Case Study: MBA in U.S.A. |
Getting my
visa
There are two
aspects I needed to convince the visa officers about when being
interviewed.
- I have the necessary funds to finance my study
- I'm not a potential immigrant.
The first was not a problem for me. I had a loan through the
university which was considered proof for my ability to pay.
But the loans
offered through other universities (other than Wharton) are normally
not considered by visa officers. You have to show funds for at least
one year of all expenses in your savings account and sufficient
financial ability to generate funds for the second year of study.
The "potential immigrant" bit is a little difficult to
understand. One's supposed to provide reasons for returning back to
India after study. But most of us will not be returning home, at least
not immediately after completing the course. So, what makes visa
officers offer visas to so many of us?
That we're not returning home may not actually be a secret, the visa
officers probably know about it. Knowing this, there job may actually
be to select students who they may not mind having around in their
country, working for their companies.
While this theory may or may not be true, you have to go for your visa
with a convincing story about why you would want to return back to
India after completing your course. So, put on your creative caps and
think of an original story that will compel the visa officer to offer
you the visa.
Of course they will not take you on face value, you need to take
financial and other documentation to make your story convincing.
I guess when you
get into a top school, they do not ask you much. That's what happened
in my case. They just asked me a couple of questions and my interview
lasted hardly 5 minutes.
Next > Preparing
to leave
Case
Study: International student getting an admission into Wharton
Business School, one of the top business schools in the world. The study
discusses the process as well as the important application issues for
the business school admission process.
(This story is meant to describe the MBA
admission process in the U.S. The name of the person, and some facts have been changed to
conceal the identity of the person. The story must be considered fictitious.)
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