Srinath Manoharan Review at Arizona State University [ASU], Tempe | Collegedunia

My Experience at ASU

8.7
Verified Review (Out of 10)
Write a Review and Get 20 USD*
Academic
10.0
Accommodation
6.0
Faculty
10.0
Infrastructure
10.0
Social Life
10.0
Placement
6.0

Student's Snapshots

Campus
Campus
Campus
Classroom
Events
Events
Extra-Curricular
Infrastructure & Academic Building
Srinath Manoharan
Arizona State University, Human Computer Interaction
Reviewed on Dec 30, 2024(Enrolled 2023)

  • I applied to 5 ish. I remember applying to DePaul, pace, UMBC, University of Michigan, ASU and Indiana Univeristy Bloomington 
  • Got accepted by DePaul and ASU. Pace rejected me and the rest of the application I did not complete. 
  • Confirmed admission from DePaul and ASU 
  • Rejection from PACE 
  • I was accepted by DePaul, ASU, and CSU, but Pace rejected me. I didn't complete the applications for the others after I decided to accept ASU's offer. I applied to Pace mostly because their application was free, though I’m unsure why I was rejected.
  • ASU was an obvious choice for me because it's close to California, has a strong alumni network, and offers a great UX program. I got a lot of help from Manya with my admissions—they took care of everything, from my LORs and SOP to my GRE and IELTS exams. They even assisted with my educational loan and visa process. While ASU doesn’t require GRE scores, having an IELTS score of 7.5 is recommended.
  • Admission process-  I took help from manya so they were partnered with ASU so they took care of the process. If my memory serves me right, I had to do my sop, LORs, portfolio, and that’s it. Got a letter saying I was accepted. 
  • Eligibility criteria- Now they accept Duolingo too so ASU is a cash grab Univeristy, everyone has a place here :) just have to apply and have a decent profile
  • Admission experience- Not really, like I mentioned Manya people took care of it and it was smooth. 
  • Intake- Fall 2023 and everyone says fall is the best time to go because of availability of jobs around graduation time 
  • Admission process timeline- I had all my documents ready and taken my exams a year before so all I had to do was upload and Application happened in March and acceptance in april. 
     

Course Curriculum

10

  • The course is a mix of theory and practical work, with a moderate difficulty when compared with Indian education standards. The real-world applications are a positive, but the workload can be overwhelming. Classes are typically 3-4 days a week. Some professors help with job opportunities through industry connections. I like professor Stephen Carradini who took Technical communication for us. just his personality was great and he was a good educator.
  • It’s a pretty simple course but the faculty are great. Job market is bad at the moment so that’s bad. Great alumni, they work very where! 
  • Weekly 3 days max? I just have classes on 2 days and my classes are 3 hours long but typically it’s just 90 mins. 
  • 20 people in my class
  • 70% of grad students are Indians. Chinese students are coming less in recent years so it’s just a sea of indians :)
     

Faculty

10

  • Faculty-student ratio- It’s pretty good. On average 1:20 and some classes just have 5 students. 
  • They don’t push you like Indian teachers so it’s on us to go the extra miles and secure a job. But the content is great! 
  • Faculty assistance in part time jobs- Very rare but can happen if one knows how to talk and work their way through. 
  • Dr. Carradini took user experience class and he stands out because he used to correct our assignments and tell us how we could improve and he used to do this for every assignment and for 20 students. He’s a champ! Stephen Carradini. 

Campus Life

10

  • Around 5 campus. Phoenix, Tempe, polytechnic, Mesa and there’s also one in California. Probably more but it’s huge. 
  • All of the above and more.-  library, sports facilities, and medical services. So many that most students don’t know all the facilities. It’s great, theres therapy, gym, you name it it’s here. 
  • All festivals from around the world are celebrated by the respective region based clubs. No shortage of Indian festivals as in one campus sometimes 5 clubs organise 5 different Diwali events. It’s pretty happening all the time. Football is big here and Americans celebrate that like a major event at the start of a new football season. 
  • I possibly can’t name all. There’s a lot. There are around 20 Indian clubs? That should explain the level of extracurricular activities that happen here. It’s a lot I really can’t name. There’s free food everyday all day if you know where to find it. 
     

Part Time Jobs

  • TA/RA/DA-  Less compared to other universities are the strength of students is a lot in asu and there aren’t as many openings for everyone. But it’s doable if you are good and have the communication skills to impress your faculty. Pay range- $1500 a month at max? 
  • Other jobs include catering, office assistants, social media, marketing, even nudes Modelling is a part time job for the fine arts club so you can imagine the range of jobs. There’s a lot of jobs but even more students. Hourly wage is $15/hour.
  • 20 hours during semester and 40 hours during break 
  • Most people can get part time jobs it if they apply at the start of a semester but again asu is too big in numbers to give everyone a job. 
  • Indians- They are everywhere and there’s no specific job that they prefer. A job is better than no job so people do whatever they get. 
  • You have to apply to 200 part time on campus jobs to be able to land one so persistency is needed. It is not easy for sure but not difficult as well. 
  • Process for applying for part time jobs- we google asu on campus jobs and we open the first link and start applying. Apply online wait for acceptance and then interview deals the deal. 
     

Placement

6

  • Classmates who secures employment within 6 months- Say 60-70%? Wild guess but most people somehow find a job in 6-8 months.
  • Average salary range- 75-90k USD 
  • Finding jobs- LUCK! and nothing else. Trust me. Second would be internships and third is networking. Job fairs are a joke for the most part. Haven’t heard anyone land a job in a job fair. 
  • Placement experience batchmates- Companies where they have been placed and their job roles. I don’t know any of my batchmates who got placed yet. 
  • Companies- Apple took in a few seniors but they were Americans. Every major and minor company. You name it someone from asu is working there. 
     

Accommodation

Off Campus
6

  • Find accommodation- WhatsApp groups through the official slack channel. I found my accommodation through online platforms and recommendations from fellow students. The monthly rent for my shared bedroom in Tempe is $500, and utilities are included. Finding accommodation was a bit challenging due to high demand and limited availability, so I’d recommend starting early. Most Indian students stay around Tempe or nearby areas like Mesa or Scottsdale. My place is about 15-20 minutes from campus by bus. I’d suggest using social media groups like Facebook and Discord for better leads and being proactive.
  • Monthly rent- $2000 for 2b2b apartment. We get a refrigerator, oven and stove. Most apartments also have dishwasher, microwave and washer dryer. We don’t. 
  • Challenges- Finishing good roommates is just luck. I was lucky but so many just don’t get along and move out after a sem or two. 
  • Recommendation for future students- Start early and talk to as many people as you can and find the right ones fit for you. 
  • Indian students stay at- Pretty close to the main campus which is in Tempe but I live an hour away from my campus. 

Exams

For ASU, international students are required to submit either an IELTS or TOEFL score. SAT scores are needed for undergraduate admissions. Along with these, an SOP, LORs, CV, and a portfolio (for some programs) are required. I did not have an interview as part of the admission process at ASU. The process is primarily focused on these documents.
 

Fees

  • 60k usd for the entire program as mentioned on i20. Tuition covers around 50k and the rest are insurance and other small charges the university collects like ID card is $30 and etc. 
  • Credit based. Each credit costs $1500 and my program is a 30 credit program 
  • Monthly expenses- Rent is expensive in Phoenix compared to other places which aren’t newyork, Seattle or California. $500 for a shared bedroom, transportation probably $20 a month and food, Wi-Fi, cellular comes to a total of $200
     

Scholarship

  • No scholarship
  • A few of my classmates did but it’s rare
  • I’m not sure. But it’s possible although not everyone who applies gets it. 
  • There are a lot of scholarships available at ASU, but only a limited number are open to international students. To be eligible, we need to have a strong reason for why we deserve the scholarship, and we typically have to submit a Statement of Purpose (SOP) as part of the application process. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive any scholarships, but some of my batchmates did. I’m not sure how many students were awarded scholarships, but I know the amounts can vary greatly, from a few thousand dollars to even full rides. It's definitely competitive, and the process can be quite selective.