Connect, Share, and Save
Exploring financial and cultural challenges faced by international students in the U.S. to develop support systems that enhance well-being and integration.
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.
Motivation
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.
Ideate
Created affinity diagrams, empathy maps, personas, brainstormed ideas, and visualized user journeys through storyboards.
Design
Built interactive prototypes using Figma, incorporating features like community pages, marketplaces, and resource hubs.
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
Overwhelmed seniors, repetitive queries
Stress from unfamiliar systemsIneffective support 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.
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
self-checkout systems.
Affinity Diagrams
We created an affinity map to analyze the experiences and challenges of both new and experienced master’s students.
Affinity Diagram - Incoming Students
Affinity Diagram - Experienced Students
Empathy Maps
We also made empathy maps that capture user insights across four quadrants: says, thinks, does, and feels. Based on interviews and observations, it highlights international students' struggles with shopping, groceries, finances, and transport, offering a clear view of their experiences.
Empathy Map
Incoming Students
Empathy Map
Experienced Students
User Personas
Based on user interviews, we developed these two personas to represent our target audience and their needs.
User Persona - Incoming Student
User Persona - Experienced Student
Brainstorming
We came up with 4 key ideas that we thought were crucial for students to get adjusted to a new place faster.
1.Discount Aggregator
What it does: Consolidates nearby student discounts and campus resources
Why this: Simplifies budgeting and accessing support, reducing financial stress.
2.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.
3. FAQ Bot with Senior Tips
What it does: Automates FAQs in student groups and provides senior tips on study spots and part-time jobs.
Why this: Eases campus navigation for newcomers and reduces repetitive queries for seniors.
4.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.
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.
Future Steps
The app is user-friendly with clear feedback and a clean design. However, heuristic evaluations revealed missing advanced features, error messages, and help documentation.
Think-aloud sessions highlighted poor visibility of the call-to-action (+) button, connectivity issues, and overwhelming forms. Despite this, participants completed most tasks, confirming strong core functionality but highlighting areas for improvement.
To address these, we’ll:
Improve feature visibility with clearer icons and labels.
Simplify forms to reduce cognitive load.
Add advanced features like shortcuts.
Introduce error messages and a help section.
We’re ready to move forward with these updates for a more intuitive user experience.
Findings
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.
Collaborators
Agastya
Agrima
Shwetha