<p>I'm an international student trying to find good universities in the United States which offer computer science and I'm a little confused about how to go about. I was hoping to get some help making a shortlist of extremely affordable Universities based on the following criteria in order of descending priority
1) Affordability/ Ease of availing financial aid, grants, scholarships etc.
2)Quality of education/ Opportunities to take a practical approach to education (Internships, research projects etc.)
3) Employment rate/ Employer reputation
4)Flexibility in choosing and combining various interdisciplinary studies.
Thanks in advance. </p>
<p>Please be aware that the number of US schools that provide financial aid to international applicants is quite small and when they do it’s usually to a very small, select group of very high-performing applicants.</p>
<p>Stony Brook University is a relatively good university for a low cost. It is strong in the sciences. If I remember correctly it is approximately 30 K a year for internationals. I’d also recommend looking under the “financial aid and scholarships” tab on the right side. They have stickied threads with some good recommendations for international students in terms of aid.</p>
<p>How low is “low cost”?</p>
<p>There are some sticky threads at the top of the financial aid and scholarships forum section. One lists colleges with low list prices. Two others list colleges with automatic and competitive full tuition or better merit scholarships (although you then need to check whether international students are eligible for them).</p>
<p>@soze @shawnspencer @ucbalumnus, thanks you for the info. I’ll check those threads out.</p>
<p>Additionally, don’t assume you will find a job after graduation. It is very difficult to do.</p>
<p>“Employment rate/ Employer reputation”</p>
<p>Do not expect to find a permanent job here. Yes, you can work for a certain amount of time with the OPT extension on your student visa. And Yes, Comp Sci and Engineering graduates do occasionally find H1B (work) visa sponsors after the OPT expires. But most don’t. All but a very small number have to leave the US when the OPT expires. Plan on doing that. The only reputation that matters to you is what employers in your home country think of the university that you attend here. It is almost certain that you will be headed home.</p>
<p>As the previous person said, you should plan to go back to your country after your studies. The US is very harsh with intls who want to stay. You have to convince the visa officer in your interview that you will go back.
Anyway, time to answer your question.
You should state your preferences regarding college (Big city, suburban, or rural? Big or small college? Public or private? Co-ed or not?) and your stats (GPA, SAT/ACT scores specifically).
The most affordable, but at the same time excellent college I can think of is Brigham Young. It has a great computer science program for undergraduates. However, it’s a mormon school. I’m not sure if there’s a huge mormon population, or even a significant one, or if this impacts the college experience, but it is a good thing to know before considering it. The total COA (cost of attendance) including room and board, fees, and all expenses is less than 20,000$, around 17,000$ if I’m correct. I think tuition is only 4,850$, and you may even get a scholarship if you have great stats.
But then again, if you’re a 4.0 2400 guy, and have great financial need, Harvard could be affordable to you.</p>
<p>Low cost? like how much???</p>
<p>University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa is also a great school that gives a great aid to int kids.(if you think a rank is important, its like top 5% among state universities…its rank is 36th and there are about 626 4 year accredited state universities) </p>
<p>It has an OOS full tuitino scholarship(about 100000$) that is also given AUTOMATICALLY to INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. </p>
<p>Only thing you need is a simple essay that’s easy to write, 3.5+ GPA, 1400 Math+Critical reading SAT score in ONE sitting. Superscore doesn’t count.</p>
<p>If you get full tuition, assuming you get in cheap dormitory, your COA will be around 12000 I think(if you are not staying in school during summer). Beside, you can use a payment plan which enables you to pay monthly for ten months.</p>