Are you worried about how to pay for the cost of education in an American university? Well, take heart, the costs need not be as high as you think. Over the years thousands of middle class (and even economically disadvantaged) students from India have managed to pursue Master’s and doctoral programs in American universities. The only reason why so many of them have managed to do so when the cost of higher education in American university can range from 20 to 40 lakhs is the generous financial aid given to students by American universities. With such financial assistance, which is given in a variety of fields, the cost can come down to 15 lakhs or even less!
Of course, such assistance is not guaranteed: first, you have to show that you are an academically excellent student. But, it you do so, you stand a good chance of being awarded one of the many kinds of financial aid that are available. Below is an explanation of some of the forms of aid that American universities give to their students.
Assistantships
Several universities award assistantships in the form of teaching and research assistantships to masters and doctoral program students. These require awardees to perform certain services for a specified number of hours in a week. The awards are usually for the current semester and may be extendable depending on awarding requirements of the department and the funds available with it. Continuation also depends on the student’s maintaining a good academic record.
Teaching Assistantships (TA): these involve assisting a faculty member in teaching (mostly, elementary lab courses), conducting tutorial/problem-solving sessions or grading answer scripts. Teaching assistantships may also provide students opportunities to work outside their department in areas like Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics depending on their competence and interest in the subject. Many universities assess these through a test.
Research Assistantship (RA): students interested in working on research projects in the university should contact the faculty in whose work they are interested. The selection may involve an interview/written exam to test your aptitude, knowledge and skills.
Both teaching and research assistantships require students to work up to 20 hours a week and carry a stipend and tuition waiver depending on the extent of the award (the full 20 hours or less). In general even a 10-hour job substantially reduces tuition and compensates for living expenses. The student’s performance in the duties assigned is closely monitored. The student is also required to maintain his academic performance in the graduate program and show good progress in his research work.
Tuition Waivers
Universities may offer tuition waivers to a few outstanding students a after the first semester i.e. waivers are offered depending on the student’s first semester performance. Students who are offered tuition waivers do not have to pay tuition fees or pay reduced amounts. In other words, waivers may be full i.e. they cover the entire fees for a semester or a partial i.e. they cover the fees for only a certain number of credits.
In-State Tuition: This is the tuition fee charged to the residents of the state in the US. Certain universities, particularly Texas, offer a nominal scholarships to international students including in-state tuition. The award can be a substantial saving since in-state tuition fee is about 40% of out-of-state tuition.
Graduate School Fellowships and Assistantships
These are offered only to outstanding students. The student is nominated by their graduate program. Generally, the awards are given to students admitted to PhD programs in the department and, as a rule, exempt students from any specific duties. The students are expected to perform full-time research and may be occasionally required to perform teaching duties for a semester as a part of their program.
On-Campus Jobs
International students in US universities are allowed to work on campus. Campus jobs may include working at the university’s cafeteria, bookstore, library, or health club, or within the university’s administrative offices. The payment is usually $6 to $8 per hour and you are allowed to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week.
Internships
Students are also allowed to take up internships after completion of at least two semesters of full-time education in an area which is directly related to their field of study, and which can be considered a part of academic training. Carefully review information about these options and consult the International Students’ and Scholars’ Office for clarification. In the US the internships are of two types:
Curricular Practical Training during the course of the program usually in the summer semester after the first year and Optional Practical Training, after the completion of the MS program. These are governed by rules framed by US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and require appropriate authorizations.
Merit-Based Scholarships from the Indian Government and Other Indian Trusts:
Doing some research and finding out information about scholarships offered by Indian Government and other trusts can come in handy. The Government of India (GOI) offers scholarships for advanced education to SC and ST students and these are administered by the Social Welfare Departments of respective state governments. GOI also has a scheme of supporting higher education in areas where India lacks facilities for such education.
There are also a number of private trusts like Inlaks, India Foundation, Lila Poonawala Foundation, J N Tata Trust, Aga Khan Foundation and K C Mahindra Scholarships which offer substantial amounts to students going to top ranking universities. (There are also the Cambridge Trusts if you want to apply to Cambridge). However the trust may have certain specific criteria which have to be met by the applicant. The announcements for these scholarships appear in leading newspapers.
Education Loans from Banks
Another important and major source is the Education Loan scheme of banks which offer loans up to 20 lakh rupees at competitive interest rates and extended periods of repayment.
See also: What You Need to Know about Educational Loans
News: USCIS announced that the H-1B cap for this year is full. What does this mean for you regarding job opportunities after MS in the US? The economy is showing signs of healthy job growth for non-US citizens in the US! Its getting better.
On the first business day in April, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services opens the rounds of petitioning for coveted H1-B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. The agency awards the 85,000 visas on a first-come, first-served basis and companies scramble to get in their applications for foreign hires as quickly as they can. The cap has been the same since 2004, with 65,000 slots for foreign hires and 20,000 spaces reserved for graduates of U.S. universities. This year human resources managers, knowing the cap was close to being filled, worked through the weekend, racing to file.
The speed at which the cap is reached is a loose indicator of the economy’s state. In 2007, the slots filled up on May 26 (July 26 for university grads). In 2008, the cap was reached in a single day: April 2. In 2009, applications were sluggish and took eight months to reach the cap. In 2011, the slots were filled in seven months.
It now appears that things are picking up again—a good sign for the economy!
Current Students:
Ok, what does this mean? People who graduate in December should be OK, as they can move on an F1 and apply for an H1 on April 1, 2013. People graduating in June/July 2012 should be OK too, as they can move on F1 and file next year on April 1, 2013. So for now most people would be safe. So everything looks good for now!
PS. If the situation gets too hot, we may end up in lottery like scenario, but even then its better than 2007-2008 as we now have a cap gap and a 27-month OPT extension on F1 for STEM.
Additional score reports can be ordered online through the TOEFL online registration system or by completing the Score Report Request Form in the Bulletin. This form is also available on the TOEFL Web site. You will receive an acknowledgement confirming that your score reports were mailed. The Score Report Request Form will be returned to you if you do not include complete and accurate information and the correct fee. Designated institutions cannot be changed or deleted after you submit the request. No refunds will be made.
ONLINE (CREDIT CARD)
- Log in to your TOEFL iBT account and click “Register for a Test/Order Score Reports” on your home page. Pay by credit/debit card or e-check
- The fee is US$17 for each report ordered.
MAIL OR FAX
- Follow the instructions on the back of the Score Report Request
- Form for completing and mailing your request and payment.
- Reports are mailed two weeks after receipt of your request form.
- The fee is US$17 for each report ordered.
- Demand Draft in U.S. dollars made payable to “ETS-TOEFL iBT”. Please write your registration number on your check or money order.
- If you are paying by credit/debit card, you may fax your form to: 1-610-290-8972.
Faxed requests will not be processed unless complete credit card information is provided. If you think your faxed request may not have gone through and you attempt to resend the information, write “DUPLICATE” in large letters on all repeat requests. This will help avoid extra processing by TOEFL Services and unnecessary charges to your credit card.
If you wish to mail your request and payment, send it to:
ETS-TOEFL iBT
PO Box 6153
Princeton, NJ 08541-6153 USA
If you wish to send your request via a courier service, address it to:
TOEFL Document Processing
225 Phillips Boulevard
Ewing, NJ 08628-7435 USA
You might also like to see information about Registering for the TOEFL iBT
REGISTRATION
There are three ways in which you can register for the TOEFL exam.
1. Online Registration with a Credit Card
Test takers with credit/debit cards can register for the test online in the Learners and Test Takers section of the TOEFL Web site at www.toefl.org. The following cards are accepted:
- American Express
- Discover
- JCB
- MasterCard
- VISA
Registration is open 24 hours a day.
2. Telephone Registration Using a Credit Card
Call Prometric, Gurgaon at:
91-124-4147700
Note: to schedule by phone, you need a valid credit card (American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, or VISA).
3. Mail-in Scheme
You can register by mail by completing the registration form:
- Fill in all the information on the Registration Form. Be sure to indicate two test center choices
- Include a demand draft, or credit card information
- Demand Drafts in U.S. dollars must be drawn on a bank in the US and made payable to “ETS-TOEFL iBT”
- Mail the completed form to the address on the form or to:
Prometric Testing Private Limited,
2nd Floor, DFL Infinity Tower–A,
Sector 25, Phase II,
DFL City Gurgaon,
Haryana 122002,
India
- The registration form must be received at least four weeks before your earliest test date choice.
- If you do not receive a confirmation, call the location where you mailed your paperwork – at least three business days before your registration deadline.
- If you register by mail you will need to enter certain codes manually that are input automatically online. See Code Lists for Registering by Mail online.
RESCHEDULING OR CANCELING
If you need to reschedule or cancel your registration, you have to do so three full days before your test date (not including the day of the test or the day of your request) or your full test fee will be forfeited.
Online:
Log in to your TOEFL iBT Profile, click “View Order(s)” on your home page, then click “Modify” or “Cancel” on the Order Summary page.
Note: You cannot reschedule or cancel your registration via mail or e-mail.
Phone:
You can call Prometric, Gurgaon to cancel or reschedule
Phone: 91-124-4147700.
To reschedule, you must provide:
- Your registration number
- The full name you used to register
- The fee for rescheduling is US$60. Payment must be received prior to rescheduling.
Refunds are given in U.S. dollars and include taxes as applicable. Cash refunds are not available.
- If you paid by credit/debit card or e-check, the refund will be credited to the original credit/debit card or bank account used to pay.
- If you paid by demand draft drawn on a U.S. domestic bank, allow twelve weeks for processing
GENERAL INQUIRIES
Phone:
Numbers: 1-609-771-7100 or 1-877-863-3546
Days: Monday–Friday
Timings:
8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. (EST)
5:30 pm – 5:30 am IST
Mail:
TOEFL Services (25Q-310),
Distribution and Receiving Center,
225 Phillips Boulevard,
Ewing, NJ 08628-7435, USA
Fax:
1-610-290-8972
E-mail:
toefl@ets.org
See also: Registering, Rescheduling and Canceling for the GRE Test
The ETS sends your score to four universities free. But, if you want to sent Additional GRE Score Reports (ASRs) to more universities, you have to order them by mail or by phone. Here’s how.
BY MAIL OR FAX
- Download and complete the Additional Score Report Form or use the form found in the center of the Bulletin.
- Mail it with the fee to the address on the form.
- The fee is U.S. $23 per score recipient.
- Requests are processed within 10 working days after receipt.
- Faxed requests are accepted if you pay by credit card (American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, or VISA). The fax number is 1-610-290-8975.
- Once a request and fee is mailed or faxed, it cannot be canceled, changed, or refunded.
- If paying by demand draft, make your draft payable to “ETS-GRE”
Mail to:
ETS-ASR/GRE
Box 371463
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7463
USA
BY PHONE
- Before you call, have the following information ready:
- registration number, Social Security number or confirmation number
- test date
- date of birth
- institution code(s) and department code(s)
Call:
- 1-609-771-7290
- Timings: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST, 7 days a week (3:30 pm – 7:30 am IST)
- Wait for confirmation before hanging up to be sure your request is completed. Once information is entered, changes cannot be made.
- Score reports will be mailed to you and to your designated institutions approximately five working days after your call. You must wait until your scores are initially reported before you can use this service.
- This phone service allows you to request up to eight score recipients. To request more than eight, please call again.
- Requests for “Test Taker Copies Only” or changes in your mailing address cannot be processed through this service.
Also see: Registering for the GRE Test, Rescheduling and Cancelling Your Test