Reviewed on May 1, 2025(Enrolled 2023)
What Students Say
Likes
- It has one of the biggest Alumni system in the entire US
- There so many resources for your specific needs
- It is easy to get jobs on-campus
Dislikes
- The food is not that great on-campus
- Housing can be expensive, even though it is a college town.
- The gyms and libraries are not 24/7
Course Curriculum
6
- The first year is pretty easy as a computer science student. The second year becomes tougher. However, the third and fourth are really demanding for computer science students. There are a few courses that are completely theoretical and a few that are a mix of both.
- If you take 5 courses on average. You will have 2-3 classes per day. However, this will vary from time to time. You can usually schedule your own timings.
- There can be as little as 20 to 300 people. It really depends on the class itself. In my batch there are approximately 600-700 Indian students.
Admission Experience
- I applied to 6 universities:
- 1. Penn State (accepted)
- 2. Northeastern (waitlisted)
- 3. Purdue (waitlisted)
- 4. UT Austin (Rejected)
- 5. University of Michigan (Waitlisted)
- 6. Michigan State University (Accepted)
- I am not sure why I was rejected from the colleges but I'm sure I could have had more extracurriculars, as I was weak in that area. I could have written my college essays better and more interestingly.
- It was the only one of the two that accepted me.
- I paid a counselling service to do it for me, so I didn't do most of it.
- I took the SAT (my score was 1470) and IELTS (my score was 9). I'm not sure of the minimum scores but I'm guessing around 1300 for the SAT and around 6.5 for the IELTS.
- It was not that bad but getting the visa was delayed indefinitely.
- I applied in at the end of November. I applied to 6 or 7 colleges at the same time at this time. I got my admission from Penn State University in February. I got other rejection and waitlist offers around January-March. The deadline to accept Penn State was the end of March for me. I was accepted at the start of March. I had to immediately work towards getting my F1 visa approval.
Faculty
6
- The faculty-to-student ratio varies wildly. At times there was 1 professor for 20 people or 1 professor for 300 people. If there are a lot of students, there are usually a lot of Learning and Teaching Assistants to assist the students.
- For computer science, a lot of the material we learn is redundant and old. Most computer science students have to improve their skills on their own by selecting their niche. However, this is true for majority of the universities in the U.S.
- Yes, they remind us at the end of the semester to apply to learning assistant jobs for the courses. However, most won't assist with full time jobs unless you stay in close contact with the professors.
- I like my general education course teachers the most. They are very chill and are very lenient in grading and the assignments they assign.
Campus Life
10
- There are almost twenty-four campuses. However, there are a lot of campuses that are being shut down. The main campus is University Park. Other notable campuses are Altoona and Harrisburg.
- There are almost 5 libraries, 3 gyms and 1 hospital on the main campus.
- The whiteout games are very big here. The homecoming and Halloween weekend celebrations are other major events here. THON is the biggest charity event that is unique to Penn State.
- There are many Indian and south Asian clubs that celebrate Indian festivals here. There are almost 1200 clubs at Penn State so there is a club for virtually every interest.
Part Time Jobs
- A lot of students secure Learning and Teaching assistant jobs on campus. I can't give you an exact number but it is usually easy to secure these jobs. However, Research Assistant jobs are usually harder to get in the College of Engineering.
- Usually Learning Assistants get paid 13-15 dollars per hour while RA and TAs get almost 20 dollars per hour
- Resident Assistants, Dining jobs and commons desk jobs are other on-campus jobs available for students. The usual wages for them is 13 dollars per hour.
- For international students, we are limited to working 20 hours per week. It is very easy to secure them, especially dining.
- For Dining and Commons Desk jobs, students usually get paid 13 dollars. Learning assistants usually get 13 dollars for the first semester and get an increase to 15 dollars per hour in the subsequent semesters. 2. It is very easy to secure jobs on campus; people usually get offer letters the next day itself for dining jobs. The learning and teaching assistant roles are little but harder to secure. 3. There is a website called Workday in which the job openings are listed; you submit your CV and application. You will usually get a response within 2 weeks. International student must then apply for a Social Security Number to work in the U.S
Placement
4
- As of now the percentage is very low for computer science majors and even lower for international students. You would need to have a lot of connections in good companies to even stand a chance.
- They could expect around 80,000 per year if they do indeed secure a job.
- There are career fairs on campus every semester for internships and jobs. However, the best way is to apply online and mass apply. Even then, nothing is guaranteed.
- Most of my batchmates don't have an internship for the summer and have moved back to India for a summer internship.
- However, for the citizens of U.S. Honda, Deloitte, Accenture, Pwc, Lockheed Martin are a few of the companies my batchmates have been recruited to.
Accommodation
Off Campus
8
- There was a housing fair where estate agents came to show their housing accommodations during the first year. That is where I found my accommodation
- My the monthly rent is 820 dollars, including water, gas and other utilities. There was a TV, fridge, microwave, washing machine and dryer included in my house when I rented it.
- I did not find it hard to secure accommodation. However, some people could find it hard to get roommates to move in with.
- I would suggest the State College Collective, The Pointe, and The Valley. It is a 12-minute bus ride from my college campus. Most Indians stay at the Pointe
Exams
- The exams required for international students are usually just IELTS or TOEFL to prove your English proficiency.
- The SAT exams are optional; however, I used my SAT exam to apply to the university. A statement of purpose, 2 Letters of Recommendation, Your CV are optional.
- There was no interview process for me. However, the Schreyer's Honour College might have an interview.
Fees
- It is almost sixty-five thousand dollars per year for me, including everything. However, that was two years ago and they have increased the rates to almost seventy thousand, according to some of my first-year friends but I am not sure about the figures exactly.
- They charge semester wise and you can opt to pay it monthly and it came to around 6500 per month for me.
- Off campus, including rent and other stuff, it was 1000 for me.
Scholarship
- No, I did not receive any scholarships in the course so far and I don't expect any scholarships because it's hard for international students to get scholarships at Penn State.
- I didn't get any. No, as far as I know they did not receive anything either.
- I'm not sure about the number, but I'm assuming Pennsylvanian residents get scholarships a lot in general.
