What Students Say
Likes
- Support for sports
- My team ( Since I'm part of the swim & dive team- D1 Athlete)
- Warmth of the faculty and general public
Dislikes
- The location - since it's a small college town in West Virginia there isn't much to do
- Too much of drug use off campus due to the amount of homeless in the city
- Connectivity of flights and public transport; there is only one direct flight rest of the flights are all connecting one's
Course Curriculum
- So far it's only my first semester and most of my classes are required, I'll only be starting my major specific classes from next semester. However, that being my said more than my curriculum being difficult it was a bit tough initially as the teaching style and assignments were so different, they're definitely more practical and example based than theoretical. For instance, not even a single class requires the use of a text book as most of the understanding and work is done in class itself.
- Some of the positive aspects would be how expressive you can be in class, and how interactive and understanding the professors are at least most of them, another great aspect would be how you don't have to rote learn anything and solely understand the concept.
- Nothing really negative so far since I haven't started my course as of yet.
Admission Experience
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My process for application was very different as compared to a regular student, since I'm a student-athlete and we get recruited directly into the college by the coach of that specific sport.
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I contacted coaches from different colleges and had calls with them and based on my level of skill, they showed their interest in me.
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Here is a list of the colleges that gave me offers :
* Marshall University
* Southern Illinois University
* University of Northern Colorado
* Youngstown State University
* Bucknell University
* Lafayette College - I chose Marshall over others because of not only their level of competitiveness but also because of their team dynamics, scholarships provided and out of all the offers given out to me they were the only college to have had a sports business program.
- My application process was pretty straightforward, I applied through the common application where the materials they required were two letter of recommendations, a personal statement, the SAT / ACT ( if you wanted scholarship- I took the SAT) and an English proficiency exam ( TOFEL, IELTS or Duolingo) and of course all your official transcripts from grade 9-12.
- They accept the SAT & ACT and IELTS, TOFEL & Duolingo for English proficiency; here are the min required scores : SAT - 1030 , ACT - 20 & TOFEL - 80, IELTS - 6.5, Duolingo - 105.
- My overall experience was smooth but the toughest part was the selection process, it was a very important decision and a close choice since all the colleges were pretty good so it was one of the toughest choices I've had to make. But when it comes to the application process it was super easy since my coaches helped me with everything and were very supportive through the whole process, as being a International student athlete is really challenging in itself but thanks to NCSA ( an athlete recruiting platform ) and my coaches I made it through.
- I applied for the fall intake, the reason for that is because my sport is a fall sport so our season starts from October and ends in February and hence there was no option for me to apply in any other intake.
- The admissions timeline for me was very different since I'm a student-athlete asrecruiting starts 2 years in advance and hence I started reaching out to coaches in grade 11 and got recruited in November of grade 12 so it was a year long process for me.
Class Schedule
- I have 2-3 classes in a day; most of my classes start around 11am and end by 1pm on MWF and 3:15pm on Tue & Thu. ( As athletes were aren't allowed to take more than 16 credits due to practice)
- This truly varies as in some classes I have 25-30 students while in others I have 100-120.
- So far I haven't seen any Indian in my course, since most of the Indian students are graduates and there is only another Indian in my batch
Faculty
- Can't speak much on the faculty-student ratio since I haven't started my major specific classes yet.
- From what I have been learning so far I can say that most of the content learnt and skills developed are sufficient to prepare students in securing a job, and I'm saying this having not even started my major specific classes.
- I've heard that they do, but can't speak much on that since it's only my first semester.
- I really admire my English and Statistics prof's as their very approachable and make sure you understand the concept / assignment before you leave class, their method of teaching is really easy to understand and at the same time very effective. What makes them stand out from the rest is how interactive they make the class and how comfortable they make their students feel.
Campus Life
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Here is a list of Marshall college campuses :
*Marshall University, South Charleston Location
100 Angus E. Payton Drive
South Charleston, WV 25303*Martinsburg Airport 214 B Aviation Way
Martinsburg, WV 25405*Mid-Ohio Valley Center One John Marshall Way
Point Pleasant, WV 25550*Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) National Mine Health & Safety Academy
1301 Airport Road
Beaver, WV 25813*Braxton County Higher Education Center
200 Jerry Burton Drive
Sutton, WV 26601*St. Mary’s Center for Education
2825 Fifth Avenue
Huntington, WV 25702*The Bill Noe Flight School
600 Eagle Mountain Road
Charleston, WV 25311*Tri-State Airport 1448 Airport Road
Huntington, WV 25704*West Liberty University
208 University Drive
West Liberty, WV 26074*Wheeling County Airport
115 Skyland Way
Wheeling, WV 26003 - For athletes we have our own athletic building with sports facilities, however for common students the facilities include a football turf, the recreation centre which has a gym, rock-climbing wall, basketball courts, squash courts, tennis courts, swimming pool, running track etc..
- There are more than a 150 clubs however, I don't know much about the festivals since I don't have time to take part in them being a student-athlete, but they keep have activities everyday of the week. For instance they had a pumpkin painting contest or live band concerts etc...
- When it comes to sports one option is to be part of the college sports team like I am or many people play sports recreationally at the rec centre, they also have quite a few football competitions and even cricket tournaments at my college, there are many student organisations some of them I've heard of are the fraternity and sororities, international student body, and most majors also have created their own student bodies for people interested. They also have a lot of cultural events for example for Diwali they celebrated by ordering Indian food and bursting crackers, they also do a lot of these international dinners where they serve food from countries around the world.
Part Time Jobs
- Can't speak much on the RA opportunities since It's only my first semester here.
- There are many jobs available on-campus for students, most students work in Starbucks, at the recreation centre or cafes on campus. Students use an app called handshake that help them secure these jobs. The usual hourly wages are $13-15/hour
- The maximum hours of work allowed per week for international students is 20 hours
- It's very easy to secure a job on campus, and a lot of help to acquire on as well.
- In part-time jobs many of the students who are US citizens can earn anywhere from $15/ hour, some of them with better jobs even $25/hour they are also allowed to work off-campus so they have more opportunities .
- For me personally it's a bit tough to work, as I'm constantly travelling, training and competing but it's pretty easy for normal students to secure part-time jobs. - Not to sure how it works but most students apply through this app called handshake where you need to submit your CV, Id proof etc.. and they usually call you In for an interview and you get the job.
Placement
- Can't speak much on that since I'm a freshman here however most students Intern the summer of their senior year and get a full-time job position .
- The Office of Career Education provides students with guidance in finding internships, creating a resume, and practicing interview skills.
- The John F. Rahal Center for Strategic Engagement helps connect students with employers that are seeking business majors for internships and jobs.
- A lot of the graduates currently work in the Fortune 500 companies, some of the Indians that have passed out are working for amazon, tesla, Microsoft etc
Accommodation
- Since, I'm a freshman it's compulsory for me to stay On-campus for the next 2 years
- and can only shift off-campus in my 3rd year.
- However, it would be better to stay off-campus since it's cheaper and you can have your own kitchen head and privacy, but since I'm an athlete I have to stay on campus for 2 years. Normal students can shift off-campus after their first year.
Exams
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The materials they required are as follows:-
* Two letter of recommendations
* A personal statement
*The SAT / ACT ( if you wanted scholarship- I took the SAT)
*English proficiency exam ( TOFEL, IELTS or Duolingo)
*Official transcripts from grade 9-12.
*CV ( Showing all your extra curricular activities and work experience)
*Fully filled out common application -
The min required scores : SAT - 1030 , ACT - 20 & TOFEL - 80, IELTS - 6.5, Duolingo - 105
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There was no interview process, again for me my admissions process was very different but I did have a lot of calls with my diving coach for her to get an understanding of how I was as a person, student and an athlete and for me to get an understanding of their program.
Fees
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Fess Structure Breakdown : Tuition & fees - $20,342, Books & Supplies - $1,100, Housing & Meals - $13,292, Transportation - $2,400, Personal Cost - $1,800; Total - $39,005
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The fees is charged per semester which can be paid in 2-4 instalments
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My estimate would vary slightly since a lot of the food and travel is covered by the athletic department but here is my breakdown :
* Food + groceries - $158
* Going out - $80-100
* Transportation - $50
* Miscellaneous Costs - $60
* Total - $350-70
Scholarship
- The Scholarships that I received were majorly from the athletic dept - and the criteria for that is solely based upon the coach and how they think your performance is in the sport that you play.
- However, I also received a merit based scholarship ( It was the presidential one) and here is the criteria for the same :
- GPA : 3.25 or Higher
- SAT : 1160 and above
- I've applied for a lot of business school scholarships however, I'll only hear back from them by next semester.
- I'm receiving $8,000 a year which can increase if I maintain a 3.5 GPA or Higher.
- Yes, all of my teammates are on scholarship however, the price varies for everyone and since their US citizens their eligible to apply for financial aid.
- Over $144 million awarded to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.
- $12,942 in average amount of student federal financial aid awarded
- $23 million awarded in institutional scholarships and grant
- Ranked in top 100 of most affordable universities – Best Value Schools
