Exploring financial and cultural challenges faced by international students in the U.S. to develop support systems that enhance well-being and integration.

Timeline
Sep - Nov 2024
Team
Vivek
Agastya
Agrima
Shweta
Tools
Figma
Figjam
My role
Interviewing
Affinity Diagramming
Empathy Mapping
Persona Creation
Prototyping
Usability Testing

Overview

International students in the U.S. face financial and cultural challenges that impact their well-being and academic success. Despite contributing $34 Billion to the economy, many struggle with uncertainty around finances, part-time jobs, and adapting to cultural norms like the credit system and public transportation. This project aims to identify these hurdles and explore support systems to improve their overall health and integration.

61%

International students were unsure if they had enough funds to sustain themselves

42%

More international students experience social isolation compared to domestic students

81%

International students rely on part time jobs to cover their living expenses

Scope of Work

Research

Conducted Interviews about financial systems, cultural adjustments, and made necessary
observations.

Design

Built interactive prototypes using Figma, incorporating features like community pages, marketplaces, and resource hubs.

Ideate

Created affinity diagrams, empathy maps, personas, brainstormed ideas, and visualized user journeys through storyboards.

Test

Conducted heuristic evaluations to assess usability. Performed think-aloud testing with tasks.

What challenges do international students face?

They struggle with tipping, shopping
Public transport, self-checkout, measurements
Unfamiliar banking, high costs
Ineffective supports
systems
Overwhelmed seniors, repetitive
queries
Stress from unfamiliar
systems

Interviews

We carried out face-to-face interviews with new and experienced international students. Interviews taught us the value of trust, flexibility, and active listening, leading to deeper insights and authentic participant stories. Building rapport helped uncover challenges like adapting to transportation and tipping culture.

New Students

New international students found bank setup, financial tools, and IndyGo transport convenient, but struggled with U.S. financial systems, credit scores, tipping, taxes, and coupons. Furniture shopping and cultural adjustments were challenging, with heavy reliance on roommates and seniors for guidance.

Experienced Students

Experienced students helped newcomers with housing, finances, transport, and campus navigation but found repetitive WhatsApp queries overwhelming. They shared budgeting tips, scam warnings, and career advice but struggled with emotional support like homesickness, leading to disengagement from group chats.

We carried out face-to-face interviews with new and experienced international students. Interviews taught us the value of trust, flexibility, and active listening, leading to deeper insights and authentic participant stories. Building rapport helped uncover challenges like adapting to transportation and tipping culture.

Observations

We conducted naturalistic or "in the wild" observations at two locations, ensuring that consent was obtained from all participants beforehand. Made observations at Kroger and Fashion Mall which revealed key challenges for international students The issues stemmed from usability and cultural mismatches rather than technological flaws. Solutions like clearer information and better design could significantly ease their transition.

Students had difficulties in

Understanding
ingredients
Metric-to-imperial conversions
Tax surprises
at checkout
Self-checkout systems
Tax surprises
at checkout
Self-checkout systems

We carried out face-to-face interviews with new and experienced international students. Interviews taught us the value of trust, flexibility, and active listening, leading to deeper insights and authentic participant stories. Building rapport helped uncover challenges like adapting to transportation and tipping culture.

Brainstorming

We came up with 4 key ideas that we thought were crucial for students to get adjusted to a new place faster.

Discount Aggregator

What it does: Consolidates nearby student discounts and campus resources
Why this: Simplifies budgeting and accessing support, reducing financial stress.

FAQ Bot with Senior Tips

What it does: Automates FAQs in student groups and provides senior tips on relevant topics.
Why this: Eases campus navigation for newcomers and reduces repetitive queries.

Group Housing & Ride-Share Finder

What it does: Connects students for shared housing and ride-sharing to common destinations.
Why this: Reduces housing and transportation costs while fostering connections.

Furniture Co-op

What it does: Platform for buying, selling, or exchanging used furniture and items.
Why this: Promotes affordable furnishing and sustainability for students.

What we learned: Each idea needed to solve two sides of the problem — reducing dependency while maintaining connection.
Why next: To confirm that these ideas truly fit students’ lives, we visualized their real-world use through storyboards.

Storyboarding

We developed detailed storyboards for all key scenarios in our app, capturing user interactions and workflows visually. These will serve as a foundation for aligning our design with user needs and goals.

Prototyping

This section demonstrates how the initial concepts from the storyboarding phase were translated into tangible, interactive designs. This phase focuses on refining user interactions and validating the proposed solutions through iterative testing.

Community

A centralized feed providing information on housing, transportation options around Indy, and queries shared by fellow students

Post a Query

Users can ask questions, post housing offers, or offer rides. If a similar post exists, a pop-up will appear, allowing you to post anyway or discard it.

Housing Details

Explore detailed housing info, including rooms, amenities, and proximities. Chat to seal the deal!

IU Deals

Students can browse deals, click to redeem, and get a barcode to show in-store.

FAQs

In the FAQ section, students can explore queries organized into categories, with an additional option to post their question in the community if they don’t find the answer they’re looking for.

Marketplace

A marketplace section for students to easily post items they'd like to sell, complete with clear descriptions and contact details. This feature also offers the convenience of direct messaging between students and item owners for seamless communication.

Findings and Learnings

This project offered valuable insights into designing user-centric solutions for international students transitioning to campus life. Through interviews and research, we developed a deeper understanding of their challenges, such as cultural adjustment, navigating a new environment, and accessing resources. Storyboarding and prototyping allowed us to visualize user journeys, refine key features, and address pain points effectively, such as integrating navigation with senior tips and combining housing with ride-sharing. Testing highlighted the importance of accessibility, simplicity, and cultural sensitivity in fostering a sense of belonging. Overall, this project emphasized the value of empathy, iterative design, and creating meaningful, practical solutions tailored to user needs.

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