I’m an international student who applied to colleges as an engineering major (mostly mechanical), but as the cost became a big issue, I don’t know what school to really choose.
For a brief insight of myself, I want to work as an engineer in IT hubs, and I am considering UW, UCSD, and Cal Poly SLO. To make it easier to see, I will lay out some characteristics of each college.
University of Washington (College of Engineering)
Cost: ~$50,000 for me
City: Seattle
Admitted major: Engineering Undeclared (I would love to major EE or CE, if applicable)
Note:
The campus buildings look SICK
I want to live in Seattle at some point in my life. Seattle is also a big IT hub, so the job opportunity would be good.
There is no guarantee I can major in CE or CS since I am not admitted to Paul G. Allen.
If everything goes well, I will have a debt of about $80,000 after graduating
The University of California, San Diego (Muir College)
Cost: ~$60,000 for me
City: La Jolla
Admitted major: Mechanical Engineering w/ specialization in robotics
Note:
Objectively, UCSD was the most difficult college I got accepted to.
Among the colleges I got accepted to, UCSD is placed on objectively the highest ranking for engineering.
While UCSD is a terrific school for engineering in general, I heard that it is extremely competitive to study (although, I don’t know what exactly that means).
The campus looks beautiful, but I’m not particularly a fan of beaches.
I heard there are lots of research opportunities, but I don’t know if that applies to ME/EE/CE majors. I only know that UCSD has a top-notch program for bioengineering.
If everything goes well, I will have a debt of about $120,000 after graduating.
California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (College of Engineering)
Cost: ~$42,000 for me
City: San Luis Obispo
Admitted major: Mechanical Engineering (more flexible to change majors within the college of engineering)
Note:
As the school is more career-oriented than being a research institute, my chance of finding a stable job upon graduation is higher.
But since Cal Poly is not a research-oriented school, I don’t know if graduating from Cal Poly would help me a lot if I consider going to a graduate school.
The campus looks beautiful, and I like the city vibe, albeit San Luis Obispo is not a large city.
The “prestige” of Cal Poly is not as good as the other two schools, although that’s primarily because Cal Poly is not a research school (meaning it has lower rankings compared to the actual quality of its programs)
If everything goes well, I will have a debt of about $50,000 after graduating, which means that going to Cal Poly is the cheapest option for me.
In short, my brain says it would be better to go to Cal Poly, but my heart says UW… Can someone with lots of life experiences help me decide which school will be most suitable for me?
A debt of $120,000 would be insane. I would just forget about UCSD.
Considering the other two, are you certain that you would be able to borrow even the $50,000 that is needed for Cal Poly? You do not want to get part way through your degree and discover that you cannot afford to finish your degree.
Do you have any affordable choices in your home country? What country are you from?
Both Cal Poly and UW are very good. However, I would be very nervous about taking on even $50,000 in debt. Also, do not expect to stay in the US after graduation. Normally international students are required to return to their home countries once they graduate.
Also, it is not clear to me whether your employment chances in your home country would be better with a degree from Cal Poly versus a degree from a university in your home country.
Yeah, I can “pay” both Cal Poly and UW’s cost of attendance, but it’s just that I will have to pay them back upon my graduation (I am borrowing money from my parents and relatives). I am an international student from South Korea, and unfortunately, all of my options in Korea are very limited and unviable.
When you say “do not expect to stay in the US after graduation,” are you saying that it is almost impossible to get an H-1 Visa by getting a job? As far as I know, there is no policy that requires South Korean international students to return after graduation. Also, I have no intention of going back to my home country for getting a job; my plan is to get a job in the US after graduating from college.
You need an H-1B visa for a job in the US, and those are awarded by lottery. In 2019, people who applied had about a 1/3 chance of being awarded a visa. A potential employer has to be willing to sponsor you for one of these.
If you don’t win one, there’s also a training-type visa you can get to extend your stay for a year or two after graduation. Most students who are granted this type of visa often are trying to stay in the country to get more chances at an H-1B visa.
Let’s be clear: Relying on H1B without a graduate degree is a bit risky. You will have 12 months of OPT on your F1 after you graduate. If your graduation coincides with an economic slump, it will be even riskier. Bottom line, you’re probably looking at getting an MS after graduation (which is a great option). Many universities support MS students financially (and waive their tuition) because they make good teaching assistants. So you’ll be looking at six years of school before you can start paying your family back. This has the added benefit that you may start at Cal Poly (cheaper by your numbers), use some F1 CPT to put research under your belt at some other university during summer, and then apply to grad school to a top school (like UW or UCSD).
No luck with SNU, KAIST, POSTECH, etc? BTW, kudos to you for being willing to jump continents in pursuit of your ambitions; that’s pretty courageous.
Unfortunately, no… I guess I was not considered to be smart enough for their standards.
Is going to a graduate school from Cal Poly just as easy as going to a graduate school from UW? I wasn’t sure if picking Cal Poly over UW would be advantageous for going to a graduate school since Cal Poly is not really a research school.
Also, I got waitlisted at Berkeley, but do you think it’s worth to pay a similar cost of attendance as UCSD for Berkeley, in case I get it?
Cal Poly is an excellent choice, likely to lead to OPT (3 year work permit for STEM graduates) if you can manage to find internships (2 months full time would be cut from OPT but still worth it).
Only you can actually answer that question. Clearly, a Berkeley undergraduate degree in CS (with a strong GPA) carries a lot of weight. But it also carries a lot of debt, it seems in your case. I honestly believe that if you 1) perform strongly at any of these schools you should have not problem getting jobs or go for a master’s degree, and if you 2) accrue some research experience along the way (esp. with someone well known in the area you’ll be working on), it should not be a problem to shoot for Ph.D. afterwards, either.
If you tell this to INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) when you are trying to get your student visa, you will most likely be denied a student visa.
This has nothing to do with South Korea. This has to do with “not a US citizen or permanent resident”. The same would be true if you were from Montreal or Vancouver and lived only a few miles outside of the US.
Relying on immigrating to the US is a dangerous plan, particularly when debt is involved.
Let’s suppose that you were denied a visa and needed to return to South Korea. Would you be able to pay off the $50,000 debt working in South Korea?
Let’s suppose that you were denied a visa and needed to return to South Korea. Would you be able to pay off the $50,000 debt working in South Korea?
Since the debt is involved with my parents, not financial institutions, I am not in rush to pay for it (they said payback when it’s possible). However, I doubt that I can pay back the debt working in Korea; not because I can’t, but it will take a significantly long time to pay back that much money with Korean wages.
Relying on immigrating to the US is a dangerous plan, particularly when debt is involved.
Do you have any suggestions for my plan then? I don’t really want to consider the option to just go back to South Korea and attend colleges there because I would have to spend another 1 or 2 years studying for the college entrance exam (which would be difficult since I haven’t studied in Korea for almost 6 years).
Of the schools that you mentioned in your original post, they are all very good. Cal Poly specifically is very good. A $50,000 debt is better than a larger debt, and the fact that you can take your time to repay it will help.
UW is also very good but the larger debt is a concern.