I had never seen my parents happier than they were on that day the day when the

JEE results were declared and it came to everyones knowledge that I had secured a
descent enough rank and earned a spot in the prestigious IITs. However, I was far
from satisfied. I had to take up a major in Mechanical Engineering due to my not so
great rank, despite being extremely passionate about learning Computer Science
and Robotics. Being a math and gaming nerd from childhood, my passion for
Computer Science was natural. I therefore struggled hard in my first year to get
myself in college top 7 in first year exams and had my branch changed to Computer
Science. But I was not the one to rest.

I soon discovered that the course curriculum at IITs is quite rigid with little focus on
hands-on learning, which is the method I love to learn by. Moreover, there is
insufficient coverage of courses like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
topics I like the most. When I went through the breadth of offerings in Artificial
Intelligence, Computer Graphics and Human Computer Interaction courses and the
flexibility of courses offered at UIUC, I was thoroughly impressed. From numerous
and cutting edge computer labs, to specially dedicated groups in AI like the
Beckman Institute and Language Processing Groups, there are opportunities that
will allow me to achieve my academic goals at Illinois, that would be otherwise
unavailable. I could, therefore, take courses which were inaccessible in a stiff
curriculum. Although IIT-G does not have UIUCs range of courses or the focus on AI,
I have studied under some wonderful professors who have imparted me the value of
pursuing my interests come what may and its these values that bolster my decision
to transfer.

My reasons for transferring, therefore, are completely academic, save one. I initially
went to IIT-G because of the highly competitive academic environment of the IITs in
general. Im now looking forward to pushing myself to expand my social skills by
coming into contact with the diverse international and American community at your
college.

As my transcript shows, I have done great at IIT-G and I am convinced I can meet
the academic challenges of UIUC. I know I would grow at UIUC, and your program in
Computer Science perfectly matches my academic interests and professional goals.

OR

I look forward to collaborating directly with my professors on their AI research, and

working towards being a critical and valuable member of Carnegie Mellons
computer science community.