27th June 2019

Dept. of ACCE, DU

Higher Studies in USA (MS/PhD)

From Zero to Infinity
Swapnil Sayan Saha
Graduate Research Assistant (ECE), University of California – Los Angeles
Physics Laboratory and Robotics Instructor, Maple Leaf Intl’ School
B.Sc. (2019) from the Dept. of EEE, University of Dhaka

E-mail: swapnilsayansaha@ieee.org
 Smells Like Teen Spirit… (back in 2014)
• A generic and naive English medium student with decent grades (4 A* in A Level and 7 A* in O Level) from Maple Leaf Intl’
School, hailing from a well-off middle class family.
• No interest in being what I’m today (wanted to study EEE but not in today’s form).
• 2000 in old SAT (below par), 2380 in SAT Subject Tests, 8.0 in IELTS.
• No significant ECAs (familial pressure) except being a musician and president of a club (no focus at all).
• No noteworthy achievements/olympiad medals (apart from being a DofE silver awardee and outstanding ECA award from MLIS).
• Rejected by WashU and Cornell, accepted without scholarships by UBC and UniMelb.
• Rejected from IBA (DU) after viva (deliberately sabotaged it), waitlisted (1100+) at BUET.
• The only acceptance: DU (my last resort; rank: 294).

• Heavily influenced by space science, computers, video games, fast cars and progressive/thrash metal music (all self-taught).
• HOWEVER, I LOVED BEING ON-STAGE AND IN THE LIMELIGHT (BUT NEVER IN THE FRONT)
 A Creep in a New Environment… (back in 2015)
• Chose the EEE dept. due to my passion for computers and space science.
• Didn’t have high expectations of myself at EEE, DU among all the bright minds from national
curriculum; wasn’t a genius or anything (not everyone in the same place can be the best at
the same time).
• Got 0 in my first mid term (only two of us got 0 in the entire class), thanks to new system.
• Couldn’t really make a lot of friends either; an entirely new environment at DU (I was
mostly an arrogant and aristocratic individual on the outside).

• “Something” clicked and I ended up with a 3.92 GPA in 1-1 (5th amongst everyone back
then) and a whole new era started.
 Something In the Way… (back in 2015)
• Joined IEEE (largest professional organization of electrical/electronics engineers) back in March 2015 as one of
the first few student members of IEEESBDU.
• Got interested in Arduino and embedded systems from a seminar.
• I was doing a C course back then and high-level hardware programming seemed to be my ante; learnt the
basics of Arduino with rapid pace.

• Teamed up with two friends (one of whom drove with me till our thesis), made a few “childish” projects and
went to compete in Mecceleration 2015 at IUT.
• Again, “something” clicked and we ended up as runners up in project show category as only 1st year 2nd
semester students and a whole new era started.
 Vertigo… (2016/2017)
• Awards were flowing in; attended a few seminars from Dr. Md. Atiqur Rahman Ahad (Professor, EEE, DU; SAAP,
OsakaU) and got interested in paper writing for one part of my project.
• Worked a bit to improve that part of the project with a lecturer of the dept. and submitted the paper to 5th
ICIEV (student conf. section), 2016.
• The paper got accepted, defining the start of another new era in my career (in 2nd yr 1st sem).
• I also got elected as an assistant publicity secretary of Electrical and Electronics Club,
EEE, DU and worked as a cultural coordinator in IEEE BDS SYWC 2016, both of which
played a crucial role in me becoming elected as publicity secretary of IEEESBDU in
2017, catalyzing my career.
• Became champion in Global Robotics Challenge 2016 Bangladesh Round and got
selected to represent the country at Techkriti 2016, IIT Kanpur, India, marking
another milestone.
 My Profile Now Academics
• Graduated from the Dept. of EEE, University of Dhaka in 2019 (B.Sc.) with 3.94 CGPA (1st) with two thesis dissertations.
• Received advanced training in small satellite engineering from Beihang University, China and Middle East Technical
University, Turkey as part of the APSCO Student Small Satellite Project with Excellent Student Awards.
• GRE Score: 330 (Q: 166, V: 164, AWA: 5.0); TOEFL Score: 116 (R/L: 30, S/W: 28).

• Winner of 25+ national/international awards: Research/ECA

• IEEE Computer Society Richard E. Merwin Scholarship.
• Best Undergraduate Research Award by EMK Center. Visits for ECA/Research:
• Daily Star Rise High Bangladesh Season 2.
• IEEE AIYEHUM 2017.
• IEEE SS12 2018. Research Collaboration:
• Best Volunteer Awards from IEEE BDS.
• National Champion in ESAB Global Robotics Challenge 2016.
• Published 11 conference papers (1 in ACM Digital Library, 4 in IEEE Xplore, 7 first author, 1 best paper, 1 best paper candidate) and 2
journal papers (IEEE Access, IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine).
• Completed 8 projects in 4 years with several grants from FAB Lab DU.
• Final research interests span applied machine learning, embedded system design, mobile health, wearable/ubiquitous computing,
small satellite engineering and human computer interaction.

• Got involved with IEEE at an international (IEEE REM Scholar and Brand Ambassador), section (SMC, IEEE BDS HAC)
and local (Vice Chair, IEEESBDU); volunteered as AGS of EEC.
• Worked at FAB Lab DU as operator and research assistant for 6 months, Suyog Technologies as embedded engineer for
6 months and working as physics lab and robotics instructor at MLIS. Work Experience/ECA
…And My Interests
Pre-Application Tips
Academics (succeeding in Bangladesh)
Identify
Patterns

Use Past Attend

Resources Classes

Get Used
Brush Up
to the
Basics
System

Take
Be Confident,
Stay Focused
Calculated
Risks
Extra-Curricular Activities (ECA)

Focus

Proof of Be the
Excellence Best

ECA

Purpose Relevant
Work Experience
Doing Research as a Student - Ideation
Doing Research as a Student - Ideation

POTENTIAL
Focus on a
specific area IDEAL
Current
Trends

Identify
Problems
FIT

IDEA • Open document “A Note on Research Methodology.pdf”

• Open document “Avoiding Bad Journals.pdf”
• Open folder “My Research Papers” to find my papers.
 Doing Research as a Student
• You can find good conferences in your field through your professional body’s (e.g. IEEE, ACM, ACS) website or
relevant facebook groups (e.g. https://www.facebook.com/bdieeeconf or
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ieee.bangladesh for EEE students)
• Avoid predatory journals (List of such journals: https://beallslist.weebly.com/ and
https://predatoryjournals.com/journals/ )
• Remember the technique I taught for downloading papers.
• LEARN HOW TO “GOOGLE”
• SUMMARY: Identify problems > Take interviews > Check existing solutions > Find weaknesses in existing
solutions / what’s missing? > Propose idea/solution > Develop prototypes / experiment > Receive expert
opinion from conferences/ competitions/ meetings/ seminars/ emails > Reiterate > Publish > Pitch

• Open document “How

to Present in
Competitions.pdf” to
get tips on
presentation skills
 Cracking the GRE
IDEAL TIME: MID 3rd YEAR 2ND
SEMESTER OR EARLY 4TH YEAR
1ST SEMESTER

~ 2.5 months ~ 1 month ~ 15 days

Solve Nova’s Complete
Complete Complete Practice AWA
Math Bible (plus Magoosh 1000
Manhattan 7 Manhattan 5 lb and sit for free
Manhattan 1-6 (plus 2000 SAT
and 8 (optional) (top to bottom) mock tests
if needed) words if needed)

• Open document “Cracking the GRE.pdf” to get detailed tips and strategies. Coaching not required.
• GRE Material Link: http://tinyurl.com/yxssgmm5
• Register Here: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/
 Cracking the TOEFL (10 days Prep)
• Best time to sit TOEFL (just before applying and after your GRE exam) (Mid
August to Mid September).
• Register Here: https://www.ets.org/mytoefl
• Centers: same as GRE, AAA is best but others aren’t bad either.
• Cost: 190 USD (comes with 4 free score reporting options); additional reports: 20
USD per university.
• New TOEFL takes around 3 hours to complete (old: 4 hours).
• Download TPO Mocks from here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N634QQjbI_PCuUPa-p2-_6d7O-CTLSx1
• Speaking:
• Follow the formats in next page;
• Speak in natural flow and do not use bombastic words;
• Jot down the main points during the listening phases;
• Practice taking the test in a noisy environment at
home (DON’T SHOUT).
• Reading:
• 5 minutes of skim reading is enough. Then just jump to
the questions;
• Look carefully in the concerned paragraph to avoid
skipping important points;
• 12 minutes should be sufficient to finish answering the
section after 5 minutes worth of reading.
• Omit false/redundant points. You've to attack
questions from multiple angles, don't just assume
something might be correct based on intuition
• Be careful with the last question. Look at how the
passage is organized and the main points presented.
• Listening:
• Use an entire page per listening section to jot down
important points like: Why did he do this and that all.
If you miss something, continue listening to the rest of
the conversation/lecture carefully.
• The greatest challenge is in maintaining a steady
concentration. All of these shall be fine with enough
practice (5-6 mocks).
 Cracking the TOEFL (10 days Prep)
• Independent Writing is similar to GRE Issue Essay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlbONynoJ0M
• Integrated Essay (you listen then write)
• Jot down the main points from the listening speech and rewrite them as
necessary. You are trying to explain how the lecturer points out weaknesses in the
text.
• There are certain buzzwords examiners love
• Word limit: Integrated: ~300-350 words are enough. independent: ~600-700
words are enough.
Pre-Application Summary
Application Tips
 Higher Study Abroad Timeline
Looking for
Shortlisted Universities: GRE: TOEFL: Professors (more
Emailing,
Application (SOP
Interviews: Decisions:
shortlisting):
and LOR): August Jan 19 to Feb 19 to
Nov 17 to Jan 18
Feb 18 Sept 18 March 18 to Dec
18
18 to Dec 18 Feb 19 Apr 19

Avoid Get a counsellor Have good LEARN HOW TO

Elephant – Rider Procrastination (maybe a senior) relation with a “GOOGLE”.
Plan Early
Analogy till the last who can guide few of your FACEBOOK IS
moment you selflessly professors NOT GOOGLE
 How to Search for Professors and Universities
• Rankings (univ + program): QS (https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings or
https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings/2019), Times
(https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2019/world-
ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats or
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/by-subject) and US News
(https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/electrical-engineering-rankings <<
for EEE)
• Do not pick all top schools or bottom schools. Keep 1-2 dream schools, 4-5 okay schools and 2-3 safety schools.
• Is location a factor? What about weather? Will you be able to survive a sprawling metropolis or a quiet abode?
• Remember, big elite universities usually have no shortage of funds, it’s all about getting in. You might even be
awarded a fellowship.
• Ranking alone is misleading, professors/research labs and your heart are the kings here.
• Look for professors from these sources:
• Meet them/their students in conferences/seminars/meetings.
• Connections with your seniors/professors.
• Referencing papers.
• Opening advertisements.
• Check faculty by research area in your shortlisted university’s websites.
• Check faculty’s google scholar/website/researchgate/lab website links for projects/papers.
• Central application vs professor? Manage professor before applying or after applying?
 Emailing Professors
• Open document “Mailing Tips.pdf”. Email before applying or after applying?
• Open folder “Sample emails” for some sample emails I sent.
 CV Writing / Website Maintenance
• Open document “Sample Resume Saha.pdf” and “Sample Resume Zaman.pdf” for an idea of CV.
• Open document “CV Writing Tips.pdf” for expert opinion on CV.
• Keep CV within 2 pages. It must be legible and well-organized and aesthetic.
• Content (not necessary to include everything): Education, Research Interests, Publications (if none then add
projects), Awards/Achievements, ECA (Volunteer/Leadership), Work Experience, Test Scores, Coursework, Soft skills
and life skills.

• You can open free and easy-to-create (no coding needed!) websites using wix.com or Google sites or weebly.com
• Contents should be a detailed version of your CV. Add photos and maintain website regularly.
• Example: www.swapnilsayansaha.weebly.com
• Also open a linkedin account, skype account, google scholar account, researchgate account.
 Writing SOP/PS
• Open document “SOP Writing Tips.pdf” for expert opinion on SOP Writing.
• It’s best not to look at sample statement of purposes (SOP) before you write your own (if you do, you will
become biased towards the SOPs you see).
• Contents of SOP: Your ultimate goal, your research/project experience as well as in-field experience
(projects, volunteering, work experience etc), which professors you want to work with and why, how
getting into X university will help you and how you will contribute to X university.
• THE MAIN GOAL IS TO CONNECT THE DOTS – YOU HAVE TO CONNECT EVERYTHING THAT YOU’VE DONE
IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE IN A COHERENT FASHION.
• Take time. Your final SOP draft will take 1-2 months to be perfect and polished.

• Some universities also want a personal statement (different from SOP). Each university has different PS
content requirement.
• PS is more artistic in nature where you usually try to tell your life story in reference to those contents.
• Content usually includes your background, struggles etc.

• I will show you some sample SOP and PS but you won’t find it in the materials. Write yourself first as I’ve
said before looking at other SOPs/PS.

• In addition, some universities may also require additional essays for fellowships.
 Letter of Recommendations
• Open folder “Sample Recommendations” to see my sample LORs.
• Content:
• In what capacity he/she knows you
• Class Performance?
• How are you as a research student?
• Research Experience?
• Any leadership capabilities relevant to graduate studies?
• Any noteworthy incident?
• A line or two in summary that makes you fit for X university
• Professional Experience?
• Each LOR should be unique in what the professor says about you.
• No generic terms like “he is very hard working, he is honest etc.” Every quality should be factual.
• No need to be more than 1 page. 2 pages max.
• Best if professor writes your LOR (1 professor did it in my case), if he doesn’t, follow the sample LORs and my
tips. However, he/she will upload the LOR himself through concerned portal. If professor agrees to write a
LOR himself, give him your CV and other info.
• USING OTHER’S LOR AS YOUR OWN BY JUST TYPING YOUR NAME IS A BIG NO. Universities abroad
understand and know the subcontinent people make their own LOR so don’t be that stupid.
 Interviews with Professors
• You are not being judged so no need to be afraid. The professor wants to know how well you are as his/her research
student.
• Check and confirm the interview time properly (beware of time zones).
• Three parts:
• Professor will ask you how you are and what you’ve been doing these days.
• He will talk about his research work and projects and stuff and then ask if you have questions (yes of course you
do).
• Then you will get the chance to talk about your work (some professors might want you to prepare a research
presentation).
• Some professors may ask very basic question about your topic (e.g. what is support vector machine in ML?)
• কি িরের ো? কিন িরের ো? কিন এভোরে িরের ো? এভোরে িেরে কি েোভ? ওইভোরে িরেো কন কিন? যকি আমেো কেইভোরে িেতোম তোহরে কি হরতো
েরে কতোমোে মরন হয়? অমুি কেখ্যোত কেোি এেিম এিটো িোজ এভোরে িরের তু কম কি শুরন ? শুনরে এ েযোপোরে কতোমোে মন্তেয কি? কতোমোে িোরজে
কেকমরটশন কিোথোয়? কিভোরে আেও ভোরেো িেো যোয়? িোরজে অকেকজনোকেটি আর কি? থোিরে কিোথোয়? এই আইকিয়ো েোস্তেোয়ন িেরত কিরয় কতোমোে
কি কি েমেযোে মরযয পড়রত হরয়র ? কিোন পোটট টো িেরত কতোমোে েেরেরয় ভোরেো কেরির েো েযোরেকজিং কেরির ? কিন? কিোন কি ু কি আর কযটো িেরত
কেরয়ক রে কিন্তু পোরেো নোই? কিন পোে নোই?
• He basically wants to be clear that you know what you’ve done (েুরে িরে )
• Do ask him keen questions when he asks you if you have any questions, for example:
• Where do your graduates usually go after graduating?
• Where do you see your research lab going in short-term and long term?
• What do you expect from an incoming graduate student?
• Funding opportunities in his lab?
 Application Process Summary
• Start Early; don’t wait till the last moment.
• Join these groups for more information and expert opinion/help on graduate studies in USA:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HigherStudyAbroad/ and
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextop.usa/
• Check the stage of your university application (interview started? Decision started?) at:
https://www.thegradcafe.com/ or https://yocket.in/ (Enter university and dept. name in search box).
• Keep copies of all academic transcripts/certificates handy. Some universities require WES (for no reason)
evaluation.
• Keep a chronological record of all your achievements, publications, projects (everything basically). This is
why a website is good.
• Make a Visa, Mastercard or Amex credit card (I don’t recommend EBL Aqua and DBBL Virtual).
• US application process does not need any agency.
• IF YOU GET AN OFFER – CONGRATS, BUT DO NOT ACCEPT MORE THAN ONE OFFER (DON’T ORDER
MULTIPLE I-20s LIKE TYPICAL BANGLADESHIS). THIS IS UNETHICAL.

• REMEMBER, YOU NEED TO SELL YOURSELF NO MATTER WHAT YOU’VE DONE. YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW
TO SHOW-OFF AND BACK IT UP. IT’S BETTER TO BURN OUT THAN FADE AWAY AMONGST A MILLION
STARS.
Post-Application Tips
 Applying for a Visa / Visa Interviews
• Open document “Study in USA – From I20 to Visa.pdf” for more details.
• Steps:
• Accept offer and fill up SIR/SLR.
• Order I20 through necessary website (usually international office of the concerned university) by filling out the form
(you may need to attach funding letter if you’re funded or show financial documents). Choose DHL/Fedex delivery.
• Pay I-901 Sevis Fee (it is now 350 USD (old: 200 USD)). (https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/)
• Fill up DS-160 Visa application form (https://ceac.state.gov/genniv)
• http://www.ustraveldocs.com/bd/ << Go here to schedule a visa interview (schedule early as slots are limited). You can
only schedule after you pay visa fee at EBL.
• Face visa interview at embassy. Documents to take (for funded students): Passport, NID/Birth Certificate, I20, Sevis Fee
Payment Confirmation, DS-160 Confirmation, EBL MRV Fee Receipt, Offer and funding letter, GRE/TOEFL Score,
Transcripts/certificates of BS/MS, HSC, SSC and any other educational certificates, 2 photos (2 inch by 2 inch), NOC/Job
Certificate. For those with a deficit, you will need bank certificate, notary of sponsor’s assets, bank statement,
sponsor’s TIN certificate, FDR etc. Married individuals need marriage certificates/documents/photos too.
• Do not be afraid seeing rejection posts from HSA and NextopUSA. It’s not a job interview. The VO just wants to know that
you are financially capable to survive in US and is not an immigrant. You don’t need to be fake.
• They do background checks of every individual so don’t be an idiot on social media.
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/HigherStudyAbroad/permalink/2464826880245645/ << My visa interview experience.
• Open document “Visa Interview Questions for F1 and F2.pdf” for sample interview questions.
• Other tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvcU1H-QWzE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJiqfN9B3k
 Misc. Stuff

Housing Flights

Shopping Chilling

Some to-do things

– Driving License,
NID etc.
 Download materials from:
http://tinyurl.com/yytsv7ru

27-Jun-19 (c) 2019 Swapnil Sayan Saha