Semester I

1. Get funded : Money is a big deal for Indians. And the education in USA is damn expensive. My first goal was that I wanted to avail free and quality higher education. Life becomes so simpler once you get funded here. I feel so lucky to have joined the right department and university in that regard. After some initial efforts, I got funded easily and ensured that I would be paid money to complete my education here via stipend rather than the other way round. The trick is to be persistent in the first month or so and knock every goddamn door in the university. If you are a computer science student, there is 99.99% probability that you would never have to spend a single penny from your pocket during Masters.
2. Get internship : Internship is the sure shot way to get a great job without going through rigorous interviews later on. Ideally, I would have preferred to get internship in the first two months itself. Unfortunately, I started the process a bit late and got my internship offer in January. My advice to all students is that slog your ass off in the first couple of months here in Fall and get internship early. If possible prepare a bit for interviews immediately before starting the Masters program. Frankly speaking, your Masters is as well as over once you get the internship because most interns are easily able to convert it into full-time offers. If you just put your heart and soul in the first 2 months, you can literally enjoy the next 22 months of your Masters !!

Semester II

1. Just relax :). If possible, prepare a bit for the internship. Even though it mostly works out, you still want to give yourself the best chance to succeed during internship. Due to a choice of some tough courses, this semester was not as relaxing as what I had initially signed for .

Summer

Summer is generally the most memorable part of your Masters. Most CS students intern in Silicon valley, where they get to meet the Who’s Who of Computer Science. Also, California is so beautiful. You would just love it there.

1. Impress your boss; Get a PPO : I believe you should save all your energy of the entire Masters program for these three months. Do the best possible work you can do in your life. I gave it my all during my internship @WalmartLabs. I was amazed at how much I was able to achieve and learn in three months. I left no stone unturned to ensure that I get a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) at my firm. Life becomes much simpler once you have a job offer and ample time to kill in next one year .
2. Visit places; shrink Bucket List, have fun: Unlike my other adventure crazy friends, I was more keen on working and securing job during my internship. But still I roamed around a lot of places. There are so many areas around in California which you can explore during your internship. I visited SF many times, Yellowstone National Park, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Diego, Hoover Dam and many many more places. Ticked off many bucket list items like watching WWF, Pitbull concert, camping in jungle, lived vegas life etc.

Semester III

This is where I planned the fun would really start after a relatively intense first year.

1. Learn American dance forms: I have always loved dancing. Till now, it was mostly some inexplicable steps in the parties . I had planned this for my third semester. But I was fortunate enough to get this opportunity in the first semester itself. Easily one of the most enjoyable and memorable experience of my life. Dance forms like Waltz, Tango, Cha-Cha, Swing etc. are so much fun and intense. It helped that we were dancing along with some very beautiful american girls .
2. Perform on stage : I am very shy of stage performance. I have tried some spicy performances in the past. But I wanted to try some nicely choreographed dance performances once in my life. I did participate in the Gangam Style flash mob dance last year. I am hoping this year I would get a chance to do a more meaningful dance piece on the Diwali night organized by IGSA.
3. Represent university Ping-Pong team : I have been working really hard to get this going. I think I have a decent chance to represent our university in table-tennis this year. The competition is really stiff but I am not going down without a fight !!
4. Interact with people from across cultures : This is something you should be doing throughout your stay here in US. Unfortunately, for me this process has really kickstarted this past summer and the current fall. It is such an amazing experience to understand the richness of their cultures. I have had long-long discussions on Chinese and American cultures in the recent past. It is so amazing to understand why things are the way they are in various cultures.
5. Six pack abs : That might be exaggerating it a bit . But I guess I would never get a better time than this to become a hunk !!

Semester IV

This Semester would be like the final year of our UG college. Just do anything and everything apart from studies, since most of us would have the jobs by now. We have the rest of our lives to work hard and study. So, make the most of this free time !!

1. Learn Spanish : I have always wanted to learn a foreign language. And what better foreign language than Spanish !! It is going to be really hectic to take a language course. But this is one of the top items in my bucket list. And it shall be executed !!
2. Learn Guitar : Music is my life. And it hurts me that I don’t know a musical instrument yet. This might be the last chance when I can give myself ample time to learn a musical instrument. It would take a lot of effort. But some things in life are worth it !!
3. PCB Spring Break : I have heard so many good things about this. Let’s party american style in Florida next year .

Before Joining Job

1. Eurotrip : Always wanted to visit Europe, ever since I saw the movie Eurotrip . I have heard such amazing things about the beauty of Europe and the richness of their cultures. It would be a dream come true, if I am able to pull this one !!

These are some of the major action items that was in my blueprint. Of course there are lots of other plans which are better not discussed on public forums . My action items might seem very job-centric. Well that sums up pretty much the attitude of all Indian students who have come here for Masters :). We do care about high quality education and its challenges and we do study really hard for it. But at the end of the day job is our most important priority. And the reason why I emphasize so much on experiencing the fun aspect of college life here is because those things are virtually non-existent or much harder to get back in India !!

Let’s analyze how I have done so far !! Based on the blueprint, it seems I am actually going according to plan. There have been a few deviations here and there, some unfulfilled goals, some hit and misses, some rejections, some heart breaks (in every sense of the word :)) on the way. I am more excited about the next one year and all the Bucket List Items that I have an opportunity to check off, all amazing experiences that are in store for me. I don’t know what life has in store for me after college. But I do know now that for some obvious and some non-obvious reasons Masters was a good decision after all !!

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