Hi All, My daughter will be completing her BE May 2018, she has passed in distinction in all the four years and want to pursue her studies abroad. She never attended any campus interview while her few friends have got very good offers from reputed software companies. Any ways no regrets because it is her dream to do MS in US, her GRE score is 329 and has applied for 4 universities in US and one she has zeroed in is university of Texas in Arlington, she wants to do Data analytics and after lot of research found this University good in all respects. But we are getting mixed reviews, I dont know if her choice is right, if any one can give me more inputs I will be very happy
What were your criteria for a good choice ? For those who live above the mason-dixon line in the US, Texas is not good country. That is about it. I would not send my girl-child to Texas, because of the local gun laws, and how they allow concealed-carry in some college campuses. I'd be worried about my child getting raped at gun-point. Personal safety comes first, then you can deal with how the department-of-comp.sci is rated in some college magazine. Google and find out about rankings of rapes on college campuses in the USA. added later: Campus Carry: Presentation - UTA News Center
thanks for your response Nonya, We live in India and absolutely no idea about the Universities in US, if you can enlighten me which colleges are preferred for girls it would be very very helpful
A safer country is to the North of the USA. Or in the south pacific. 14 Data Science & Big Data Master's degrees in Australia - MastersPortal.eu
@blessed, I don't know much about which universities are good for MS or Data Analytics, but want to comment about gun laws and general campus safety being a deciding factor. For a student coming from India, I would not rule out the state of Texas just for its gun laws. Many students from India study at the various UT's and safety/crime on those campuses is comparable to campuses in other states. Every day we are reading about more rape cases and sexual harassment at top universities like Stanford, Berkeley and how the guilty got away due to university not doing much about it. So, while student has to be aware and be safe, avoiding an entire state is not required. IMO. If she hasn't already, she can get in touch with some Indian students at UT Arlington and ask them their experience. Indian Cultural Council (ICC) at UTA Is 4 a sufficient number to apply to? If you are getting mixed reviews about UT Arlington being a good place to study Data Analytics, then, investigate those reviews more. Ask questions. If you are getting mixed reviews about UT Arlington in general as a college to go for Masters, then, go by what she has researched. You will always get mixed reviews about every college.
NYU Tandon has awesome Data Analytics program (under MS Computer Science) Mostly graduate students from India and China. See FB page for Indian students, Graduate Indian Students Association, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Agree with Rihana, the chances of getting shot / assaulted are probably not very different across different campuses and across different states. Texas is a popular choice for students applying to medical schools, so it is not as bad as it is made out to be. The cost of living is not too high and the weather is also not as extreme as in the north east. As far as the program is recognized and decently ranked I would not worry. Have your daughter contact the Indian student association ( I am sure she already has). Ask her to get in touch with grad students that are about to finish their masters there and check what Kind of potential job offers they have.
Thank you all ladies She is still waiting for her admit in 3 more Universities, regarding Arlington University, her seniors ( 2 girls) have taken an apartment close to the campus and are very comfortable as all are Desi's and they are very comfortable, they have assured her that everything will be alright and they can take care of her in the initial stage at least. I am hoping for the best.
Good ! Don’t worry too much ! I am sure your daughter will have a great student life experience here. Also a life lesson in being independent : emotionally , mentally, physically, financially ! One learns to take care of their own Sh** US is pretty safe for women compared to India. I lived alone here for a couple of years, never got whistled at or my a** slapped . Follow basic precautions and one should be ok. Good luck to your daughter !
@blessed I am an alumna of UT arlington. As was Kalpana Chawla. The cse and ee programs are very well respected and have better standing than UT Dallas and several others of the UT system, save Austin. Same with the industrial engg and aeronautics program which are well recognized nationally. The campus is super safe and has a warm, cosy, academic feel. I wld ignore broad concerns on gun safety abt texas (@Rihana has covered it well in her post above) & arlington in particular. I lived there long enough to vouch for it. The UTA oncampus area is super safe. There is regular patrolling both during day and night that ensures no disturbances. Women students can request to be escorted to their apartment by campus police late night..like past midnight. Dallas fort worth area overall is excellent in all aspects - weather, inclusivity, diversity, safety, employment and economy. Not to forget it has a large indian community - for a reason. Generally speaking, across the U.S, you will rarely find new-immigrant, well to do indian professionals living and raising families in unsafe cities or areas. So the large desi population in the dfw area must mean something. There are annual desi fests in the dfw metroplex for nav rathri and diwali inviting over 100k folks. Infact the last time i checked they had a huge directory of just indian eateries / restaurant listings. One catch abt arlington of which i dont know if things have changed in the last few yrs is - if there is public transportation available. At one time it was one of the largest cities lacking public transit of any kind (bus or train). Hence students often used to depend on seniors or wld purchase a used car in the 2nd or 3rd semester. The reason the local citizens repeatedly voted against public transit was to keep low income groups (and thus crime) out of the area. Hope this post addresses most of your concerns.