the GRE revised General Test (computer-based and paper-based) once every 30 days, and up to five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period. If you are taking only the paper-based GRE revised General Test or a GRE Subject Test, you may take them as often as they are offered.

Note: ScoreSelect is a registered Service Mark of ETS


Ref: www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/scoreselect

Mr. Prithviraj Chavan

Which other state of India can boast of a Tech Savvy Berkeley educated Chief Minister who started his career in Silicon Valley designing anti submarine warfare equipment? It was very interesting to know and interview The Honorable Prithviraj Chavan, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, one of the biggest states of India. The Chief Minister believes, “My advice to student is that pursuing higher education in USA is definitely a good thing but while doing this you must keep in mind your national interest”.

The full interview can be read here.

Now a tribute to the survivors of Maharashtra Govt HQ Building fire on June 21

On June 21st, a massive fire gutted the Mantralaya building in Mumbai, which is the seat of power of the state the Government of Maharashtra, including the office of the Chief Minister.

Since only a few days ago we had conducted the interview with the Chief Minister, and we had closely interacted with some of his staff members, obviously, we at app2us.com feel a strong sense of sorrow over this incident, sadness over the loss of life and at the same time relived to know that the people we interacted with, including the Chief Minister Honorable Mr Prithviraj Chavan, are safe.

Two of the brave employees of the Government of Maharashtra, Mr. Satish Lalit and Mr. Anirudha Ashtaputre, who closely worked with us in recent weeks, shared their story of survival, which we would like to share with our readers. They were trapped inside the Deputy Chief Minister’s chamber on the 6th floor for more than an hour. They descended to the 5th floor using a drain pipe from the 6th floor. Stood on parapet for 15 minutes, waiting for snorkell ladder of fire fighters. Ultimately they got rescued by the fire fighters. They describe the rescue as a re-birth.

Interviewing the Chief Minister was a great honor. At the same time, it was also a pleasant experience to interact with his staff, who are very tech savvy, highly educated, articulate and responsive people. They take pride in their work. Mr Satish Lalit writes a blog in Marathi, which you can follow here .

Mr. Satish Lalit,
PRO to Chief Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra

app2us.com stands in solidarity with the affected families, and salutes the indomitable spirits of the residents of Mumbai who have bravely triumphed over various incidents in the past.

Ref: Fire destroys offices in Mumbai’s Mantralaya

Rajat Gupta is a US citizen of Indian origin and an alumnus of IIT Delhi and Harvard Business School. He is a business executive who was the managing director (chief executive) of management consultancy McKinsey & Company from 1994 to 2003 and a business leader in India and the United States. He is also a founder of ISB Hyderabad. He was arrested in late 2011 by the FBI on insider trading charges stemming from the Raj Rajaratnam Galleon Group case and was convicted on four counts today and can possibly be sentenced to 25 years in an ordinary prison.

Till last year, Rajat Gupta was a role model for anyone who dreams of coming to USA for higher education and then living a perfect American dream. His early academic career is very inspirational, when despite the death of both his parents very early, he was able to continue his studies and made it to IIT Delhi. He was later admitted to Harvard Business School without any work experience, which was extremely rare in those days. Since he became the first person born outside USA to rise to the position of Managing Partner of McKinsey and Company, he has been one of the most prominent examples of Indians and IITians making it big in USA through sheer merit and hard work. In his capacity at McKinsey, Gupta was recognized as the first Indian-born CEO of a global corporation. Gupta has been a pillar of many PAN IIT activities and events in the USA.

He was convicted of insider trading. In simple words, he leaked confidential boardroom discussions of major companies on the board of which he served. In most examples cited by prosecutors, he would make a phone call to now convicted financial scammer Raj Rajaratnam tipping him of confidential information and within minutes Rajaratnam would buy or sell shares of that company. In a financial system of publicly listed companies, the very premise of confidentiality of board decisions is at the core of fairness. That is why there are very strict anti-insider trading laws in the US.

Now what we learn from this case:

• If a system is strong enough and fair enough for people from any part of the world to excel, same system can come back to bite you if you are on the wrong side of the law.
• When you do good work, you directly or indirectly bring glory to your community, country of origin and institution, and same is true when you are convicted of crimes.
• No individual is above the law, and one should try to maintain highest level of ethics in all actions, which is actually more stringent than simply following all laws of the land.
• Your past record and accomplishments may not help you in the future for your present crimes.
• Choose your friends well.
• Do not make phonecalls to potential criminals, not at all after confidential company meetings, where that criminal has financial interests.
• Know the laws. Of course Gupta knew all the laws he violated. However as an average international student and as a new immigrant, make extra efforts to know the laws of the land. Ignorance of law is never a good excuse.
• Finally, Rajat Gupta is a perfect example of how any young person should begin and lead his professional life. But the sad end of his professional life teaches us to be very careful and ethical in all that we do.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajat_Gupta

Swami Vivekanada of said a century ago, “Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man”. The manifestation of the perfection is the key here; else the perfection remains latent and does not help improve lives.

With an increasing trend towards knowledge based economies worldwide, education is the main hope for people to actively contribute to the fullest of their potential. Pursuit of success and pursuit of education are interrelated. On the other hand, lack of education means less opportunities and less prosperity. In emerging economies, education brings new hope and new types of jobs to the hopeful young generation. Elsewhere in developed world, it is education that propels people to successful careers.

In some far flung poverty stricken regions of the world, where education has not spread as much as it should have, it is a small ray of education that brings a lot of hope to the entire community of the hardworking few who manage to receive some education. It could be one educated person in a village or one educated woman in a family. Once a member of family gets educated, he or she can try to pull the whole family out of poverty.

At a broader level it is education which is key to informed electorate and vibrant democracies. Better educated people can run efficient democracies. There are numerous examples where complete lack of education leads to undemocratic societies. Educated parents can be inspirational role models for their children. Communities and groups where education has greater emphasis tend to have not only more successful people, but also a greater clout as a group. Singapore has had some interesting government policies in 1980s to promote smarter young generation, where government paid some incentive for two graduates to marry.

While this is true for any place in the world, the importance of education in meritocracies like USA cannot be overstated. In American culture every young person is supposed to go through his or her fair share of hardwork and frugal days of student life before they can expect to be making a good living. Many students support themselves while juggling through the rigors of studies and part time jobs. This in turn makes them better prepared to face the challenges of the future and also leads to greater self-esteem. There is hardly any career path where a good formal education is not a requirement. Education also opens doors for immigrants, who armed with advanced degrees gain the knowledge and confidence to compete in a new place.

It is mainly due to education that the son of a Kenyan father could hope to be the President of United States. It is the power of education which enabled South Korea born Dr Jim Yong Kim to head a Medicine department at Harvard and then become the President of the Dartmouth College of USA. In July he will take over as the President of the World bank. In the 2012 US presidential election, although there will only two candidates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, there will be 3 advanced degrees from Harvard – a JD for Mr. Obama and a JD and MBA for Mr. Romney. So it seems irrespective of political parties and pursuations, American people like to elect highly educated people to the highest offices.

In the world of Science and Technology, obviously education is the key to advancement. While many know that Steve Jobs was a College dropout, few know that he took a Calligraphy class at college which transformed the world of computers with aesthetically pleasing fonts and later with the user friendly iPhones and ipads. Even in a place like UC Berkeley where everyone is highly educated or getting highly educated, little better academic credentials than most help improve the lives – well, if you win a Nobel Prize, Berkeley would award you with a lifetime free parking permit!


(This article is written for a World Bank Contest, at the same time goes well with our theme)

Most prospective students have a vague idea that many students at US universities are funded as Teaching or Research assistants or via scholarships or fellowships. This post analyzes why US university system funds its students. If you understand the inner workings of funding, you have a better chance of securing it.


Fellowships
Some Universities award fellowships that are combined with tuition waiver and no work is expected in return. Needless to say, these fellowships are awarded to the best of incoming students and are very competitive. Some fellowship criteria could be decided by the donor and all students may not qualify.
Key information: Best Universities want their best students to give best research output without any burden to worry about working for their livelihood. So they simply give free money to the best.

Teaching Assistantships
A teaching assistantship involves helping a Professor with Labs and grading. It may involve actual teaching. TA gets a salary which may include tuition waiver and health insurance benefits.
Key information: Universities need reasonably cheap and qualified people to help with the teaching work. TA work is managed by department as a whole, not by individual professors. PhD students, and those who have excelled in concerned course earlier, are preferred. Never contact any Professor for TAship.

Research Assistantships
A research assistantship involves helping a Professor with research work. An RA is expected to complete research related tasks as assigned. RA gets a salary which may include tuition waiver and health insurance benefits. If you work as an RA with your own advisor, the RA work could be combined with your own MS and PhD thesis, so it saves some precious time.
Key information: Most of the innovative work at universities is actually done by RAs. It won’t be wrong to say that to some extent RAs make USA a superpower. And they cost very less. So the US Govt generously funds such jobs via NSF and other govt agencies who fund research work at the universities. Individual professors can apply for various grants that can support many RAs at any given time. This is the best hope for most of you. So it is important to write the SOP very carefully clearly mentioning the research interests.

Graduate Assistantships
Students may be employed by other departments or offices in the University on similar salary and tuition waiver as TA or RA, but they do not teach or conduct research. These positions are called GA or GANT (Graduate Assistant Non-Teaching). It is like a part time job. The schedules could be worked out every semester to avoid conflict with studies and exams.
Key information: In order to effectively function Universities need a lot of semi-educated cheap labor. If they hire staff they have to pay a lot more and will have complications like pension etc. Students are motivated and cheap – so universities hire a lot of them in various roles like Library assistants, Computer operators, receptionists, drivers and so on. For this type of funding one needs to keep trying. Making a lot of friends helps, because typically when a GA quits, his or her supervisor just hire someone they refer as a good worker, not really the best available candidate.

April 17 2012 is the deadline for filing of income tax returns for 2011. Most US residents including international srudents on F-1 and J-1 visas are required to file their tax returns, including those who arrived in the US in 2011.

Foreign students and foreign scholars have special filing requirements for U.S. federal income tax returns. Most nonresident aliens with simple situations will file a form 1040NR-EZ instead of a 1040NR. To qualify for a 1040NR-EZ you must meet the following qualifications:


Your only U.S. source income was from wages, salaries, tips, taxable refunds of state and local income taxes, and scholarship or fellowship grants.

• You do not claim any dependents.
• You cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person’s U.S. tax return (such as your parent’s return).
• You do not claim any itemized deductions other than for state or local income tax.
• Your Taxable income is less than $100,000.00.
• If you are married and do not claim an exemption for your spouse.
• You are not claiming any tax credits.

The only exclusion you can take is the exclusion for scholarship and fellowship grants, and the only adjustment to income you can take is the student loan interest deduction.

There is no minimum dollar amount of income, which triggers a filing requirement for a nonresident alien, including foreign students or foreign scholars. The dollar limit thresholds which trigger a filing requirement for a U.S. citizen or a resident alien do not apply to nonresident aliens. However, Notice 2005-77 provides that a nonresident alien whose only U.S. source income is wages is not required to file a U.S. federal income tax return unless his U.S. source wages exceed the personal exemption amount ($ $9,500 for singles, under 65 years of age)

Filing IS required by nonresident alien students and scholars who have a taxable scholarship or fellowship, any wages or assistantship, or any other income, which is taxable under the Internal Revenue Code. Filing IS NOT required by nonresident alien students and scholars who have income ONLY from foreign sources, interest income from banks or any other income, which is nontaxable under the Internal Revenue Code. However, income, which is not taxable because of an income tax treaty must be reported on a U.S. income tax return even though no income tax is due on the U.S. income tax return.

Note: We are not tax attorneys, and information above is an overview, not a formal tax advice. Consult IRS website, your country’s tax treaties with the US and/or a qualified tax attorney for tax advice.


Ref: IRS Publication 501, IRS page for Foreign Students and Scholars. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96431,00.html

Dharun Ravi, 20, a former Rutgers University undergraduate student accused of spying on and intimidating his gay roommate by use of a hidden webcam was found guilty Friday of all counts — including invasion of privacy and the more severe charges of bias intimidation — in a case that thrust cyberbullying into the national spotlight. According to CNN, his roommate, Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers, killed himself in September 2010 by jumping off the George Washington Bridge and into the Hudson River after learning that Ravi had secretly spied on his sexual encounter with another man.

Some thoughts and words of advice based on the conviction:

Bullying: Bullying is a serious crime – Cyber Bullying is a serious crime most states are toughening their laws and enforcement. So after this example we strongly recommend againt indulging in activities with invade on others privacies – it is not a joke or prank, someone can die and the perpetrator can end up facing serious charges and jail time.

Invasion of privacy: Watchinng private lives of other people and making videos is a crime in most states.

Bias intimidation: Thre are laws in the US to protect against hate crimes (also known as bias crimes) motivated by enmity or hatred against a protected class. Although state laws vary, current statutes permit federal prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of a person’s protected characteristics of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.

Deportation: Most criminal convictions for non US nationals carry a possibility of deportation.

Expulsion: Such activities can invite expulsion. Dharun Ravi is now a ‘former student’.

Partners in crime won’t help: Ravi’s ellow hallmate, Molly Wei testified against him to avoid charges. So think twice before collaborating for any type of crime. In the end you will be on your own.

Laws: There are laws to protect against bullying and this incidence has brought the problem of bullying to national attention. In November, 2010, an anti-bullying bill was passed on a 71-1 vote in the New Jersey Assembly and a 30-0 vote in the New Jersey Senate. No matter what may be your personal likes or dislikes, one must abide by laws of a country where one studies or lives.

Parent’s Response: Nothing can bring a dead person back. Tyler Clementi’s parents, Jane and Joseph Clementi, announced plans to start the Tyler Clementi Foundation. The foundation will focus on promoting awareness of bullying, particularly cyber-bullying. Clementi’s father Joe sent a message to young people, saying, “You’re going to meet a lot of people in your life. Some of these people you may not like. Just because you don’t like them doesn’t mean you have to work against them.”

Dharun Ravi shall be sentenced on May 21. app2us.com strongly condemns bullying in all forms and expresses its solidarity witht he victims of bullying. We encourage our readers to report suspected incidents of bullying and help promote tolerance on campus.

This is the shortest ever blog post. On 14th February former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is also a former Director of Central Intelligence (CIA Director) interviewed with app2us.com. The honorable Gates has also served as the President of Texas A&M University, and is currently the Chancellor of the College of William and Mary.

In reply to a question, Dr. Gates said, ” Surrounding yourself with people who look, think and believe just as you do not only is a lost opportunity to grow intellectually and culturally, it is very poor preparation for living and working in the real world.” Read the full interview here. Here are all our interviews.