New Admissions Form Spring 2013: Fill & Download for Free

* CS and IT world has changed a lot. New degrees have emerged. I am going to add data from 2017/18 admission season by October 2018. Till then promote and share this answer.*Let's set your thinking first.The Grad School Statistics We Never Hadhttp://occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2017/05/16/university-rankings-are-fake-news/Academic Rankings Considered Harmful!Where you went to college doesn't matter. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/where-you-went-to-college-doesnt-matter-this-is-why?utm_content=bufferbb6ab&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=bufferMany students start their college research with rankings. That’s all well and good. You’ve got to start somewhere. But overall there is NO ranking system, NO acceptance criteria, no matter how perfect, is going to be able to tell you what university is best for your future. Graduate program prestige is a touchy subject for many people. I recommend that students look holistically, by looking at many rankings and university prestige, cost-benefit analysis, curriculum, post graduation job status, research fit, reputation of advisers etc. Of course you’d like to attend the program with the most prestige. But what if that prestigious university you’re in love with is price gouging? What if you’ll have to set back your life plans to be able to afford tuition, never mind the cost of living?Holistic view of the ranks:Look at different sources before settling in one ranking method.Research interests, fit with the adviser and adviser's reputation in the field (I cannot stress enough how important this is to any PhD applicants. #1 priority over anything. PeriodARWU: Academic Ranking of World Universities in Computer Science - 2015 (Helpful to PhD applicants: based on citations, research, impact factor. Much better than USNEWS for science, tech, CS ranking)NSF grant: Universities Report Highest-Ever R&D Spending of $65 Billion in FY 2011 (Helpful to PhD applicants, refer Table 3; Gives you an idea about research expenditures of the school - you want to end up in a college with continuous supply of fund)National Research Council: NRC Rankings Overview: Computer Sciences (Helpful to PhDs, sort by 'Research high'. This shows the quality of research.) Page on phd.org is derived from the NRC ranking.Microsoft Research rank: Page on bit.ly (Click the link or Copy paste the link, Click the field of your research on left, In the middle pane click 'see more ' in top organizations in [your field], Choose '5 years', and then sort by 'North America' or your continents).CSrankings.org, a ranking based on top-tier publication output of CS faculty. Unlike US News and World Report's approach, which is exclusively based on surveys, this ranking is entirely metrics-based. It measures the number of publications by faculty that have appeared at the most selective conferences in each area of computer science. However , this does not capture all top conferences for a particular field , so the ranking is based only on top 3–5 conferences. So, there are flaws in rankings particularly in algorithms, systems, HCI etc. But all rankings have them. Good as a preliminary filter to find faculty working on each field at each school.And finally, USNews Computer Science . Unfortunately many applicants and early career assistant professors use it as a primary filter. Comparing schools based only on USNews rank is a common mistake by PhD applicants. Academics don't look at this ranking highly. This is the baseless , subjective, and perception based, yet most common ranking system out there. Be careful.QS University rankings: Page on topuniversities.com [The research methodology is mostly subjective based. I recommend using this only for Masters and Business programs, not for PhD). In all honesty, QS and THE rankings overvalue European universities. But no one actually cares about it.(CAUTION- academic rankings are bad) Academic Rankings Considered Harmful!Do I want a Masters or a PhD ?For those who want to go on to graduate study, the first decision is whether to pursue a master’s degree or a PhD. The master’s degree usually consists of additional coursework and will give you a stronger foundation of the same sort you had as an undergraduate. Getting a PhD. is a MUCH LONGER/MUCH HARDER commitment (often five or more years), the core of which is an independent research project leading to a doctoral dissertation, and job in academic institutions or research fields.Is it easier to get admitted as a Masters compared to a PhD?It depends how you define "easier". There is no 'yes' or 'no' answer to this. Generally speaking, all applicants should be aware that the selection process is comprehensive and rigorous for PhD admission compared to Masters since there are generally fewer slots for PhDs, and Masters slots are typically not funded (vs most PhD students being fully funded).Money and degree?Sadly in today economy the ability for a student to pay full tuition has become a factor in some admissions decisions. MBA is notoriously known for “rich gets it all”. But this has definitely been the case in CS and IT in University of California, Georgia Tech, which has seen a rise in admitted applicants. In today marketplace, more and more schools are paying great attention to full paid Masters applicants that explained why so many campuses are packed by international students. This puts deserved and talented students behind the wealthy ones.Masters programs may be easier to get into if for no other reason than because you can pay tuition. Eg, University of Southern California, Georgia Tech Masters, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard (extension schools, professional school, and few Master degrees), Dartmouth, Cornell, Stanford, CMU etc. If the question is whether or not one's ability to pay can overcome deficiencies in one's transcript, the answer is "usually" no. The college will not allow an unqualified applicant to get in, but if there are two candidates, and one is high need (smart) and the other is not (slightly less smart), all other things being equal, the full pay student may be the one getting that fat envelope. This is one of the reasons why you see more Master students than PhD students in any schools. PhD programs are more difficult to gain acceptance to because you also receive a salary, health insurance and somebody in the nebulous world of academia pays your tuition (training grants, PI's grants, fellowships etc). The bar for any PhD school is much tougher than bar for any Masters. Example, it may be equally harder or if not more, to get into a top 30–35 PhD school than Masters at a top 5–10 school. Admission is overly critical and competitive at PhD level, and being able to pay tuition has no influence in PhD admission process. Industries and Academics also look very highly of PhD candidates compared to Masters. In some sense, Masters is an advanced bachelors.To confirm my statement look at the data below.***acceptance rate does not translate to how good a school is in research. Acceptance rate is a factor how many students applied to how many slots are available. But that does show overall strength of the program. YOU be the decision maker***------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MIT EECS, MAThe admission rate of applicants to EECS at MIT is approximately 6%. They only have one application process and it is for the Master’s/PhD combined. There is no separate Master’s degree application.Acceptance Rate: 6.4% , 2778 applications and admitted 180 applicants for 2014-2015Source: Emailed [email protected], CAMS: 667 applications, 123 accepted, 92 enrolled (18.4% acceptance rate)PhD acceptance: This past year we had 692 applicants to our Ph.D. program. We accepted 71, with about 50 of them taking us up on our offer. Now 10% might not seem like terrible odds as compared with, say, getting into Stanford as an undergraduate (7% admission rate). But those 692 applicants were already a somewhat self-selected group.Acceptance Rate: 18.4% (MS), 10.26% (PhD)Source: http://cs.stanford.edu/newsletter/past-newsletters/2011(Look for admissions statistics section)Princeton, NJAcceptance: 11 % They do not have statistics for computer science alone.Source: Look at graduate admissions for school of engineering and applied science: A Princeton Profile . Also emailed at [email protected] Tech (CS/HCI/OMS), GASource: Graduate Admissions - Table 4.3Page on gatech.eduAs you can see from first link, the admission rate is around 19% - 30%.PhD in GTECH is way harder than Masters to get admission. Impossible to compare quality of applicants at these two levels.Regular Masters CS with thesis option: As you can see that GTech Masters program is not as competitive to get into (Refer to IInd link). There are 3x to 5x more Masters students than PhDs at GTech. That is a quite significant difference and should tell something about quality of PhD students vs Masters students to get into. Email source says PhD admission rate is 10%.Masters in Interactive Computing/HCI: Total applicants: 350 applicants, Admit: 100 admits, and Enrolled: 50 . Only 50% enrolled. About half of students in Interactive Computing track; the rest are divided among the Psychology, Industrial Design, and Digital Media tracks. The acceptance rate is somewhat lower in the Interactive Computing track, but not significantly. Usually unfunded admission in Masters.Acceptance rate: 28.57%Source: Emailed [email protected] Masters: They also have an online Masters in CS program with Udacity. Acceptance Rate for OMS CS: 50% - 60%[Their on-site/in-person program is ranked top 10 by USNews, NOT the online program]Source: Emailed [email protected], ILEach year the Department of Computer Science at Illinois receives around 1500 applications for the MS and PhD programs and admits around 130 recruits between the two programs.Acceptance Rate (MS + PhD combined) : 8.66%Source: Application Evaluation ProcessWisconsin-Madison, WIAcceptance Rate: 20% (MS + PhD combined)Enrollment rate: only 36%Source: http://grad.wisc.edu/education/academicprograms/profiles/229.pdfUT-Austin, TXMS/PhD: ~ 20%. Nearly the same as Wisconsin Madison (MS + PhD combined)Source: [email protected] replied back they are as close to the numbers ~15-20%.Purdue, INFor Fall 2014 we had about 1112 applications for about 82 slots. For Fall 2013 we had about 980 applications for about 54 slots.Acceptance Rate: 7.3% (MS + PhD combined)Source: https://www.cs.purdue.edu/graduate/admission/process.htmlPurdue also has a CIT (computer information technology) degree with very high acceptance rate and a late deadline. But you may be required to pay a lot as a Masters.Harvard, MAAdmits about 8%-9% of applications across their graduate programs. They do not offer admission into the masters degree in Computer Science- at this time they only admit into their PhD program.For the class of graduate students entering in Fall 2014, SEAS received more than 2000 applications across all Ph.D. and master's programs and accepted just under 10 %Source: Emailed [email protected] Mellon University, PACarnegie Mellon overall is hovering around 15-20% (MS + PhD combined). Surprised (too many CS specializations)?? However, the School of Computer Science PhD only is about 6.8% (2012 Statistics: 5071 applicants, 345 admitted, 138 enrolled)The thing you have to note is that every computing specializations within Carnegie Mellon School of Conputing has different requirements and thus different acceptance rates.The admission intake is pretty high at Masters level - a bit higher than peer schools. Is Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science easier to get into thancomparative programs at top tier schools?Tip:CMU Heinz is relatively very easier to get into for Information Systems degree (but does not enjoy as much reputation as CS)Few (not all) masters programs at CMU are easier to get into for no other reason than because you can pay tuition as long as you meet minimum criteria for admission.CMU has a INI school focused at information technology, networking, security and technology management. Very good job placement but you may be paying atleast USD 80k-120k for your masters without any scholarship.Penn State CS / IST, PAabout 800-1000 applications for fall semester; about 50-75 applications for spring semester. We accept about 30-50 students for fall and about 6 for spring; most of these are PHD students.Acceptance Rate: 6.25% (fall, MS + PhD combined) ; 12% springSource: Graduate Admissions and emailed [email protected] Science and Technology department: Penn State has a highly reputed interdisciplinary department- CS, Sociology, and Psychology mixed together.M.S. Program | College of Information Sciences and TechnologyUniversity of Pennsylvania CIS/CIT, PAPhD in CIS/CIT : 448 applicants to the doctoral program, 50 candidates admittedAcceptance Rate: 11.16%Masters program in CS : 752 applicants, 135 candidates admittedAcceptance Rate: 17.95%[No Aid for Masters "cash cow' masters program]Masters program in IT: 331 applicants, 58 candidates admittedAcceptance Rate: 17.52%Source for all above: Graduate Program Admissions Statistics[No Aid for Masters "cash cow' masters program]Brown University, RIPhD: 300 applications to our PhD programAcceptance Rate: 16%Masters: About 375 applicationsAcceptance Rate: 22%Source: Emailed [email protected][Masters in CS is relatively easier to get into even though it is an Ivy - a "cash cow" masters program]Cornell University, NYPhD: About 11% for the fall 2015 for both CS and iSchool eachSource: Emailed [email protected] University, NYPhD: 710 PhD applicants and 53 admits for fall 2015 Acceptance Rate: 7.46%MS: MS is relatively easier to get into, higher acceptance rate and does not have financial aid. 'cash cow' masters program.Source: Emailed admission committee at [email protected] Ann Arbor(CS/iSchool), MICS/CE: 618 PhD applications for 64 slots. Masters is higher acceptance rate.Acceptance Rate: 10.35%Source: Computer Science and EngineeringInformation Science: 8.27%Acceptance:145 PhD applications for 12 slots - 5 years averageSource: Rackham Graduate SchoolDuke University, NCPhD and MS about 17 % (As you can see the GRE and GPA criteria for Masters admission is lower than peer schools)Source: Computer Science - Duke UniversityDuke Graduate School (more statistics)Yale University, CTAdmission rate of PhD: ~20% (according to an email response) but the link below says 12%Masters: MS program is course work only and unfunded.Source: Department of Computer Science - Yale University in New Haven, CT - Graduate Program Information at Petersons.comAlso emailed cs office at Yale.University of Washington (CS/iSchool/HCDE), WACS: Over 1400 applications and admitted 150 students. Only 56 PhD students in 2014-2015 cohort. Over the past 10 years or so, the acceptance rate has been about 10%.Graduate School StatisticsEnroll rate: 33%. Typically about 1/3 of the students they admit end up comingSource: grad-admissions@cs.washington.edu---------------------------------------------------------------------------------HCDE (recently established program): For fall 2015, there were total of 86 PhD applications that admitted 7 students.PhD Acceptance rate:8.13%Master’s program received 484 applications and admitted 93 students. Acceptance rate: 19.21%Note: Heavily design and UX oriented, and prototyping based----------------------------------------------------------------------------------iSchool:Admit rate for the PhD program is normally around 15-20%Masters (MSIM) programs are less selective and does not enjoy much reputation. Their masters is a cash cow. However, their PhD is competitive.Acceptance Rate: 23% for MastersSource: Page on uw.eduUniversity of Maryland, College Park (CS/iSchool), MDAcceptance Rate: Overall about 20% of applicants are admitted, and about 1/3rd of them enrollSource: Emailed [email protected] for Prospective StudentsiSchool PhD: ~20%iSchool Masters: See below.iSchool MIM: over 600 applications and admitted just over 100 applicants: 16.66%iSchool HCIM: accepted 60 out of 111 applications, 54.4% [Easy Safety. Do not rush because of the Maryland name. Make sure you check available courses, TA/RA opportunities and industry reaction to this degree]Source: Page on umd.edu and emailed [email protected] Berkeley, CAFor EECS overall, not broken down by degree: "3100 applicants for about 100 slots". Their yield is probably high. They also say the MS CS program "admits very few students."Overall PhD and MS combined: <5%Source: Facts and figuresThey also have an interdisciplinary iSchool. Lower acceptance rate compared to their CS department due to the interdisciplinary nature and high demand of the program. Admits only 5–8 PhDs per year out of several hundred applications. Ph.D. Application InstructionsUniversity of Southern California, CAAcceptance Rate: No [email protected] responded that they do not have that statistic available.[Probably one of the easiest schools among top tiers, to get into for Masters with full pay.]University of California Davis, CAAdmission to the Graduate Group in Computer Science is highly competitive. On average, we receive over 1,000 applications for admission and generally admit the top 10%.Acceptance Rate:: ~10%Source: Prospective Graduate Students - Computer ScienceUniversity of California, Los Angeles, CAAcceptance Rate: 22%Source: Page on ucla.edu(The new data suggests acceptance is lower than this)University of California, San Diego,CAAcceptance Rate for MS: For fall 2015, 900 MS applicants, acceptance rate of 7.5%,Acceptance Rate for PhD: 375 PhD applicants with an admission percentage of 19%(Notice the higher PhD acceptance compared to Masters. This is because UCSD is a top tier research school and usually focus more on PhDs)University of California, Santa Barbara, CAAcceptance Rate: ~ 10% for PhDs. More for Masters. We receive around 400+ PhD applications per year and admit between 30-50 students. Our goal is to have roughly 20-25 students join the program each Fall.Source: Frequently Asked Questions for UCSB Graduate AdmissionsCaltech, CAAcceptance Rate: Still searchingJohns Hopkins, MDAcceptance Rate: Still searching

A disclaimer at the outset: this answer is about his journey to become a stand-up comedian.I) Gursimranjeet Khamba, the other co-founder of AIB along with Tanmay Bhat, was one of the anti-reservation group representatives who met the then President- Dr. Abdul Kalam to present a petition against reservations.He was a part of United Students - an initiative by some Delhi University students to change the state of politics and governance at DU. Seen here in the picture (extreme left) with his counterparts at United Students. On the extreme right is Aditya Raj who is a political reporter at Times Now now.This happened during the peak of protests against the UPA government's decision to increase the reservation in government-regulated education institutes for OBCs from 22.5% to 49%.II) Khamba was also an active member of AIESEC during his under-graduate years. He studied journalism from Delhi College of Arts & Commerce (Delhi University).III) After graduation, Khamba was all set to move to England for his Master's degree on a full scholarship. But, life had different plans for him. He contracted Tuberculosis that led to him being bed-ridden for around 6 months.Sick, bed-and-angst ridden, and heart-broken (apparently he was also going through a bad break-up at that time), he amused himself by watching stand-up comedy on YouTube. He soon started a blog that was called Khamba's Blog that he claims was mainly to pass his time and vent his pent-up frustration. He presented a witty and quirky take on social and political issues in India.The blog became hugely popular and earned him thousands of followers on Twitter. Rajneesh Kapoor, a popular stand-up comedian in Delhi, stumbled upon his blog one day and found it really funny. Impressed, he contacted Khamba and invited him for an open mic night (stand-up comedy by amateurs). And that is how his journey in this space started!IV) Khamba also started podcasting on his blog simultaneously. His first guest on the podcast was Rahul Roushan (founder of Faking News). However, Khamba felt something was amiss and he stopped after 2-3 podcasts.V) Enter Tanmay, Rohan, and Ashish: All of them made their solo debuts within a month or two of each other, in early 2011, at open mic nights run by Vir Das, a stand-up comic himself. In an interview that he gave to Forbes India, Tanmay says performing at the erstwhile Comedy Club in Mumbai got them a lot of media exposure and that they had more interviews than shows at one time. Which in turn led to them getting regular gigs at corporate events.Then all three of them worked for Weirdass (Vir Das’s company) and leant to write sketches.VI) The year was 2012 and Khamba had moved to Mumbai, as the comedy scene over there was much more active. There, he met and became friends with Tanmay Bhat. Together, they started podcasting and called it All India Bakchod. They were later joined by their friends, Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya. Khamba was Twitter friends with all three of them before he met them in-person.VII) In 2012, Khamba got admission into the M.A. in Media & Cultural Studies course at TISS Mumbai. He moonlighted as a stand-up comedian along with studying at TISS. Interestingly, he was asked to do stand-up during his final admission interview.The only time he performed on the campus, a minor controversy broke out as some students (read the right-wing faction) found the content "objectionable" and wanted action to be taken against him.VIII) Their podcast allowed them to build an audience and reach out to more people. They kept doing live solo shows simultaneously.Their first major live show was called The Royal Turds wherein they made fun of the worst of Bollywood in 2012 from acting, direction, lyrics, etc through a mixture of stand-up, sketch, and musical comedy. This show happened on 15th February, 2013 at Liberty Cinema, Mumbai. They did this in the cities of Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, and Bangalore as well. They came back with a second edition of this show in spring 2014.IX) Khamba has been a weekly columnist for Firstpost and DNA newspaper, Mumbai and his writing has been published and featured in GQ India, Grazia, Hello Magazine, Marie Claire India, India Today, HT Brunch, NH7, Yahoo! Exclusives and more. His television credits include The Indian Television Awards, Jay Hind! and MTV Rock The Vote which he wrote and co-starred in. Some of his corporate clients include Hindustan Times (Crystal Awards), ICICI, Tatva, Facebook, AT Kearney, Publicis Groupe.X) All India Bakchod made their debut on YouTube in September 2013. And the rest is history!XI) Khamba is flatmates with Abish Mathew who is a popular stand-up comedian himself and collaborates with AIB on almost all their projects.(Images Credit:-INDIAN YOUTH ACTIVISTSGursimranjeet Khamba's blogger profileVir Das - Weirdass Comedyfrom All India BakchodWelcome to Tata Institute of Social SciencesPreview: The Royal Turds @ Liberty Cinema › NH7 | Discover new music and explore alternative culture from India and around the worldI want to be booed once on stage, says comic Abish Mathew)

Welcome to the world of a bully, in the next few minutes you will be reading everything about me and i hope by the end of this answer you will get your answer.CHAPTER -1 LIFE OF A BULLYHello readers,So it all started in the year 2008, when i was 17, when i used to be a “BULLY”To make my point stronger, here's a picture of mine when I was 18I was a failure in Life and a son which no parents would ever want. I use to bunk all my classes, coaching’s, I even use to bunk my GYM Training. I'll simply take my bag in the morning and instead of going to school I’ll take my bike to my friend’s house, pick him up and drive around the city or sometimes outside city.Someone said and I quote,“You are average of 5 people you spend time with”My 5 people were, bullies, well known hooligans of the city, rich kids and so on. So, I became something similar.I remember there was a time my dream was to become the most known guy in the city, what I mean by that is if I am crossing a road there should be at least 4-5 people waving their hands to me. Now I just laugh at my childhood fantasies.We all know we reap what we sow, I sowed this within me, and so what would I reap?My 11th class report cardI failed in physics chemistry mathsEven then when I was getting my answer sheets, I didn’t bother much, I mean ya I was bit scared but these marks never brought any sense of guilt in me. I lied all my marks initially to my mother, saying that I just got 63 in this and 52 in that.There are the comments I received during the parent teachers meetBut then during the parent’s teacher meeting, my mom cried in front of the class teacher.That day my mom cried in front of me and I felt what I am doing. If I can’t make my parents happy what is the whole point of me living this life. If I am giving them sleepless nights and giving them pain and tears what is the use of everything else. This roaming, bullying bunking all became so foolish to me.I really wanted to do something, but I didn’t know how?I was listening all kind of motivational lectures and speeches on YouTube to get some confidence and I heard one of mahatrias Infinipath in that he said, and I quote:“You are like a spring, you have compressed your potential so much now you can only bounce back in life from here. You cannot squeeze more. Just decide to do something and no one will stop you”“ BOUNCE BACK IN LIFE” it’s that day and today I am only bouncing and not squeezing anymore. I decided whatever it takes, I will study hard. It’s okay I failed in maths, it’s okay I failed subjects required for Engineering but if my parents wants me to study hard, if that’s what makes them happy, I will do it no matter what it takes.CHAPTER -2 THE DOWNFALLSomehow due to my parents request and based on my final exam results, they sent me to class 12th. I started sitting with a nerdy student in my school, for time being let’s call him Abhishek. Since my IQ was very low it was tough for me to catch-up with the pace of the teachers, so I use to ask Abhishek to explain me again and clear my doubts. He was really a helpful guy and I thought my conditions are improving and I will get good grades in 12thBut again someone said and I quote,“ You can never defy the laws of KARMA”I had to pay back whatever I did to others. Whether it was cheating on my girlfriends or beating innocent kids for no reason or stealing money from home, it was time I have to suffer.One fine day, Abhishek and I were sitting together and I was as usual eating up Abhishek’s head to understand what exactly our physics teacher was trying to convey. As I was grilling Abhishek with my naive questions, one of my “old bully friends” came and started bullying Abhishek for no reason, but as he too was my friend I ignored. This continued for 1 week and I could not resist and urged him my to stop it and to go do something useful.This was a huge mistake, I shouldn't stopped him that day because he took this on his ego and thought that I am trying to overpower him by supporting other people.This small issue became very big and there became two seperate groups, one who supported me and the other who didnt. I really didnt start any fight; I kept on saying that my intention was not to overule anyone or to belittle anyone. My only intention was to protect Abhishek.Nevertheless, this thing continued for weeks, one day one of my old friend called me and asked me to meet after school to end this thing forvever. I trusted the person so I thought it’s a genuine compromise and you know I was in a fairy land assuming that he would hug me, I will say sorry to him, he will say sorry to me...This resulted into an outrage and all of my old friends started thinking that I am planning against them and now they had to teach me a lesson. 2 weeks later, I was called by one of my old friends, showing concern about what happened and in order to maintain “The So called Old Friendship” he said, he would like to close the matter through a compromise. Initially, I didn't see any conspiracy in this and went along with 4/5 of my “VERY CLOSE” friends to meet him.It was nice weather, with light grey clouds and I was waiting for my old friends to come and was expecting a hug from them and was in the fairyland expecting that things would go normal and I will be able to study again.I waited for almost half an hour when I saw my friend who called me for compromise entering the place. “Following him, there were 30 other students and 1 or 2 police constables.”I was dumbstruck, I understood that it was not a compromise call and in order to protect myself I have to fight.I would not like to get in the details of what happened during the fight as it was very ugly but the reason why I shared my story here is,After the fight, everybody was running (in order to protect themselves being caught by police) I saw my “very close friends”, who came with me, take my bike and drive away in front of me, not caring to even stop when they saw me.Somehow, I escaped the arena, and called my DADI told him that I have beaten somebody very badly and now police is searching for me and I am really very very sorry I have let you down again and please save me from this.And his reply was,“ Are you okay son, are you hurt too”I bursted into tears. What am I doing with my life. On one side I bunked classes, stole money from home. I thought my friends are my life and my parents just want me to study and want me to be happy.That day, I learnt the lesson. Since then, I have never trusted ANYBODY other than my parents. Friends are important part of our life but parents are the most important, take care of them. During bad times it is really your parents who will save you, so please always keep your parents happy.My story does not end hereAfter failing in 11th grade, it was hard to get up again and gain respect in front of my parents. I tried hard but failed everywhere.Somehow I cleared my 12th with 69%, still failed in 1 subject in my internal.CHAPTER 3: THE REALIZATIONI would like to share a story here before continuing my journey.This story is from the book of Malachi and its title is“ A Silversmith Throws a Metal in the Furnace and Watches.”Pic Courtesy: Google ImagesSo, in the chapter three in the book of Malachi there is a line: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."Pic Courtesy: Google ImagesA women was reading this verse, this verse puzzled the women and she wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.The women offered to find out about the process of refining silver. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up.She asked him , “Why are you watching after keeping the metal?He explained that,“In refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.”The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot- then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.The man answered that: “yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed”The woman was silent for a moment.Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part -- when I see my image reflected in it."If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image in youThis story is closely related to my story, I have continuously felt that heat in my life and continue to do so. But I know with time when I’ll become silver he will take me out of this pressure.Continuing my journey I entered Engineering,2012: Engineering SemestersIt was really a new feeling for me. Nobody knew me, nobody judged me based on my past. I decided I will turn my life around from the very first semester. I only read books. No Digest or guides. Made notes of each and everything. Maintained 100% attendance. The results started showing upIt was so easy to study, and the thing I followed was “ just keep running”The results started showing up2012, 5th semester Result:Came in top 100 students in the Madhya Pradesh State and was awarded chancellor scholarship of 25K from state technical minister2013: Engineering CompleteCompleted BE with 81% and got my name in the College Board forever.CHAPTER 4: THE DREAM TO REDEFINE MY FUTURE2013, GATE 2013,October 28, 2012 , I was studying every day continuously for 6–7 hours a day, I was also giving test series of ACE every alternate Sunday. On that day my scores were very low.My friend Rejedhiran, with whom I had been preparing, saw me upset. He came to me and told me this story.“THE STORY OF CHINESE BAMBOO TREE”Pic Courtesy : Google ImagesLike any plant, growth of the Chinese Bamboo Tree requires nurturing – water, fertile soil, sunshine. In its first year, we see no visible signs of activity. In the second year, again, no growth above the soil. The third, the fourth, still nothing. Our patience is tested and we begin to wonder if our efforts (caring, water, etc.) will ever be rewarded.And finally in the fifth year – behold, a miracle! We experience growth. And what growth it is! The Chinese Bamboo Tree grows 80 feet in just six weeks!But let’s be serious, does the Chinese Bamboo Tree really grow 80 feet in six weeks? Did the Chinese Bamboo Tree lie dormant for four years only to grow exponentially in the fifth? Or, was the little tree growing underground, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond? The answer is, of course, obvious. Had the tree not developed a strong unseen foundation it could not have sustained its life as it grew. The same principle is true for people. People, who patiently toil towards worthwhile dreams and goals, building strong character while overcoming adversity and challenge, grow the strong internal foundation to handle success, while get-rich- quickers and lottery winners usually are unable to sustain unearned sudden wealth.Had the Chinese Bamboo Tree farmer dug up his little seed every year to see if it was growing, he would have stunted the Chinese Bamboo tree’s growth as surely as a caterpillar is doomed to a life on the ground if it is freed from its struggle inside a cocoon prematurely. The struggle in the cocoon is what gives the future butterfly the wing power to fly, just as tension against muscles as we exercise strengthen our muscles, while muscles left alone will soon atrophy.From that day onward I started studying with much more enthusiasm.From October 28,2012 to Feb 9, 2013 i have studied on an average 15hrs a day. Even on Sundays.I know you are eager to know the Result. No, it’s not what you expectIt was again a Failure. This is not MOVIE right so as a result I got very poor GATE rank and couldn’t even make it to any IITI joined one of a good Institute in CHENNAI. There I developed my interest for research and learnt a lot more.I got two chancellors award and got a CPI of 9.90.2015, Placed in a company: The pay was so less that I even have to ask for money from my parents to pay my room rent. Failed again . Even though I didn't had any other option, i decided to quit my job and search for something else.2015, applied for PhD admission, failed again I applied 4 IIT’s for my PhD admission,IIT Gandhinagar . Rejected,November 2015 IIT Kharagpur Rejected,December 2015 IIT Bombay Rejected,January 2016 IIT Delhi RejectedIt fell like a Bomb on my life, what now? Do I get back to my previous job which I left with so much confidence? No, I can’t go back. So what to do? I decided to prepare once again for the next semester admission.I was rejected by so many IIT’s that I reduced the probability of failure but I still had to increase the probability of success. So I again referred to my notes, spent sleepless nights thinking about the questions I could not answer in the Interviews.2016, Re-attempt, I was again ready to face the exam.IIT Bombay, Selected,IIT Madras, Selected,University of South Carolina, Selected.In 1 week I had offer from 2 IIT’s and from a university from USA. It is an exhilarating feeling- like a caterpillar emerging out of a cocoon.Joined IIT Bombay in the year 2017Secured 1st rank in 1st semester exam with a CPI of 9.79CHAPTER 5: THE CONCLUSIONYou know what changed from being a bully to an academician?“PATIENCE and RESPECT FOR ALL”“Everyone crave for success. But does anyone want to wait for it? You think you have got a degree now and you are all set to break the roads? You think u have learned everything you need? Even then, things will not go right. You will face difficulties you will face problems. Be prepared and remember that Your Parents are always there for you”There is well known Sanskrit shlok,“SHRAMAM VINA NA KIMAPI SADHYAM”Translation: Without effort nothing is possible.Even an ant has to work day and night to finally build his ant house which will save it during bad weather so we humans how can we escape from HandworkAlso, IIT Bombay’s logo says“ GYANAM PARMAM DHYAYEM”Translation: the knowledge is supreme.You can fill your confidence with your knowledge you can win in your dreams by knowledgeSomeone said, and I quote“It just takes 10 years of consistent self-motivated hard work, to finally look like an overnight success”GOD BLESS & Love you AllPS: you can also watch the video for the answer recorded by me for a webinar organised by ADORE INDIA .Prashant Motwani, PhD student IIT BombayAbout the Writer:Prashant Motwani, is a national level motivational speaker. He has presented his views in multi-disciplinary areas in many social conferences held across the country. He is currently pursuing his PhD from IIT Bombay and he is also co-founder of online counselling firm “ WHITE MATTER”Prashant completed his BE in 2013 in Civil Engineering. He completed his Master project from CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai in the field of steel concrete Composite Wall Panels. During his Masters and bachelor’s Degree he published 4 research papers which are listed in Scopus Website and 2 Conference Papers. He has 4 citations for his research and more than 500 downloads. He was awarded with a silver medal and 2 times prestigious chancellor’s scholarship in his MTech degree. Later, he served as Assistant Professor in National Institute of Technology, Raipur (NITR), in Civil Engineering Department, where he taught Advanced RCC and Engineering Mechanics. He has now joined Indian Institute of technology, Bombay (IITB) as a Research Scholar in structural Engineering Department. His Research Interest involves Unbonded Post Tensioned Prestressed Concrete.He is also recently invited for a TeDxYouth talk in Delhi to present his ideas on the theme “Rethink the approach towards you”.Edit 1: Thank you Pri Chandna for your corrections. You are so generous and humble to make the corrections so patiently.