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Reviewed on Mar 6, 2025(Enrolled 2019)
What Students Say
Likes
- There is lot of diversity. If you are straight or gay or whatever, you are not treated differently. You are given equal respect.
- This will sound funny but the college is in Worcester and it has all 4 seasons. Beautiful summers, snowy winters, The soothing springs and the fall season - should love it
- The college is located in close proximities to downtown and almost at the heart of Worcester. So everything is easily accessible
Dislikes
- They stopped the bypassing of courses for experienced people. Earlier they had this provision, in case there is a subject for example Agile or Project Management and if you have had experience in the past dealing with these topics in real time work then you get waiver on these subjects but they stopped this.
- The crime index around the college area is not the best. Even though security is tight but we were warned not to venture out after 10pm alone or even on foot.
- Master's students mostly are Indians. So if you try on your own then you get a cultural exchange with other ethnicities else you remain within Indians only.
Course Curriculum
10
- For me, it was fairly easy. I already had 5 subjects out of the 10 as a learning from my past experience. So it was simple for me. It was theoretical; it was practical; there were presentations. Sometimes group presentations and sometimes individual presentations.
- The online courses were not fun. There was hardly any interaction in a couple of subjects. It was just pure submission of assignments. Yes, in some online courses there were interactions between students and the professor. That was kind of fun.
- To be honest, 90% of MS students are Indians. Rest 10%, either Nepalis or Chinese and a few Middle East. You may or may not find 1 American. Now you do the math.
Admission Experience
-
I applied for the following universities:
- Oakland University, Rochester, New York and Clark University.
- I got accepted in both. Received confirmation from both. I did not apply more than these 2. So no rejections for me.
- The initial process was a bit hectic but turned out to be the same for all the colleges. So, it is ok.
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I wanted to be close to Boston; fees were important as I got a specific amount of education loan and whatever was sanctioned, I could not go and study at Stanford or MIT. We need to factor finances too. I am honestly telling this.
- I applied for this college online after my friend suggested it. I booked a video conversation with a college representative to help me with my questions. I paid the said admission fee for the respective course and I received the I-20 form after showcasing all proof of finances, experiences and past education.
- I applied during COVID. So I did not have to give IELTS. Rather, the Duolingo score was accepted. I got 145 out of 160, so I was pretty good in it. And the bare minimum 60% in 10th and 12th and engineering.
- There were always challenges. There are always questions. There is always a fear that if it does not work out, the money is non-refundable. But the biggest challenge is overcoming these fears and going for it. If you take the leap of faith and trust the system and your credentials, then things are generally fine. It worked out well for me.
- I applied for MSIT. I gave the Duolingo exam in November 2021. I did not want to pay more. I wanted to go for computer science, but each subject was $1,000 more expensive in CS compared to IT. Saving money was the biggest factor influencing my decision. I am a programmer already so I can learn or thrive in programming by myself.
- The admissions process did not take much time. It was all the financial proofs you have and how you are able to negotiate with the admin department. I started somewhere at the end of October 2021, enquiring about the same. Getting video conferences, checking out the college, reading about it online and on their website and seeking experience from other people. There is a Facebook page also for this.
- Then I applied for admission and got the admission letter. I took the letter and went to HDFC Credila and they sanctioned the loan. Once I got the visa, the loan got disbursed.
- So for me, it started from the end of October 2021 until the end of December 2021. It was very fast for me. Better not to take this rush approach. My case was different.
Class Schedule
10
- In Clark University, I had in-person classes on Tuesday evening and Saturday morning for 3 hours. I do not know about other branches. Online classes—depends what subject you took. I had online classes for submission purposes only. No Zoom conference as such. Some other students said their online professor invited them to Zoom and taught them on Zoom. It was not in my case.
- In person in MSIT, there were 28 students in my class. I think other branches also reported 25–30 students per class.
Faculty
10
- I loved my faculty. Everyone was so helping and so caring. So encouraging. It is not like in India there is a terrorizing teacher who makes everyone be on their toes. Anyway, faculty-to-student ratio—I am not sure—but in my batch for every class, which might have 25–30 students, there was a professor, an assistant Professor and a teaching Assistant. So that is approximately every 10 students there is a faculty.
- Teaching methodology is very sensible and industry standards. But the question of the course content being sufficient to get a job. Answer is NO. There is no job situation, to be honest. We have to study for jobs in our own ways. Yes, the course gives you a head start but the job thing is a different beast altogether.
- Yes, faculty members do help with networking and references. Be in the good books of your professors and you will find something or the other.
- I remember my CIO subject professor. I always used to answer almost everything in the class. So, sometimes I told him to let other kids answer but he was like, "No, you answer it.". He was like you are the most experienced so your point of view makes more sense. What he saw in me—he only knows. But it felt nice.
Campus Life
10
- Ok, so here is how it goes. Once you walk towards the college in Main Street, on the left-hand side you will see a Clark College property, which was kind of a fancy guest house. We never went in there. Probably it was for some VIP. Next there was a parking lot that also belonged to Clark. On the right side there were a lot of small shops, which were Clark property as well and some shops were used for robotics and woodwork designing. Then move a little bit ahead to the left and you will see a big admin office that handles most of the payment and other work. To the right is the main college campus. If you go further right, there are a lot of houses that Clark owns that act as different offices for Clark. Honestly, I do not even know. And when I left Clark, a lot of construction work was going on. God knows how much more they have expanded.
- A huge library. A 5-story damn good one with lots of books, private places to study, and open till 10 pm in the night. Basketball, American football—there is volleyball and softball. Medical services: I was forced to take the COVID booster shot. That was not a nice experience. But medical facilities are good. You can get free condoms and free bandages. Use as much as you want.
- I was not a festive guy. I did not like loud music or anything but there were a lot of fests. I did go to one annual Clarkfest. So much noise but food was good and Indian performances were there. Clark gives a lot of opportunities to do social welfare and also fun activities. I never took part in any. But they have quite a lot. Also take you out for picnics and ice fishing and ice skating. Choose your pick.
Part Time Jobs
- I tried for a TA role; I tried to get work at the library; I tried to get work at the gym; I tried to get some work even in the cafeteria. I got nothing. It is all luck by chance. There is no talent, experience and all that shit. If you have good networking and you know someone who knows someone, then you will get part-time work within college and you will get your SSN.
- Pay was 13.75$ per hour. I do not know what it is now. I am talking about early 2022. 20 hours per week max, we can work.
- On campus, jobs exist but they are always filled by American citizen students. International students—luck by chance, as I said. If you know someone who knows someone, then there may be. But if you look into opportunities, even cleaning a chemistry lab as a janitor is also a job profile. Catch is finding one.
- Most of my friends worked in subways, some gas stations, 7-Eleven stores and restaurants. But avoid doing this now, as in 2025, Trump is too strict. In 2022 and 2023, students could make at least 10 dollars per hour or 14 dollars per hour when they do night jobs. Risky though. Studying is easy and a part-time job outside of campus is illegal but 95% of Indian students do it to make a living and pay basic rent and other expenses. There is no process to apply for part-time jobs. It is all networking. Simply go and look and find but now in 2025, do not even dare to. If ICE agents catch, you will be deported.
Placement
2
- I got a full-time job within 9 months. As a professor to teach at another university. I got a full-time IT job almost 10 months after graduating in May 2023. IT market was on the decline.
- 10% of people might have gotten jobs within 6 months of graduation. 70k-100k $ annually is the salary range.
- Networking, LinkedIn, doing certification courses, self-learning, applying like crazy—every day spending 2 hours on job applications. You think all is easy. Come here and feel the pain in the ass. Campus does no shit. Trust me. Do not keep too much hope in that.
- Experiences include a lot of disappointments and struggles and some easy success stories. Some in start-ups, some in established firms. Philips, Fidelity Investments. Freddie Mac, etc.
Accommodation
Off Campus
8
- From apartments.com, zillow.com and Clark University's internal website to help international students find accommodation within the area in close proximity to the college.
- My monthly rent was $525, which included a room with a bed and study table, a closet and a bathroom. Utilities were different. Around 30-50$ a month per head.
- There was only one challenge. You have to pay 1st month rent, last month rent and a security deposit of one month all in advance. So the overall house rent was 2100$ as we 4 people stayed in paying 525$ each. Arranging the initial cash was the challenge.
- Everything is an experience. Experiences can vary. My only recommendation would be, if possible, carry extra cash but with caution, as cash can be useful in these situations.
- College from my accommodation was hardly 0.5 miles. It was pretty near, as I chose to find something close to campus, as I know it snowed a lot and walking in the snow is another experience. Most of the Indian students stay in shared accommodation only.
Exams
- As I said, I did not give IELTS for this as it was COVID times. I gave duolingo.
- You have to get the college transcripts; you have to get the marksheets. experience letters, and also recommendation letters you have to get from two senior colleagues or ex-bosses.
- And of course I had to give an interview with a college representative. They had to talk to me and they asked me about my interest in doing a master's after 15 years of experience. So everything I had to go through.
- I also had to submit a CV and a qualifying cover letter as well.
Fees
- I will keep it simple. When I joined the MSIT course in 2022, January. I got a 25% scholarship. Total 10 subjects for the course and each subject was 2500$ approx. Minimum subjects to take in a semester are 3. There are additional charges, such as a technology fee, library fee, printer fee and all those basic amenities as a student that were included. I stayed on my own with some students in a rented apartment. As hostel fees were too expensive. That time it was like $1200 per month per room. So I stayed outside on my own.
- Fees are charged per semester.
- Then in 2022, I paid 525$ as rent, 30$ as utilities, and food was on my own.
- Travel in Worcester: bus service is free; if you take Uber or Lyft, then it is from your pocket.
- So in 2022, for a normal life of a student, 750$ was enough per month, including rent, food, travel and some fun.
Scholarship
- Scholarship I received in the beginning, which was nothing but a discount of 25%. I already had 15 years of experience, so I think they gave me this discount, to be honest. I do not know about other students and how much discount they got. There is no such scholarship or anything. It is all about your negotiation skills during admission time.
- So there is no specific amount. It is all about how you deal with your agent who helps you in admission and if he can get a good word to get you a better discount. That's it.
