Study in the United States of America

Attention

This is purely an unofficial and non-profit venture to help people in doubt. I am an individual, unaffiliated with any organization promoting education in the U.S.

Financing your studies

Let’s face it. Education in the U.S.A. IS expensive. There is absolutely no doubt about that. But just because it is expensive doesn’t mean that it is not affordable. In fact, the United States has numerous opportunities for financial support.

While the Federal Financial Aid is only available to American citizens, every college offers scholarships to entrant and continuing students. For entrant students, these may be mostly limited to academic achievements, but once you enroll, you are open to many more financial opportunities like

1. On campus jobs: Every U.S. college has on-campus jobs such as librarian, teaching assistant (T.A.) etc. Although these jobs are not guaranteed, they can be acquired  if they are available and you demonstrate proficiency for them. You are either paid in the form of cash or fee waivers, which are pretty substantial in certain cases. Oh, and a T.A. is a very very good student who helps his professor in taking supplemental classes, correct test papers etc.

2. Internships: Internships are like short-term job contracts. During your vacations, leading companies offer these opportunities to work for them. You get paid (quite a bit) if you are accepted (again, on a competitive basis). Your stipend may exceed $8,000 in some cases. Besides, if you do a very good job, you may just have booked a place at the company after you graduate!

3. Co-operatives: Co-operatives, or simply co-op’s, are also short term job contracts, but a larger version of internships. If you are enrolled in a four year undergraduate course, signing a co-op contract will entitle you to work for the company for a maximum of two semesters, i.e. a year. So, you will graduate a year after your actual due date. But, the pay is extremely handsome and can help you manage your college fees, a lot. Besides, like internships, if the company likes you, after you graduate, you’re in!

4. Part-time jobs: Part-time jobs are always available outside the campus. You may work as a cashier at a supermarket, a sales executive or a waiter at a diner. Pay is reasonable and worth your time. At the United States, no job is menial or inferior and every job gets due credit. You are mostly paid per hour of service. Besides, it is an excellent experience.

5. More universities and privately sponsored scholarships: The universities never fail to reward you for your performance, be it in academics, sports or co-curricular activities. Scholarships are cash grants you don’t need to pay back. Therefore, excelling in the above departments will not only help you in the long run, but is most likely to grant you immediate financial assistance. Besides this, there are lots of private scholarships available. For more info on private scholarships, check the ’Related Links’ link.

6. Loans: Many universities offer you links to organizations that offer you assistance in the form of loans. The maximum amount is usually substantial and the interest rates may be low to moderate, so as to suit a student.

A dedicated student can most definitely bring his financial burden down to as low as 0-25% and that’s a really good deal!

Besides this, students learn the value of money and the dignity of labor and this will be an excellent experience for them all.

Therefore, cost should never be a deciding factor. An excellent but not so well off student can afford top education at a pristine university while a relatively better off but not-so-bright student may not have the best financial bargain .

Search for financial opportunities with keywords like ‘scholarship for <your ethnicity>‘, ‘financial aid for <your ethnicity>‘, ‘scholarship search’ etc.