One of the biggest concerns for a student who wants to study in the USA and their family is how they are going to pay for education in the USA. This is a vital factor that needs to be considered by the student as well as their family.
According to the IIE’s Open Doors Report, 819, 644 international students study in the USA. Out of this, 96754 of them are Indian students. Most of the students have received benefits from the financial assistance schemes available in the country.
Know more: 13 Reasons Why You Should Study Abroad
What you should not do?
- One must never apply for the admission first and then take care of the fees later on. Instead one must think of ways first of funding the education before they apply to a certain college or university. This will save you from getting disappointed if you cannot apply to a college due to financial constraints. Understanding finances is important not only during admission but also for every year of study.
What you should do?
- The cost of higher education is always on the rise, and hence, it is vital to know what expenses one will have to cover and develop a plan to tackle them easily.
- Finding a good way to fund your studies is always a challenge. Hence, the best way to tackle this issue is by selecting the universities properly and checking whether they offer scholarships or fellowships.
- You will have to show how you will be funding your education in the first year in order to get a visa.
Concerns for funding your education in the USA
- The tuition fees rates are different for different universities. The annual undergraduate tuition fees ranges from $3,000 to $40,000.
- The cost of living will also be different due to the location. The living expenses depend on where the student is staying and it ranges from $7,000 to $24,000.
Categories of funding
There are four kinds of funding that you can find for studying in the USA.
- Scholarships or fellowships from the USA universities
- Sports scholarships
- Scholarships from external fund giving bodies
- Loans from Indian or USA lender
Keeping in mind these simple strategies will help you to select a university which will be affordable and you will also receive proper education from them.
- Selecting public universities will reduce the amount of tuition fees rates.
- You can consider universities where there is a low cost of living. This will save money of the student. Universities in rural or suburban areas have relatively low cost of living.
- You can select the universities that offer good financial assistance. Many universities in the USA offer financial help based on the need of the student and also based on their merit. The universities which give need based scholarships are very competitive in nature.
- You can also opt for those universities that offer fellowships or scholarships to Indian and international students. Checking the universities beforehand is a good way of knowing whether the university has such provisions for the students.
- You can choose to apply at those universities where you know that your score is above the average SAT score of most students. The funding is reserved mostly for the top students and if you can bag that seat, then you will be at an advantage.
- Attending a community college is also helpful as it prepares the students to pursue a Bachelor’s degree after completing two years of study at the college. They can then apply for the four year university degree at any university. This is a low cost method and this also involves less competition than getting in any university.
Keeping these factors in mind will help you to select the best university as per your finances and help you to get the best education in the USA.
