Exchange Diaries  

Saptarshi Sadhu | Architecture and Regional Planning

University of Pennsylvania, United States

From where did you get the motivation? How did it all start? How did you handle your preparation for your academics?

I always wanted to study further. Earlier, I was interested in Robotics, but in my third and fourth years, after doing some projects, I thought that Robotics was focused on algorithms and subjects not really in my curriculum. I decided I had to make things that made real changes in products and consumer electronics. So, to gain professional experience in this field, I decided to go for design courses. I had a portfolio of projects I had done, which helped me in applying. Just before I started applying to universities, I made a Guinness World Record for making the ‘Longest-Running Mechanical Spinning Top(Prototype)’, in December 2020 which was a nice addition to my portfolio and CV.

I started my preparations in my 8th (internship) semester. During my internship, I used to prepare for the GRE, but I didn’t focus much. I prepared for only a month. After COVID broke out I left it, and before my GRE in August I prepared for maybe one week.

Did you apply to multiple universities? If yes, can you please elaborate on the differences in the selection processes of the universities? In universities in which you were not selected, can you please share what you felt you lacked, what you could have done better?

I applied to a total of 6 universities: Harvard, UIC, University of Pennsylvania, Stevens Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, and Imperial College, London. I got accepted into Georgia Tech, UPenn, and Stevens. All these universities except Stevens and UPenn had waived GRE and were only considering TOEFL scores and the portfolio (which is mandatory for all design courses). UIC had an interview process. I had a flaw in my SOP initially where I didn’t mention my motivation for the particular program I was getting into. I later realized that and included it in my SOP.

How are you planning to manage your finances? Have you applied for any scholarships? What were their procedures?

The tuition fee at the University of Pennsylvania is very high. There is no fee waiver.

I have taken a loan. 50% of the fee I will pay through the loan, 25% will be arranged by my parents and 25% I will manage through internships and student jobs.

What was the role of your CGPA?

It does play a role but is not the deciding factor. My CGPA is 7.98 and I had a backlog in my second year. I would say, for design courses, it’s not much of an issue as professors know that marks don’t reflect the design sense. What matters is the design portfolio. Also, I got good references from my professors. They definitely want to see results and not just your potential. You have to convince the university that you are a good fit for their program.

If your CGPA is say around 7-7.5, it might still be good enough if you have something to compensate for. In my case, I had showcased my Guinness world record and other electronics and robotics projects which I did in my spare time. To be on the safer side, I would say above 8 or 8.5 is better for theoretical subjects like maths, biotech, or chemical engineering.

How is your university going to manage everything in this confusion of COVID-19?

In-person classes will take place, also, students can join remotely for certain courses. Students can defer by 6 months or 1 year in case they don’t get a visa or have other issues. The University has mandatory check-ups on arrival and you must be vaccinated to enter the campus, either from India or from the university.

How did IIT Kharagpur benefit you in your journey?

I owe everything to IIT Kharagpur. If I were somewhere else, I wouldn’t be free to dream. Here there are so many examples of people doing awesome things. I never feared exploring new things and the professors helped. Sometimes things get a little competitive but people always end up helping each other. The environment is very productive.

What difficulties do you think the pandemic will bring (or has brought already) in the process?

Most universities have waived GRE, and sometimes TOEFL too. Currently, the US Department of Immigration does not require to deliver the hard copy of the I20 form required for visa processing, online PDFs are issued by the universities which is a great time-saver. So it’s mostly conveniences rather than difficulties I would say.

What are the opportunities after this Master’s course?

My course is a very diverse one and is undertaken by three schools: those of Business, Design, and Engineering. People come here from various departments and pursue specializations within the department and then go out in different fields. People can go into Product Design, into furniture companies, into Apple. A few people go into consulting. Some go ahead with starting their ventures.

What message do you want to give the juniors today who are interested in pursuing similar courses?

Whatever you do, click pictures, maintain good documentation. Rough sketches, what you draw on the back of the notebook, equations on the wall, these interest them. The process is more important than the outcome.

If you are weak in some fields don’t be afraid. Apply with a good SOP and be truthful about yourself.