How to Manage Study Expenses in the USA
Everybody’s dream is to fly to the US, to pursue higher education and hold a degree there. But expenses are the harsh reality many students are unlikely to bear.
Let’s slice and dice the overall cost of the Study Expenses –
- Tuition Fee &
- Living Expenses
These expenses vary from university to university and from the program to program.
Sources of Finance:
Managing Finance is the prime issue for the students who would like to pursue higher education abroad. TestprepKart has addressed and listed a few options that students can aim for. The list is as follows:
Grants & Scholarships:
Grants & Scholarships are often termed as “Gift-aids” as you don’t need to pay back them. Students are awarded scholarships based on the various parameters like Academics, Arts, and Athletics, Music / Drama and ROTC scholarships.
Scholarships are offered to the students by –
- Governments like the Federal & the State governments
- Private Organizations like many companies, community organizations, club sponsor grants etc.
Anyhow, each college has it’s specific criteria to award scholarships.
Educational Loans:
Educational loans aren’t alike Scholarships. Educational loans assist you to achieve your dream of pursuing higher education abroad. You also have to repay these loans along with the interest to the respective back that offered you the educational loan.
Personal Funds:
This article is the definite one every student should explore. It’s quite common that most of the international students are backed by their families and the relatives. So look for this prospect as well.
International Organizations:
Many global organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) provide financial assistance to international students to foster the cultural assortment.
You can sponsor your own expenses when pursuing higher education in the foreign countries. The other finance sources are –
Working On-Campus:
You have to apply for a job on the campus. A student can work on campus for about 20 hours a week only if you are an international student. Working over 20 hours is against the rules. As summer is an optional term, you can work over 20 hours in summer. If you aren’t enrolled in summer term then you can work up to 40 hours in summer. This money only assists you with your monthly expenditure mostly.
Teaching Assistantship:
Teaching Assistants usually assist the teacher with his/her work and in return, he aids the Teaching Assistant with the financial aid. Teaching Assistantships are quite competitive. When applying to graduate schools, talk to the admission officers to know the programs that have the availability of assistantships. You will have to submit recommendation letter and face the interview as well to get the Teaching Assistant position. You can apply for TA after finishing the 9 months of your first year.
Research Assistantship:
You are employed to assist a faculty member with their research for about 10-20 hours a week. But only a few graduate programs offer Research Assistantships. Your job incorporates the tasks like collecting, analysing and reporting the data. You are monetarily compensated similarly to the Teaching Assistant. You can apply for RA after finishing your 9 months of the first year.
Fellowships:
The fellowships are awarded to the students based on the merit to assist a student in the full-time study. A fellowship provides the financial assistance to graduate students without any associated teaching & research responsibilities (No TA & RA).
External Scholarships:
International students can apply for the external scholarships that are offered at the university you are enrolling. Every university’s external scholarships wildly vary. So check for the external scholarships feature along before enrolling for the university.
International students should always manage to maintain the specific GPA to avail all the financial assistance. So never let your GPA down.
If you’re passionate and stick to pursue the best education then this financial restraint won’t be able to trouble you.
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