In talks with Rajat Jain, (IDD-Civil Engineering-class of 2016) who will be joining the Master of Applied Science (MASc) in Civil Engineering degree program at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, this Fall and here, he shares some extremely useful insights about pursuing foreign internships, exchange programmes and graduate studies from the world's best universities.

1. Student Alumni Interaction Cell, (SAIC)
Indian Institute of Technology, IIT (BHU), Varanasi
Mayank Vats from the SAIC, IIT (BHU), Varanasi is in talks with Rajat Jain, (IDD-Civil Engineering-class
of 2016). Rajat will be joining the Master of Applied Science (MASc) in Civil Engineering degree program
at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, this Fall and here, he shares some extremely
useful insights about pursuing foreign internships, exchange programmes and graduate studies from
the world's best universities.
Q-1: Hello Rajat, welcome. Congratulations on getting admitted to the University of British
Columbia! What a wonderful feat!
Hello, Mayank. Thanks a lot for interviewing me today and for your wishes. I am grateful to the SAIC
for providing me this platform to reach out to my juniors at IIT (BHU). I sincerely hope this interview
helps clear some of the doubts which students often have about foreign internships and graduate
studies. With the words, "Higher education from the world's best universities is the most amazing
thing that can happen to anyone", let's get started.
Q-2: Great! Let's get started! Why don't we begin with a brief account of your undergraduate studies
at IIT (BHU) and the internships you undertook?
Well, IIT (BHU)! Doesn't the name bring a smile on all our faces! I spent some of the most wonderful
years of my life here. While I can speak volumes about my varied experiences at IIT (BHU), let's keep
the discussion limited to internships and academics for now.
When I entered the then IT-BHU in 2011, I was clueless about the opportunities that awaited me. I
spent my first year focusing on studies, trying to get a branch change as well as doing some meaningful
things on the extra-curricular activities front. I ended up topping my class with a 9.0 pointer on
absolute scale, but still failed to get a branch change due to the "10%" thingy. It was saddening at the
time, but now, I cannot possibly express in words how grateful I am that I didn't get a branch change.
I realized quite later that my one, true love was research in the realm of water treatment processes,
something that the so-called "better" branches definitely do not offer.
In second year of college, I attended the "Being Brilliant" workshop organized by the IIT (BHU) Global
Alumni Association. The main speaker, Mr. B.V. Jagadeesh, delivered a wonderful lecture on
entrepreneurship, research and higher studies. He told us not to get satisfied with the 10 lakh per
annum job, but pursue our interests and strive towards greater excellence.
That day, I decided to do exactly what he had said - pursue my interests. But, I didn't really know what
my "real" interests were. Luckily, an idea occurred to me. I decided to experience everything - core,
non-core, research, and then, take an informed decision. As per my plan, I undertook a core Civil
Engineering internship with L&T at the end of my second year. It was a great learning experience. I
used STAAD.Pro to design a composite piperack for an oil refinery. While I loved everything about my
job, I somewhere realized it was not for me.
At the end of my third year, I interned with The Nielsen Company, one of the world's largest marketing
research firms. I performed a meta-analysis on hair care initiatives by leading FMCG companies in
order to identify the drivers of success in the Indian Hair Care Market. I loved this internship and very
seriously, started considering taking up the management path.

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In my fourth year, I was conducting research in IIT (BHU) towards my B.Tech. project. It wasn't good.
I regret to say we still don't have the culture that promotes research. I had almost settled for the
management path when luckily, I got selected for the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship
Programme, one of the world's best research internship programmes. This was the big break I needed.
I spent three months at the University of Calgary, Canada, conducting research into the treatment of
sulfolane-contaminated soil-groundwater systems. That's where I saw what real research was! And
that's when I found my real interest. After successfully completing the internship, I returned to IIT
(BHU), only to go back to Canada in my final semester to undertake a semester exchange program at
York University. There, I worked on remediation of petrochemical waste-contaminated soil-
groundwater systems. While work in Calgary was mostly experimental, work at York was more
computational. I loved them both equally. At the same time, I applied to various universities for my
graduate studies, got many admits and selected the best of them all- UBC.
The moral of the story is we must pursue our interests, but before that, we must find out our real
interests. To find these real interests, experience things first-hand. Don't just listen, but do and see. I
promise you will find your love, just like I did.
Q-3: Please tell us about the courses and universities you applied to for higher studies and the one
you have opted for.
I wanted to pursue master's and not PhD, and I wanted to go to Canada. Hence, I only applied to the
top three schools in Canada- University of British Columbia, University of Toronto and McGill
University.
I finally decided to join the Master of Applied Science program at the University of British Columbia
where I was getting the best funding as well as the opportunity to work with the best people in the
field of drinking water treatment processes.
UBC is one of the world's best universities (always ranks among the top 20-25 in the world, and among
the top 1-2 in Canada). It has noble laureates as its faculty members, some of whom would even teach
me. Need I say more!
UBC is providing me full funding, covering everything ranging from tuition to living expenses. I am
going there with absolutely no money in my bank account. Okay, I do have some money. :P But, I
didn't have to take hefty bank loans as my friends who are heading to the US for their master's.
And then, UBC is in Vancouver, one of the world's best cities to live in. It has great weather, a great
job market, unparalleled beauty, and lots of Indians. :D
Getting into UBC with this kind of funding has been a dream come true!
Q-4: You mentioned that you only wanted to go to Canada, and pursue master's and not PhD. What
was the rationale behind this?
Great question! One that I had been waiting for! Things I want to shout out to the world! Let's begin.
After pursuing graduate studies, anyone would want to work in the same country, earn some decent
money and then decide if he/she wants to acquire permanent residency there or return to India. And,
to attain all these objectives and beyond, North America is the place to be. Europe neither has the
money nor the opportunities nor the ease of naturalization that one would like it to have. I know
people who went to Europe and lament it now. In the UK, immigration scenario has become so bad
that neither the universities can offer RA/TA-ships to international students nor the companies can
offer them jobs. UK wants you to study on your own expenses or on nearly-impossible-to-get

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scholarships, complete the studies asap and get out. Asian countries like Japan and Singapore simply
do not come close to providing the kind of job opportunities, quality of life and paychecks as North
America. Work culture in Asian countries tends to get a bit too demanding, with work-life balance
taking a backseat. Simply said, North America is where one should strive to go. Period.
When I say North America, I mean Canada and USA. Here, it gets trickier. Both the countries are
amazing, with great universities and great jobs. The most relevant difference being that US universities
mostly do not offer funding to master's students, while Canadian universities offer very generous
funding to master's students. To do master's in USA, you will need to take a hefty bank loan, while you
can easily pursue master's in Canada without having to take any kind of financial support from banks
or your parents. Both the countries, of course, offer great funding to PhD students. Both the countries
have lots of jobs, with great pay packages. USA obviously has a much larger job market, but it also has
a much larger employee pool competing for these jobs. Besides, it's very, very easy to get permanent
residency and citizenship in Canada, while getting the Green Card in USA can be very difficult. I wonder
how bad it'll get if Mr. Trump becomes the next POTUS.
So, one should go to Canada if one wants to pursue master's without spending money and if one wants
to settle down permanently in the West. If one has the money to spend on master's or if one wants
to pursue a PhD, and does not necessarily want to settle down permanently, one can head to the US.
Also, one needs to understand the difference between a PhD and a master's program. A master's is a
2-year program in which you study some theory courses and undertake a research project. At the end
of it, you do not become a researcher. You become a person who has an open mind and is capable of
coming up with new ideas to solve various problems. Master's is what one should pursue if one wants
to take up a better-paying industrial job, that too just after 2 years of studies. A PhD is a 4 or 5-year
long commitment that can be very demanding. You actually strive to push forward the frontiers of
human knowledge. At the end of it, you are a researcher who excels in a very specialized domain of
knowledge. Your job opportunities would get very limited as you would get over-qualified for most
industrial jobs, and would still not be qualified enough for academic jobs which require 2-3 years of
post-doctoral research experience. For the unmotivated, joining a PhD program can be a very bad
deal. One should go for a PhD only if one is very, very certain. Initially joining a master's program and
then, transferring to a PhD program might be the way ahead if one is unable to decide at the time of
application.
I definitely didn't want to pursue a PhD, at least not right now. And, I neither had the money nor the
willingness to take a bank loan of 30 lac rupees to pursue master's from USA. And, I want to settle
down in the West. Hence, Canada is where I decided to go and Canada is where you should decide to
go- requires spending absolutely zero money from your own pocket, home to some of the world's best
universities, lots of jobs and ease of acquiring permanent residency and citizenship.
Q-5: Those were some great ideas, Rajat. Thanks for such deep insights. Well, talking of insights, can
you tell us a little bit about the application process? Also, can you share some insights on GRE/GMAT
and TOEFL/IELTS?
Thank you, Mayank, for your kind words and for this another great and highly relevant question! Let
me bust a major myth. Many people have the wrong notion that admissions to foreign universities
depend on GRE scores, much like admissions to M.Tech. programs in India depend on GATE scores.
This is not true. To put things into perspective, I didn't write GRE at all. In fact, GRE is not required in
most Canadian, European and Asian universities. Mostly US universities require applicants to write
GRE.

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Some people also think that it is necessary to have published one or more research papers to get
admitted to top schools. Again a myth! No one in the West expects undergraduate students to publish
research papers. It's only here in India that people want to publish as many papers as possible, no
matter how worthless they might be. Universities only expect potential candidates to have undertaken
some good research projects and internships and they expect good recommendation letters from the
supervisors in those projects.
Now, let me talk about the general application procedure. Application deadlines for the September
intake are usually in late November to early January. Some schools may also have May and January
intake, but September intake is preferred. It's always great to email a potential supervisor well in
advance and ask if there might be a vacancy in his/her lab for you. If someone agrees to supervise you,
include his/her name in your SOP. That always helps!
Admissions depend on your complete application package, which comprises of some or all of the
following components- resume, statement of purpose, letters of recommendations, CGPA,
undergraduate university, GRE scores, TOEFL scores, etc. Universities decide on the basis of your
academic performance in your undergraduate studies, the university you pursued your undergraduate
studies at, your internships and research experience, your future career goals, how you put it all in the
form of a resume and a statement of purpose, how your recommendation letters reflect the same and
also, your scores in standardized tests such as GRE and TOEFL. Let me now talk a little bit about each
of these.
Universities that do require GRE scores mostly used them as a negative filter for rejecting candidates.
A poor GRE score can get the candidate rejected, but an exceptionally high GRE score will still not be
enough to guarantee him/her an admit. Candidates with very good marks in the quantitative section
are viewed favorably. The committee can be a bit more forgiving with the verbal section.
TOEFL, an English proficiency test, is usually a requirement for all international students. However,
the TOEFL score hardly carries any weightage as far as the admission decision is concerned. It is just
necessary to clear the cut off. If your TOEFL score is low and rest of the application is strong, you might
still get admission, but may be asked to take an English proficiency class after joining the university.
Just to mention, I got 115/120 in TOEFL; my friend got 96/120 in TOEFL; we both are going to the same
place.
The candidate’s academic record forms a crucial part of the graduate school application. It is quite
tough to provide guidelines on what qualifies as a good enough GPA. Different universities use
different scales to grade their students and these scores cannot simply be scaled and compared with
each other. For instance, getting a 9.0/10.0 in most of the top Indian colleges is significantly tougher
than managing a 3.6/4.0 at a Western university. I will say that in IIT (BHU), maintaining a minimum
GPA of 8.0/10.0 should be the aim.
The résumé is usually a good place to fit in all the details such as education, projects, work experience,
publications, extra-curricular activities and other achievements. However, the applicant should not
rely on the committee members reading all the details in the résumé.
The statement of purpose (SOP) is one of trickiest components of the overall application. It is a great
place to point out things which could not be covered in other parts of the application – past projects,
internships, work experience and other academic and non-academic achievements. The SOP can also
be crucial in cases where there is a genuine reason for poor academic performance over a semester
or two, since those reasons can be clearly stated in the SOP. In reality, most SOPs tend to be similar
to each other in flow and format and even though the individual facts differ, only rarely do they stand

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out. An important point missed out by most applicants is that the SOP should not merely be a verbose
curriculum vitae. It actually is supposed to be a statement of purpose. Majority of the SOPs fail to
address the purpose part completely or only talk about it in a few sentences in the concluding
paragraph. The statement should instead prove the candidate’s worthiness not just through his/her
prior work, but with a detailed discussion of why the candidate chose the particular program, what
he/she intends to do while pursuing the program and what he/she will do after having gained the
education. A new research idea or problem that the applicant has been working on or would like to
pursue, or a novel and useful application that he/she intends to develop, etc. are things that will get
the committee excited and make them want to admit the candidate to their university.
Letters of recommendation play a very vital role in the admission process. The committee attaches a
lot of importance to these letters since they provide evaluations of the applicant by professors and/or
supervisors who have closely monitored the applicant’s work over a period of time. However, the
committee is also wary of the cases where the writer just writes a generic letter off a standard
template. Such letters usually just praise the applicant without citing any personal experiences or facts
to support their claims. A good recommendation letter is one where the recommender talks in some
detail about the actual work done under their supervision by the applicant, how he/she fared at the
task and other specific instances from their interactions with the applicant.
Finally, when given an option of submitting more than the required number of recommendation
letters (which is usually three), it is in the applicant’s interests to not submit the extra letter. Not
everyone in the committee might read all the four letters. So it might turn out that the ones being
read by them are not the three strongest letters. Even if a committee member does read all the four,
it may turn out that one of the four is a very weak letter and can give him/her a reason to reject the
candidate. It is, thus, safer for the applicant to just stick to three strong letters that he/she is confident
about.
That's the graduate admission process demystified! To sum it up, admission process relies upon a
number of factors, which interact with each other in various ways. You do not have to excel at all these
factors, but your overall profile needs to be strong.
Q-6: Do you think that having been a student of IIT (BHU), one of the nation’s premier engineering
colleges has had any impact on how you were viewed as an applicant for admission, or a student in
general? What would you say regarding the ease of admission in general?
I must say the IIT tag is one of your most prized possessions, one that would help you always. Had I
not studied at IIT, I am sure I would not have had the opportunity to go abroad for my internship,
exchange program and now, graduate studies. People in North America know about IITs and respect
IITians. They may not necessarily know about IIT (BHU), but they will still look at you as someone very
intelligent and hard-working.
Many of the Indian professors in foreign universities are IITians. They might be your best bet when
sending emails for internships and graduate studies. I must also warn you that Indian professors are
generally more demanding than western professors. I would normally prefer to work for a western
professor than an Indian professor. :D
In most major North American cities, you will find a vibrant community of IITians. These associations
often organize meet-ups. They are a great opportunity to network and share some light moments.
These contacts will take you very far.

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Of course, after the initial excitement about your IIT tag, it's only the work that you do at any university
or company which matters. All I can say is that work hard and live upto the name of your alma mater!
Q-7: Can you also share some insights about applying for foreign internships and exchange
programs?
Well, there can be a whole other interview on this. Let me just say a few sentences here. IIT (BHU)
doesn't have official exchange programs as such and hence, students need to find internships or
exchange programs on their own. The process is similar for both- you can either send emails to
professors and find internships or you can apply to programs like Mitacs, DAAD, etc. I am an ex-Mitacs
intern and while it is difficult to get selected, if you do get selected, you will have the experience of a
lifetime. The procedure to apply for Mitacs and DAAD is similar to graduate school applications and
can be checked from their websites.
However, the most common way for students to get foreign internships is by sending emails to foreign
professors. Let me share some insights on that. When investigating prospective supervisors, first, view
their profiles online and read a couple of their publications to familiarize yourself with their work.
Write a brief email to them indicating your awareness of their research and how it fits with your
interests. Tell them a couple of strong points about your background and your previous research
projects. Let them know about your interest in working with them and ask if there might be a
possibility for this research attachment. The emails should be brief and to the point. Do not mention
your entire resume in the body of the email. Do not explain nitty-gritties of every research project you
have ever undertaken. Attach the resume separately with the email as well as include its Dropbox link
in the body of the email. You will have to send a lot of emails. Be patient and do not mass mail. Each
email should be send after proper research. You may have to send hundreds of emails, but that's okay.
When you get 1 positive reply, 99 negative replies do not matter.
Talking of exchange programs, they are mostly for IDD students who are required to pursue master's
dissertation and write a full-fledged thesis. IIT (BHU) has recently relaxed the rules and now, allows
students to proceed to different universities to undertake master's dissertation. The procedure to take
permission from IIT (BHU) is still very cumbersome, but at least, things are moving in the right
direction.
One must try to undertake at least one foreign internship, even if one does not necessarily wish to
pursue research. In India, we often don't realize what real research is. Bad professors and bad
experiences working in Indian laboratories often make us averse to pursuing research. We start
thinking of management jobs. It is one of the saddest things that's happening to many students. To
experience real research, one must try to go for at least one good research internship. A good
internship would not only make your profile very strong for graduate studies, but would also fill you
with a zeal to go and pursue graduate studies, and not feel satisfied with an ordinary job in India.
Q-8: Financials tend to be tricky while studying abroad. What is your approximate cost of
attendance and tips for sustaining that?
As I mentioned before, I am getting full funding and with a little planning and through informed
decisions, everyone can get good funding for graduate studies.
To give you an idea of the approximate costs, tuition for international students in most North
American universities is around $20,000 per annum. One can also expect to spend around $1,000-
1,200 per month as living expenses, i.e., $12,000-15000 per annum. That means one's yearly expenses
would be around $35,000. For visa purposes, you need to show that you either have this amount (in

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the form of an educational loan or cash in bank account), or you are getting sufficient funding from
your university.
There are usually four channels through which graduate students are funded- research assistantships,
teaching assistantships, scholarships/awards/fellowships and tuition fee waivers. RAships and TAships
are the common funding sources, while scholarships or awards are few and hard to get. Tuition fee
waivers are also rare and are offered to only a few students at the time of admissions.
PhD students, be it in USA or Canada, get more than required funding which is sufficient to take care
of their tuition and living expenses as well as save and send some money home.
Master's students in USA do not usually get funding at the beginning and they have to take educational
loans. Professors might offer RAships or TAships in later semesters, but at the time of visa applications,
in order to show enough money to immigration officers, students must take educational loans. Not
the best scenario!
The situation is the best in Canada where not only PhD students, but also all research-based master's
students get sufficient funding from the very beginning. In Canada, graduate students are considered
equivalent to full-time employees. Students work for their professors and hence, must be paid.
Usually, at the time of admission, professors offer student a decent funding package which is enough
to take care of tuition and living expenses, and may even be enough to save and send some money
home. The package usually has a definite amount set as RAship and TAship, and may also have some
sort of international tuition award, etc. Research-based graduate students simply do not get financially
strained in Canada. You can go there with absolutely zero money in your pocket and you will be taken
care of. Who wouldn't want that?
Also, just to mention, study visas of almost all countries allow students to work part-time. Hence, if
someone is not getting sufficient funding or just wants to earn some more, he/she can always take up
a job with a tutoring agency, eatery, departmental store, etc. and earn some extra money.
Q-9: What kind of employment opportunities should one expect at the end of the respective degree
program, in general?
Let me put the answer in these words- The cream of our country goes to IITs and the cream of IITs
goes to the best foreign universities. As a graduate of one of the world's topmost universities, job
should be the last thing one should worry about. You will get a great job.
PhD graduates mostly take up positions as post-doctoral researchers. They can expect to earn anything
from $30,000-40,000 per annum. After 2-3 years of post-doctoral research, they can expect to find
jobs as assistant professors with great starting salaries. PhD students in fields such as computer
science also have lots of industrial jobs waiting for them. However, in fields such as environmental
engineering, industrial jobs for PhD students are a bit rare. The reason is mostly that PhD holders tend
to get super selective in their job search.
Things are pretty rosy for master's students. They can expect to find great industrial jobs much easily.
In my field, master's students can expect a minimum starting salary of around $60,000 per annum.
Growth is, of course, amazing.
Let me also explain one more thing. Through campus placements in IIT (BHU), good students from
non-circuit branches, such as civil engineering, can expect to find core jobs that pay INR 5 lac per
annum, or non-core jobs that pay INR 10 lac per annum. The student who takes up the non-core job
would get around INR 50,000-60,000 per month in hand. At the end of 2 years, if his growth is stellar,

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his salary might become INR 20 lac per annum which is, of course, very rare. Now, suppose the same
student goes to a Canadian university to pursue his master's. During his studies, he will get at least
$1,500 (or INR 75,000) per month towards living expenses. And, at the end of 2 years, his starting
salary would be at least $60,000 (or INR 30 lac) per annum, much more than his salary in India after 2
years of job. One might argue that INR 20 lac in India are more than INR 30 lac in Canada due to
purchasing power parity. But, in Canada, the quality of life is much better. You won't have a work week
of 60-80 hours, as is often the case in India. You will have sufficient money to lead a very comfortable
life in a great city with great weather and beauty. You will have time for yourself, your family and your
passions. You would be happier. That's why, those who go to the West don't wish to come back!
Hahaha! So, friends, compare and see for yourself what's better - a job in India or graduate studies
abroad.
That was a great message and a great interview! What a pleasure talking to you, Rajat! Wish you all
the best in all your future endeavors and looking forward to many more interactions with you!
Thank you!
The pleasure is all mine, Mayank! Please accept my humblest gratitude for bestowing this honor on
me. I sincerely hope lots of my juniors start thinking of pursuing foreign internships and graduate
studies after reading this interview. Juniors, please feel free to connect with me to discuss any
questions you might have. Thanks a lot to you, Mayank, and to all of you at the SAIC for your efforts
and hardwork. You guys are awesome. Thank you! Adios! Au Revoir!