Go the the USA for undergrad or grad studies?

Student Lounge International Students
1

I didn’t really know where to put this thread but it seems like it will fit in here.

I realized that I wanted to study in the US far too late so I can’t really get into any four year universities as I haven’t done the ACT/SAT test. Now i’m basically stuck with two options, either go to a CC for two years and transfer to a four year university to get a bachelor’s degree or stay in my country for my bachelors degree and go to the USA for a masters degree. Education is free in my country so a bachelors degree here wouldn’t cost me anything in terms of tuition fees etc.
The downside is that it seems really hard to get into a masters program in USA afterwards, i’m not aiming for top programs, i’m more interested in the big state universities.

Option one would be to go to a CC in California and get the pre reqs done for Computer science so that i’m eligible to transfer to Cal poly SLO and SJSU after two years. Those are the only schools i’m interested in because they offer great education in the CS major at a great value. Transfer acceptance is however very low for those two universities.

Option two is to stay in my home European country to get a bachelors degree in computer science and then hopefully get admitted to a CS MS program at big state university like University of Arizona, ASU, FSU, UA, UW madison etc.

Cost would be about the same for both options. I’m not interested in exchange studies. My ultimate goal is to find love or end up with a work visa some years after graduation, I know that it’s very hard. But I have three chances to get sponsored with H1b and win the lottery, one for each year I’m doing OPT.

I don’t know if a masters degree matters very much, it does help my chances of winning the h1b lottery but not much more. It seems like the majority of the people in USA only get a bachelors degree, in my country it’s the opposite where a lot of people go for masters degrees.

I would really like to study in the US as fast as possible but is it much smarter to wait and go there for a masters degree instead?

2

Someone offers you a Ferrari. One is free. The other one costs $150,000. Which would be the smart choice?

3

Well, are you a senior in high school who could take a gap year?

4

First of all, erase everything you know about H-1B visas from your mind. We have a new government that feels very strongly that we need “immigration reform,” including an overhaul of the H-1B system which many feel displaces high-skilled US workers.

Assume that there won’t be a work visa you qualify for you by the time you finish college. Do you still want to study in the US?

Let that answer be your guide.