<p>Poor internationals should apply to schools like BYU. BYU is dirt cheap.
[BYU</a> announces tuition increase for 2011-2012](<a href=“http://news.byu.edu/archive10-oct-tuition.aspx]BYU”>http://news.byu.edu/archive10-oct-tuition.aspx)</p>
<p>…I am exceedingly bemused by all the aggression in this thread. As far as I can tell, it’s not like OP was saying “pay for my education, loserz!!1!” S/he’s just asking how s/he can cover the gap; that sounds perfectly legit to me.</p>
<p>To answer your question, OP, my parents are willing to cover the COA, for which I am thankful. The school did give me a small (seriously, miniscule) scholarship, but other than that it’s parent-funded. The comments given by others are mostly constructive (when they’re not going all raeg! for some unknown reason); it’s true that it’s probably going to be a pain to pay for school. Are you sure that college in your native country isn’t an option? If you’re really determined, as far as I can tell you have two options: 1) take loans if you have a co-signer. 2) go to community college and then transfer.</p>
<p>Also, and this won’t do much other than shave off a couple thousand, you could always try employment at your college? I think internationals are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week on campus. It’s not going to help much in the long run, though.</p>
<p>You could attend a community college as an out-of-state student.</p>
<p>For example, something like Queensborough Community College.</p>
<p><a href=“404 Page Not Found”>404 Page Not Found;
<p>Full time tuition for an out-of-state student is $6,600 per year.</p>
<p>A room to rent in the general area can be found for maybe $800 a month.</p>
<p>If you also get an on-campus job, it would be very doable.</p>
<p>And as I always mention Berea College. If an international (or anyone else, for that matter) is truly poor, it has an amazing program:</p>
<p>[Costs</a> and Financial Aid for International Students | International Students : Admissions - Berea College](<a href=“http://www.berea.edu/admissions/international/costs-and-financial-aid.asp]Costs”>http://www.berea.edu/admissions/international/costs-and-financial-aid.asp)</p>
<p>My kids all have generous grants at good schools. But that isn’t how <em>I</em> got my undergraduate degree…</p>
<p>I attended community college part-time while raising a family. I transferred to a SUNY, then was widowed, and studied part-time while still raising my family, and also working full-time.</p>
<p>So that’s why I try very hard to give real alternatives to those looking for options (whether international or not). Amherst and Harvard are not realistic alternatives for most of us. The bigger names should be one avenue to pursue, but there really are financial safeties for even the poorest among us.</p>
<p>Moneyp, even US students have the same quandry, though not as acutely as there are more venues available for them. But we have a cousin who is hurting because he would love to go away for college, but the finances don’t make it possible. Too much money for PELL, too little to pay for sleep away school. I had to put a dollar limit on my kids’ choices. And these kids are the lucky ones since they had some options, but they are often not the ones they most wanted.</p>
<p>Reality check on Berea: they only accept one student from each country per year, so, in a sense, they are as hard to get into as any top schools for international.</p>
<p>^^^Given the number of applicants, the odds are still statistically better than Amherst, especially if he or she isn’t a “top” student.</p>
<p>You could do what one lady I know did. She is an international student. She worked full-time as a nanny and went to the local community college (BTW, international pay out of county rates). When she graduated, the transferred to a local state college. So, by working full time, she was able to ultimately graduate from a 4 year school without any debt or any help from her parents. </p>
<p>It can be done but it’s not easy. Then again, it’s not easy for US students who are going through college with little or no help from their parents.</p>
<p>Here is something…</p>
<p>Some (not all) of the Community Colleges of Mississippi have dorms and they are really inexpensive for either in state or out of state students and so I would safely assume they would be rather inexpensive for international students as well. </p>
<p>…just putting that out there</p>
<p>I think that what sometimes just really messes up folks from other countries who would like to come here to study at University is the ‘Affidavit of Support’ thing. I mean, you have to really have a fair amount of bucks in the bank and all of that, but I reckon most international students know it.</p>
<p>Bookeader,</p>
<p>The nanny you knew could not have been here on a student visa if she was working full time. That would have been in violation of immigration law. There are certain visas that allow people to work in the US as nannies for a year or two and to take one or two classes in their free time. Perhaps that is how she started out.</p>
<p>except for the fact that technically makes her illegal and eligible for deportation. the F-1 visa prohibits students from working</p>
<p>I have a better question, How the hell do middle income American students pay for college in their own country?</p>
<p>Ah, another phoenix thread…the OP has likely found her way by now.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>See post 25…it’s worked for many.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There is a polite way of asking for advice and there is the rough way of asking for advice. When you ask the questions in this way</p>
<p>**How the hell do poor international students pay for college **</p>
<p>people do get irritated. It sounds like the OP is whining and complaining about not getting education given to him/her free on a silver platter. It may not be what the OP means, but that is how it sounds.</p>
<p>Nobody asks you to pay for his/her college education. In fact, despite your poor attempts to blame international students on this matter, the reason why domestic students can’t get enough aid is simply your government’s ineptitude.International students pay twice and in some states, like California, three times more tuition than domestic students. So their money is the reason your kid is still able to pay for college.
Ignorant confidence is such a turn off…</p>
<p>I cannot see the point why people being hostile to this kid, especially all he/she asks is some experienced guidance.</p>
<p>College is paid for by savings, current income & loans.
If the above doesn’t add up to cost of attendance, then it’s time to look for a less expensive school.</p>
<p>"Nobody asks you to pay for his/her college education. In fact, despite your poor attempts to blame international students on this matter, the reason why domestic students can’t get enough aid is simply your government’s ineptitude.International students pay twice and in some states, like California, three times more tuition than domestic students. So their money is the reason your kid is still able to pay for college.
Ignorant confidence is such a turn off…</p>
<p>I cannot see the point why people being hostile to this kid, especially all he/she asks is some experienced guidance"</p>
<p>I completely agree.</p>
<p>Many times international students are surprised at the cost of college in the U.S. because in most industrialized countries, education is WAY cheaper. I totally understand where he is coming from. This has to do with a culture difference. Being from Switzerland, I was used to have access to education for nearly free my entire life, so it was weird to see the cost of education here at first. Nonetheless, that’s just how it is.</p>
<p>However, being surprised at U.S education cost does NOT reflect a sense of entitlement. It just reflects the cultural difference when it comes to education between the U.S and certain other nations. I personally think that the government could afford to give way more aid to students if they chose to, but well if they’d rather spend money on some stupid war that’s their choice I guess. </p>
<p>The fact is if you can’t afford a certain school, you may want to look into other options like going to a community college for example. Then you can transfer to a university and it will save you a decent amount of money. State schools are also a good option as they are often cheaper. OP I would suggest you do some research and you can probably find a school that is more affordable for you. If you can, you can also work while going to school to help pay for the costs.</p>
<p>Good luck :)</p>
<p>This thread is a year old. The person above bumped this thread solely to bash other posters.</p>
<p>By the way, the reason people jumped on the OP was because his/her original question was not worded nearly as nicely as it now is.</p>