<p>Hey guys! I'm from India and am currently studying in an overseas junior college and I was wondering whether I could get any feedback regarding whether I should apply for any US colleges or apply to NIT via DASA SAT II exam scheme (<a href="http://www.dasanit.org%5B/url%5D">www.dasanit.org</a>). Given the financial constraint that I am in right now...I think it's more feasible for me to apply for financial aid (I know this will set me back severely in a lot of US Colleges).</p>
<p>PS. I received my SAT I results and I'm pretty disappointed in them (I got 1950) but my science scores are pretty good-i'm mostly first in class for physics and maths and I got olympiad medals in both physics and chem last year. Plus I'm in my school's rowing team.</p>
<p>It all depends on you. The quality of education in the US is way better, compared to NIT’s. But if you want to save money, but still get a degree from a respectable college, NIT could be the way to go.</p>
<p>Hey Avnesh! Thanks for the tip! But I’m not really sure what kind of education NITs offer. I have heard a lot of good things (my dad’s a NIT alumnus) and the syllabus is the same in both US and Indian universities. But will there be a specific advantage for me to go to any US university since I want to continue in the research line? (I’m not cut out for the corporate world) And judging by the debt crisis US is facing now I don’t think financial aid will be available for a long time for undergrad levels. Also I will be probably be pursuing non-conventional type of engineering like eng. physics or chem engineering so any idea on how NITs fare on these kind of subjects?</p>
<p>No Problem Redd! (Thats your new nickname :P)</p>
<p>Well, as far as I know, different NIT’s are good at different ranches of Engg. However, I think you might want to check out the specifics on the web.
If you do want to continue in the research line, then I think it is better to study in the US. The Indian Colleges offer little or no research opportunities for Undergraduate Students. Thats mainly why Indian Colleges never rank high in the Global College Rankings.</p>
<p>How much aid?
Were the Olympiads IChO and IPhO?</p>
<p>Depending on the answers to the above two questions, and assuming minimized effect of your SAT score, which, in consideration of your other claimed academic achievements, isn’t a long shot, you should apply to universities in the US.</p>
<p>Otherwise, you might want to study in India and/or have more finances at your disposal after your undergraduation for graduate school or business or just for kicks. Then, apply through dasanit to the NITs, it’s pretty easy from what I hear. You’ll need a 3 subject test scores to boot.</p>
<p>If you’ve got medals in IPhO or ICho, then just retake the SAT and apply to the US colleges. In all honesty, the NITs don’t deserve you. Could you take the JEE in any case?</p>
<p>I was wondering though, will DASANIT be there from next year? Because of the proposed ISEET exam, the whole interface of indian education can change.</p>
<p>Hey guys thanks for the replies! I LOLed at Redd haha! (Thanks Avnesh XD)</p>
<p>-Firstly, only in chemistry I have a merit medal one but the physics is a national level one. -Aid: I’d probably estimate around 25-50% of tuition fees and residence fees (if possible)
-I’ll definitely retake my SAT I but I don’t think SAT II is as much a problem because we do similar questions in school tutorials</p>
<p>In reply to iamthebist’s remark: Well I don’t think I’m really top notch. After looking at a lot of threads, my academic achievements are not even close . I can only make up with ECAs because my college’s rowing team is really good at national and international level competitions. NITs seem quite good since they accommodate some of the most hardworking youngsters in India only on merit, unlike US unis which have sports scholarships and quotas.</p>
<p>NITs seem fairly good enough to land you a decent job before you can gain some money to finance yourself in US for MTech or MSc. Yes, I can take JEE but I’m not that hopeful (success rates even for the most prepared are only about 5%). And the ISEET requires 12th marks but in my A levels cert all I’ll get are grades (not even percentile marks/marks are not revealed) so not sure about that. </p>
<p>Currently the situation is as such: I can enter NUS with my A level grades with a ministry scholarship (but I have to serve a 6 year bond with an appalling salary in a gov’t job with no promotion or chance to do MSc). Or I can apply via DASANIT and complete my BTech and Masters (hopefully in US) and even get a decent job for any job experience. But my question remains, are NITs good in the sense that they TEACH not make us cram. I want to do engineering because I have a passion in chemistry and physics. And how are the hostels there? Are they habitable? (I’ve heard really bad stories)</p>
<p>Alas, I wish they were so open here. The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) don’t release marks or percentiles. I tried calling them up. Even called CIE in UK but they said they can’t release the marks. The grading is based on a Bell-curve system or relative grading system. Grades in Singapore-UK Cambride A Levels are A, B, C, D, E, S and U. Someone who gets A is usually considered in the top 10-15% but can be ANYWHERE. 85 or even 99 percentile. We will never know. Where 85 or 99 percentile can make helluva difference, I don’t think I stand a chance in ISEET :(</p>
<p>You should contact them, I am pretty sure a lot of candidates like you sit for that paper. There must be some mechanism(Lack of a better word) they use.</p>
<p>I have tried using every method possible. I’ve contacted all the necessary examining bodies but they said they can’t provide the scores because they’re under the ‘jurisdiction’ of SEAB. The exam I’m sitting for is not IGCSE but a local A Levels which just gets a Cambridge stamp and is much harder than IGCSE (I have no idea why).</p>
<p>Can anyone please brief me about how the counseling procedure works for the DASA scheme? Do you apply for a specific NIT or are you allowed to take a shot at any NIT your score merits? Also, do they give you an option to fill in 2nd preferences too in case you weren’t allotted your top choice? Thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>for preferences it says :
You can enter up to 30 choices which can be of any combination of
Institutes and / or courses of your choice in the order of priority (first being the highest
priority). </p>
<p>I will be applying next year. Preparing for SAT subjects. Are you in India or outside ? You need to send scores before may28th. Which colleges are you looking for and which branch ?</p>