I went to college in America as an international student from India. Coming from a completely different education system and jumping into a new culture and country made college more interesting than average. This blog covers what helped me to bridge that gap between never being on this side of the world to moving here for college. Turns out, by the way, that I am still here, 14 years later, but I intended to come for college only.

Pure delusion and love of science and 10 million other things

So, I wanted to double major in physics and chemistry and minor in music and math, which was my bare minimum dream. To start, I wanted to do all those things and I always liked way too many things. That was always a no-no in India. There, you picked one thing and stuck to that one thing. The people I interacted with and the education system were too discouraging for my taste.

The delusion is that I thought I should pursue something just because I liked it! Knowing what I know now, that was definitely a bit deluded, especially something like physics as it turns out, is so hard! So is music, and so is anything when you pursue it professionally. Despite this, all I cared about was I loved science especially physics, and music especially the violin. So, I just did not care and I knew it would not be possible to pursue all of these in India. So even though I had never even been to America, I took a massive leap of faith and went for it.

Wrote emails to an American professor almost every day

I had never been to the US before I landed here a few days before my fall semester started. So, all of the information I collected to prepare was online through browsing, applying to colleges, interviewing, and emailing people. After I got into NC State, I emailed professors there, particularly one professor (Dr. John Blondin) almost every day.

I had so many questions about college here. I did not know a thing, even the concept of college credits was new. Transferring credits, what was that? Taking college classes in high school, I had never heard of it. Assigned to a roommate named Morgan, was that a boy like Morgan Freeman? Turns out, Morgan can be a girl too.

Dr. Blondin of NC State actually emailed me back with answers and that was encouraging. I started to think that my dreams might be possible. It was to explore that possibility that I ended up coming here. It also helped to pick NC State as the college I went to.

Rage quit on the Indian education system

I was excited that I could start with Calculus 2 in my first semester, instead of Calculus 1. Math problems had partial credit, what a world! In India, if you got the answer wrong, you got zero for the whole problem. Imagine my struggle back in India because I was always process-oriented and did not always have the right results. Doing “well” in math in India had always been a challenge for me, after trying for multiple years and doing heaps of practice books of math, I finally scored 99% on my last set of board exams in India. That was after many years of getting 70s or 80s and one time even 23 out of 100!

Basically, I had a lot of interest in learning but found the educational system in India to be discouraging for a student like me. I did not have many tutors there, for example. Where I came from and went to school (the biggest school in Asia), it was extremely common for each student to have multiple tutors, one or more per subject. For example, with my math difficulties, you would think I got a math tutor for my 12th board exams, but no. I didn’t, I was very stubborn like that and did not learn the way others seemed to. I had one tutor, in my favorite subject, of course, physics. I learned both math and physics from my high school physics teacher because that is how I rolled.

Basically, I rage quit on the education system in India before “rage quit” was even a thing. I kind of hated how things were graded, sometimes taught, the rat race, and having to fit inside a box.

No engineering or becoming a medical doctor

I did not like being told what to do, and I did not immediately want to become an engineer or medical doctor like everyone else. If I was going to school after finishing high school, why couldn’t I pursue the things I actually liked so far? But majoring in the pure sciences was for the losers back there. So, I changed my country! Honestly, this was a pretty extreme step to take when I was so young, and I am not sure I recommend it to everyone. I am simply sharing my story of college in America as an international student from India!

Choosing Physics and Chemistry as majors for college in America from India

As much as choosing physics and chemistry in India was weird, here I think it helped me to get into college! In America, too, more students pick other majors and so when you put down physics and chemistry, you might stand out. I picked both and they put me down as physics. Enrolling in one major also does not tie you to that major. It means you are a physics student for accounting purposes but to a large extent, you can do whatever you want!

As long as you are in good academic standing

As long as you are in good academic standing. Also, it depended on your academic advisor, what classes you took, how many credits you would be approved to take, etc. Luckily I had a fantastic academic advisor (Dr. Steve Reynolds) who was also one of the best physics professors at NC State.

Pure intentions and lack of talent may have aided to go to college in America from India

Turns out that having pure intentions is all it takes in America. You don’t have to be so talented. The American system is not perfect, indeed it is a business, but people are developed here. You don’t have to have an innate talent to succeed in America. Honestly, I am kind of glad I did not have too many talents growing up because I think I would have gotten burned out. Instead, I was ready to be developed and molded into something awesome by receiving opportunities in America.

More than talent, it is embracing the opportunity that allows people to shine in America, and I was good at that. I was deluded enough to take a big step, bold enough to make a huge commitment, untalented enough to learn a lot by doing, and hungry enough to find and take every opportunity. I even wrote for the college newspaper as one of my many on-campus jobs! This was one of the few ways to make money on a Student F-1 Visa, that is, working solely on-campus.

I did not even think about the subsequent job opportunities in physics. For me, it was enough that I got the opportunity to study physics without judgment. Now I know and can tell you that the job market is good for physicists, but back then, I was happy to study to become a physicist. I worked in various labs as well. Since I was always doing a lot of things, I did not think too far ahead of me.

Money and Privilege play a role too in going to college in America as an international student from India

Lastly, it costs money to go to school here. I ended up going to the college that had the lowest tuition out of my options. Thank goodness, it was actually a really good fit in many ways as well. I went to a public school (NC State) and the other options were private. It worked out fine to go to a big, public school as opposed to costlier, private schools.

It is good to have aspirations but do not put any academic institution on a pedestal when considering college in America.  Focus on your goals and the universe will find a way for you to achieve them.

Financial decision

Remember that when a school does not accept you, it may be a purely financial decision on their end. It is a vast business after all, and these academies need money from international students who can pay. So, if you need financial aid, I have collected anecdotal evidence over time that it might be a financial reason for not getting in, not because you are not good enough. There is no such thing as not good enough.

You are good and enough, and you can be developed endlessly with opportunity. Go towards opportunity and forget about the rest. For now, anyway!

Read about how I finally got into MIT

Dream of getting into MIT comes true 13 years later