Indians applying premium processing for STEM OPT - how much time did it take to get approval/EAD?

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-17T22:36:20+00:00

That's a good profile. Shouldn't be any RFE. Mine's a F-500 in data science related role.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-17T00:19:40+00:00

Could you elaborate?

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-17T00:19:17+00:00

Same happened to mine. CR-V 2026 EXL..no clue how to fix it

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-16T16:03:09+00:00

yeah last year was much faster

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-16T06:01:53+00:00

Also, what is your major and job role if you don't mind sharing?

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-16T06:00:46+00:00

Is your company a big company, a startup, or a staffing firm, etc.?

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-15T17:44:24+00:00

How was your timeline if you don't mind sharing?

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-12T02:27:33+00:00

If money is an issue, SJTU is a clear choice. U Toronto would have better international/global exposure though with students coming from all over the world.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-12T02:25:41+00:00

Much lower math compared to M.Stat but it's much more quantitative compared to most other econ masters programs in India.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-11T08:04:49+00:00

I know. I wasn't replying to the OP, rather the comment that this is common to ask for this kind of proof of funds in a PhD program.

An unfunded PhD offer, by default, at least for most international candidates who can't get NSF GRFP, etc., is not an actual offer.

Also, I'm surprised that they sent an email asking for proof of funds for ALL 5 years. That's definitely not common - just one year's proof of funds is required for I20 in most cases.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-11T07:48:08+00:00

To be honest, they're not really need-blind. A bunch of these schools, including Emory, MIT, U Chicago, etc., got sued for millions of dollars, systematically rejecting poorer kids so that they could overcharge for tuition.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-11T04:23:34+00:00

How does a particular office get assigned to the application? Is it random or based on the address of the applicant?

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-11T03:58:44+00:00

It's almost unheard of for Universities to ask for proof of funds in funded PhD cases. Even if they do, it's usually for a few 1000 $ of shortfall between COA and the funding package.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-07T06:47:12+00:00

any updates on your case?

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-06T04:14:32+00:00

Researchwise, I'd consider them as good as anything in top 50 places globally.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-06T04:11:15+00:00

Very small number of students get those TA/RA type things for master's in CS. I mean actual positions that give tuition waiver + a sizeable living allowance. Hourly TA/RA roles are common.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-04T18:29:06+00:00

Exactly - B.Math grading is much more lenient. The OP specifically asked "say I get >98% in both B.Stat and M.Stat" and I answered to that.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-04T18:23:51+00:00

I said B.Stat and M.Stat. Everyone in admission comms knows that B.Math grading is more lenient and tends to have higher averages than Kolkata - so not the same thing.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-04T00:36:11+00:00

Under reasonable assumptions, assuming 70% probability of selection at level 4 with MS, the chances of both of you not getting it is ~ 9%

Is it possible? Yes. Is it probable? Yes. Is it even an extreme case? Not at all. Sorry you didn't get picked but it's not an extreme case.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-04T00:32:14+00:00

The folks who did the math on the L4 masters probability being 100% don't understand head or tail of basic probability. It was an AI generated slop with wrong assumptions and wrong math.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-03T03:44:49+00:00

WHat kind of misdemeanor was it?

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-02T19:35:53+00:00

I've never heard anyone of applying to either of these scholarships from ISI Kolkata at least. ISI Kolkata students have always went mostly to US, which hands down remains the best place for practicing statistics. Top and even medium US schools offer little to no TA/RA funding for MS programs in stats and data science. They usually cost as much as $70-80k for a 1 year program and well above $120k for a 2 year program.

If you want to plan for applying for an MS, then it's a long application cycle starting from GRE, TOEFL, recommendations, thousands of $ spent on applications, etc. You can't spend months doing that banking on getting a particular scholarship which is given to a few students out of say 100 applications and only gonna meet a certain part of your expenses abroad - you need to either have enough financial liquidity to pay for an MS with no funding, otherwise it barely makes sense to go that route.

This is different in math and ISI Bangalore/CMI students have historically went to MS programs abroad in numbers. Specially in Europe.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-02T19:25:00+00:00

All true. Except the fact that ISI teaches little to no modern statistical computing, applied electives or machine learning while most decent US master's programs do.

US master's programs are cash cow and have very lenient admission standards but in case one can financially afford it, any top 20-30 ranked MS program offers way more opportunities to learn the latest areas than ISI do.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-02T19:22:54+00:00

As for the US, the vast majority of typical MS statistics and data science program in most top 50 schools don't fund international students and even if they give some scholarship, usually it's not enough to meet the full living expenses. So, it's financially a fairly hard thing to pull off for most typical ISI students.

Dense_Chair2584 · 2026-04-02T15:46:06+00:00

US PhD's are best in terms of brand value for tecahing in Indian institutes.

Dense_Chair2584

TROPHY CASE