<p>Hi</p>
<p>I'm going to apply for graduate admission to US universities for fall next year. I graduated in electrical engineering with a GPA of 3.35 from a Pakistani university (the best on the country). I have a really good research experience (i have an accepted conference paper, and a few in the pipeline), as well as good recommendations. I'm also expecting fairly good GRE and TOEFL scores. I didn't take any loans for my UG education. </p>
<p>I wanted to ask which universities should i apply to (like which rank from a site like US News)? Say i get admission into these universities that have a COA of about $50k/yr. Should i pay this all with loans? (I'm a US citizen and not a resident of any state, but my family wont be able to pay like more than $6k/yr for me). It would be like taking a MS degree with a $100k + interest debt! I know that there aren't much TA/RA opportunities available for MS students, but i cant get into a PhD program because of my low UG GPA. I wanna go to a really good university like dartmouth or UC davis! So what should I do?( i'm more concerned about the financial thingy!</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>A 3.35 is low for PhD programs, but I’m not sure how that converts to the U.S. scale. Most top PhD programs are going to expect a 3.5-3.6+</p>
<p>PhD programs in the United States will offer you a full funding package if you are admitted. Full funding means that in addition to covering your tuition and fees, including health insurance, the university typically awards you a stipend on which to live. The stipend is probably between $25,000 to $35,000 in engineering.</p>
<p>There are some funded MS programs in engineering, so you may want to look for that. However, I think it is unlikely that you will find any university that will cost you and your family less than $6,000 a year for an MS in the States. Even a public university will cost you at least $25,000 a year in tuition alone as an international student.</p>
<p>If you have really good research experience, high GRE scores and an otherwise excellent profile, I would try to apply for PhD admissions anyway and see what happens. If you don’t get in anywhere, one of the other ways you can boost your application profile is by getting a research-related job in engineering for 2-3 years. You also may consider earning an MS in engineering in your home country first.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply</p>
<p>well I calculated for some universities…it’ll cost like $33k per year for a normal graduate degree if you’re an out of state student…so I wanted to ask if I take the maximum amount of the Stafford loan ($20k per year), thats like a $40k loan, + interest for 2 years, will this be a good decision? How much do most MS students take as loans towards their degree?</p>
<p>I’m not an international student, so i can take out loans…Also, i can work in the summer right?</p>
<p>Yes, as a US citizen you can get Stafford Loans for $20k/yr. If you are employed by the university as research or teaching assistant your tuition will be waived and you will get a paycheck besides. If not, they have usually have no authority to prevent you from working at ANY time, and little to no interest in finding out even if they do.</p>
<p>As a general rule, I do not advise people to pay ANYTHING for graduate degrees in engineering. If you do not get a funded offer, the better route is to find a job where they will pay for the degree.</p>