F-1 Visa success in 4th attempt for Summer 2013 at New Delhi Consulate

Many of you might be in the process of getting US visa and you might have failed many a times. Very lucky ones get it cleared on the first attempt. I was not in this lucky lot and had to struggle for getting an F-1 visa 3 times before finally I made it.
Very first time I was a bit nervous and didn’t know how to appear myself in front of the VO (Visa Officer). I scrolled through various websites and got advised by many people. But none could give me confidence. I prepared all my documents well and appeared before the VO well dressed in the New Delhi American Embassy in July 2012 for Fall 2012 term.

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Here are the lines from my first interview:

I : Good Morning, Ma’am.
VO : (no response)
VO : Why are you going to US?
I : To pursue MS in xxxxx subject.
VO : Which University are you planning to go?
I : xxxxx University.
VO : Where is this university located?
I : xxxxx place in xxxxx state.
VO : Why xxxxx university?
I : (notified the VO about all the positive points of my university)
VO : Sorry I cannot issue you a Visa this time.
I : Thank You.

I was taken aback by listening this as prior to this I heard that getting an F-1 visa was as easy as ABC. I didn’t argue with the Visa officer as I didn’t feel that was right. I was angry with the VO for not issuing me a visa as I prepared for it well and spent a lot of money.

Similarly the two successive attempts (for Fall 2012 in July 2012 last week and for Spring 2013 in December 2012) were a failure and I was not asked a different question than my first interview. I was also not told the reason for my visa rejection despite asking for it several times in these two interviews. I was now suspicious of getting an F-1 visa and thought that my efforts are in vain. The F-1 visa process was getting tougher than it was earlier told by people. My interviews did not last more than 2 minutes and my application was rejected without any reason all the time.
I didn’t lose my self confidence and applied for other universities as well. After all this, I applied for the spring 2013 session in XXXXX University situated in Ohio State. But I got no time to change all my documents for the support of newer university. Third time also I didn’t get a visa. Same questions this time too, and no reason for the rejection.
I got frustrated after all this. Now I was ready to do anything in the world but not appearing for a visa once more. I started to appear for other competitions on national level to get selected in one or the other.
The fourth time I changed all my supporting documents in accordance with the new university. I was not in any fear of rejection as I had appeared many competitions and was sure of getting selecting in one or the other exams. So I appeared for a visa interview in March 2013 after I got admission in the summer 2013 term in the latter university. I was not worried about any of the process as I had experience of three times rejection and appeared again for the visa. This time also VO was a female.
The interview went like this:

I : Good Morning Ma’am.
VO : Good Morning. (I thought of it as a positive reply)
VO : Why XXXXX university?
I : The ranking of this university is among first 500 in the world. This university matches with my profile. It is economic among the universities that I have applied.
VO : Where did you do your bachelor’s degree?
I : (told)
VO : Which course have you applied for?
I : MS in xxxxx subject.
VO : Has your visa been rejected earlier?
I : Yes.
VO : Why your earlier visa was rejected?
I : I was not able to convince the VO. (best answer if you are asked this type of question)
VO : When was your bachelor’s completed?
I : last year.
VO : What have you been doing since then?
I : I am teaching needy children at home who are currently pursuing bachelors.
VO : Who is going to Sponsor you?
I : My father.
VO : What does your father do?
I : (told)
VO : At which post is he working?
I : (told)
VO : What is his annual income?
I : (told)
VO : What will you do after pursuing MS?
I : I will be coming back to my home country after doing MS form US because US degree has very high value back in India.
VO : Do you have any real brothers or sisters?
I : Yes.
VO : What does he/she do?
I : (told)
VO : How many universities have you applied to?
I : 2 universities.
VO : Do you have any relatives in the US?
I : No, I don’t have any immediate relatives. But, I have relatives in the US.
VO : In which state is this university situated?
I : Ohio.
VO : Have you ever been to US?
I : Yes, I went there as a tourist.
VO : For what did you go there?
I : To enjoy my holidays.
VO : Where did you stay there?
I : with my relatives in xxxxx state.
VO : When did you go there?
I : (told)
VO : Do you know anyone in this university?
I : No.
VO : What major subject you opt?
I : (told)
VO : What all do you know about your subject?
I : (told) I also won a national level contest last year beating all the students from the top most institutions of the nation.

The VO asked many more questions
Finally in the end she spoke the words for which I have done so much efforts.

VO : Congratulations, I am approving your Visa. (handed over a green paper to me)
I : Thank you so much. (smiling) I am so happy.
VO : I know what it means to you. (smiling)

My visa interview went for around half an hour. I became more positive as the VO was showing more and more interest in my application. Half an hour of question and answers made me feel tired but at the end I got success.
She took my visa and I got it back at my house in 3 days after the interview through VFS.