what does MoUs (with other foreign institutions) signed by IIT mean? Does it mean that students from IIT can get into that institute for higher studies even without writng GATE(or something in that way)?. Also, in the IIIT madras website I saw that there was Prof. who had done his Phd from stanford university. Do you think his recommendation will help a student from IIT madras to get a seat there? If yes, in what way?

What do you think should an NITian do to get into such good institutions? Ihave asked this question because I haveheard that just getting good marks in GRE won't help.

Hi,

No university is bound by any contract to accept students. If you study in IIT AND you are a good student, then your chances of getting admission into prestigious universities increases manifold. But still, you can never be sure.

Yes, just getting good marks in GRE will not help at all. As far as I remember, there were 20+ students from IITD alone who got 1600/1600 in GRE....and only 5-6 manage to fo to MIT/Stanford/princeton etc. You need to be very good in academics, you have to get very good recommendations from your professors, and you have to write a good SOP(statement of purpose). Only then can you get into such universities.

Yes, recommendation from a stanford alumnus can increase your chances, but only a bit. But if he/she is a professor ion your department, then it can help a lot.  The IIT brandname surely helps in securing admission into good universities. But I know many NITians who have managed to get admission too. So basically, the most important thing is your academics. If you are in IIT and have a CGPA of more than 9.0, then you can surely get into the top 10 US universites with scholarship, provided that your SOP is also good.

All that is for top 10-20 US universities. It is much more easier to get admission to other US universities and universities in Germany, France, UK, Japan, Singapore, Australia etc. For these universities, you can probably get admission just with good CGPA alone, or with 3-4 good recommendations.

I hope it helps..cheers!