I was not aware about what all vaccination documents my university required, because of which I had to shell out extra dollars and missed out on courses I had planned.

The very first thing you need when you land in your university is your resume for applying for on-campus job. Professional resume helps candidate stand out of the rest in job fairs and networking events.

I was not in contact with any professional working in the field I wanted to build my career. This lack of guidance resulted in choosing wrong courses and learning wrong coding language.

I got my first job via linkedIn so online presence is of utmost importance. Also, connecting with company executives and updating your profile will help you get noticed.

It is very confusing on how to file taxes for students who are on F1 visa because of lack of documentation. Students will be benefited from the live demonstration and get maximum refund if they are taught to file their taxes.

The immigration process took about 3 – 5 mins. They asked for my I-20 and passport. And asked couple of questions like which university are you going to, what are you going to study and do you have any relatives and friends here in the US.

I couldn’t get courses which I wanted in my first semester since I didn’t know the importance of completing To-Do list and registering for courses beforehand.! I regret taking some of the courses in my first semester due to lack of knowledge as well.

The most important skill I learnt after going to 2 – 3 Job fair and networking events is “How to Pitch Yourself as a Product” that the interviewer or company representative would be interested in buying. Soft skills gives you an edge over the other candidates since representatives abroad looks how well you break the ice and talk about your skills in 2 mins!

I didn’t have any prior information on how to buy things on discounted rates and avail Student discounts wherever possible, as a result, I ended up paying more than required for basic necessity like bed, cycle, laptop, desk, etc.

Visa application doesn’t end up just after getting an F-1 visa. After reaching in the US, I got to learn about information required to maintain your F-1 Visa, then applying for SSN after getting a job, applying for CPT, OPT, OPT-Ext, H1-B Visa, etc. I know personally some of the examples of Student who had to come back to India due to lack of knowledge of maintaining their F-1 Visa since they didn’t apply correctly and on time for OPT or OPT-EXT.

They provided some background but not a very detailed explanation as the choice was based on their field of interest rather than my liking towards the curriculum.

Initial setup was very difficult as I was unaware about the process to setup WiFi, Gas & Electricity and Household essentials. I had to go to-and-fro on various websites and call the customer service to manage my initial setup.

Yes, definitely. It will help them to stand out in a crowd and be prepared for the cut-throat competition well in advance.

I had some theoretical understanding but having lack of practical exposure, I didn’t perform well in my initial interviews.

No, I was not aware of the various ongoing frauds in US. Fortunately, I was not a victim, but few of my colleagues were and that’s how we all learned about the various scams/frauds which can impact us.

Having basic knowledge of the technical skills like setting up the environment, its application and some hands-on coding of the programming languages mentioned in the track is really helpful to tackle assignments/projects given in the coursework.

No, I struggled to find courses which I wanted since I had no idea about the significance of the courses offered and the content syllabus offered.

Yes, I worked part-time in the dining hall of our campus. Since most of the jobs were occupied, I asked around and searched for on-campus jobs by asking different staffs of the franchise like KFC, Subway, Chipotle, etc. I wanted to take care of my spendings on my own!

No, I didn’t have a list of things to carry and like all Mothers, my Mom made the list of things to carry and we always kept on adding something or the other to the list.

Yes, I did have temporary accommodation. With the help of our Universities Indian students council, I could manage to get 3 days of temporary accommodation. I was staying at a seniors place who helped me understand the college administrative offices better, nearby grocery stores, etc.

My first semester required me to take all the mandatory courses so I didn’t plan for my first semester. Also, MIS at University of Arizona was very structured with 24/33 mandatory credits.

I did basics of SQL.

I was aware of job fairs since I had spoken to bunch of seniors and my friends who went to other grad schools. Grace hopper conference for women in technology was one of the best events for finding internships and full time jobs.

First, I created a one page resume, then prepared an elevator pitch, made a list of companies I wanted to target, found people who worked at each of those companies from my network/alumni, requested for referrals or informationals (phone/video call) to know more about the company culture, what they did and how they liked their job.

I honestly didn’t since I didn’t have much work experience but at the same time I constantly kept revising my resume and got it reviewed by at least 30 people to make sure I using the right words.