Adviser: Once you left the airport, did someone from the University come to greet you?
Arash: No – in fact I did not really know if he was going to come or not. I had contacted the University with regards to this, but they told me that no one was going to come from the University. They send me information for accessing places from the airport, showing what transportation I could use and what the cost of each one was.
Adviser: I also wanted to ask you regarding your housing, and if the location of your housing was known before coming to the United States?
Arash: Yes – I checked with the University. Our University had a place of residence outside the campus. They also provided other information regarding dorms at the University. But they did not have a clear answer for me and were even thinking that there might not be enough space to go around. For this reason, I coordinated with a friend, to stay with him for one week until a place was found for me. There was also a series of information that the international section of the University was providing to international students, in particular during the orientation day of the university, including rules for renting a place, what things should be taken into consideration, the options that exist near the university, and what the conditions of the dorms are – they provided us with information regarding all of this.
Adviser: Do you have to register in the waiting list of the university dorms?
Arash: yes – in general for students who are coming from the first year, it is hard to get a place during the first semester, but well, I was lucky!
Adviser: What is the level of your studies? Are you satisfied with your field of studies?
Arash: I came to the United States, after my bachelor’s degree, for pursuing my education in the Doctorate. My field of study is Construction Engineering.
Adviser: So you managed to get an acceptance for the doctorate level with your bachelor’s degree?
Arash:Yes, of course the documents which I received from the university were for a Master’s degree, but they said that this is just a formality, because according to the university regulations they could not send me Doctorate files directly - as a result in my documents it is currently stated that I am in the Master’s degree, and after one year they will change it to the Doctorate.
Adviser: What recommendations do you have for Iranian students?
Arash: I have to tell you that my experience with regards to the application for continuing my education abroad shows that this process is a complicated and long one, which requires much time and energy. The students must prepare a great deal of information from valid sources if possible. In particular because we need to deal with a number of organizations and institutes from various places, different countries, and that each one has its own specific manner of proceeding with which we need to get familiarized.
I personally thought that I was able to participate in any Master’s degree entrance examination in Iran and to apply while doing so. I thought that when applying, I had to send 4 documents and then wait for the response. But it was not at the case. You need to study and prepare a great deal. In order to get a visa and prepare for the required documents, it is necessary to plan well in advance and have a suitable schedule in order to reach different sectors.
For example, personally the issues that I had was that I was not receiving letters from abroad, and we had problems with the local Post Office; as a result my I-20 had gone to another country, and was sent to Iran from there with a tracking number. This meant that I had to wait for a longer period of time in order to receive my I-20. Despite the fact that I asked the University to issue my I-20 earlier, they did not manage to do so. Therefore, from the time I received my I-20, I had very little time to take action with regards to all administrative procedures which should be carried out in Iran; starting from the Ministry of Science and the Military Services, the Passport Office and all others, so that I may be able to leave Iran for the first time in order to have my interview.
I barely managed to do all this, but if I hadn’t planned before and, it would be impossible to do it. Therefore I ask my good friends to do a good research in this field in order to know how long each portion will take, and what issues may come up, to plan beforehand for each stage, because there is aren’t that many possibilities, and it is possible that an error may occur, and if their class starts, they may lose their chance for starting at the beginning of their semester.
Another recommendation which I have and I hope my dear friends will take into account is that some people make an appointment at the embassy, and for some reason do not appear at their appointment time. If possible, and if they know beforehand that they will not be going to their appointment at the embassy, they should contact the embassy and cancel their appointment.
Because embassies take into consideration a specific length of time for interviewing Iranian nationals, if we fill up these times, then we will waste the time allocated to our compatriots. They do not allocate this time for the nationals present in the country, it is therefore necessary that if someone is not going to attend, they should cancel that appointment so that other friends may be able to use that time. I personally was able to use and benefit from one of these cancelled appointments.
Adviser: thanks very much. You provided us with great information. I forgot one question and that is did the embassy consul asked you what plans do you have after you finish your studies? Do you wish to return to Iran or have you planned for after your studies are completed?
Arash: To tell you the truth he did not ask me this question.
This was a production of educationusairan.com.
