Is it just me or....

[MaryShelley]

I joined ASU this semester, not very excited about the whole thing but determined to make it work. My field of interest is analog, and there is some great work, courses and a lot of professors in this field here. I have around eighteen months of prior work experience in this field, and I wanted to get a research assistantship.(I know it's not that easy), but I was even willing to work for free if required.

 

First of all, almost all the students here are Indians, and after speaking to most on what courses to take, considering my background, they all said taking the 500 level courses in the first semester might be difficult and it would be more meaningful to take the 591 prerequisite courses instead. I thought it would help boost my GPA since it was my first semester, and I went with the flow, although I was familiar with the material in the 500 courses from reading at work. Big mistake. Huge.

Not only did taking these courses prevent me from getting an RA, (or the chance to work in a lab without payment) under any professor in the Department, I was also discouraged at the career fair, where I was told I should be taking some advanced courses if I expect to get an internship. My faculty advisor said that most Master students here do not get RAs until completion of two full semesters, and only if they have a great GPA to show. My work experience counted for nothing here.

The on-campus jobs. There are hordes of people on campus and these jobs finish like crazy. Getting a job on Tempe campus seems next to impossible so everyone starts commuting to Phoenx, just for the sake of work. And the costs at ASU are crazy. 1200$ for insurance? Everything in the on campus stores, including food is ridiculously expensive. The administration here is just a bunch of money hungry people, and the tuition fees (and how fast they hike them) are proof of it.

Most of the students here are just "finish courses, get a job" people. At the risk of sounding egoistic, most of them don't seem to think for themselves, and just copy older answers. It happens, and I have seen it.

I'm sorry for the rant. I have no intention of putting anyone down, I'm just presenting my side of the experience here, but I am very frustrated.