DASA Application Process

The application portal has been opened on http://dasanit.org/

To apply, you first have to create an account and upload a passport size photo. Then, you can fill the online application form, which at the moment has to be done in one go as changes do not get saved.

Complete instructions on how to fill the form can be found at http://dasanit.org/dasa2011/docs/instructions%20DASA.pdf

Other questions that might arise while filling the application are answered at http://dasanit.org/dasa2011/docs/FAQ.pdf

Since one can fill up to 30choices based on different permutations of branches and colleges, I have compiled a list of few famous rankings to help you all decide which NITs you might want to opt for. Though most people would prefer going to NITs from their states or regions, a general trend observed amongst most DASA students last year seems to suggest that NITK Surathkal is the best NIT. Among branches, ECE(electronics & communication engineering) and CSE(computer science & engineering) seem to be the most favoured.

Rankings:

Outlook India:
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?250245
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265887

India Today : http://www.nitk.ac.in/assets/files/aieee/indiatoday.pdf

The SAT Subject Tests

Under the changes made to the DASA scheme last year, students now get admitted into the NITs(and a few other colleges) based on their SAT Subject Tests(earlier referred to as SAT-2)score. The SAT subject tests are offered in a variety of subjects but we NRIs only have to take Chemistry, Physics & Math-Level2.

The subject tests are offered on the same day as the SAT, i.e once almost every month from October to June. Each test is for 1hour and is scored out of 800. The NIT guys add up all 3scores and then the merit list is created. The tests can be taken as many times as you wish and the scores are independent of each other. Only your best scores are considered for the admission process. Your scores must be sent directly to NITK-Surathkal(regardless of which NIT you are applying to) from the collegeboard website. The code for NITK Surathkal is 6350.

Do not think that the subject tests are so easy that you will ace them based solely on your CBSE exam preparation. The portion is very different especially for Math and you will have to prepare separately for the exam. The best books I can think of for the Subject Tests are Barrons' and Princeton Review, both of which would be available at leading bookstores in India. Make sure you get a copy of one of them when you go to India. Also, you need to be able to use a graphing calculator well for Math-2 as this will help you on several of the questions. Buy all the materials you need well before you write the actual tests and try out a few practice tests as many people find the timing to be a bit of a problem.

Many students prefer taking the subject tests one at a time, but I seriously question this logic as remember, you have to study for your board exams too and the syllabus isn't exactly the same. So what I suggest is, for those who are applying to the US, write the Subject tests once or twice(all three at a time) latest by the December test date, so that your scores serve the dual purpose of satisfying the DASA and US college criteria for application. Those who are applying only to the NITs can write the Subject tests once before the board exam and if your scores aren't what you hoped for, you can write it once again after the boards. Looking at the massive number of seats available, I don't think you would have to write the Subject tests many times, as it appears that getting a seat is easy once you clear the 1800 mark. A higher score(2300-2400) will surely be required to get CSE or ECE at the top NITs like Surathkal or Trichy, and maybe even Calicut since you never know how many people might apply there.

Heading Eastwards- Singapore

If USA is out of your budget but you still long for a college education on foreign shores, Singapore might be the place for you. The tiny country has two world class universities that are famous for engineering:
1. Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
2. National University of Singapore (NUS)
These colleges not only have excellent facilities and faculty but have also tied up with several foreign colleges to truly provide an international college experience.

Admission to both these colleges is generally said to be based on your Class 12 board exam results though several other factors such as SAT, subject tests(though optional), co-curricular achievements are also taken into account. The application is done online through the websites of the respective colleges(though some documents may have to be submitted by post). Most of the questions asked are similar to that of the US colleges and here too, the applicant might have to write 1 or 2 essays. The application deadline is 31st March.

These colleges are relatively cheaper to the US colleges. The Ministry of Education heavily subsidises education even for International students, in exchange for a 3year bond during which the students have to work for a Singapore based company after graduation. The subsidised fees are around SGD12000(SGD 1 is approx Rs.36) while the non-subsidised fees are around SGD 30000. Additionally the colleges estimate that the student would spend SGD 600 on monthly expenses(hostel, food, transport, etc).

Furthermore, there is a SIA-NOL scholarship for Indian nationals. Under this scheme, selected students are provided free tuition plus given various living allowances but in return they have to serve a 6year work bond at one of the sponsor companies upon graduation. NTU has a few other scholarships that take care of the tuition fees and do not have any additional bond except for the Ministry of Education 3year bond for subsidised fees. If short listed for the scholarship, candidates will have to attend an interview. Needless to say, getting accepted for these scholarships would require really good performances in the board exams.

The Actual Process(CommonApp)

Trust me, applying to the US colleges is a long, tedious process which would not only involve you filling in the CommonApp but also getting your school counsellor(for most schools, the principal does whatever the counsellor has to do in case there isn’t any) and one or two teachers to fill out a few forms and write letters of recommendation for you. The letters of recommendation are considered an integral part of your application and most colleges say that a personal detailed account from the teachers is always better than a formal typed letter.

You can create an account on the commonapp website and fill in all the information over a period of time. The questions on the Common App include factors such as the home life of the student, academic achievements, standardised test scores and other information that colleges use to evaluate students for admission. The common app has 1 or 2 essays referred to as personal statements which ask you to write in detail about something significant in your life. The topics change every year.

Most colleges accept the common app (which can be submitted online) and have their own supplement to it. The supplement typically has questions that don't have ‘common answers’ for all institutions, such as "Did your parent attend our college? Have you visited our university?" etc. Additional essays may also be required by colleges with Common Application supplements.

The keys to getting accepted are said to be good test scores, good co-curricular achievements and sound, well thought out personal statements. So make sure you fill in all the details in your commonapp with the utmost care.

Most colleges set the deadline for the commonapp to be submitted as December 31. Students submitting their applications by this deadline would be examined as ‘Regular Action’ candidates. For this deadline, the student should have given his SAT and the subject tests by the December SAT date. The students would be notified of their application result in late March or early April. A few colleges also offer the option of ‘Early Action’, in which students have to submit their application and test scores by an earlier deadline, normally around November and would be notified of their decisions in mid-December. It is a general rumour that early action candidates do have a slight advantage over those who have applied regular action.

Those who are applying for financial aid would have to specify this in their commonapp and then later fill out another form called the CSS/Profile on the collegeboard website. The financial aid documents include signed tax returns or a certified statement of income from each of your parents’ employers.

Now, the students who are not applying for financial aid can apply to any good engineering college based on rankings such as the Times Higher Education rankings. These rankings are mostly accurate and should provide a fair measure of the best colleges based on a variety of factors. Students should also check that their SAT scores are around those of the previous year’s class to amplify their chances of getting accepted.

Those who are applying for financial aid should opt for one of the colleges I have mentioned before such as Princeton, Dartmouth, etc... These colleges are going to be tough to get into and simply put, you need to be pretty good at a lot of things or really good at something to get accepted.

All colleges do charge an application fee (though some eventually waive them). So choose the colleges you apply to carefully to minimise costs and maximise your chances of acceptance.


College Rankings:
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/engineering-and-IT.html

http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010/subject-rankings/technology

The SAT

Admission to most US colleges is based on the SAT-1(henceforth referred to simply as SAT) scores and some colleges even ask for subject test scores in Math (Level2) and any 1 of the science branches. Contrary to most popular beliefs, the SAT too requires a fair amount of preparation. Therefore, I believe the best time to prepare for and give your SAT is in Class XI as none of the class XI syllabus is included in class XII and you would also have a lot of free time.

The SAT basically consists of three sections- Critical Reading, Math and Written Skills + an essay. It is a long test over 4hours in duration and has timed breaks in the middle. All the details about the SAT can be found on www.collegeboard.org or for starters on its wikipedia page-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT

The best book to prepare for the SAT is Barrons(published in India by Galgotia Publications) and can be found at any leading bookstores. The Barrons book is tougher than the actual SAT and is a great tool to score well at the test. I got my copy from the Sterling Book House, Mumbai.

To take the SAT or any of the subject tests, it is necessary to have an account on the collegeboard website. Registering is an easy enough process and the site is user friendly. Most US colleges accept SAT scores (both SAT-1 and the subject tests) till the December test date in your class12 year. That means you would have the whole of 11^th and also a few test dates in 12^th to give your SAT and subject tests.

After registering for the SAT, you can send your scores for to 4colleges for free till a particular deadline.

Most colleges have a list of the average SAT score on each of the three sections for the previous years’ accepted students on their website. The collegeboard also provides a similar list for all colleges. These should provide a fair measure as to how much you should score on the SAT to have a decent chance of getting accepted. Mostly, those who are applying even for financial aid should be above the mean scores to have any chance of being accepted.


The Application process: http://engineeringfornris.blogspot.com/2011/05/actual-processcommonapp.html

The Land Of Opportunities- USA

For a long time now, the USA has been the ultimate destination for any engineer. Be it to earn an MS degree, land a job or get into one of the top colleges in the world right from the undergraduate level, everyone wants to take a shot at it.

Since NRIs are more or less guaranteed admission into the NITs through DASA scheme, why not aim a bit higher and try to get admitted into one of the colleges. The application process is more or less complete by January-February and should not interfere with your class 12 board exam preparation.

Admission to most colleges is based on the SAT scores and some colleges even ask for a subject test scores in Math-level2 and any 1 of the science branches.

Before you start thinking about applying, let me tell you the pros and cons of an undergraduate college in the US. Firstly, most of the colleges in the US famous for engineering are extremely costly(approx $50000 annually) and financial aid is hard to come by at the undergrad level. If you come from deep money, you can apply to any of the several great colleges without applying for financial aid, as this would help your chances of getting accepted. Again, not all colleges are equally expensive. There are a few other colleges(mostly state run) that have fees under $30000 annually. A special mention needs to be made about the Franklin Olin College of Engineering which is considered to be a very good college.

If you are going to be unable to afford the fees, there is still hope for you as the US has the best financial aid system I have seen. At most colleges, aid is offered to students based solely on their family's financial constraints and not on merit. The downside to this is that most colleges do not offer aid to international students who are not permanent residents of the US or from one of the neighbouring countries. The colleges that do offer financial aid and 'need-blind admission' to international students are the toughest to get into. They are Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, MIT and Amherst. A few other colleges too provide international kids with financial aid but they are not need blind for admission, meaning that someone who can pay the whole fees would be considered above someone who is applying for financial aid.

Getting started: The SAT

No better place to start than INDIA

For most NRI engineering aspirants, the DASA scheme which allows them direct admission into one of the many NITs(previously called Regional Engineering Colleges) all over the country as well as a few other prominent institutions is a fantastic option.

The NITs(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institutes_of_Technology) are extremely difficult to get into through AIEEE and they are amongst the top colleges in India, with some of them like NIT Surathkal or NIT Trichy consistently featuring in the top 10 in India.

To be eligible for the DASA scheme, students need to give the SAT subject tests for Math-Level2, Physics and Chemistry. The tests are scored out of 800 each and a student needs to have a score of 1800+ out of 2400 to be eligible for DASA.

You can find more details about it and register for the SAT subject tests at http://www.collegeboard.org/

More details about the DASA scheme can be found on http://www.dasanit.org/

Download the DASA-2011 brochure from http://www.dasanit.org/dasa2011/docs/DASA%202011%20Brochure.pdf

The fees for students admitted to DASA are higher(roughly $7000 annually) than what the indian students admitted through AIEEE pay, but then it is much easier to get in through DASA. Also, most NITs have great placement cells and you can expect to recover all the cash you have made your parents spend on you within a few years of work.

Intelligent students can still register for AIEEE, IIT-JEE, BITSAT and other competitive indian entrance exams to try and get in through them. Sadly, the IITs no longer have a DASA scheme. BITS Pilani is again one of the foremost institutions of the country but the admission chances are low and from what I have heard, the BITS campuses in Goa, Hyderabad or Dubai do not have the same standards or quality as the original in Pilani.

According to me, the NITs should be the preferred option for everyone who has the money as well as the brains to get in through DASA scheme. Many private colleges might be good too but they have still not matched up to the NIT levels. These options must be only considered if one is trying through AIEEE or some other competitive exams as then getting into NITs is difficult. A few other colleges like ICT (Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai) and DTU (Delhi Technological University) also rank high in engineering college rankings.


The SAT subject tests in detail: http://engineeringfornris.blogspot.com/2011/05/sat-subject-tests.html