On Monday, 27 June 2016 22:50:54 UTC-5, sivaramakrishnan s wrote:

Okay. I'll bite.

Disclaimer: You might find some of my answers "cheap" and semi-ethical.

NUMBER ONE TIP:

Stop converting everything into INR. This will only depress you. Think in USD, spend in
USD.

1. Books:
Text books are costly. Especially if you're in business school. Luckily, you can find soft
copies of most books online. If you're honorable (unlike me) and have the syllabus prior to
leaving India, buy books here. Most publishers charge a different amount in India.

2. Phone:
This is for the poor souls with a significant other in another country. Phone calls can take a
toll and skype is not always possible. IndiaLD costs $0.01 a minute. Google voice costs
$0.01 to call India. Do NOT buy a phone on contract. You will end up paying much more.

3. WiFi:
Coffee shops are your friends. Most coffee shops like Starbucks, Peets etc have free WiFi.
Please tip the Barista. This will help you stick around and use the WiFi without getting the
stink-eye.
WiFi passwords in most Hotel lobbies is just "Guest"

4. Jobs:
It is illegal to work for an American company off-campus while on F1 visa. It is not illegal to
work for an Indian company (registered in India) you own; provided you get paid in Indian
rupees and pay taxes in India. Not even for services rendered for an American company
while you're living in America. Put 2 and 2 together. Be smart.

5. Use the Cloud:

Evernote is awesome. I took all my notes on my iPad, and could access this anytime,
anywhere on any computer. Save soft copies of all your documents on Dropbox. Use IFTTT.
Put the internet to work for you.

6. Shopping:
Shop for clothes and gadgets only during sales. Major sale days are Black Friday (before
thanksgiving) Christmas, Veteran's Day, Labor Day and 4th of July. Cheap clothes are
cheap because they last less. Buy good quality stuff that is durable.

7. Network Network Network.

Your college is not going to find you a job. Your connections are. Your degree and your GPA
doesnt mean much in the united States, but a recommendation does.
8. Credit score:
If you have long term plans of living in the United States, you will know that credit score is
everything. But you cant get a credit card without a credit score. Get a secured credit card
from a bank. If you deposit $500, you get credit line of $500. This is like a debit card, but if
you make payments on time, this boosts your credit score which will be helpful when you try
to buy a car, rent a house or whatever.

9. Banking:
Banks give you cash ($50-100 is quite common) when you refer a friend. Your friend gets
money too, just because he was referred by you. Gather 10 classmates, one person refer
the other 9 for a zero balance account, collect the referral money and split equally. This is
free money, and can be done unlimited number of times.
Get a Videsh yatra card from SBI or Axis or whatever. Your parents can refill this from India,
and you don't pay a dime on Western Union or remittance fees.
Get a second zero balance account from an online bank like Charles Schwab or Ally. These
banks don't charge you anything when you use an out of network ATM, Zero foreign
transaction fees, and EVEN REFUND THE MONEY OTHER BANKS CHARGE YOU!!

10. Social life:

Hang out with people from other cultures and races. This will help you a lot more than you
realize now. Especially locals can be very helpful with connections, and you enrich your
personality by learning good things from other cultures.
When in doubt, tip 15%. Tip in taxis, tip in restaurants, tip everywhere. Saving $4 a day wont
help. Service people remember bad tippers.

What to take and not to take from India:

Dont be silly and carry food. This is pointless. You'll save very little.
Instead carry a good cooker. This is hard to find here.
Dont carry winter clothes. It is pointless and useless and ineffective. Buy here.
Carry a nice suit or two. You'll get excellent quality suits from Reid and Taylor for cheap. The
suits you buy here are made in India anyway and cost 5 times as much.
Dont carry soap and oil and rubbish like that.
Carry some medicines you typically need, Have a prescription for every pill you carry.

I'll try and update this if I can think of something else at a later stage. In the meantime if you
have more questions, feel free to ask here or send me a private message.

Edit: Here is my University experience in case anyone cares to read:

Akshay Vannery's answer to What is it like to be a poor student at a very rich university or
high school?
Updated Oct 6, 2014 View Upvotes
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Naga Neehar Dingari
Naga Neehar Dingari, MIT MechE graduate student
10.3k Views
I will touch upon the basic necessities of life from an Indian movie point of view roti, kapda
aur makaan.

Learn to cook
I cant emphasize enough how helpful it is to be able to cook well. It is not that USA is a
desert with no access to Indian food, but one cannot eat outside food on a daily basis - both
because of health and financial reasons. Therefore most of the Indian graduate students
cook regularly - on a weekly basis if not daily. Learn to cook few basic curries and you can
always get creative with improvising as you get going. There are plenty of excellent online
resources for recipes. Here is one of those: Padhuskitchen

It is always helpful to bring spices and masala powders from India. There are Indian stores
here but sometimes your hypersensitive tongue might crave the regional Indian authenticity.

Bring a small pressure cooker with you if you can.

Clothing
Do NOT bring any winter clothing with you. Depending upon where you stay in the US, you
might need winter clothing for 0 degrees Celsius or 0 degree Fahrenheit (not kidding!). So,
Indian made stuff will be redundant here. Apart from that, bring a variety of clothes which
must include

Formal clothes Suit (preferably) and formal shirts and pants for conferences/interviews.

Traditional clothes Every university has an Indian association with frequent socials and
get-togethers. So it is always good to have a pair of traditional clothes (example: Khurta in
case of men and Saree in case of women).

Housing
Stay in on-campus housing at least during the first year. Most universities have graduate
dorms with good capacity and preference is given to incoming students during the housing
assignment. On campus housing is very safe and typically quite close to the campus. Also
the community is very international, so it is a good place to make new friends.

Others:
1) Even if your studies are funded, bring money to meet living expenses for at least one
month ($1500-2000), because stipends are typically paid at the end of first month of
academic year.

2) I worked for one year before starting my PhD. So from my experience I can say that
graduate study is much more professional than undergraduate study. It is not very different
from working in a company as far as work ethics is concerned its less formal and the
working hours are more flexible.

3) Be careful when you interact with students from other countries. They might have
grown up in a very different environment compared to you. In general, stay away from
politics and religion related discussions with people who are not close friends. Interact with
people from all cultures. Try to learn about them and from them.

Finally, always remember that your primary aim of coming to US is to study and everything
else is secondary.

Good luck!
Written Jul 26, 2014 View Upvotes
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Aarthi Vemuri
Aarthi Vemuri, I know nothing..
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Cooking: It's very important to learn basic cooking. Subway is the cheapest option here and
even if you have your three meals in Subway it will cost you around 15$. Cooking will be
much cheaper and also healthier. If you are used to people doing things for you, it's time to
start doing some things on your own. You will have to do things like getting groceries,
cleaning utensils,cooking, cleaning the house(bathrooms included), work part-time on
campus( if u do get a campus job) and also STUDY.There are lot of things you will do by
yourself, things which you later realize were done by your mom while you were lazing
around on the couch(even I used to do that at home before coming to US).

Utensils: Get a aluminum pressure cooker and some extra whistles,gaskets and valves for
the cooker. Ensure that whatever other vessels(kadai, saucepans,etc) you get are flat
bottomed. It's better to get non-stick utensils(easier to clean). If you already know whom you
are going to stay with, then it's better to coordinate and decide who is going to bring which
item. It is always advisable to have at least two cookers in the house(one 3lts and one 5lts).
Get the biggest kadai you can find in the market. Students do not find time to cook food
everyday. It's just easier to cook once in two days and store in refrigerator. Get atleast one
large steel plate(you will need it for covering the kadai while cooking). It is also advisable to
get some microwave containers and plates.Get Belan and utensil holder as well(they are
available in Indian stores but they are insanely expensive)

Food: Do not bother bringing rice and other pulses from India. Almost every city has an
Indian store and you can get rice,atta and other pulses. Get chilly powder, turmeric
powder,garam masala,dhaniya powder,sambar powder,rasam powder and any other
masalas you use frequently. You get all these in the Indian stores but they are very
expensive. You can get pickles and ghee also from home. I prefer home-made pickles. If you
are crazy about maggi then get loads of maggi packets. The price of maggi is almost ten
times the price of maggi in India. Don't bring salt and sugar. You get that pretty cheap here.

Miscellaneous: Get as many notebooks, pens and other stationary you need. If you already
have list of textbooks then try to get those from India. Again it's better to coordinate and
decide who is going to get which book. Get toothbrushes from India. Nobody told me this
and I ended up buying the same toothbrush which I used in India here for $3. Girls should
get the clips, rubber bands, hairpins,etc from India as all those items are pretty expensive
here. It's better to get the basic make-up items also from India( get a plucker for eyebrows,
don't think of buying it here as it costs 5$ and it costs 50Rs in India..get the point??)

Medicines: Get Medicines for all the basic ailments and get a doctor's note for all the
medicines you carry(the prescription should be written on the doctor's letterhead with a
stamp and signature). Check the expiry for all the medicines before you buy them. If you are
traveling to US in spring 2015 then the expiry of the medicines you carry should be atleast in
2017. Get all the vaccinations before you travel. Get bandaids( available but are too
expensive here)

Clothes: Get atleast 15 pairs of undergarments. You cannot wash the clothes in the house
and dry them( you are not allowed to hang a drying line,most houses will not even have
balconies). You will have to depend on washing machines and dryer( each washing and
drying cycle will cost around 3$). So if you get less clothes you will have to wash them
frequently and you will end up spending more. Get a decent number of traditional Indian
clothes. Every university has an Indian association and there are gatherings during Indian
festivals and it's nice to be dressed up in Indian attire once in a while(you don't want to end
up in same dress for all the occasions)
Do not buy winter clothes. They are of no use for the climate here. However If you are
coming to US in December and if you are coming to a place which has snowfall then buy a
good jacket and sturdy shoes(with good grip). Also you should mentally prepare yourself for
the climate. You will be coming from a moderate climate to extremely cold climate.

Travel: Check the baggage specifications with your airlines before you buy the suitcases.
Get a good laptop bag from India(but buy the laptop on US).
Get a travel card. It's easier for your parents to transfer money to you. No transaction
charges and hassle free transfers. You do not incur any charge for swiping the card
anywhere and you incur minimum charge for withdrawing money( it's 2$ for axis bank travel
card and even lesser for SBI). Carry atleast 400$ with you when traveling to US. Chances
are you won't get change in the foreign exchange centers in India, but don't worry about that
you can get change in the US airport). When booking connecting flights check the airlines
policy in case the first flight gets delayed and you miss the second flight. Keep all the
documents in the cabin luggage. Some airlines allow only one bag in cabin luggage( either
laptop bag or hand bag, but not both). So check with the airlines while booking. Just
because 7kgs in allowed in the cabin luggage do not stuff your bag. The airports are huge
and it gets difficult to carry the bag( there are no trolleys after the security checkin).

Electronics: Don't bother getting Iron box, hair dryer, etc from India. Electronics are pretty
cheap here. Get a electric converter/spike cord for the phone/laptop.If you are joining in Fall
then carry your old laptop and you can get a good deal during Black Friday sale. If you are
joining in spring then request one of your friends to buy a laptop for you in the Black Friday
sale).

Driving license: if you already have a four wheeler license then it is good to get International
driving permit(IDP). This is not mandatory but it's good to have a license.
Updated Oct 30, 2014 View Upvotes Not for Reproduction
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Sapan Shah
Sapan Shah, Non-IITian
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1. Learn to drive
You don't want to start from scratch here. An Indian license will also allow you to get a temp
license instead of a learners driving permit in some states and also allow to rent cars for your
permenant license.

2. Get a US license as soon as you come here.

When you buy your first car post MS or PhD, insurance rates would be the biggest shock. It
depends on your period you had your license. I didnt get one coz it was expensive with fees,
driving school fees and car rentals and to avoid other 100 issues. Your Insurance would be
way lower if you just have your license for 18 months even if you r not driving.
Written Jul 28, 2014 View Upvotes
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Pavan Bawdane
Pavan Bawdane, grad student at UT Arlington
192 Views
Upload documents on cloud -
Upload your important documents on cloud services such as Google Drive, Dropbox or One
Drive. You can use the CamScanner application to scan them precisely.

Converting USD to INR - Everybody will tell you to not convert USD into INR. But, I'm telling
you to do that. It will help you lower your unnecessary costs. You'll only buy those things that
are required to you. This will save you from buying unnecessary products.

Books - Decide which courses you're planning to take in first semester and buy your books
from India (or your home country) where they are cheaper. If this is not possible, check out
these websites to buy old editions of your books at lower price.

www.valorebooks.com
www.thriftbooks.com

Calling India - This was one of my primary concerns when I came here. Initially, I used apps
such as ringo and rebtel. They provide good service and they are cheap too. Once you've
settled a bit, go out and buy ultra mobile or lyca mobile sim. They offer $20 plan within which
you get unlimited India calling, unlimited usa calling, texting. The internet plans may have
limitations on usage such as 1GB or something but I was fine with that.
Be humble. Be thankful.

Observe how people are greeting each other and once you've observed that, start working
on improving yourself on those things. People will appreciate you for this.

Academic -

Advisor - He is your guy to get info about anything regarding your coursework. Don't be shy
to meet him and ask about queries.

Dont. I repeat Dont. Ever. Copy. This is considered as academic dishonesty. As good as
criminal record on student's life.

I'll update the list as and when needed.

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Ashwin Kutty
Ashwin Kutty
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Remember, try to experience the new environment & culture you are surrounded with. This
is not abandoning what you had back home, but at the very least you experience something
new/different.

We have a lot of internal racism that occurs, don't fall within that trap of Indians who should
know better.

Finally, focus on what you are trying to accomplish but do smell the roses from time to time.
North America is diverse in it's appreciation of talent & skill. Perfect grades aren't everything,
sometimes good grades with good personality and a decent network goes a long way.
Written Sep 15, 2014 View Upvotes
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Vikram Bhide
Vikram Bhide
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Would list only the things that are not mentioned yet:

1. Interact with Indians from different states.Trust me I learned so much about the etiquettes
and cultures of fellow Indians than I would have possibly learned staying in India. Please
don't misunderstand this with not interacting with people with different nationalities.

2. The extreme climatic conditions of US necessitate the use of A/C. If you cook at home,
make sure you have the apartment ventilated and not go to public places wearing the
clothes used while cooking. People hate the stink of Indian curries coming from jackets.

3. Make use of all the campus recreation facilities. Once the college life is done you will
hardly find enough time to do all of them. (Even when you have the money to do it).

4. Indian English accent is heavily influenced by the regional language we speak at home.
You may have great English proficiency but speak with a slower pace so that people follow
your speech.

And if you have some proficiency which you can share with the international audience, make
sure you seize the opportunity. I enjoyed teaching Pranayama for 2 years in the rec center.
Had few students who followed through for the entire span of 2 years.