Exchange Diaries  

Shyamvanshikumar Singh | Electronics and Electrical Communication Engg.

Purdue 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 would say my motivation came around the beginning of my 4th year, summers to be precise. During the first
three years of my tenure, I was not involved in any research programmes. However, after my 3rd year, I worked on a
research program which gave me a lot of exposure and motivated me to pursue higher studies. My main aim to
pursue MS is to get more exposure in research fields and get myself involved in exploring further opportunities.
However, I am still not convinced on pursuing PhD but doing MS would give me a start of knowing the research field
more. One needs to start preparing for these things in the early stages and set a punctual timeline for them. Generally,
the deadlines for any projects and other things are in the month of December, so if one starts preparing for these
things in the month of January it becomes easier for them. When it comes to my case, I started during the summers.
Still due to the late start of my semester in August, I managed to take out time and prepare for these things. The main
thing is to prepare for the exam (GRE and TOEFL) which I managed to do during the one month I got due to the late
start of the semester. So, the exam preparation did not clash much with my academics. The other main thing is the
SOP and getting LOR from professors which I managed to do in the month of November. “
2. What is the process of interdisciplinary studies? How easy was the switch? What motivated you the switch?
“It basically depends on your initial planning. The streams E&ECE and Computer Science have quite a good
percentage of things in common. Also, the research program that I was working on was in my department but it was
based on computer networks. So, I could see professors doing work in the Computer Engineering field which made
me incline towards the computer systems. I had also done my internship at Microsoft which again helped me gain
exposure in the computer field. Now, when it comes to the ease of switching, it is completely based on the SOP that
you write and how well you are able to convince the University that you have some experience in this field also. So, my
research program and internship provided me that. “
3. What are the factors that you considered for selecting the universities you are going to apply for?
“The factors to be considered are to check how well your profile matches with the university. The important
thing is to see which university provides the perfect medium for the research work that you have currently done or you
wish to work in the future. My aim was to go for public grad universities. I also short listed those universities where I
could make connections easily or had some known seniors studying there.”
4. Did you apply to multiple universities? If yes, can you please elaborate on the differences in the selection
process of the universities? In universities in which you were not selected can you please share what you felt
you lacked, and what could you have done better?
“The general norm is to apply for atleast six universities. However, I applied for only three which is quite a low
number. The main reason was my financial conditions. The applications of foreign universities cost a lot more than
the Indian ones. The selection processes of different universities is not much different. The main thing is to clear their
exams. Out of the three colleges which I applied for, I got selected only in Purdue University. The main reason was the
lack of time for me to prepare myself for more universities.”
5. How are you planning to manage your finances? Have you applied for any scholarships? What were their
procedures?

“I managed a little of my finances by applying for a less number of colleges, since the applications of colleges
are pretty much costly. And also the scholarship programs or loan process comes, once you have been admitted to
the university. I have also applied for one at the Purdue University.”
6. Is CGPA a factor while considering higher studies at foreign universities?
“This is a very holistic process. If one has done a good amount of research work then CGPA wouldn’t be a
matter to be concerned about. When it comes to my case, my research work was just in the initial stages so, CGPA
played a vital role in my admission. Basically, one needs to show the University their hard work, be it in research field
or through CGPA.”

7. 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, I had taken up two research projects and was working under a professor here at IIT Kharagpur. One was
a BTP thesis which was on computer networks and the other was intersection of signal processing and software
development. I did a lot of this work during my summer vacation so did not have much pressure during the college
semesters. And also, when one is focused to do something then they definitely find a way out.”

8. What were the other difficulties you faced on taking this path and how to overcome them?
“The major difficulty that I faced was the management of time. The preparation of GRE is also quite time
consuming. These problems can only be overcome by having self confidence and being focused on the goals. And the
rest, being a student of IIT KGP, one doesn’t face much problems.”

9. How did IIT KGP benefit you in your journey?
“I got to know about these MS programmes through IIT KGP. Also, the connections I got to make here helped
me a lot through my journey. The KGPian tag that I have received here will be of a lot help to me in my tenure at other
Universities ahead. Also, when one applies to universities for higher studies, they also check the college that you are
coming from and being an IITian helps a lot in such cases. So, being from IIT KGP is like a head start for such
programmes.”

10. What are the opportunities after the MS course?
“The main thing for me is to get a head start for a PhD programme. My current profile is not good enough to
get a direct PhD admission. There is definitely a benefit of doing the MS course. If one decides not to do the PhD
course then getting a job becomes very easy after having being done Bachelors from IIT KGP and MS from Purdue.”
11. 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?
“First, the important thing here is to get the clarity whether one really wants to do higher studies or not. And
also getting that clarity at an early stage (around the start of their 3rd year) would be better. If one decides to study
abroad at an early stage then he/she is recommended to go for the Foreign Training Programs. Also, going for FTPs
help to add weight to your application. My internship was a corporate one at Microsoft. Only if I had gotten the clarity
during my 3rd year regarding higher studies then even I would have opted for Foreign Training Programs.”