An open letter to my son..

I thought my US – India stories were over, but nope, we are back again! 🙂 With the son joining the Master’s in Data Science program at Columbia University(Columbia University is an Ivy League school in New York), here are a few things that I would like him to know:

What are Ivy League schools? Read more here..

P.S: I know some of these things might be dated, since I left the US 14 years ago…but some things might be true…

1. US is an expensive country, at least when you are starting your life as a student and we move from India where the rupee is so weak against the US dollar…so, it is always good to be prudent with money.
2. It is good to learn the hacks and cracks at saving money as a student from others
3. Networking is a key skill and it is good to keep in touch with friends from school and college who are staying close by
4. Things that are cheaper in India like mobile plans, eating outside, grocery shopping might be more expensive. The biggest money grabber might be the tuition fees at Columbia! 🙁 But of course, it is also a great perk to be studying at an Ivy League!! (for those who don’t know, my son completed his B.Tech from IIT-Roorkee in 2023 and the whole fees for the entire four years must have only been 12 lakhs, which is inclusive of hostel and food!!)
5. There will be a lot of differences in culture and it is good to observe and see and adapt. Patience is always key.
6. It is always necessary to keep your eyes and ears open to all things around.
7. US is always at the cutting edge of technologies so it is good to experience it at first hand basis.
8. It is good to understand the coursework and college life once college session starts. The US education system will be fundamentally different from the Indian college system and course work might be challenging as well. So, it will be good to align our sails according to the wind and react.
9. The US education focuses a lot on creativity and excellent writing skills(I am not sure how it is done in this age of AI) But writing papers used to be very important in my age!
10. US English does not use the words “revert”, “kindly”, “Sir”, “Madam” and many other words that are used commonly in India.
11. US is a polite country and “Please” and “Thank you” is always generously splashed all around.
12. New York will be a multi-cultural place with students studying from all over the world. This will open your eyes to multi-dimensional view points and it is amazing to experience the world this way.
13. The Indian diaspora might be more in the NYC/NJ/CT area. Therefore, we can see more Indian stores and Indian restaurants as well to keep us happy
14. Cleanliness is never a problem in the US.
15. Swiggy, Zomato and many other instant delivery apps of India might be starkly missing in the US scene(face palm!) And even if it is present, it is quite a possibility that it is very expensive…(7 Rs charge per delivery is a distant dream now!! :()
16. There will no power problems and water problems in the entire US. During my entire stay in the US, there was only one nasty power outage in August of 2003 that lasted for close to 1 1/2 days as the entire East Coast power grid had tripped.
17. You can drink water straight from the kitchen tap, though, you can get bottled water as well.
18. Spanish will be a widely spoken language in the US in addition to English
19. US college education is a great experience and the infrastructure, teaching methods, the libraries must be experienced!
20. It is possible to get the perfect CGPA of 4.0/4.0 but you do have to work very, very hard and keep on top of all assignments, home work and projects

Good luck to my Ivy Leaguer and make the best of this education, explore your potential and reach for the skies and beyond! 🙂

This is the first post for BlogchatterHalf Marthon 2024!