<p>The ammount of work people have to do to get the same ammount of money differes all over the world. In USA people get Much more money then in Asia, for example. If the cost of all those exams and applications seem funny to U.S.citizens in comparison to the cost of, hmm, house-keeping or insurance, for me it seems much larger.
So I think that the idea of applying to US or UK university is serious enough to consider this as an investment. I am a prospective student and I think I could manage to get a large scholarship in USA, but before applying I have to know if it worth all the things I have to do to get a chance and all the money I have to spend for all those tests and applications. To know it I have to get more information about chances and international students that were applyed with a large scholarship. Could you please help me with finding out my chances to be applied? Any intels that were applied for a large scholarships here?</p>
<p>Martin, do you mean your chances to be * accepted *?
You should expect the application process to incurr the following costs:
-application fees: $0 (get fee waivers!)
-SAT prep books (if you need them):$100
-SATs and score reports: $200-$250 for three testing dates and 15 colleges
-mail: $100
-TOEFL (w/score reports): $250
-communication costs (if you need to phone the university, i.e.):$50-$100
This should amount to about $700.
You would need at least $40k in yearly grants for 4 years in order to afford studying in an U.S. college. That's $160k.
You are making a $700 investment, and the potential payoff is $160k. It's worth it as long as you know there is a decent chance for you to get in. Otherwise you would be losing $700. Now, as about defining what a decent chance is, that's a totally different issue.</p>
<p>Well,first of all you could get a grant to cover test fees, application fees, travel etc. from Fulbright (even as an undergrad, as it’s not a Fulbright scholarship as for your masters but an everage of 2000$, it’s called Opportunity Initiative). That’s about basic expenses. And of course education is your investment! I mean the country doesn’t matter, you invest in your future anyway.
If you think you have a chance you should go for it. It won’t hurt you to try, but it’s definitely worth it.
For finaid check out a list of colleges that give full aid packages to internationals (I’ve seen several websites with this info). Some colleges are interested in diversity (=full aid), some in your money (= 0). You should be discerning.</p>