All about Monmouth University | Student experiences

A little about Monmouth University!

Located an hour away from New York, Monmouth University is a first-tier private institution in the USA, renowned for its vibrant and spectacular campus. For your reference, here are some Monmouth University facts:

• Acceptance rate: 77%
• Tuition and Fees: $39,592 (2019-20)
• Room and Board: $14,734 (2019-20
• 4-year graduation rate: 56%
• Student-faculty ratio: 13:1

As an international student who intends to study abroad, it’s important to have accurate and reliable information about the university to which you’re applying. Instead of simply trusting the stellar facts, we decided to talk to some of the Master’s students at Monmouth University. 

How did you make your profile stand out for Monmouth University?

Every student has a unique profile. Therefore, despite the standard eligibility criteria, there are some factors and accomplishments in a student’s profile that stand out from the rest. Those are the profiles that universities choose.

“To be honest, I didn’t have a very strong academic college background”, Sakshi tells us, “But, I believe my substantial work experience helped my case. Along with my work experience, I had an NGO and also my own startup. I think that set my profile apart.” 

When asked the same question, Ridhima confidently said, “I was an outstanding candidate for Monmouth University. For their MBA program, I knew Monmouth was looking for a candidate with prior work experience. I had a B.Tech degree in Computer Science, 3 years of work experience, and a GPA of 3.9/4. So, it all added up.” Further, she also told us all about how she got a substantial scholarship from Monmouth and also apply for a Graduate Assistantship.

Furkan, an international student from Istanbul, Turkey had a unique yet similar background. He tells us, “I had a Bachelors’s in Economics with 3 years of work experience in the hospitality industry. However, I was constantly looking for a change. Monmouth offered an MS in Information systems that were a great mix of technical and business analysis. When applying, my IELTS score, university application, and my resume were enough to get into Monmouth.”

Why did you choose Monmouth University?

“When I was searching for universities, Monmouth was one of my first university options. The main factors that drew me in were: their great MBA School, it’s located near New York(a major business hub), and a great alumni network.“, said Ridhima.

Finding a university that has programs that exactly matches your requirements is very difficult. Thankfully for Sakshi (pursuing Masters’s in Information systems), she found Monmouth.

“My educational background was in Commerce and I was looking for other options to venture further. Monmouth University allowed me to take a STEM program with a management track which was a great opportunity. That made me decide I wanted to go to Monmouth.”, says Sakshi.

Top 3 things you like about the university?

“The first thing has to be the amazing location! It’s right across the beach and one hour away from NY. That allows us to be closer to companies. The second would be the helpful administration staff and faculty. They are very accommodating and help with anything you need. The third thing would be the amazing education quality. Many universities focus on theory and textbooks while Monmouth believes in practical education.”, said Ridhima with a wide smile.

“The very first thing, I love the faculty. They take very good care of the students. Even if I email my professor with a genuine doubt at midnight, he would still reply. The second thing would be that Monmouth provides a fair chance for graduate assistantships. Now, the university is paying 2/3rd of my tuition fees and I only pay 1/3rd of it now. The third thing is the crowd and the locality. The beach is right across the campus and the whole campus is very safe”, says Sakshi.

Like our other 2 candidates and most other students, Furkan tells us, “The quality of education, location of the university, and the opportunities it offers are the top 3 things I appreciate about Monmouth University. It is very close to the Jersey shore and the enthusiasm is always great since Monmouth focuses a lot on sports. The International Club is also another great effort from Monmouth and offers a lot of opportunities. I have friends from Russia, Ghana, India, and Vietnam, it’s all thanks to its multicultural diversity.” 

What can you tell us about the scholarships and the on-campus assistantships?

“I found out about the Graduate around August before starting at the university. I connected with Dr. Susan Gupta who needed an assistant at the time and I received a paid assistantship before I even started my year at Monmouth.”, Ridhima tells us.

“Apart from the Graduate assistantship I mentioned, I actually know another friend of mine who received a full scholarship. She is one person I know that got a full scholarship that paid her fees from the first to the last semester! If you’re applying to Monmouth, you should definitely try applying to the scholarships”, Sakshi exclaimed.

Furkan gave us some amazing information about Graduate assistantships. He said, “Monmouth has great financial aid plans for international students. If you have a GPA of 3.0 or above, there’s a very fair chance of getting at least one scholarship. Personally, I was also lucky to get a graduate assistantship(GA). How graduate assistantships work is, that if you have 3 credits of GA, it means you won’t have to pay for 3 credits of your courses. So, when I got 6 credits, I was only paying 33% of what I was supposed to pay.” 

How has the university supported you through the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown?

While the whole world went into lockdown and had to take extreme safety measures, Monmouth went above and beyond to help students readjust and cope with the COVID-19 restrictions.

“Even though there was a switch to online teaching, I don’t think there was any change in the teaching quality. It could’ve been much worse, but they made it better. They set up a food truck that gave out free resources such as bread, tomatoes, eggs, etc. since we couldn’t go out. I couldn’t thank them more!”, says Ridhima.

Monmouth’s Global Education Department held weekly meetings with students to talk about their state of mind, safety measures, and any news about COVID-19.

Sakshi tells us, “They gave us a break for one week, and then all the study materials were available online. The professors even took out time on weekends to clear any student doubts. The university is also providing housing to students that have issues regarding the same.”

Can you throw some light on the academics and faculty?

“Monmouth holds Information sessions, I think, once or twice every 6 months. So, I was already talking to the faculty before I joined the university. They were very helpful about any and all the information I needed about my future program”, Ridhima tells us.

Monmouth takes their academics very seriously. Sakshi says, “They(Monmouth) have a max. student capacity of 20 students. The teachers would address any questions I had about my curriculum. The International club held constant meetings and help us with anything we might need.”

Furkan tells us, “Some of our teachers come from the industry. They work in the real-world industry and teach us as guests. Other than that, we also have most professors that are Ph.D. holders. The division of professors is very diverse and for anything you need help with, there are people ready with answers. No one(professor) says ‘No’ at Monmouth. If you’re eager to learn, there are always resources for that.”

What do we have to say?

One of the many things all 3 students agree upon is that this university has a fantastic campus, diverse population, helpful faculty, a wide number of scholarships, and great job prospects right after graduation. If that doesn’t account for an appealing university prospect, we don’t know what does!

Connect with us today if you wish to study abroad. We will help you in your journey, from the start to the end!

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