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The cost of education is the most important factor considered
by almost every student from India. Also, it’s a wide spread belief
that the education in USA is not affordable. The complicated structure
of financing opportunities and the dynamics of scholarships, in
campus and off campus jobs etc. make the financial planning further
more difficult. At the outset, one may think that the cost of
tuition plus the living expenses is equal to the total cost that
a student requires. But then, what about scholarships? What about
campus jobs? What about summer jobs? Will they reduce my total
cost? To what extent? What is the certainty? This and many more
variables make the financial planning process absolutely difficult
at times.
We at SMART, have been meticulously calculating the expected
costs for different students. Our knowledge about the working
methods of universities, local laws and quality consultation to
the parents has helped many middle-income families comfortably
manage the education of their children in America. While the cost
factor has to be calculated separately for each student, we have
given broad information about the various ingredients of costs
as well as the funding opportunities in this chapter.
Tution Fees
US Universities fall under two major categories: public (state
supported), and private (independent) institutions. International
students' tuition expenses at state schools are based on nonresident
costs, which are still usually less expensive than those of private
universities. It's important to note that the cost of a program
in a US school does not necessarily affect its quality. Similarly,
it is not a rule that all public universities are good or all
private universities are inferior. One has to study each university
independently, regardless of whether it is a public university
or a private university.
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| The tuition fee is different for different universities and
varies widely with courses. It can vary from as low as $ 7,000
a year for state universities to as much as $ 30000 a year for
some private universities.
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Living Expenses
The approximate annual living expenses are about $7,000, which
includes accommodation as well as other daily expenses. However,
the expenses are different for different people depending on the
lifestyles and this is just a rough idea. The main expenses can
be split up as:
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So, about $700 per month is a good estimation. Most people can
survive with $500- $600 a month. The key here is to share apartments/houses
so that you save on the utilities, fixed charge portion of phone
and to some extent on groceries
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How to fund
the cost of education
The total cost of tuition and living can be funded through the
following sources:
- Personal Savings: this is the traditional method of
funding education in India. Most parents meet the education
expenses of their children through personal earnings and savings.
But when it comes to financing the education in America, one
should take care that the personal savings are utilized to the
minimum possible extent. In some cases, we even recommend not
to use personal savings at all to fund the education.
- Educational Loans: this is the new emerging option
in the last couple of years. All the nationalized banks have
a structured and uniform educational loan policy wherein loans
are given up to Rs.5 lakhs without any collateral security or
guarantee. If the parents are willing to offer collateral security,
the amount of loan can me as high as Rs.15 lakhs for students
studying abroad.
- Scholarships: most GOOD American universities offer
substantial scholarships to deserving students. These scholarships
are given based on different selection criterions. The next
chapter is specifically dedicated for discussing the scholarships
option.
- Campus Jobs: the universities allow students to work
on campus for up to 20 hours per week. These jobs often help
the students recover their living expenses while studying at
the university.
- Summer Jobs: each year, the student has two vacations
totaling to three to four months. During this period, the student
can work full time either on campus or off campus. Students
are not allowed to work off campus for the first nine months
of their study. These jobs being full time in nature, help the
students make more money than what they require for their living
expenses. Again, one has to be careful while selecting the university.
You should apply to only those universities, which have on campus
jobs available.
If one uses the above information carefully while applying to
the universities, the total cost of education, which requires
funding through personal savings or educational loans comes down
substantially.
This is one area in which FACT has developed expertise through
extensive research and experience. The students of FACT therefore
have saved lakhs of rupees by applying to the right university,
for the right program at the right time.
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