MSinUS: Part 4— Get ready to fly
Previous in Series
MSinUS: Part 0 — From confusion to clarity
MSinUS: Part 1 — GRE, TOEFL, IELTS
Congratulations :) If you had reached till this point, then all you have to do is fly to US
Step 10: Accommodation and WhatsApp groups
You might have joined some WhatsApp groups by now (if not, do search for them. A great source to start with is Yocket). Just explore and get your doubts resolved there. There might be some sessions arranged by seniors from your university answering the most common questions and if possible, do attend them
Step 11: Packing
Trust me, this is a tiresome step. There’ll be a lot of things to pack with confined space and weight constraints. There are some great YouTube channels like Yudi J, YMGrad, Singh In USA, Parth, Bharat In Germany who explain a lot of stuff regarding MS life. Just looking through these channels (and being in touch with your friends/seniors in US or whatever country is more than enough).
Anyways, lemme list few common points
- For students, most of the countries allow 3 baggage (23kg*3) + 2 cabin bags (~10kg including laptop). So, you can bring around 80kgs
- Do definitely bring pickles, pressure cooker, tongue cleaners, batteries, calculators, eye and dental related things
- Most countries won’t allow rice (but it’s ok, there’ll be stores within 1hr from your college irrespective of where you are staying :p)
- Check whether your phone is compatible with major network providers. Just see what all networks are there in your country (in US, it’s AT&T, Verizon, T-mobile (Mint) and check IMEI compatibility. If you are unsure, just be ready to buy a new mobile
- Get Forex card (like a foreign debit card) and cash before travel (the exchange rates will be high in airport). Personally, I bought $700 in forex and $300 as cash (Forex is for temporary usage until you get your credit/debit card, bank account in US)
Step 11: Fly and achieve what you want
Just remember to have some movies in your phone as it’ll be super boring long journey. The immediate things you will be doing after coming to US is
- Generating I94 (if you have a part time or some paid position). It’s just filling out basic details and retrieving the form (Check I94 retrieval website)
- Buying table, chair, bed and frame (all these are important and bit costly). Just check with your university if there’s any thrift store nearby so you can get for low price. If you don’t want to complicate things, just buy from Amazon, Walmart or Target.
- Learn how to cook. Actually, this should be in Step 1 (haha). I know basic cooking and am experimenting now. So, try to avoid a situation like mine.
By the time this is posted, I’ll be experimenting in US (not just academically, but the lifestyle as well). I might have missed many details. Feel free to message me incase you have doubts or suggestions. (Please don’t ask questions that a simple Google search can resolve). I hope my journey might have given some points and in case it’s useful, do buy me lunch :-p
End Credits: I want to thank each and every one who supported me in this entire journey. As people won’t read the end credits after a movie ends (because of it’s length), I want to keep it short and a special mention to my NITC friends & seniors (RIG especially), Nora Joby, Karun Thankachan, Satyarth Praveen, Naveen Chiluka. Also Aarati Kakaraparthy and Shantanu Gupta who are very supportive in Madison :)