Customer Story 2 : How Pradeep went to UCSB from IIT Madras ?

We invite all our customers to a short interview, and a few of them are kind enough to oblige. This is second in the series of such interviews.

Pradeep Shekhar

(IIT Madras to University of California, Santa Barbara)

1.  What were you doing before you went to UCSB? 

I was doing my Bachelors of Technology in Electrical Engineering at IIT Madras.

2. Why did you decide to go for masters?

During my undergraduate study, I did several projects involving research in communication systems and always wanted to pursue a career in this field. A MS in communications and signal processing specialization would certainly add value to my profile and I'll be able to find more opportunities, higher pay and also high growth prospects.

3. How did you go about shortlisting colleges to apply for your masters?

I have taken suggestions from my seniors at IIT Madras. Edulix also helped a lot in deciding which universities to apply for.

4. Is there anything you wish you knew before you started preparing for your applications?

If I had known about the costs of living, availability of scholarships and the tuition fee at the universities, it would've been easier in shortlisting colleges. Its good to have these in mind while applying.

5. Which services (online / education consultants / networks) did you use at the different stages during your application?

I used several ranking websites like US News and Top Universities to get an estimate of the ranking of the universities among world universities. The university websites are very much helpful in providing the information regarding several facilities and research groups working in our area of interest.

6. How did you get to know about GyanDhan?

Through the information session organized by "Jainesh" (Founder, GyanDhan) at IIT Madras.

7. How was your overall experience getting the loan sanctioned via GyanDhan?

I've got my first disbursement recently and I'm very much satisfied with the overall experience with GyanDhan.

8. What problems did you face during the loan application process? And how did the GyanDhan team help you during the process?

When I went to the bank(from which I got the loan sanctioned) not via GyanDhan, I was told that a collateral and I20 are compulsory to get an education loan of more than 7 lakhs. But, with the help of GyanDhan, especially the frequent mails from Jainesh to the bank agent, I was able to get the loan sanctioned without submitting collateral or the I20.

9. Did you apply anywhere else apart from GyanDhan? If yes, then what made you choose GyanDhan among all the loan providers.

No, I haven't applied anywhere else.

10. Would you recommend your juniors to apply for a loan at GyanDhan? If yes, Why?

Yes, I would highly recommend GyanDhan to my juniors because they helped a lot with the loan application process. Without their help, I couldn't have a got an education loan without collateral at a lower interest rate. Whenever I had an issue with the bank agent, they were always there to help me out.

*As told to Aman Jain (GyanDhan) by Pradeep Shekhar on 4th Nov 2016