A complete guide from GRE to Boarding the Flight

1. Introduction
2. Standardized Tests
   • GRE
   • TOEFL / IELTS
3. University Selection
   • How I Shortlisted Universities
   • Comparing CS vs CE Admission Difficulty
4. Application Documents
   • Statement of Purpose (SOP)
   • Letters of Recommendation (LOR)
   • Resume / CV
5. Emailing Professors
   • How to Write an Effective Email
   • Sample Emails I Sent
   • Common Mistakes
6. Getting Offers
   • RA / TA / Fellowship Funding
7. I-20 and Financial Documents
   • I-20 and Financial Documents
   • Common I-20 Issues and Fixes
8. Visa Process
   • Filling DS-160 Form
   • SEVIS Fee Payment
   • Scheduling VAC and Embassy Appointments
   • Required Visa Documents
9. Visa Interview Preparation
   • My Visa Interview Experience
   • Common Questions & My Answers
   • Mock Interview Practice
10. After Visa Approval
    • Buying Air Ticket
    • Booking First Accommodation
    • Pre-Departure Checklist
11. Arriving in the USA
    • Immigration at Port of Entry
    • First Week in the USA
12. Tips and Lessons Learned
13. Acknowledgments
14. Contact

This blog aims to help future students by sharing every document and experience.

Before everything, while you are doing your bachelor's, try to do some research work. It will be very helpful. [for PhD and MS]

• Though the GRE is not mandatory for most of the programs, it is always a plus to have. If you are going for an Engineering or related field, then the Quant section of the GRE will be very helpful. Try to keep the Quant score at least 160 if you are going to an engineering-related subject.

• The Official Guide to the GRE 3rd Edt
• Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions
• Official GRE Quantitative
• 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems - Manhattan Prep [For the Quant section, this book is all you need in my opinion]
• AWA (Issue Practice) [Official question]
• AWA (Argument Practice [Official question]
• Calculator [Practice this calculator because you will be given one like this in the exam]
• Vocab
• For practice, use this side https://gre.kmf.com/

• You must have these tests ready for applying to the university [Exception is not an example]. You should try to keep a minimum TOEFL score of 90 or a minimum IELTS score of 6.5. There are some other English tests, but it is recommended to take TOEFL or IELTS.

• Academic discussion [Officail question from ETS]
• Toefl speaking [My speaking template]
• Toefl-ibt-free-practice-test [Official]
• Toefl-ibt-reading-practice-sets [Official]
• Listening YouTube Playlist

Now it is time to make some documents ready to apply centrally, and also to email the professor.

• It should be within 2 pages
• 📄 View My SOP Example [For UAlbany, it was named as Statement of Background and Goals]

• When you apply from any US university portal, it will ask for give email addresses of 1-4 people who will give you a LOR. After you add their email address, an email will be sent to them with a link where they will be uploading a LOR for you.
• Try to take LOR from the Professor with whom you have worked and have at least 1 collaborative paper work
• You can also take LOR from your office team lead or any other senior.
• 📄 LOR Example 1
• 📄 LOR Example 2

• Format and key points for PhD application
• 📄 View My CV Example

• Collect your transcript from the university

• Some universities might require other documents. For UAlbany, they required a Personal History.
• 📄 View My Personal History Example

• This data helped me analyze which universities align best with my profile; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RpWaU1AQjgTd1jzBYhw8lk-NNORSPaFC-lWdaS8VvvU/edit?gid=720774269#gid=720774269
• If you look at the posts in this group, you’ll get an idea of the profiles of students who are getting admission; https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextop.usa
• I use the CS rank website to understand the quality of the university- https://csrankings.org/
• You might have a favorite state because a relative lives there, or you might choose a state based on its weather.
• Now, as you have all the information, you can select which university you want to apply to.
• After application, you can track this site to see if the university has started to publish admission results and what the accepted profiles are for that term - https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

• Computer Science is usually harder to get into than Computer Engineering, even though both programs are rigorous and share many courses in the early years.

You can find Professors who will take new students from this group- https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextop.usa You can also create your LinkedIn profile and be connected with many academic people, so academic posts will come to your timeline, and you will see posts where professor are looking for students. This will save a lot of your time. And there is always one option, you go to the university website and see all the faculty of your department, and from there find out professors' information.

• Read some of the professor’s papers from Google Scholar. You can use https://notebooklm.google/ to summarize and understand them easily. This tool really helped me grasp research papers and write emails with much less effort.

• 📄 Sample 1 – Already have admission
• 📄 Sample 2 – No admission

• If you have a professional or paid email address that includes your real name, use that. For example, I used my work email when I was employed as a software engineer.
• Keep your email short and to the point — professors usually don’t have much time to read long messages.
• Show genuine interest in their research and explain why you’re reaching out.
• Keep all attached document names consistent, such as DocumentName_MahediKamal.
• Email at morning time of the professor.

• If you get an admission letter but didn't get funding, then reach out to the department and professors.
• My experience getting RA: I applied centrally and received an admission offer for Fall 2025, but didn't get any funding then. So, I deferred my admission to Fall 2026. Later, I emailed a professor from that university, and he expressed interest in having me join in Spring 2026. As a result, I changed my admission term again and received a Research Assistantship (RA) offer from that professor.
• If you have received an offer from a professor via email but don’t yet have an admission offer from that university, you should apply quickly. The professor can then support your application and help you secure funding.

• After you have managed your Admission and funding, now it is time to get your I-20
• For my case, I have to email the Director of Recruitment & Marketing to get the I-20

• If you are fully funded but your I-20 shows a small deficit (e.g., $1–2k), that’s usually okay. You can simply show a bank statement covering that amount.
• If your funding letter only covers one term but mentions that it will be renewed for the next term, that’s also acceptable. Again, just show the deficit amount with a bank statement.
• However, if you are not fully funded (e.g., only 80% funding), you will need a very strong bank statement. Otherwise, there is a high risk of visa denial if you are form a country where there is a low visa acceptance rate.

• You can start this process after you get your I-20

• Don't make any mistakes, it's very important. link of DS-160 https://ceac.state.gov/GenNIV/Default.aspx
• Get your photo like this- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/photos.html
• You must fill out this form before you schedule your visa appointment.

• After you get the I-20
• You can do this later, after securing your visa date.
• You must make this payment at least 3 days before your visa interview date. This is the link for SEVIS payment- https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/index.htm
• If you try to use your Bangladeshi card, then there is a limitation on the maximum transaction amount. For my City Bank Visa card, it was 290 USD. So I have to make a request to increase my transaction amount through this page- https://positivepay.thecitybank.com/cards/

• You must complete the DS-160 before this
• Go to this site to schedule your visa interview date: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/bd/en/
• You have to make a payment and get an initial visa interview date.
• Now you can reschedule the date if you want. If you frequently visit the website to reschedule your visa date, you may get temporarily blocked. To avoid this, you should use this group to reschedule your visa appointment: https://t.me/+NEcX-i-m1_9jMTU1
• I got a visa date within 3 weeks using this group.
• In Bangladesh, biometric and visa interview happens on the same day in the same place. This is the location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2S3Pujz2b8h2iWVB7?g_st=ipc
• They will take your passport if your visa is initially approved. You have to collect your passport after you get an email. This is the passport collection location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nExhLqQrgCkjDcKp9?g_st=ipc

• I-20
• Passport
• NID
• Admission Letter
• Funding Offer
• VISA Appointment Confirmation
• DS160 CONFIRMATION
• Bank Statement
• Solvecy Certificate
• CV
• Email to Professor that got me the RA
• I901 Payment Confirmation
• Previous Visa History (if any)
• Other University admission letter
• Social Media Link Pdf (As there was a social media verification going on, I wrote all the links on a doc, and gave it to the visa officer)
• SOP
• TOEFL
• GRE
• Office ID
• Salary Certificate

• Me: Afternoon, officer.
• VO: You look like 15 (laugh)
• Me: No, I am 25 (laugh)
• VO: What is your university name?
• Me: answered
• VO: What is your research topic?
• Me: answered
• VO: How many papers do you have?
• answered
• VO: Where are those published?
• answered
• VO: Who will bear te cost?
• answered
• VO: Congratulations, I am approving your visa. But this will go under social media screening.
• Me: replied

• You can try this group: https://t.me/+YRGbT9FYy5swMTE1

• I installed Skyscanner app
• From the app, you can see a view like this after clicking the date section, which helps you see on which date the ticket price is low on average

• Many airlines provide special offers for students. Check how to avail a discount as an international student.
• Turkish Airlines offer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxHJBQIE50k
• Emirates Airlines offer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW1rw2tSszw
• Check what the baggage limit is for all the flights. eg, if your first flight allows 2 bags and 2nd flight allows 1 bag only, then it will be a problem. So, check before you buy a ticket.
• Some airlines provide extra facilities if you have a long transit. eg, Free Istanbul by Turkish Airlines, Dubai Connect by Emirates.

• On-campus vs off-campus [Coming Soon ...]

• Send your official documents [Transcript, Mark Sheet, Provisional Certificate, and Main Certificate, etc.]
• If you haven't sent offcial GRE, TOEFL, then send it
• Check vaccine requirements for your university and get vaccinated. Don't forget to get the vaccination certificate [common vaccines: MMR, TDaP, Varivax, flu, Tb, Tetanus, etc.]. You can take some most common vaccines from here - https://www.icddrb.org/vaccination
• Take some $ with you.
• Make Shopping checklist [my Shopping list]

• My experience and tips [Coming Soon ...]

• Orientation, SSN, bank account, etc. [Coming Soon ...]

• When applying to a university, create a separate folder with the university name and all documents and information related to it.
• Don't type while filling out any form. First, make a document with all your information, and then copy information from that document when filling out any form. This will reduce the probability of mistakes drastically.

Thanks, everyone, for your help and encouragement

If you have questions, feel free to reach out:
[[email protected]]

“And Allah is the best of planners : وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ” – Surah Aal Imran