What Students Say
Likes
- Academic success, tier one research university, advance data visualization laboratory, friendly atmosphere, good and supportive professor, on-campus job opportunities which help you to get practical exposure, 300+ clubs related to different activities, good networking opportunities, lots of events and much more
Dislikes
- Less Indian community, Location(better for civil engineer jobs), overall rank(rank for computer science field is high but overall rank is not good), job opportunities after program(very few IT companies come), on-campus rents are high in compair to off-campus
Course Curriculum
- My course is bit difficult because of lots of advance theories and practical things. Also Ai is getting upgraded daily so it's tough to stay updated.
- But professors are really supportive they are helping a lot and they guide us in every single steps. In my class we mostly have 30 students but it depends on subject and it's level ( graduate or doctoral level course). In my course we are only 6-7 Indian students. Let's talk about it in bit more detail.
- We need to complete the 30 credits, which means 10 subject. From that there are 3 core subjects, artificial intelligence, AI practicum and Machine learning. And then you can go with course based on thesis based track.
- In course based you need to complete other 21 credits by taking the 7 elective subject where in thesis based you will do 6 credit thesis and need to take only 5 more electives. There are lots of electives available and also in AI there are three track. Computer science, data analytics and automation and electronics related track.
Admission Experience
-
I applied to the
University of Texas San Antonio - got accepted in masters in Artificial intelligenceUniversity of Alabama, Birmingham- got accepted in ms in cyber security which comes in the top programs in US
Windsor University - got accepted in ms in applied computing- I didn't choose due to the current job market in canada
Carleton University - got accepted
University of Maryland College park - rejected (maybe because they require 7 bands in writing where I have 6 other then that I was meeting with the other criteria
-
It's really popular for its research work. It is coming into the top 4% of the public research university. It has advanced visualization laboratory and great library. Also I want to do some work in 3D computer vision and one professor was doing the research in the same domain. Additionally courses are available like nlp, deep learning, reinforcement learning, computer vision.
-
Application process
We need to fill the form and upload the required documents like, resume, english proficiency test result, transcript, Sops, Lor,Then admission department review that and give their decision. -
After getting accepted you need to show the funding. Also, before the program start date you need to submit your transcript either physical copy or you can put a request to your bachelor's degree university to share on the UTSA email id directly. If your university is sending that, then they will allow that otherwise you need to submit physical copy,Then they will send the i20,Then you can apply for the visa with that i20 After getting visa once you reached here you need to submit i94 form in university.
-
If we talk about score. They require overall 6.5 bands in IELTS no less than 6 in each. For other exams you can check on the website. Btw this requirements varies for every program so it's better to check before applying.
-
Overall admission process was smooth. I faced some problems but they were minor ones.
-
I applied for the fall intake because my course is only available for this intake. Also it is the biggest intake for usa. I applied near to the application deadline maybe in April. Generally student get acceptance/rejection in 15 days. But in my case it took 2 months because it was under the review. So in June I got admission and then I applied for the visa. I get interview date in the end of the July and I came to the USA in mid August.
Faculty
- In my class there will be 30 students and one faculty. But I don't know the faculty students ratio. Because my course fall under the 3 departments so it's hard to find that ratio. Professors are really good they give personal attention. Also for some project they assign us a mentor too.
- My professor helped me a lot in finding the job opportunity. He recommend me for scholarship too. Here grading system depends on professor but mostly they give more weightage to the assignments and projects so you will get proper practical exposure.
- They discuss different research papers and you also need to present any existing research paper in front of the class. Which helps you to get overall development and also you will develop an interest in the research work
Campus Life
- We have main campus, downtown campus, southwest campus, hemisphere campus and park West campus.
- My lectures are at main and downtown campus.
- Downtown campus has two buildings one for the civil and one for the data science.
- Downtown data science building has advanced visualization laboratory.
- Main campus has JP library, recreation center, and many indoor outdoor activities.
- There are lots of extracurricular activities available. Like sports, rick climbing, tracking, river rafting, etc. They have lots of clubs maybe 300+ for different activities.
Part Time Jobs
-
Most of the students get job either as a TA, RA or graders. Some also get job at the canteen and other departments on a front desk. We get hourly pay from 11-19 $ based on the department and role.we allowed to work for a 19 hours a week. It requires your efforts and hardwork but mostly students get on-campus jobs it's not that difficult. The thing is you need to approach every department and every person.
-
We get hourly pay from 11-19 $ based on the department and role.we allowed to work for a 19 hours a week. It requires your efforts and hard work but mostly students get on-campus jobs it's not that difficult. The thing is you need to approach every department and every person. We have handshake from where you can see job openings and apply but I would suggest after applying meet that person and tell him/ her your situation that would help to get job soon.
Placement
- There are many companies which comes to our university like Adobe, dell, Microsoft but they are very few, maybe because of the current market in it field. But lots of companies come to hire civil engineers.
- There are huge demand for them. Many seniors from it field still looking for jobs even after their graduation. One of my friend get summer internship in Microsoft but that is rare.
Accommodation
-
I found my accommodation through facebook and our college website. On our university website they provide a list of on-campus and off-campus accommodation options so I go through that and contact to the leasing office for getting more details. In starting it was so confusing but by time I started understanding. Main problem I faced was my visa interview was too late so I couldn't book apartment early and in the end I didn't have so many options. My accommodation is just 1 mile away from my university.
-
I am going to share one secret with you all. Basically we heard that in US they don't do bargaining and all. But I would say try that. I got private bed bath apartment in just 574. And it real price was almost 700 per month. I also waived off the guarantor requirement. And I did all of these things on a call from india.so just try bargaining and see what if you will also be lucky.
Exams
- IELTS/ TOFEL/ Duolingo/ Pte are fine for English requirements
In some courses Gre and Gmat require
I gave IELTS.
Sop, LOR, resume, marksheet, transcript, english requirement trf.
According to me your transcript
Job offer letter, experience letter
Course certifications - Everything you mentioned in resume it's better to have proof of those things
- There was no interview for getting admission
Fees
- Total is somewhere around 16500(not included hostel) per semester. From that 12000 is tuition fees. And left amount is other.
- Monthly rent will be 450-700 usd depend on location and room.
- Transportation - Upass we get for a bus (included in fees)
- There is a food pentry in our university. From where you will get some grocery products.
- For other Grocery - 50 usd per month
- Electricity and other expenses: 50$ per month
- If you get on-campus job, you can cover your expenses and rent but can't cover the fees.
Scholarship
- Lots of scholarships are available.
- But I didn't get any scholarship while getting admission. But through my department I get one after getting the on-campus job. The amount of scholarship is 1000 USD. Some of my friends get a scholarship from Indian student association and that amount is also 1000 USD.
- They also get instate fees benefits through that. I don't know the average number of students who receive scholarship but mostly students get financial aid from the department.
