<p>I'm hoping that I will be able to get some decent scholarships from schools. Is this possible? I can afford $30K/year ($40K for the first year), but I will have to pay for tuition along the way as I alternate co-op work with school. I'm also hoping that I will be able to apply for RA in the dorms, because you get free housing for this right? So bottom line is, the cheaper the better. </p>
<p>** Please suggest: **</p>
<ul>
<li>Schools that offer scholarships </li>
<li>Cheap schools or those public schools with tuition waiver programs (i.e. Georgia Tech)</li>
<li>Schools with strong co-op programs</li>
</ul>
How much can you afford without additional income?</p>
<p>You probably already know this, but I would like to point out that there are visa restrictions to the amount of co-cops you can pursue. Off-campus employment is limited to jobs during breaks and co-ops that are required for your degree. For example, you cannot elect to take a semester off to earn money unless it is required for your degree.</p>
<p>
Sometimes but not always. At my own college RAs are paid $2,000 a year, with room and board at $12,000 (meal plans are mandatory for on-campus residents).</p>
<p>Cheap with outstanding academics: Brigham Young</p>
<p>Do not enroll at Georgia Tech expecting to get a tuition waiver after your first year. The criteria for the tuition waiver explicitly states “Extreme financial need based on emergency or unforeseen circumstances.” The application requires documentation of a change in financial circumstances. If you know in advance that you wouldn’t be able to afford the education, you might not qualify for a waiver.</p>
<p>The University of Minnesota - Twin Cities has a comparatively low cost for out of state/international students. Their Institute of Technology is excellent. I am guessing that for the next year, you could have tuition, room and board, and fees for less than $25,000.
[Prospective</a> IT Students](<a href=“http://it.umn.edu/prospective/index.html]Prospective”>http://it.umn.edu/prospective/index.html)</p>
<p>apply to Ivies+Stanford+MIT+some other top schools. They will give you as much money as you will need if your EC`s and essays are as good as your SAT. But the majority of reach schools do require subject tests… why not to take them?</p>
<p>job opportunities for F-1 holders are pretty lame so you are unlikely to make a substantial sum unless you do some freelance which is sort of illegal in our case.</p>
<p>@barium: Yeah, there are restrictions. But for co-ops done throughout the years of study, which will count as CPT work, you can exceed 1 year of work. Then after that, you can’t apply for OPT work or extensions. And since I’m going into engineering, most schools DO require work experience in the curriculum. I’ve seen some sample schedules, and usually students complete 5~ co-ops. </p>
<p>Okay I must’ve missed that in GT Thanks for pointing it out.</p>
<p>@twomules - U MN is on my list, but I’m not sure yet if I want to go there because it’s freezing there! </p>
<p>@ukrainian - I won’t take subject tests because of financial reasons. Application fees alone build up, and so will sending scores to colleges. There are great engineering schools (though they are mostly public schools) that don’t even require subject tests Do you have suggested “top” schools I can apply to?</p>
<p>Wait, how come fees for subject tests present a burden while you can afford $30k/yr? I just can’t get it. Anyway, solid schools do require subject tests. You can apply, however, to state schools - they are quite cheap and given your financial resources, you might not need any scholarships to afford most of them. Go through some rankings and see how the public institutions stand there and take your pick. Good luck!</p>
Thanks for pointing it out.</p>
Do you have suggested “top” schools I can apply to?</p>