The open curriculum at Brown will allow me to pick whichever courses I want without any requirements, which is a (very) welcome change after the rigid structure offered by Indian schools; so I can actually experiment and with the guidance of experienced mentors, arrive at a major tailor-made to suit my ambition.

​I'm really looking forward to the honor-code system in place at Mudd which will allow me to take all my tests in my dorm room, have access to all the facilites on the lab round the clock and just develop this different sense of trust with the people around me, that seemed lacking to a large extent at school.

Don’t be blinded by the popularity a university has in India. Small liberal arts colleges that you might have not heard of are just as good because of the personalized attention they offer and the post grad college placements they end up getting you.

It was very tough to begin the essay, because I was always at a loss for words. I would spend more time procrastinating compared to actually writing. Eventually, once I got into the 'flow' it was easy to write.

The sheer variety of courses available ranging from printmaking to liberal arts courses. Even at a specialized design school, the importance of liberal arts is not undermined. 

Initially, I jotted down those colleges which I really wanted to attend. But I realized all the colleges I was keen on were highly selective ones, and so I had to have some backups. The list then came to about 25. There were too many! It was then that I started to go deeper and read more about the colleges.

It is best not to let yourself be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that needs to be put in the applications. I decided to apply abroad only a month and a half before my pre-boards and the only reason I was able to complete on time was because I didn’t allow myself to get discouraged along the way.

I think the core curriculum is one of the areas where American schools
score over Indian ones. I do think there is a lot of value in having
to take classes across a broad spectrum of fields and I know many, many
people who end up majoring in something different from what they
decided after taking a class they loved. So don't be shy about
exploring subjects you know nothing about or revisiting those you
might have dropped after Class 10.