Go Beyond Day 1 CPT - Harrisburg University

Located in the heart of downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is one of the most popular day 1 CPT universities among international students in the U.S. 

It distinguished itself from all the other day 1 CPT universities by hiring high-profile faculties and providing personalized learning experiences to its students. It is one of the day 1 CPT universities in which you can advance your education while enjoying the preferable internship policy. Rather than listing all the merits of it, we’d like to present you Harrisburg from the perspective of a student, Miss C.

Miss C is originally from Taiwan and has been living in the U.S. for a couple of years. After finishing her first master's degree in California, she successfully secured herself a job in the city of Angels. Unfortunately, despite all her efforts and hard work, luck was not always on her side. After two years of trying, she still didn’t win the H1B lottery. To maintain her legal status in the U.S., Miss C started her journey of searching for a suitable day 1 CPT university, in the hope of advancing her academic profile while keeping the right to work. After a series of research, she’s got her eyes locked on the HCID program (Human-Centered Interaction Design) at Harrisburg University. After nearly six months studying at Harrisburg, this is how she describes her experience:

We have talked about why choosing accredited day 1 CPT universities is important in our previous posts. In those posts, we mainly focused on the rate of RFE. But here is another reason why you need to choose accredited day 1 CPT universities: their curriculums are well-designed to empower you in the workplace in America.

As Miss C mentioned, she has tried other day 1 CTP universities before, but "I had to quit after the first semester". Reflecting on that experience, she said, "It was a total waste of my time." Some of those universities don’t care for their students and their teachers put no effort into designing or delivering the classes. The teaching materials are so outdated, that it was not even funny. We tried to communicate with the school but were ignored. Although CPT is one of the premier reasons for me to take a second master’s degree, I don’t want it to be the only reason why I’m spending my weekend doing homework.”

According to Miss C, her teachers at Harrisburg would actively engage in their group discussions. “He encourages us to ask questions and when we do, he replies to our emails in a timely manner. He didn’t treat us as a "CPT student" if you know what I mean. My teachers are also very empathetic towards international students and understand our pain points in looking for a job, being alone in a foreign country, etc. They are sincere and reliable.”

Well-designed syllabuses and responsible teachers attract the right crowd. According to Miss C, her classmates are all hardworking students who have strong work ethics. She was inspired not only by her teachers but also by her classmates on a regular basis.

Harrisburg University has a very diverse campus. U.S. News & World Report ranks Harrisburg University at #14 for Campus Ethnic Diversity among Regional Universities in the North in its 2022-2023 Best Colleges guidebook.

Last but not the least, the administrative officers at Harrisburg left a great impression on Miss C. She said, “They were very helpful throughout the whole CPT application process. It took me about 4 days to get my CPT approval.”

Unlike some day 1 CPT universities, at Harrisburg, you don’t need to enroll in a CPT course to get your CPT application started. But please allow approximately a week for the administrative office to process your CPT application.

Most of Harrisburg’s master’s programs are STEM programs including the one Miss C enrolled in. You can find more information regarding Harrisburg and its day 1 CPT programs here.

If you have questions regarding Harrisburg University or are interested in other accredited day 1 CPT universities, contact us for a free consultation.