<ul>
<li>Age 21 - (recovering from illness took a while)</li>
<li>A high school diploma filled with Cs and Bs, a few As (final year)</li>
<li>Limited finances</li>
<li>Jumped around from a couple of British schools, US schools, finished high school in Russia</li>
<li>Able to pull of a great SAT score</li>
<li>Probably won't be able to get any education in my country</li>
<li>Cannot boast about any major extra curricular activities other than working, although I can always claim to have been involved a lot in the theatre (I was at a special theatre high school though).</li>
</ul>
<p>Not off to a great start are we :D Nonetheless, I am wondering what sort of colleges it might be worth looking into. I am not terribly picky about the major, my main goal is to try and establish myself in the USA (get a degree that counts, and then try to go for OPT etc...) Ideally I would like something that would give good aid to someone with nice SAT scores (after all, that's the only thing I've got other than the ability to say I'm from the UK). </p>
<p>I have seen that the U of Arkansas Magnolia costs about $12,000 with a scholarship per year (everything included) - even this might be a bit much (although loans might be an option if all the other options are far worse). Everything else I have looked into so far seems to ask for good GPAs. What would you guys recommend? Is it a terrible idea to go to a sub-par school and then try to go for OPT? Perhaps there are schools that are not so sub-par and mainly look at SAT scores? The other problem is my age... or is it? Is GPA generally looked at for Int. Students, and do they just look at your last year or all your years at high school?</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a bargain basement education, as an international applicant in the US, it’s not gonna happen. There are thousands of US kids that have phenomenal statistics and they can’t get into their schools of choice, let alone asking for scholarships, financial aid, and lower-priced universities.</p>
<p>The universities are looking for candidates who will either, pay full fees, or who are the best from their countries. There is very limited financial aid for internationals and most of it is in the form of loans. Students, whose only goal is to immigrate here, will not be given the time of day. You have to compete with the best international students with really good GPA’s, stats and ec’s. </p>
<p>Additionally, you have to provide proof to the US govt. that you can support yourself for your education here. </p>
<p>A “mediocre” school history with ok SAT scores is not going to be competitive enough for any kind of FA. We’ve got that here in the US too, and they can’t find anything.</p>
<p>Well it seems I did find one place that is only interested in SAT for scholarships, obviously it won’t cover the full price, but it seems manageable at that point. Proving that I can support myself is not hard. Obviously no one knows I want to immigrate, in fact I don’t really know if I do, I do want to try hard and get a BA degree, and the best way to do this is the USA. Is it worth going to a bad undergrad program to try and do your best/self study and go for OPT?</p>
<p>It depends on what you study. Obviously an accountant or an engineer will find work even if they go to a “mediocre” college. It may not be a good job, at the beginning, but it can be a start. In other areas, especially humanities, the quality (and location) of the university will matter. You would want to be at a respected school, that has good connections and can offer good internships, etc. </p>
<p>Your best option may be a community college, and then transfer to a good university. But that is an option that won’t offer you financial aid.</p>
<p>I am concerned about your prospects of securing a work visa (H-1B) after college. It’s an expensive, tedious and drawn-out process for an employer. In addition, only jobs that pay above-average wage for their occupation qualify for an H-1B at all. I suspect that there are plenty of young adults who’d be thrilled to take an entry-level job that pays above-average wage and who won’t need a work visa…</p>
<p>
If you are generally willing to take out loans, make sure that you actually have a bank that would give you a loan. In my own experience, banks don’t like to fund an education abroad. (American banks think, “What if she leaves the country upon graduation and won’t pay the loan back?” Foreign banks think, “What if she decides to emigrate and won’t pay the loan back?” Both banks would struggle with the credit-worthiness of a student without income or assets. You might have to ask your parents to take out a loan for you in their own name.)</p>
<p>Oh, by proof that you can support yourself, that means 4 years worth of savings PROOF for college tuitions, fees, and living expenses.
You can’t work on a student visa here unless it’s a work-study type of job and those are also limited. Plus you can’t work outside of the campus on a student visa. A minimum wage employer can’t afford to spend time, money and fees, to fill out the paperwork for you to work for them.</p>
I believe that visa applicants only need to have liquid funds to cover the first year of attendance (after scholarships/financial aid). </p>
<p>
The US government has made provisions for international students to get work experience related to their major. There’s “optional practical training” and “curricular practical training.” Every student gets 12 months of full-time (or 24 months part-time) OPT, which can be used during college or immediately following graduation. If internships are an integral part of a student’s degree program, F-1 students can apply for additional work authorizations via CPT.</p>
<p>Under certain conditions, F-1 students can also petition for an “economic hardship” employment permit to accept any job off campus (not necessarily related to their major).</p>
<p>So it is a matter of getting a degree that would actually be useful no matter what, i.e. accounting, securing the OPT, and then hoping/trying hard for the best? I understand that it is difficult to get H-1B visas, though, by the time you are done with your OPT you can go to grad school / get married if you don’t get an H-1B </p>
<p>Is there any way to try and build up your qualifications and go to college later, when you can present them with a load of SAT II / AP tests and try to get aid that way? Then again… I imagine that means you are no longer the best and brightest.</p>
<p>"I believe that visa applicants only need to have liquid funds to cover the first year of attendance (after scholarships/financial aid). "</p>
Emphasis on hope. Realize that it’s a long shot and that you absolutely need to have a back-up plan in another country. (Also be aware that an American accounting degree would have limited value in other countries.)</p>
<p>
If you are willing to do that, why not move to the UK, take your A-levels and go to university there? May I ask why you prefer the US over the UK?</p>
<p>I thought the students used their OPT after they graduated. If they use the OPT during undergrad, won’t they use up a lot of their time? That’s what I was led to believe.</p>
<p>If this OP with a limited gpa wants to come to the states now, won’t he/she incur a huge amount of debt? With his/her stats, he/she wont qualify for merit aid. Would he/she use up OPT time in order to work a minimum wage job off-campus?</p>
It’s up to the student to decide how they want to use their OPT. Saving all OPT until after graduation is usually a bad strategy - who would hire a foreigner with no work experience? The foreign students I know have fared better using most of their OPT for internships in college, and saving just enough to bridge the time between graduation and their work visa setting in. (If the “cap gap relief” regulation remains in force, that wouldn’t even be necessary.)</p>
<p>
Now why would he do that? If he (or she) wants a minimum wage job, he can probably find one on campus and not touch his OPT. Maybe I have spent too much time on private college campuses, but all 6 of the colleges I have been affiliated with had plenty of part-time jobs for students.</p>
<p>The benefits of UK study include the ability to get a loan which has very nice rates. The problem is living in the UK and the length of time it would take to do A levels.</p>
<p>So it’s a long shot, even with grad school? What about a computer science degree (although, I can imagine what sort of CompSci degree you get from liberal arts college… then again, grad school…)</p>
Hahaha. Sad but true… Currently, foreign students with respected graduate degrees in computer science can normally find jobs in the US with some effort. Here are my concerns:
you’ll have a hard time getting into a respected graduate program from a non-respected college and without significant work experience to make up for it.
funding: are you willing to take out upwards of $50,000 in loans for a Master’s degree, or are you willing to commit to a 5-6 year PhD program to secure funding?
long-term job prospects: I have no idea what the job market for computer scientists will look like in 5-10 years, nor how immigration law will change in the meantime. I have met several former computer scientists and electrical engineers recently whose jobs got outsourced to India. (One of them gave up in tech and became a driving instructor after he lost 4 consecutive jobs due to outsourcing…) </p>
<p>
A-levels take two years to complete, don’t they? Taking AP exams and applying to American colleges afterwards would take two years too. Maybe you’d have to live in the UK for three years first in order to qualify for domestic student status. Then again, Bachelor’s degrees in the UK take 3 years vs 4 years in the US, so you would save a year there. The total time until you receive your degree seem to be the same in both countries. </p>
<p>It’s not clear to me that going to the US is a better option for you.</p>
<p>funding: are you willing to take out upwards of $50,000 in loans for a Master’s degree, or are you willing to commit to a 5-6 year PhD program to secure funding?</p>
<p>1) What’s that OR part about?
2) CompSci -> programmers are needed everywhere
3) I much prefer the USA</p>
<p>P.S. Who knows the rough price of marriage :D?</p>
In the US, you don’t need a Master’s degree to pursue a PhD. In fact, most people pursue a PhD with a Bachelor’s degree only. Who wants to pay for a Master’s degree that would be useless after you finish the PhD? That’s also why PhDs in the US take longer than PhDs in Europe.</p>
<p>
But programming jobs are also easily outsourced to a country where people work for a fraction of the typical US wage. (It’s unlikely that most jobs would get outsourced. But even outsourcing some would significantly cut down on the demand for foreign workers.)</p>
<p>Agree with B@r!um. DD who worked for an engineering firm said CS department was laying off. Since EE’s are taking CS coursework, the EE’s are considered more “valuable”, especially if they are US citizens and have not been laid off yet.</p>
<p>Not too long ago in my state, the un/ or under-employment rate among programmers was close to 30%. They lost their jobs to bad economy and outsourcing. I understand that now, H1b visa applications are under a greater US government scrutiny, but that’s just part of the outsourcing problem. In other words, there are NO guarantees, even with a CS degree, and no guarantees that if you do land a job, that it will pay terribly well.</p>
<p>The question about Canada is too abstract so let’s leave it be. The real question is what the best route might be in terms of getting a degree from an average college in the US. I guess the reason I asked about Canada is because all they require is a russian high school diploma.</p>
</p>