<p>I mean...is there any one out here who payed his college expenses by himself...or knows someone who worked his butt of to study and work at the same time...</p>
<p>i got a decent scholarship and my tuition fee comes down to bout 2500 per year...but theres living expense and all and it add ups to about $16000 a year....and i'm an international student so no i don't qualify for fafsa and other financial aids...</p>
<p>i'm wondering if there is anyone who's been there and done it and can give my some insight on this matter....</p>
<p>I know many, many folks who worked their way through college. You have to remember that the typical college student is not an 18-21 year old at sleep away school. The typical college student lives at home and is in his/her 20’s, works part time, goes to school part time, usually to a local state school. This scenario exists all around me. SUNY tuition is very reasonable. A full PeLL would cover it, and with NY TAP funds, federal Staffords, kids can commute and got to community college, local state schools, or even private schools, even if they are low income. The trick would be commuting if you live in the suburbs, but there is good transportation into NYC where there are many possibilities. </p>
<p>Others who have made enough money at their jobs to afford their own place, may go to school part time and work full time, going to school all year. Some employers will help out with this as well. That is more difficult. </p>
<p>Many folks work their entire way through school.</p>
<p>But, I see that you are an international student. In your case, you are supposed to have your expenses covered before coming here, In fact, that is the condition under which your student visa was issued exactly so you don’t end up in this predicament. Our system is NOT set up for international students to come here and work their way through college. Do you even have a work visa? Those international students I know who do this with partial scholarship live with family members in the US, an aunt, or grandmother, sister, uncle, friend of the family.</p>
<p>There are restrictions on how much and where an international student can work. Assuming you are on F1, you can only work on campus and not more than 20 hours and you need to keep a full load. You are not eligible for work study, so those jobs may not be available. Keep that in mind when you make your plans.</p>
<p>I suppose it depends on where you go to school. My D goes to school in NYC, and has held a p/t job for 3 years (working more like f/t during breaks and summer, staying there rather than coming “home”). She does it. Without being supplemented.</p>
<p>As noted…to bet your visa to study here you will need to demonstrate that you HAVE the money for one year’s worth of study already available…this can include financial aid, and aleady approved loans.</p>
<p>My personal opinion…it will be very difficult for you to work enough hours to earn $16,000 a year while going to college full time. You would need a high paying job and a bunch of hours a week to do so. And as noted…there are limitations on the kind of work you can do depending on your status as an international student.</p>
<p>i got a decent scholarship and my tuition fee comes down to bout 2500 per year…but theres living expense and all and it add ups to about $16000 a year…and i’m an international student so no i don’t qualify for fafsa and other financial aids…</p>
<p>As mentioned above, you will have to demonstrate that you have the funding before you’re given your visa.</p>
<p>And, as an int’l, it’s highly doubtful that you would be allowed to have the kind of job where you would earn $16k per year (after taxes!!!), since intl’s are very limited as to what kind of work they can do.</p>
<p>I would say there is almost no way you can simultaneously earn $16k on part time jobs while attending school, especially as an international student.</p>
<p>hmm…the situation is too complicated to explain … </p>
<p>but heres the thing
its not like i’m totally broke…my parents do have me backed up for the first year…without taking loans yet…we also have assets here that could be used to pay for my education
and i do have several uncles, aunts, and cousins in usa (no grandma tho) and they are willing to help </p>
<p>i just don’t want my parents to dig any deeper into their savings and take more loans or borrow more money from relatives …so i’m trying to figure out if going to usa will be a wise decision right now…</p>
<p>its not like i’m going to harvard…just a state university…so i don’t know if its worth investing so much money…then… the education is still better than any university in our country…so i’m confused…</p>
<p>one last thing…
is there a possibility the living expense will be less than it seems?
like…for meals they estimated $3,235 per year …but general notion is we eat less than ppl in usa and transportation is $4,808…maybe i won’t need as much?
and if i live off-campus with someone…maybe that’ll cut down the cost too…?</p>
<p>Without knowing your university location, it is very hard to tell you about th costs of housing. You might also check university policies…some REQUIRE freshmen to live on campus. </p>
<p>Both of my kids went to colleges where off campus rentals really didn’t save a huge amount of money. They were in expensive urban areas…where rents were high and food costs were high also. It IS possible to save money living off campus at some colleges. At others, it’s not easy to do…all depends on the location.</p>
<p>You need to work out a budget of what you think it will cost you to live off campus. Remember it’s rent, utilities (yes…you’ll have to probably pay for your own heat, hot water, cable, electricity), food and any local transportation (bus, subway or whatever) in the event your off campus housing isn’t right next to the college. Once you have a guestimate of that amount, figure out how many hours a week you would have to CONSISTENTLY work to earn the amount necessary to pay these bills. Remember to deduct taxes from your earnings…it won’t be your gross income you will receive…it will be net…minus deductions required by your employer. I would suggest you use $8.00 an hour…it’s near minimum wage.</p>
<p>Then also factor in that you won’t be there during some breaks (and therefore won’t earn money). Figure out (per your visa status) how many hours you are ALLOWED to work per week. You may find that you simply cannot work that number of hours you need. AND lastly remember you will need to find a flexible employer with regard to your hours. Your schedule will not be the same every term…and some employers will work with you and others simply will expect you to be available when THEY need you.</p>
<p>My DD had the highest paying job on her campus for the last four years (seriously) for students. She was able to work about 10-15 hours a week. There is NO WAY she could have covered all of her living expenses for her off campus housing. She needed about $900 a month for everything after taxes.</p>
<p>It’s entirely possible to spend less than the estimated amounts! For housing, you’d have to find a place to live and a roommate - it might be better to live on campus for at least the first semester until you know the area (unless your relatives are nearby and can help). State u’s don’t usually require students to live on campus, but check their website and also the terms of your scholarship as I have seen some that require on campus housing. Meal plans for freshmen are often restricted to a few choices, again it’s best to check their website, but usually include a lower cost option. Transportation, personal expenses, and books/supplies are within your control and depend on your travel plans, lifestyle, and shopping habits!</p>
<p>You have a total expense of $16000 in living and $2500 in fees. Assuming a very aggressive saving on living expenses of 20%, you are still looking at $13800 in living costs. To this you add say $700 for travel to your home country (it could be much higher, especially if you want to visit more than once a year), you are now looking at an minimum expense of say $16000 ($13800 for living $700 for travel and $2500 in fees). If you can earn on campus $4000, you are looking at minimum parental contribution of $12000. Assuming fees increase (OOS students generally get it first), over 4 years you are looking at a minimum of $55,000. Do not miraculously assume that you will get a full ride in the next three years, unless you have some actual commitment.</p>
<p>This is the best case scenario, and in my opinion not very realistic. Normally, I think you can save about 5 to 10% of COA, not 20%. COA is based on average costs, not the highest costs, so your margin to play with is limited. I think you should be planning for an out of pocket (parental cost) of at least $16,000 for the first year, assuming you can earn the rest. Over 4 years, you should plan for $70,000. Also, this does not include summer expenses if you stay on to take summer classes.</p>
<p>You have not shared the school you want to join, your major, your home country options (which school would you go to in your home country and some foreign have very good schools, comparable to this state university). Based on the limited information, I would not advise you to pay this amount but could change my mind if you provide other information.</p>
<p>A friend of mine is at Michigan State and his parents require him to pay room and board (~10,000 a year)
He successfullly paid it off last year with about 5,000 to spare. He worked part time at a campus bookstore.
So, yes I would it is possible.</p>
<p>Stargazer, yes, you can cut down on a lot of the costs by eating cheaply, preparing all of your food, finding a cheap room, and most of all by living for free with a relative or friend of the family and commuting. We hosted a student who was a child of a dear old friend of mine who desperately wanted to go to the School of Visual Arts in NYC. With loans, a tiny grant and family money, NYC was still not doable. But living with us and buying a train and MTA pass in lieu of rent, eating with us when needed, the young man was able to get through that year. I believe he did find a part time job as well that morphed into a full time job and he ended up going to school part time, working full time but with his own place in the city. We were just the springboard for him. But he is American and is permitted to work. The limitation is what kind of work you can find and what you are allowed to work and earn in the US on a student visa. </p>
<p>The only way to find out for sure is to go there that first year and see what you can find. My friend’s son got free room and partial board being a residents hall counselor. He also worked a few key shifts at the cafeteria to get most of his meals for free. My son has great hopes that he will be saving a lot of money next year in an apartment (that remains to be seen) and is optimistic about what he will be making in the job he has for the upcoming school year that pays pretty well. I hope this works out for him as we took a beating last year in costs with the COA increase and the loss of the one outside scholarship that was for one year only.</p>
<p>Wow: If he earned $15000 in 9 months, he worked about 160 hours a month assuming a rate of $10 per hour. If he earned about $12.5 per hour (which is high), it is still about 130 hours a month. This is almost full time employment, not part time. International students are not allowed to work more than 20 hours a week during the school year (this is a condition of the visa), so the maximum he can work is about 80 hours. Also, how much of this $15000 was earned in summer? </p>
<p>Remember this is an international student on a F1 visa, not a US student. Also most campus jobs are the $8-9 range.</p>
<p>You’ll hear all kinds of legends. Many are “fish” stories. It is possible if you can get a position with the uni giving you a break on room and/or board in addition to pay, get a really cheap room. My son was paying $60/month for a room in a house one year. Of course he was in the middle of the battle ground of gang wars and ended up with a broken jaw that cost us more than what he saved us in rent, but yes, he did find a cheap room.</p>
<p>Another way to make a lot of money is if you have a special skill that is desired and you tutor. I earned extra money tutoring when I was first out of college. My friend’s kids with high SATs tutor SAT. Swim lessons or individual “coaching” can also bring in a lot of money. I know that moms here will hire college athletes to help out their kids’ skills in a sport and the hourly rate is not low. Also, I suspect some of that money does not get reported anywhere. Baby sitting, childcare, semi au paar status can also bring in money.</p>
<p>and sorry for not mentioning the details…
well i applied for civil engineering in MS…and i’m from bangladesh </p>
<p>universities here don’t have very good research facilities…the only one that is actually good is BUET…but the problem is, i was educated in a “American system” school…while that university follows the British system…and its going to be kind of difficult to get admission there because of the difference in curriculum</p>
<p>the only other good school is a business school…which is really cheap and once u graduate u can get a pretty high salary… pragmatic thinking tells me that’s where i should go…but then I’m more of a science person </p>
<p>the last option is to go to a private universities…which are affordable…but ppl don’t have very high opinions of these universities so its hard to find a job once u graduate</p>
<p>…all universities here start their admission in October…whereas my classes in MS begin in Aug 18 …so i can’t wait to take the admission tests here</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>it seems like its too late to turn back
so I’m thinking about doing what cptofthehouse is saying…going there for the first year and see if it works out</p>
<p>A friend of mine is at Michigan State and his parents require him to pay room and board (~10,000 a year). He successfullly paid it off last year with about 5,000 to spare. He worked part time at a campus bookstore.
So, yes I would it is possible.</p>
<p>This is an international student. They aren’t allowed to work most jobs. They may only be allowed to work low-paying campus jobs.</p>
<p>^^^^ International students can work in the campus bookstore as it considered as a part of the school. However, it is still a low paying campus job, there are not going to be paying very much. </p>
<p>As I had pointed out in a earlier post, to earn that kind of money, the student should be working near full time (130-160 hours) and International students are not allowed to work for more than 20 hours a week during the school year. So that takes it out of the picture.</p>