Dear Sajhabashi,

I am in dilemma. Here is my situation. I am a Paralegal student and earned 60 credits so far. I will complete my internship next semester and I will graduate. As an international student, I have to maintain visa. I am planning to join Bachelors in Information Technology. But one of my friends suggests me to get OPT and make money for one year. Some people said we can apply OPT only one time, some said twice. At this point, do you have any suggestions?  Should I apply OPT or continue study? And one more thing, any idea about good colleges around NYC.

For those who think I should Google it first, I already did. I need some advice from actual people, not from the virtual one.

Peace

 

brother, you can get opt twice. once after ur undergraduate, once after your masters.

Dear Sijupanta,

                      You can apply OPT every time you get a degree, weather it be an Associates degree or a Bachelors or a Masters degree or so on and soforth. So if you are looking to work for a year and save money go for it. Go ahead apply for internship and then file for graduation. Once you do that then you can go to your international student office and express your intention on obtaining OPT. They will provide necessary guidelines. I hope this answers your OPT question.

                      Good colleges in NYC? It depends on various factors. How much is your budget? How much time will you spend on school and how much will you spend on working while at school? You need to ask questions to yourself, Do i want to be small fish in the sea or be a big fish in the small pound? In other words, Do you want to go to a decent affordable school, focus totally on your studies and get a 4.0 GPA or Go to a 30K a year school taking 12 credits and getting 2.5-3.0 GPA and working 40 hours to foot the bill. One great resourse and tool to find schools in whichsoever area in the US has been www.usnews.com/education . You can click on the link below and then search for colleges in your area with the your corresponding budget. Each colleges have their ranking and if you want to be more specific about the particular department you could do that as well. From what I know The best college in Computer Science or Information Tech in the US is Cornell Mellon University, PA. In NewYork Rochester Institute of Technology is also a great school. I hope the above information helps.


http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/tools/search.php


Lonesome Dreamer,
YekloYatri
                      

you can get OPT for each degree you earn.  however, you can not get OPT two times if your degre are of same level, meaning both bachelor, masters and so on.  you can definitely apply OPT now, work for a year and join university.  however, with this new OPT rule, you might want to ask your International advisor regarding that 90 days unemplyment rule.  good luck.

Yekloyatri Ji,

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I cannot afford high tuition but I am always in Dean’s List in my Associate Degree. I hope to get some scholarship. I am working on campus and work weekend as well. So far, I am able to afford my tuition. Sometime I am getting support too. What about CUNY colleges? I really really appreciate your suggestions.

 

Garibkochora Ji,

Thank you! I am sister.

Peace

Dear Sijupanta,

                      Instead of asking,  Is CUNY  good? or  Is NYC State good? I recomend you to do some research. Yes we need suggestion good or bad to evaluate but you shouldnt be racking up threads asking which is better and which is not. The best bet would be ask yourself and see what you think about it. Another part is to do a reasearch about the university. You can call up the career center and ask how many percentage of student got jobs in the particular major after graduating or How many joined for their masters? They keep all these data. Inquire about the scholarship etc etc. I even wonder if you have used the school searching tool link that I have provided you before? I applaud your hard work on your studies (being on a deans list) and working to keep yourself afloat. But the irony here is such an independent, educated and honest individual like you is asking for spoon feeding.

                    Once again do your homework and compare and contrast the schools. Dont be just another wolf  in the pack and do what your friends in the group do or tell you to do and take their suggestions solely. Its great that there are friends and they help you and you wanna be with them which does not mean that your limit your boundries and oppurtunities. It's time that you need to look out for yourself. I wish all the best in your future endeavour.


A thoughtful escapist,
YekloYatri


PS: Forgive me if i acted in a way alike your guidance counselor or your parents, I want you to wake up and smell the coffee.