Studying/Funding in USA

Study in USA is like a coal mine investment which in the end yields you a high rate of profit. The US boasts many of the top universities in the world. She is a favored education destination among international students and offers them a plethora of opportunities. An important consideration when planning for education abroad is finances. Family or self savings are not the only source of funding one has. US universities also offer financial assistance.

Scholarships recognise and reward students who excel academically, demonstrate leadership potential, and possess outstanding co-curricular activity records. Sometimes colleges even offer scholarships after the student has completed one or two semesters based on the academic excellence of the student during the program.

Many of the colleges in the USA offer a financial aid package to international students who study in USA. In designing the package, the fact taken into consideration is the student's expected cost of attendance which consists of tuition fees and living expenses. The financial aid package that is offered by institutions may comprise a combination of outright scholarship which does not have to be paid back, interest free loans which need to be paid back after a stipulated period, and assistantships which requires a student to work part-time in the department in lieu of financial assistance. However in the application, the universities requires the students family to show funds to cover at least 1 year of total expenses.

The criteria for financial assistance is based on merit and rarely on need. Thus all students don't get scholarships. Merit comprises good academic scores, high score in standardized tests such as GRE, GMAT, SAT TOEFL, IELTS and the supplementary application material sent with the application package. The amount and the type of assistantships vary according to course, level of study, department and university. 

A student may have to submit a separate financial aid application as per university guidelines. The types of assistantship available for postgraduate students are tuition waiver, scholarships and fellowships, teaching and research assistantships and loans. Apart from scholarships one can avail of an education loan from various Indian banks/institutions at interest rates between 10% to 12%. 

Besides financial aid offered by universities, there are many other sources that offer assistantships from India. The Fulbright Scholarship Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. It has provided aid to more than 255,000 participant chosen for their leadership potential. The Fullbright Foundation awards approximately 1,800 student grants to non-U.S. nationals to study in the United States annually. 

Other scholarships option include J.N.Tata Endowment Scholarships, Aga Khan Education Services, American Alumni Association, The Sir Ratan Tata Scholarship and many more. For more details you can log on to www.edwiseinternational.com.

You are NOT late for September 2011 intake. Admissions and scholarship opportunities are still open for the Fall 2011. However the earlier you apply the more chances there are for a succesful offer and/or scholarship. 

Edwise gives complete step by step guidance FREE for over 130 US Universities based on personal and professional choice, one to one admission counselling, thorough documentation review and excellent visa guidance.

So visit your nearest Edwise today.

Sushil Sukhwani
Director, Edwise