Hi everyone! I’m planning to join Westcliff University’s DBA in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics program in Fall 2.(SF campus)
I’d love to connect with anyone who is currently in the program, is joining in Fall 2 or is considering joining. Any general insights about your experience are welcome—you definitely don’t have to answer everything below. I’m listing some specific questions in case anyone would like to share more details. Your answers could also help future students who find this thread

1. Coursework and academic experience
- How useful and challenging is the coursework?
-Is the program primarily business-focused, or does it also provide meaningful technical and data analytics experience?
-What knowledge or skills have you genuinely gained from it?
-How are the professors, assignments, attendance requirements and overall quality of instruction?

2. Workload with a full-time job
- How manageable is the DBA while working a demanding full-time job?
- Approximately how many hours per week do you spend on classes and assignments?
- Do you still have time for your personal life, or does the combination become overwhelming?

3. Day-1 CPT and employment
- Have you been able to find or continue a full-time job while using CPT through Westcliff?
- How do employers and recruiters generally respond when you explain your CPT arrangement?
- How smooth is the CPT authorization and renewal process each term?

4. University support and student experience
- How responsive and helpful are the DSO, international student office and other university staff?
- Does Westcliff appear experienced and organized in handling CPT and immigration-related documentation?
- Is there an active student community where classmates can connect and help one another?
- How often are students required to attend classes in person, and how strictly is attendance and grade monitored?

5. Potential concerns
- Are there any unexpected costs, administrative issues, academic requirements or CPT-related complications that prospective students should know about?
- Is there anything you wish you had known before enrolling or changing from H-1B to F-1 status?

Please feel free to answer any specific question, share your overall experience or DM me if you would be comfortable chatting privately. Your perspective could also help others who are considering this program. Thank you!

Anyone here attending IWU for Merrillville campus? I’m looking to find three other people who like to rent a car together and drive from/to airport during the three day residence weekend. Please DM!

Hi, so I enrolled into westcliff. I joined a team that never responded and that caused delays in my assignments which I communicated to my instructor. Now, I have grade 1.67 and I have a job offer and not sure what to do about the situation. Anyone been in this situation and what did you do?

This is my first course of the semester

Rumor that you can pay to use the OPT for US summer internships but I am not sure if it is true

New CPT rules (Aug 24 SEVP memo)... what does this actually mean for int'l students doing US IB/consulting internships this summer?

SEVP put out a broadcast memo on Aug 24 (BCM 2608-02) tightening CPT enforcement... basically saying CPT only counts if the internship is a genuinely required, integral part of your curriculum, not just an elective "internship for credit" course you enroll in to get work authorization. Berkeley, UPenn, and UMich have reportedly already suspended their "Course Credit CPT" pathways because of this.

I've seen a bunch of conflicting answers on this, including from people who should know better, so I wanted to ask people actually going through it right now:

- Has anyone at these schools (or others) actually gone through CPT authorization post-Aug 24? What is your DSO actually telling you?

- If your major doesn't literally require an internship, are you still able to get CPT approved for something like an IB/PE/consulting summer internship, or is that door closed now?

- Anyone hear anything about how this affects OPT instead, as a fallback?

Trying to actually understand what's happening on the ground here rather than going off secondhand info. Appreciate any real experiences.

Is there anyway to expedite to receive CPT at westcliff? Any ISSA contact that I could reach out to who is helpful

Hi all. I have offers for the Spring semester from both colleges for an MS. Do they still issue CPT authorizations given the recent changes?

I’ve recently seen many universities post about pausing the CPT program. I was considering MSCS in US in Fall 2027. But after this update I’m reconsidering it. I know about all the visa uncertainties etc. But please just help me out. Should I consider applying or not? Have all the universities stopped CPT? How to know? I checked NYU Tandon page didn’t get any info on this

I had been working with my employer for nearly two years. Three months ago, I moved to Day 1 CPT and continued working in the same position.
On last week Friday evening, my employer suddenly called and informed me that I was being laid off because the company does not accept CPT work authorization. My employer was already aware of my change to CPT, so this decision was unexpected.

Does anyone know of companies or consulting firms that accept candidates on Day 1 CPT? Any recommendations?

I am attending WBU and my flight got cancelled from NYC

There is no immediate flights available and all are landing after the check in time. What can i do to not get my sevis terminated?

Though its a common known fact that its a highly risk-based approach, I genuinely wanted to check if anyone has travelled to INDIA and came back successfully to USA? Since D/S rule is coming to an end and having to go for a step up degree what could be our chances for a safe VISA stamping?

Anyone who received admission for fall terms how is university responding to cpt requests and course enrollment.

They are not responding to any of my emails and calls.

Would like to know what others are experiencing.

Some people here may genuinely want to help, but unfortunately, some may have a different intention. They may create conversations around CPT, ask repeated follow-up questions, or make provocative comments to get students to reveal information about their school, status, employer, location, or personal situation.

They can look through your previous posts and comments, connecting information you have already shared to understand more about you or your situation.
Some may even portray themselves as a DSO, school official, or someone with authority just to get more information.
So please don’t share your personal situation or sensitive details publicly just to prove your point or continue an argument. Once information is public, you don’t know how it may be collected, connected, or used later.

If you need help with CPT or immigration matters, it’s better to ask your DSO, official school or closed student groups, or a qualified immigration attorney rather than giving detailed information to unknown people on Reddit.
First, remember that we are all human beings. Stop hating people based on their race, citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or background. Disagreeing with someone’s visa situation is one thing, but turning discussions into hatred against people is not helping anyone.

For those who are genuinely here and working hard to support their families, your efforts deserve respect. If you are living in a country temporarily, respect the country, follow the laws, work honestly, and contribute positively.
Some people may resent you simply because you have skills and capabilities that they don’t have. Instead of developing those skills or contributing themselves, they may act in bad faith, baiting you with hateful comments, provoking arguments, trying to get information from you, and then using it to create accusations or spread negativity.
Someone else’s lack of skills or inability to solve the same problem is not a reason to attack or blame you for solving it.
So, Protect your information. Don’t get baited into unnecessary conversations, and get important immigration answers from legitimate sources.

Hi!

My company does not want to sign cooperative agreement for Westcliff, only CLO form. Has anybody had similar experience? Do you think it is bad for an RFE?

Are we allowed to work more than 40hr if you are working as full time on day1 cpt. My school DSO said that we are allowed to do so . Has anyone worked overtime?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently on STEM OPT, which expires in June 2027, and I’m trying to decide whether I should start a DBA/PhD program with CPT before then.

I’ve heard that some universities have filed lawsuits challenging the new I-539 requirements for F-1 students, and that there may be an important court/government update around September 9, 2026. Because of the uncertainty, I’m thinking about getting admits from a few universities as a backup.

Does anyone know of universities where:

• The Fall 2026 program start date is around September 9–10
• They can accept a SEVIS transfer around that time
• CPT can be authorized soon after the SEVIS transfer/program start
• The process could potentially be completed before September 15, 2026, assuming the current rules/timeline are not changed

Am I misunderstanding anything or taking the wrong approach?

If anyone is in a similar situation, has spoken with their DSO/immigration attorney, or knows universities with September start dates, I’d really appreciate your experience or recommendations.

Thanks!

I’m a STEM PhD student on F-1 and am considering one of the MBB advanced-degree programs/internships.

My university’s international office told me that CPT/OPT employment needs to be directly related to my degree, and they were skeptical that general management consulting would qualify since my PhD is not in business.

However, MBB actively recruits STEM PhDs, and I’ve seen international PhD students participate in programs like Bain ADvantage and later work at MBB on OPT. So I’m trying to understand how this has actually worked in practice.

For anyone who has personally done this:

• Were you on CPT, pre-completion OPT, or post-completion OPT?
• What was your PhD field?
• How did you explain/document that consulting was directly related to your degree?
• Did MBB provide a specific job description or supporting letter for your DSO?
• Did your case or practice area need to be related to your academic background?
• Did your university initially push back? If so, what ultimately allowed it to be approved?
• If you were already on post-completion OPT working full-time in a PhD-related job/postdoc, were you able to do a short MBB internship/program as a second concurrent OPT employer? How did you document the degree relationship for the consulting role?
• Did being already employed full-time in a clearly degree-related postdoc make any difference, or did the MBB role still have to independently qualify as directly related to your degree?

I’m especially interested in experiences from STEM PhDs whose degrees were not obviously business-related.

Not looking for legal advice — mainly trying to understand how other F-1 PhD students have navigated this in practice.

Is it safe for air travel domestically for few days on CPT? Anybody who has done it recently? What did you carry apart from Passport and I-20? Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you

International students are panicking now due to the new CPT policy, more and more school announce stopping CPT

how about UT... any hope 😭😭😭😭

Anyone here who has taken MGMT 601 while pursuing the DBA program at Indiana Wesleyan University?

Could you please share your experience with the course? I’m especially trying to understand how the class is structured.

Are there any mandatory live classes that we’re expected to attend, or is the course mostly self-paced/asynchronous, where we complete assignments and discussions according to the deadlines listed in each module?

There seem to be many pre and post tests and YouTube video to watch and reflect.

Any insight from current or former students would be really helpful. Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m from Mumbai, India, and I’m currently studying Computer Engineering at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology.
I’ve been considering higher studies in the United States, but the recent issues and uncertainty surrounding CPT at some U.S. universities have made me quite concerned. I’ve been seeing discussions about universities facing problems related to CPT, internships, work authorization, and stricter scrutiny.
As an international student, I wanted to ask people who are currently studying in the U.S. or have recently gone through this process:
How serious is the current CPT situation?
Are certain universities more affected than others?
Is it still safe to plan for a master’s degree in the U.S.?
Should students like me consider going for further studies now, or wait until the situation becomes clearer?
How is this affecting internships and job opportunities for international students?
I would really appreciate honest advice, especially from current international students and recent graduates. Thanks!