In a great dilemma about college, some HELP!!!

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gadgetfreak

Gadgetpenter
Hey everyone,
Although I have been for quite few years at Thinkdigit, I have been goin thru a great dilemma for quite some time
I am in a major Dilemma, but before that lemme give some background about myself:

I from New Delhi, India, I completed my class 12 in 2008 and got a decent but not great 91%. I come from a school ( DPS RKP) known to churn out the largest number of international students from India. About 70% of my friend circle is abroad US/UK/Canada etc. While in school I have been involved in stuff from being a member of the School's elite Computer Club for 5 years to participating in National level Future Cities competitions and carrying and conducting and Judging computer hardware based inter school competitions.
Few months down the line, I get into a tiff with my school counselopr and my abroad plans go down the drain as she delayed my transcripts to an extent that deadlines fr all major uni' shad passed.

Somehow I slogged for 4 months for boards and engg competitions( yeah stupid of me for not preparing fr them earlier, but damage had been done).
I give the engg. entrances, screw most of them and then Manage to get into one of the top colleges of Indraprastha University- GGSIPU ( New Delhi) where I have recently passed my first year and hated it thoroughl
y.

Here is where all the trouble starts
. As I mentioned earlier, I am more of a hands on out the class guy than an in class guy listening to stupid old farts. I would rather do something constructive myself. Here in my college I became an Microsoft Student Partner, cleared the second round of Imagine Cup 2009 and other stuff. But all this while I continuously hated myself for where I was. I received no cooperation frm any from, rather only scolding and discouragement from my profs and directors for a lot of my endeavours. Most students dont give a F*** to their future(they just want a engg degree and a placement in some stupid IT outsourcing company- no offense meant to anyone working there!!). I am quite the opposite. However, I would most probably like to go in for a masters from a top place ( yeah easier said than done)..

For the entire first semester I suffered in the cllg, my parents kept saying things wud get better, but they didnt. So I lose another opportunity for US apps as my parents convince me if only temporarily into continuing to study where I was. Meanwhile I keep on fuming inside, desperately wanting to leave. I mean, I loathed my curriculum, my professors ( a Bsc student wud be better than their worthless PhD's) and I didnt really make many friends either. So, in short it sucked big time.

Then this year in Feb, Carnegie Mellon Qatar Comp Sci profs had come to Delhi to meet the IIT ppl and they also held a session. My school counsellor said it was a good option fr me. So then I rushed thru my toefl n stuff and applied to CMU qatar , Australian National University, NTU, NUS. As expected, I got rejected at NTU and NUS. Got acceptances at CMUQ and ANU.

Now, CMUQ sounded as a good option as they are giving aid ( i desperately need that or not intl study for me) in the form of interest free loans which can either be paid off as 15% of your monthly income or by serving in Qatar for SIX YEARS ( where 1 year of work is monetarily equal to $27000, and one years tuition is $42000- same as Pittsburgh. You can also pay along as you work with whatever amount you are comfortable with.

I might want to go to a grad school before working. Does my education at CMU Qatar play a role any different from me doing my undergrad from CMU Pittsburgh in my acceptance in to a grad school in US or UK or lets say, getting work in a US based company inside US. My query is, that do you think I will be treated differently ( as in adversely) when I apply to a Grad school or a Job outside of Qatar when compared to a CMU Pittsburgh graduate.

Also, Is it worth taking that huge amount of loan or should I continue to study where I am and then settle for a compromise in university for a masters in US/UK.

I might get a full Scholarship from Australian National University for the Feb 2010 intake in their Computer Science Honours program, but the things have started turning bad for Indians in Australia ( racism n all). So parents are against that option specially in the current scenario. But this option is not closed. Best part about ANU if I go there, is that I am free man afte r the degree.

I WANT A HONEST OPINION FROM YOU GUYS. Please help me as I am in a complete dilemma. I have to reply to the CMUQ guys ASAP. SO guys n gals help me out!

PS: Thanks a ton for going thru this long rant of mine. I know it really takes a lot of patience but I would really appreciate it if you help me.
*www.techenclave.com/images/smilies/confused1.gif*www.techenclave.com/images/smilies/confused1.gif
SO HELP ME OUT.. plz.
 

confused

Evolving Rapidly...
while i do understand ur frustration of being stuck in a college thats more intent on mugging stuff and going by the rules than say an international college that lays emphasis on innovation and independent thinking, its quite difficult to get aid for ug programs. also since want to go to a grad school before working, u should be aware that, grad school itself costs a bomb (about 40-50 lacs presently). which means either u try to get two scholarships or you take out two huge loans. or one schol and one loan.

and as far as the univs u have mentioned, i cant say anything since i have no credible info on them. CM is definitely reputed, but no idea how good or bad their extension centers might be.

anyway finally - even if u dont do ur UG from abroad its not the end of the world. u can always do a MS later on to get a decent CV. but its imp that u maintain a good CGPA wherever u do it.....
 

Abhishek Dwivedi

TechFreakiez.com
+1 with @confused. Am too starting up my 1st year in Engg with CS this year and plan to do MS from US.
Doing UG from here isn't pulling yourself down as compared to US/UK UG's, its just how well you do it that matter
 
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