What Students Say
Likes
- Campus is pretty
- Faculty ads staff in Chem Department are very helpful
- We get a state of the art infrastructure and instruments
Dislikes
- Settling in US was too hectic. In the first few months you have get SSN, open bank account and other official things along with the culture shock
- You are too far from your family. Round trip to India is costly.
- Public transportation to bigger cities is not that great
Course Curriculum
10
- Courses are well designed. Depending on the level of course, you will get research experience. I am a PhD student who is also a TA (teaching assistant). For one of the courses I have taught, there used to be a research project assignment that the students needed to do over four weeks and submit a report along with an in-person presentation.
- Almost all the courses are 150 min per week. Again, as I am doing a PhD, I did not need to take a lot of classes. I needed to complete 5 courses in 4 semesters. But I definitely know that for Masters and undergraduates, you need to take 4 to 7-8 classes per semester, depending on how many credits you are taking in that particular semester.
Admission Experience
- I did my BS-MS in IISER Bhopal and I had it in my mind that I wanted to do a PhD. During my 9th semester, I started looking for institutions abroad, starting with the USA. I shortlisted 8 universities and applied for a PhD program. I got admission to 4 (Penn State, Purdue, USC, and UMass Amherst) of them. Then, attending virtual sessions and talking to grad students and faculty, I decided to join Penn State, as it aligned more with my interest.
Faculty
10
- Both faculty and staff are very friendly and helpful in the Chemistry department of Penn State. I can't point out a single name. But honestly, everyone is very professional and very good.
Campus Life
10
- Campus life is pretty good. We have three well-equipped gym and sports buildings, swimming pools, and a lot of playgrounds. There are a lot of clubs that anyone can join. Library is open all the days. There's a lot of craze for American football here in Penn State.
- Also, there are always multiple events happening on the campus every week.
Part Time Jobs
- For PhDs, you cannot do part-time jobs. It's either TA or RA. You are paid equally on both of them. In my department, Chem PhDs get paid around $34k per year. Health insurance and taxes get deducted from that. What we get is good enough and I can save a good amount every month.
Placement
10
- After doing a PhD, you can choose either academia or industry. For academia you need to do a postdocand then have to apply for the post of assistant professor in universities or research scientist at research institutions.
- For industry jobs, you have to look for job openings on various websites like Linkedin. There are career fairs and recruitment events in different departments. You can get a job through those events as well.
Accommodation
Off Campus
10
- So for PhDs, accommodation and food are the only expenses. I live in a 2-bedroom apartment and I share it with one of my friends. We pay a rent of $1250 (including all the amenities), so per head it's around $625.
Exams
- I only sat for TOEFL. Regarding documents, I needed to include a CV, SOP and LOR from three professors while applying. All these are listed in the application portals of any university.
- Generally a TOEFL score of 100 (or IELTS 7) is enough for most universities in the US. For Ivy schools and some colleges within the top 30 QS rank, TOEFL 110 or above is required.
Fees
- There is no tuition fee for PhD students. The department (if TA) or PI (if RA) pays it for you.
