I have two admits in good schools (ECE: MS in CMU and U Mich) and I'm from India (IIT). My end goal is to do PhD from a US univ and hence I will be there at least for 6-8 years. How should I convince my parents to allow me happily to go?

Your first step would be to figure out what kind of specific things your parents are concerned about with you moving to the US. Is it culture-shock? Is it the financial aspect? Is is the thought that you may not want to move back to India? Finding out specifics from your parents is very important because it not only clarifies things for you, it also does the same for them. Sometimes just listing things like this in a clear and precise manner may alleviate many worries they have. The next step is to take that information and figure out what answers you can provide. What are your long-term goals? Are you picking a field in which the bulk of the research is done in the US? Is funding difficult to obtain in India? Or are you a social entrepreneur or grass roots campaigner that has set your sights on India or Asia as emerging markets? I grew up in Oman and studied in the CBSE school system and then attended Stanford for Undergrad as well as Masters . I have friends from India who never once thought to stay here in the US after their degrees. If that is the case for you, then the case is easier to make to your parents. I on the other hand work in an industry that is dominated by US competitors, in which the vast majority of Indian operations are on the software side - which doesn't appeal to me. My parents knew from the very beginning that I intended on living and working in the US. Now if you think that you want to settle in the US, of if you're not sure either way, it is incredibly important to come clean with them about it. Explain that the full potential of your professional and academic career may be able to be achieved by attending a top US institution (if you believe that to be the case).  Seek out friends and classmates who either have attended similar schools or are going to in the same time frame as you and ask them how they made their decision. Try to find someone around you who chose to come back to India after  a US graduate program and see why they did that. Whatever you decide, gaining admission in two Top 10 programs in the US is no small feat and even if you choose IIT for your graduate studies I am sure that you will achieve great things in your career.

Pack up and go. If you know that this is the right choice for you and that ultimately this will will make you happy then go for it! I understand that parents have a lot of say in their children's education in India but if this truly is the right choice then in time they'll see it as well. Edit : As for the other schools he's suggested, I've never heard of them or seen them ranked. Ranking is a good indicator of the quality and reputation of a university. This also can be correlated to better opportunities. My first year of college I went to the 'jewel of the south [texas]' and was very disappointed in the education system there. I met a girl who got a B in differential equations but couldn't do simple algebra ( add A+A =? ). She explained that all she did was memorize the reviews. That fall I saw how it was viewed within industry as there was only 50 companies who came to the career fair for the entire school. This school was a joke and I promptly tranfered to a top 10 chemical engineering school. The difference was huge. Classes were harder and no hand outs were given. The school was widely known and in the fall I saw 200+ companies coming to recruit for engineering only. TLDR: Good schools are good for a reason and have more opportunities for you

You are on crossroads. You know that you won't reach your full potential, unless you experience the best of engineering. Being from IIT, I'm sure you know the difference in career prospects in pursuing Master at India or abroad. If finances aren't a BIG concern, do realize that you'd still be home for the annual breaks (The same even if you were at an Indian institution) Be compassionate to your parents' emotions but try and explain how it really doesn't make a difference. YES your professional life will make you go places.. NO it wouldn't widen the distance from your parents. Wish you all the best :)

I am no doctorate. Neither a genius. But, let me attempt answering this. Sure, facilities outside would be better than here. You would even get more stipend. Will you have better advisers? Most probably, yes too. But, when you write a paper and present it in a reputed conference, will it be the same as representing a school with the last line of the address reading India? It is always easy to be a part of the bandwagon which is doing well. The foreign univs are doing well. Sure, you alone cannot change the landscape of the nation. But, would it not make more sense for you to stay back and do research here? Once, you are finished with your PhD, you would be faced with the same question again. PostDoc in the States with better pay or coming back to India. To expect India to rise in the few years you are away and provide you with a job to match your capabilities might not be possible and there shall be a temptation to stay back for the good or the worse. And, and, there is nothing like home. Nothing like the feeling of contributing something for the nation.