COST, FINANCIAL AID AND VISA
COST OF STUDYING
Fees
Application fee - Cost of application fee may range from $30 to $80 for each institution. This fee is generally not refunded.
Test fees - Academic standardized tests and English proficiency tests cost from $80 to $120 and travel to test centres is additional.You can find the full list of fees on the College Board website for SAT Reasoning & Subject Tests.
The cost of studying varies from one institution to the other and so does the cost of living and housing.
Cost of study includes tuition costs, fees for university services, books and study materials. Tuition may range from $15,000 - $45,000. Community colleges and technical training institutes are cheaper than other universities. Universities services fee may fall between $150 to $650. Laboratory charges, where incurred, are additional. Books and study materials may cost $600 or more.
FINANCIAL AID
Financial aid is help for meeting costs for education i.e., tuition, living etc. as well as for personal requirements. Those keen on availing financial aid must indicate this when they apply for admission. Applying for admission is not the same as applying for financial aid. There are forms called financial aid forms which have to be filled up and submitted separately to the institution and the State. Generally there are separate forms for scholarships and grants. The college financial aid office gives instructions about these.
Who are likely to get financial aid:
Scholarship at the undergraduate level is both limited and very competitive. Study of Music and Athletics could be exceptions. However, students with a brilliant academic or co curricular profile too stand very good chance of netting the award.
The most eligible students must have good academic focus, brilliant SAT score (1400 or more), and TOEFL score of 600 to apply to schools with demanding admission standards. Their personal statement should bear adequate proof of their maturity in decision making.
Application for financial assistance does not prejudice admission to a school.
Scholarship for sports people, performing artists
Sports persons may study in schools where there exists a team in their sport or performing art. Scholarship applications to these schools must be supported by reference letters and certificates of performance.
Low cost colleges
If you have a limited budget you may apply to low cost colleges.
SOURCES OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
International students may seek financial aid from the following sources:
- USA colleges and universities
- USA foundations and private bodies
- USA Government and binational agencies
- International funding organizations
- Own government or private organization, banks
- Universities/Colleges - Financial assistance for undergraduates comes in the form of: Scholarships, Grants, Tuition waivers (full or partial), Part time job on campus.
For graduates financial assistance is given through grants of teaching/research assistantship.
Scholarships are disbursed when an applicant displays brilliant academic credentials, promise and talent, and a perfect match for the position. Grants are need-based while tuition waivers are decided on need and merit. Loans are given in emergency situations when a student runs out of funds and deserves to stay on in USA for studies.
Some institutions provide assistance to international students by allowing them to work on campus for upto 15 hours a week so that they can get some of their fees waived off. Students cannot seek employment out of campus. Graduates are granted financial assistance through teaching or research assistantship. Teaching assistantship involves lecturing, grading papers, overseeing class work while research assistants help on research projects. The amount varies from a fraction of the cost to full costs.
USA government and binational agencies
USA Government in association with the Indian government or Indo-American Joint Commissions offers some scholarships. An example is the Fulbright Scholarship which is an exchange program for graduate, doctoral or professional experience. Fulbright scholarships are awarded to approximately 4,700 graduate students worldwide each year. Applicants are required to take the TOEFL and GRE or GMAT exams. Professional education, such as medical studies, is not covered. Fulbright students are required to be on J-1 visas for the duration of their sponsorship. For information about applying to the Fulbright Program, contact the US embassy or consulate, Fulbright Commission office, or educational advising center. The US Information Agency maintains information about studying in the US, the Fulbright program, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, in the Educational and Cultural Exchange section of their website, including Fulbright Commission contact information for most countries. For more information write to:
United States Information Agency, Office of Public Liaison, 301 4th Street, SW, Room 602, Washington, DC 20547, or send email to inquiry@usia.gov.
There is an agency for international development which sponsors education and training in areas of development - The Institute of International Education offers government/privately sponsored scholarships. These scholarships are advertised and selections are made through competitions. You could also write to the:
Agency for International Development, Office of International Training, Washington, DC 20523 or from Federal Student Aid Information Centre PO Box 84, Washington DC 200044-0084
International organizations
Professional bodies, organizations for the promotion of international understanding or societies for research and study of specific subjects offer scholarships. Direct applications are invited. UN organization calls for nominations through the Indian government. There are other organizations too which ask the local government to nominate candidates for study abroad.
Some international organizations offer funding for graduate students to study in the US. These include the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), AMIDEAST, the International Maritime Organization, the International Telecommunications Union, the League of Red Cross Societies, the Soros Foundation, the World Health Organization, and the World Council of Churches. These awards are extremely competitive.
Indian government/Private scholarships
Charitable foundations, business houses, banks, Indian universities are increasingly sponsoring students for study abroad, e.g., the Inlak scholarship, is such an example. These are advertised in leading newspapers.
Aid from private US organizations and sponsors
There is very little financial aid for international students available from private sources, such as foundations and individual sponsors.
To discover what is available, search some of the free scholarship and fellowship databases listed on the FinAid site. The FastWeb database, in particular, has good coverage of the awards available for international students. See also the list of scholarship and fellowship databases. (Be aware that fee-based scholarship matching services often do not have any listings of awards for international students. Most awards listed in these databases are restricted to US citizens and permanent residents. The databases may claim otherwise, but that's often because they find it easy to exploit international students. Don't waste your money.
Assistance from your family
According to NAFSA (Association of International Educators); more than two-thirds of international students in the US finance their education using their own resources and the resources of their family. You are most likely going to have to rely on your own assets, your parent's money, and contributions from relatives.
APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID
The request for financial aid has to be made by filling up the required forms. Applicants for federal student aid have to fill the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). College and private scholarship programs need the Financial Aid Form (FAF) to be completed for disbursement of the student aid funds (non-federal). Some colleges and private scholarship programs have their own forms which too have to be completed. In all these forms information has to be provided about you, your family and financial resources.
Graduate students can get more aid from the department by presenting some proof which demonstrates outstanding capabilities often displayed through published work. Part time work experience and letters of reference giving evidence of your capability will get you assistantships.
People applying for offbeat subjects have better chances of getting financial assistance.
Financial assistance for graduate studies
Graduate studies in USA find a more liberal approach in terms of grant in financial aid. Such assistance is given by offering teaching and research assistantships to applicants for graduate courses. Awards may, however, be partial or full. Need, academic record and potential for achievement in the chosen field of study are key factors. Standard admission test scores like GRE/GMAT/TOEFL are required from applicants as well as the grades of the first degree. Sometimes awards are granted only in the second year. Awards available to graduate applicants are as follows:
Fellowships - Fellowships are granted to students of almost all departments. Fellowship stipends vary with the type of award.
University Fellowships provide for tuition fee waivers or offer an assistantship along with a fellowship stipend. Departments award fellowships on the basis of academic merit normally after the first year of study.
Assistantships - Teaching, research and laboratory assistantships carry a salary for half the academic year. Tuition fee is exempted for assistantship appointees from as little as $500 to as much as $18000 or more for one academic year. While applying for assistantship position, it is advisable to emphasize previous research or teaching experience. Since there are many qualified applicants it may be useful to project your experience. This is in fact the most common type of financial assistance at the graduate level. Cash awards in exchange of services related to education (20 hours per week) are disbursed. The following types of assistantships are available:
Teaching assistantships - These are available in the 1st year of graduate study particularly in departments where a very large number of undergraduates are enrolled. The work teaching assistants do are (a) supervise undergraduate laboratory work, (b) teach small classes, (c) lead discussion groups. These activities should take up 20 hours of work in a week. The requirements for getting a teaching assistantship are a TSE score and some experience.
Research assistantships - Research work for 20 hours a week is expected from research assistants. Institutions conducting research work in your area of study and interest would be the best to be approached. If you apply to institutions whose research funding matches your interests you will be offered a position particularly if you have some research experience.
Administrative assistantships - Working in an administrative office for 20 hours a week is what an administrative assistant does, e.g., in the international student advising section. These are granted by the graduate admissions office. For any of these positions an international applicant competes with US applicants. Financial need but primarily academic merit and previous experience are the main criteria. Each award is renewed on an annual basis and depends largely on performance.
If you do not get any assistantship before you leave for the US, you can still have to catch one once you get there or at least at the beginning of the next semester.
Current trends in graduate financial aid
Though amount of aid may have increased but the costs too have risen sharply. In the last few years there has been some increase in financial aid. Most allocations have been made for physical and biological sciences and few for social science and other professional schools. Most financial assistance is disbursed for doctoral work.
You must write to the department directly as funds vary each year from one department to the other. When in a given year assistance is not available you may reapply in the following year.
Guidelines for international graduate applicants - The applicants while applying for financial aid should keep in mind the following tips:
- Applications must be clear and neatly presented with all documents well on time.
- Good letters of recommendation highlighting professional/academic promise and genuine interest are valuable.
- Apply to some famous departments but have other choices too. International applicant may get better financial assistance from a lesser prominent institution than from one of the most competitive.
- Merit based awards are given on academic merit.
- Financial assistance is never given to support family or dependents.
When should you apply?
For most types of aid, you should start the application process in late winter or early spring preceding the fall term for which you are requesting help. Generally the financial aid form must go four weeks before the earliest deadline. Some private scholarships have earlier deadlines than colleges and government programs. It is unwise to wait until you have found out whether you are admitted to a college before you apply for financial assistance. This is so because colleges inform applicants about financial aid before expecting any response to their offer of admission. If you have expressed need for financial aid, the colleges would just inform you about what you could get. Secondly financial aid and grants are disbursed soon after offers have been made.
Financial certification
Since financial assistance is not available to all international students it is obligatory for applicants to provide financial certification. This is a guarantee that a student can pay for his study in USA. It is a guarantee from the person who is going to take responsibility for the expenses. This is a finance resources certification. Other financial documents required by universities are a bank statements or a letter from the sponsoring agency or a copy of the award assigned to the applicant by the university department.
VISA
Many students find the process for getting a visa quite exasperating. The regulations governing the entrance of all international students are structured and are implemented firmly with an I-20 form issued by a university a student visa F-1 or M-1 category is issued. F-1 is for a full time study while M-1 is granted to students enrolled with technical schools where they need 6 months practical training. M-1 visa cannot be changed to F-1 visa. F-1 visa allows a student to stay for one year after completing studies for practical training. With an IAP-66 a J-1 exchange visitor’s visa is granted to those who go for training, teaching, consultation or research.
The visa officer at the consulate will check all your documents and your passport and would assess whether you are likely to return after studies are over. If convinced for the same, visa will be granted and your passport stamped.
The F-1 student visa
The F-1 student visa can be applied for with the presentation of Form I-20 which is a certificate of eligibility for non-immigrant F-1 student status. The F-1 or I-20, however, does not give guarantee that a visa will be granted!! The I-20 form will require endorsement by you for statements such as given below:
- Your purpose is to temporarily remain in USA for a full course of study at the university specified in I-20 form
- You will not be working or engage in business without being granted permission from immigration and naturalization service
- You are capable of financing your study and stay
The F-1 visa on the passport will indicate the college which has issued the I-20.
J-1 exchange visitor visa
1AP-66 is a certificate of eligibility for exchange visitor J-1 Status.
1AP-66 is issued for programs approved by the USA Information Agency and sponsored by a private organization or government agency. For a J-1 visa you have to agree to remain in the USA for the duration of the course you have been granted admission. You would have to limit your activities to those pertaining to the program given in the Form 1AP-66. The financial support has to be assumed and USA Immigration and Naturalization Service have to be informed if there is a change in the sponsor or in the exchange visitor program.
