Exchange Diaries  

Faraaz Rahman Mallick | Computer Science and Engineering

Columbia University, United States of America

1. While you were in college, what was your motivation to go for higher studies and in
which year did you get that motivation? How did you manage your academics with your
preparation?

- “I was motivated towards higher studies from the 1st year.
- Research sounded very interesting to me because it never stops you as to what
you can do and there is infinite potential in this field. I found research
challenging. These were the motivation for me to pursue higher studies.
- I focused mostly on academics and I also get to know that academics is the most
important factor to get into a top college. My academics and research area were
similar which helped me in academics.”

2. What are the factors that you considered for selecting the universities you are going to
apply for?

- “First factor was that I removed all the universities which do not allow dual
degree students for masters programs.
- Second factor was location. I wanted to go to a college in the US only.
- Third factor was reputation.”

3. Did you apply to multiple universities?

- “No, I just applied for Columbia University.”

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

- “I am not sure that I will accept the job offer that I got or go to Columbia
University but, I’ve found that We can get an education loan.
- No, I didn’t apply for scholarships.”

5. Is CGPA a factor while considering higher studies at foreign universities?

- “Absolutely, there is a cutoff in some universities regarding CGPA. In some
universities they give preference to students who have CGPA more than 9 at
least for masters degree but, for PhD CGPA plays a good role but, publications
are more important. For masters CGPA is absolutely necessary.”

6. Have you taken up any research project at your bachelor/master's level under any
professor here at IIT KGP? How did you manage your college studies and worked for
your research?

- “Yes, my bachelor’s thesis was under Dr. Palash and it were published in a
conference which helped me in my application as well.

- Since, my bachelor’s thesis was part of the curriculum so I got enough time to
work on it. I did a lot of planning and managed the research work on weekends to
handle the semester. I used to schedule meetings with my professor in evenings
and nights to manage time and also time zone.”

7. What were the other difficulties you faced on taking this path and how to overcome
them?

- “I think that some things like letter of recommendation, or TOEFL which depend a
lot on luck and other factors, so I managed to focus on these extra things which
had less control with me.
- Factors like GPA and research work were the things which I had control of, so as
I always liked studying, this helped me to overcome these factors.”

8. How did IIT KGP benefit you in your journey?

- “The curriculum of IIT Kharagpur helped me because they had mandatory
bachelor’s thesis and master’s thesis so I got to work on a research project which
helped me in improving my research profile.
- The professors helped me as they were really collaborative and shared ideas
about my future in research.
- IR Cell helped me as I looked to the profiles of different students who got
selected which helped me to narrow my choices.
- I also got one of my research internships through IR Cell.”

9. What are the opportunities after the Ph.D. course?

- “After a PhD position like research scientist at top software companies or faculty
at a top college or can join as a consultant or finance in a business. So, I think
that you have many opportunities after PhD.”

10. What are the suggestions that you would give your juniors who want to pursue higher
studies? Could you please give a rough roadmap to ease their journey?

- “Keep your GPA as high as possible.
- Try to work on a research project.
- Try to get a research internship in your second year at a research university.
- Try for a foriegn internship in the third year.
- In fourth year try to take TOEFL as early as possible and then prepare your
recommendation and also your SOP.
- You need to be consistent and use the time well to get admission.”