I was recently accepted into several of my top colleges (UCSD, for example). However, the aid offers from some of my universities have been less than ideal.
As such, I find myself in a desperate situation. My family cannot afford sending me to the U.S. with the current aid options. I have yet to hear from a few more colleges, and I hope for the best but I must prepare for the worst.
Any other international students or people with experience/knowledge on the matter: what can I do to afford attending the next 4 years at an American university? I understand that private, non-federal loans are available; however, my parents are extremely apprehensive about considering this as an option. Would you have any information that could help them gain confidence about taking loans?
I thank you all in advance! I hope for the best for all other applicants as well!
Your parents are right to be apprehensive. What kind of amount are you talking about? Taking out loans for thousands of dollars, or tens of thousands? Can they afford to repay the loans without jeopardizing their current/future financial situation? Would they even qualify? What kind of options do you have in your own country? What about options in other English-speaking countries?
The general opinion on this site - and among many Americans - is that it is foolish to go deeply into debt to pay for an undergraduate degree. Many American students decide to go to the lesser-known university that gives them a lot of aid than to a better-known school that would put them into debt.
That said, no one here can tell you whether debt makes sense for you and your family. That’s a very individual decision based on many factors.
Hi @katliamom, thank you for the quick reply! Indeed, it’d have to be in the tens of thousands. I’m not certain of the details surrounding a loan repayment, but if the package is reasonable and spread out over a number of years then I believe it’s doable.
Pakistan, unfortunately, doesn’t offer any financial assistance to students wishing to study abroad. Canada may be an option, but I’m afraid it’s too late to apply for this year (thankfully, they don’t mind productive break years - but I hope it does not come to that).
I’m still hoping I make it into one of the few schools that I’ll be hearing from in the coming few days. It’s unfortunate finances have to be such a terrible issue. But once again, thank you!
First, check whether anyone will loan your parents such a sum of money. Odds are, it won’t be American banks! Thousands of dollars spread over a number of years is still A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY. How will your parents/you pay it back seeing as you most likely will have to return to Pakistan after your studies?
Most colleges and universities here do not give good financial aid to international students. If the places where you have been accepted aren’t affordable, then stop even considering them. You need to be able to demonstrate that you can pay for your education or you will not get a student visa.
It is very tough to discover that you can’t afford something that you have fallen in love with.
I am especially sorry that you don’t seem to have gotten good advice about your application strategy. From your other threads it looks as if a lot of your ‘top choice’ colleges either offer little or no aid to international students (or aid only through a small number of highly competitive named scholarships) or for which you are not a very strong applicant (for good merit aid the general suggestion is to be in the top 10-20% of the grades/test scores for accepted students, but for most of the ones that I saw you were in the middle 50% or in some cases even lower).
Borrowing tens of thousands of dollars- per year is an exceptionally bad idea- even if you can find somebody to lend it to you. You are unlikely to be able to stay in the US and work, so will most likely be back in Pakistan, paying back loans on local wages.
As for finding a way to afford college in the US, go back and look at the colleges that you have yet to hear from: are the fees for any of them low enough that you can afford to go there? if not, do any of them promise to meet need for international students? if not, what is the maximum merit aid available- and are your grades & test scores in the top 10-20% of admitted students?
Hi, @collegemom3717, thank you for your kind response @happymomof1, @katiamom: we might be considering a nonfederal loan for the first year to cover some of the expenses. It’s a doable amount, so we’re happy about that. After that, I’ll be pursuing inschool and outside scholarships to support myself for the next 3 years.
UCSD will cost you $55k per year which is $240,000 for four years. Repayment will probably take you decades (20 to 30 years) not a few years. It is a California public school which provides no financial aid nor scholarships to nonresidents since funding comes from California taxpayers.
Taking out loans, if you were able to find someone to lend that amount, is ridiculous and not worth the struggle.
You are not eligible for US federal loans and you won’t be eligible to work in the US, either during school nor after your graduation. So the question is, how will your parents repay those loans in Pakistan? You won’t be immigrated just because you were admitted to a US university; you’ll return to your country after your studies.
@“aunt bea” The part about not being able to work in the US after studies is not right. He/she have the right to do OPT in USA and extend that period if he/she graduated with an stem field major. And getting an H1-B after OPT isnt really impossible. And F1 students are eligible to work on campus a certain amount of hours so that is also false that he/she cant work while studying.
Actually @Stroem, it IS difficult to stay in the US after the OPT. And the current political climate, including anti-immigrant sentiments, will likely make it even more difficult in the future. Only a few STEM fields - certain fields in engineering, computer science - lend themselves to easy post-OPT opportunities. A foreign student can only work 20 hours on campus, usually for $8-$10/hour. That will not make a difference to the student needing tens of thousands.
" After that, I’ll be pursuing inschool and outside scholarships to support myself for the next 3 years."
Those are not going to be easy to get, and they aren’t likely to help pay much at all. What will you do if you can’t come up with the money after your first year?
@katliamom I have seen Aunt Bea on this forum alot and i dont doubt that she know what she is talking about. But still, in this case she gave some completely false information. And yeah i dont see any way that @WaywardVagabond could afford this college, look into transfer options form CCC.
Also, recommending transfer options is naive: there is even less financial aid for transfer students than there is for regular students, so OP would be on the line for a good $80,000+ for the final two years. Not to mention that a CCC would cost over $20,000/year as well. You’re still looking at a $200K Bachelor’s degree.
OP, your best bet is to take a gap year, and apply for the following academic year to schools much more likely to offer you significant financial aid. That does not include any University of California campuses, unless perhaps you’re a top student in all of Pakistan/Northern India…
In fact, all international students must be aware that the University of California - the entire system - has voted to cut all need-based financial aid to out-of-state students. There is now only (highly competitive) merit aid for those who are not California residents.
Yes, I can. Plenty information on this site alone. I linked an article for you as an example of how inaccurate you were. Please do some real research before you speak out, not cite some anecdotal evidence that pertains to a tiny fraction of international students pursuing degrees in the U.S.
Pfft. Being allowed to do OPT in the USA is inaccurate? being able to work on campus a certain amount of hours is inaccurate?
i didn’t say everyone receives an H1-B after OPT but i said that it wasn’t impossible to receive one. Now of course you wont be given one if you major in hospitality. I am talking about the engineering majors excluding aerospace.
There isn’t a lot of help for international students from public universities in California for the UNDERgraduate level. This is a fact. Going into enormous debt for an undergraduate degree is not a good idea unless your circumstances are terrible where you live, in which case you may do better as a refugee. If you can get a BA where you are, you may be able to get in as a graduate student, when some PhD programs are fully funded for the best of the best accepted applicants. Yes, they are, generally, open to Internationals in this way. Or find a small college that has a tailor-made program for your circumstances which includes full funding. (This will involve not only research, but even paying for the services of grant hunters, some of which are not on the up-and-up)
Yes, it’s hard without money and legal status. Some European countries are much more open to you and your educational goals.
Is Pakistan government going to provide any aids? I know some countries provide scholarships for study abroad students.
Also, as many, many posters have suggested, undergraduate debt is never worth it.
And @Stroem just because she made a tad bit exaggerated, extraneous statement doesn’t mean you can point out how “completely BS” it is. We already know what she meant by that.
