I knew a few students who are already pursuing their Master's and Bachelor's degrees in the computer science department and they gave me very good feedback about the facilities, knowledgeable professors, and friendly atmosphere for international students within the campus. Moreover, it is hardly 20 min from my home and it is one of the best colleges to provide scholarships, funds, and assistantships for international students in their first semester, only very few universities can offer these opportunities.
Course Curriculum :
Idaho offers different course works for different degrees, I choose Computer Science because of my interest, previous academics, and work experience. In computers, the course work is mainly focused on the Data Sciences, Machine learning, Artificial intelligence, and Cyber Security areas. As a full-time student, I can choose a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 courses with each carrying 3 credits. Every student has their major professor, and I can discuss with my professor for guidance in choosing the right course based on my career goals. Most of my courses are with practical labs so I gain hands-on experience and it can also help in my resume
Exams :
My university requires at least a 3.0 GPA in prior academics or more than 5 years of relevant field experience for admission and the GRE is not required for Computer Science but an English proficiency test is mandatory for international students. They accept any of the listed tests with a minimum score, TOEFL - 79, IELTS - 6.5, Duolingo English Test - 110, MELAB - 77, PTE A - 58. University offers a special program "U of I American Language & Culture Program (ALCP)" to waive the English test for students. This program is for one year excluding your graduate study, the students who passed this program can promote to Graduate studies. I prepared for TOEFL for my admission but due to pandemic situations, I ended up with the Duolingo test ( you can take it from your home) and I scored 120/160
Placement :
The college is situated in the countryside, we have limited options. There are a couple of companies near me that offer electrical and software jobs for students and they consider the Idaho student profiles in the first place. Many students are hired by these companies after their graduation. Coming to research opportunities, I would say Idaho provides better opportunities for students.
Internship :
I am not working on any internship positions but the companies near me provide a few intern positions for electrical, computers, and accounts-related students and I am not sure about the interview process.
Events :
Owing to pandemic, I am taking my classes from my home. I didn't experience the campus life so I am not sure about it. However I visit the campus couple of times before COVID and I see campus provides many extracurricular activities. It provides GYM, volley ball, basket ball, badminton courts, Yoga classes and it has music, dance clubs. The campus is well versed with library, wifi and each Masters and PhD student have separate workspace. University provide digital library for students to access books but I couldn't find some of the books. I am eagerly looking forward for my next semester to utilize these facilities.
Fees :
I split the tuition's and other fees of international students for understanding Fulltime GR Tuition & Fees $4,152.00 Fulltime Non-Resident Tuition $9,618.00 Fulltime Grad School Fees $786.00 Intl Student Fee $100.00 In total it around $15k for one semester. I paid only 'Intl Student Fee' and remaining all paid by my professor for my assistantship.
Scholarship :
I got a Graduate Research Assistantship under my professor in my first semester itself and he offer a complete waiver of my fee and also provided a stipend weekly basis ( I have to work 20hrs per week on the research and it is also helpful for my final project submission).
Faculty :
Faculty are very supportive and they are always there to guide me to choose the right path. The ratio should be like 1:12. Owing to a pandemic, I opt for online classes so I don't have an in-person interaction with them. I can communicate with them using Zoom, emails, and phone calls. They give very quick responses to emails and sometimes they take less than 2 hrs to respond. If I have any doubts, I can join their office hours using Zoom, or I will email to schedule a personal meeting. Dr. Jim is my major professor, he is very cool, supportive, and friendly. He always answer my questions with out any hesitation.
Hostel :
I am living with my husband and he will take care of my expenses. However, I will give you some pictures of the expenses in my area. I am living in the countryside so the expenses were a little low compared to cities. we are living in 2BHK and it cost around $850 per month and food expenses are around $500 for both of us.
