Pennsylvania State University- WE ARE!

I think it was a good experience. Honestly its the student that it depends on how they work through the 2 years of college life. Being focused is very necessary. I talked to professors and tried to get some small projects under them, so as to better understand their subject and understand if I would like to work in that field or not. Starting early is good. No one here is going to push you to study.

The course syllabus is good. I think there are few subjects that can be updated well. The lab components in each course gives enough industrial exposure as to what software and technology is ongoing at present. Research work is mandatory, through thesis or non thesis, and in my belief it gives a detailed understanding of the topic and expertise.

GRE total 325/340 Verbal 155/170 Quant 170/170 Writing 4.5/5 TOEFL total 109/120 "Had to submit 3 LORs and a SOP and CV as well. I think its really important to have atleast 2 LORs from academic background (undergrad). These LORs will tell the universities how much of a research caliber does the student have. If any work experience or internship is done, then the third LOR can be from the industrial experience. This would show that the student not only has academic knowledge but also industrial experience. SOP - try to cover almost all things studied and how all of these learning have brought you here today, and how all these things have motivated you to study further and what you would like to give back to the society through your education. CV - keep short and crisp.

A good amount of companies visit in career fair. Almost 80% students are placed and others have a good amount of research factor in their resume to go for PhDs. As for Electrical and Computer deptt, anything around 70K or above is a good salary after MS.

I did an internship in Western Digital as a system design intern. I applied through the company website and had 3-4 rounds of interview. I was being paid $36/hour.

Its according to the credits you have to take up. It's almost $1500 for one credit. Almost all courses are around 3 credits. 1st sem - 3 courses + 1 credit of colloqium + health insurance = $17,000 2nd sem - 3 courses + 1 cred of colloqium + health insurance = $18,000 (health insurance in the second term is for 8 months so the amount is a bit more than the Fall semester) 3rd sem - I got a tution waver because of Teaching Assistantship so I didnt pay anything this semester. But it would also be about $17K. Last semester - 1 course + health insurance = $8,000 (I was almost done with all requirements of MS so I had to take only 1 course) All in all, if I wouldn't have received a tuition waver, I would have spent around $61K

I would say 1:10. The faculty and the staff are very helpful and approachable. You can ask any doubts or queries during the office hours that they hold. And if that isn't enough, you can request for extra time and they will definitely help you out. My advisor, Dr Wooram Lee, in particular helped me alot through the 3 semesters I did research work under him. He would come into the lab twice a day and check my progress and would also conduct weekly individual meetings as well as group meetings. I tried to give me tasks at par with the PhD students but also helped me out and gave extra materials to help me work through. Apart from work, he would also invite us for thanksgiving at his place and take us out for lunch or coffee after a tedious month of work.

There are alot of clubs and students groups that one can take part in. They have lots of activities going on like sports, or meeting up for hike or just casual meet ups. They also have fundraisers and its a good way to meet new people and make friends. There are almost 5 libraries in the campus and each library has group study areas and rooms that can be booked before hand. Each building has WiFi and I don't think I have ever used my mobile data when in the campus. There's one huge building dedicated specially for sports, be it gym, badminton, volleyball, football, squash, basketball, etc.

I stayed off campus and payed around $600/month. This was a fully furnished housing and in 4b4b setting and also was individual leased. If you go for unfurnished you can get upto $450/month. Generally I haven't seen anyone sharing rooms. Its almost individual rooms, but bathroooms can be shared. No idea about the on campus housing.