Got my visa in 3rd attempt

Posted by: "RAKESH CHITTURI" rocky_chitturi@yahoo.co.in rocky_chitturi

Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:58 pm (PST)

Hi to one & all,

This is Rakesh Chitturi from Andhra pradesh. I got my visa on july 19th for Tennessee tech univ for MS in mech engg. This is my 3rd attempt (rejected twice in spring) & I got through this time successfully. Here is my experience.

My profile: GRE: 1070 (V-300, AWA-3), TOEFL: 253, ACADS: 65% (1 backlog)

VO is a young lady who has her hair spread out.

VO: hi sir
Me: good afternoon mam.

VO: good afternoon.

VO: which univ?
Me: Tennessee tech univ.

VO: which subject?
Me: Mech engg with a specialization in thermal engg.

VO: why thermal?
Me: Thermal engg is one of the very core subjects in my undergraduation & I had come across subjects like heat transfer, IC engines, fluid mechanics. I am impressed by the basics of these subjects & moreover the project which I had done in my undergraduation comes under this specialization which had triggered my interest further. Hence I chose thermal.

VO: Whats ur project?
Me: The title of my project is "Thermodynamic study & performance of combined cycle power plants".

VO: So u want to continue research in this field?
Me: Yes mam.

VO: give ur undergraduation certificates
Me: gave

VO: what r ur parents?
Me: My father is an engineer in APHMEL which is a state govt organisation & my mother is a superintendent in post office.

VO: So both of ur parents r govt employees?
Me: Yes mam.

VO: How r u going to fund ur studies?
Me: My parents r going to sponsor my education. My parents had deposited
xxx lakhs in my account so far & my parents annual income is xxx lakhs.

VO: What r u doing for the past one year?
Me: For the first 6 months after my undergraduation, I was involved in the process of taking GRE & TOEFL and applying for univs for spring. But unfortunately my visa got rejected twice for spring. After that I worked as a lecturer from FEB to MAY.

VO: which subject did u teach?
Me: Fuid mechanics.

VO: why did u change ur univ?
Me: Tennessee tech univ has always been my top priority but this univ makes decisions very late. As a result I got the I-20 from the univ after 2 rejects for visa. Now I had waited for this univ's I-20 & reapplied.

VO: everything looks fine & u will get ur passport in 2 to 3 days.
Me: Thank u mam & u made my day.

My interview might appear longer seeing the experience I had posted. But I guess its no more than 3 mins.

To be honest I am not that confident even when I am waiting in the que to face the interview. But I didnt panic. I spoke well infront of the VO & acted as if I am 100% confident. She did have a glance at me for about 3 times. I maintained eye contact with the VO through out the interview although she didnt look at me most of the time. I prepared well for the interview. The mock interviews which I had taken had helped me a lot.

Luck played its part in my case to an extent as I was not asked for any documents other than my undergraduation certificates, I was not asked ques like why I was rejected twice for spring. But I feel I got the visa for the effort I have put in for the whole process. My advice is dont get dejected if ur visa gets rejected as the hardwork u have done will go nowhere & will help u in one way or the other for sure. I had experienced it myself & saw some of my friends whose effort paid off although their profile is not that good.

I want to make a request to the members of the group. Please dont put blah, blah... when posting ur experiences for important ques like why this specialization, why this univ etc.

I sincerely would like to thank each & everyone who had posted their experiences. If anyone need help from my side, I am ready to offer. U can contact me at 9290061113.

All the best to all future aspirants to visa. Bye for now. Take care.

Regards
Rakesh Chitturi.