Please Help – GRE 1490, but I can’t Afford U.S. Education

This post is in response to few questions ansked by a frequent visitor to Happy Schools Blog. I’m sure there are many students are facing with same questions and situation with respect to money.

Questions and Answers

1) I would have to show a bank statement( about 16 lakh INR). This I would have to borrow from someone. Finally, I would be able to take about 5-6 lakh rupees with me to the US. That is the maximum I can afford. So, is it fine for me to go to US? or stay back, write GATE, do MTech in India?
I am asking this question with the assumption that you’ve gone through my profile.

GRE Quantitative – 800, Verbal – 690, AWA – 4.0,  TOEFL – 111

With your GRE Score you can definitely get admission with some form of Aid. To get I-20 you will have to show bank statement atleast worth 1 year expense. That would include tuition fees, health insurance, and cost of living. Yes, you can certainly borrow money from your relatives and get bank statement and apply to schools. Almost everyone who is applying to U.S. is in your situation. If you can score 800, 690 in GRE, you can do very well in U.S. Schools. So, go ahead and get started with application to U.S. schools. I will send you list of schools where you can apply.

2) If an assistantship is given by a university along with the I20, what does it imply?

Does it mean
a) Full tuition fee waiver + assistantship like RA,TA (i.e the on-campus job)
( or )
b) only the on-campus job ( with the tuition fee of course being paid by the student)

You will have to understand the difference between RA, TA, Scholarship, Instate fees and Out of State fees. I have explained about the differences and here’s link to the articles.

• College Tuition – In State or Out of State Fees
• How to Qualify for College In-State Fees
• Difference Between In-State and Out of State Fees

RA and TA will come under On-Campus jobs, but that is different from Part Time jobs, where you will work for maximum of 20 hours per week within college campus in places like lab, library, cafe, .. and it will pay around $6 to $10 per hour. Part time job will not qualify you for in-state fees.

What is RA/TA?

Research Assistant – you will work for a professors or in a lab for 20 hours in a week. They will pay you per month, from $500 to $1500 and you will qualify for In-State Fees. Certain universities like UNC@Charlotte only certain RA jobs qualify for In-state fees.

TA – You will assist a professor and you will be paid monthly. You will qualify for In-state fees.

How much fees will be In-State Fees

It varies between university education system. For example, in University of Texas system, if you qualify for in-state fees, you will pay around 1/3rd of out of state fees. But, in other universities, you will not pay any fees at all (public universities). Max per semester you will pay $1000 for health insurance and lab fees.

3) What about M.Tech in India? I mean usually the IISc, IITs, a few NITs and Central Universities are quite good as per my knowledge. In the recently released rankings list( World’s best techno universities list), the IITs were on par with some of the good schools in the US. In fact the least ranked IIT was placed above University of Southern California.

What’s your take on it? If I get admission in a good IIT or a NIT for MTech and admit from an university in the US( let me say Auburn for eg, since I can afford only univs that offer me reasonable funding), what would be your advice?

I have been getting similar question ever since I have started writing here. But, I have never answered or written article about it.

You can get admit in USC without GRE scores. Think about the competition. How many students compete to get into IIT, NIT,.. and ots very handful of schools. But, there are so many good schools in U.S. which are equivalent to schools in India. In fact you don’t need to study in top schools to get a good job.

All the professors are involved in active research. With your GRE Score, you can apply to schools that has minimum GRE score requirement of 1100 and you have good chance to get admission with aid. Instead of applying to schools that requires 1300 as minimum. You might get little less exposure than you get from top schools, but its definitely more than what you might get by studying in NIT.

Job After M.S.

But, the question you will need to ask is – How much will I get paid after I finish M.S. and can I get job after studying in low profile schools that top 10 to top 20 schools.

In U.S. if you have talent, you don’t need to be in top schools to grow in life and express your potential. Even in very small schools, professors will help you to get to top. You will be recognized for your talent and efforts.

2 of my roomates from Masters degree from University of Texas at Arlington, are currently in Microsoft and they didn’t attend top school. UTA will be around 63 rank for CS department. One other friend who studied in Florida Institute of Technology did internship in Google. So, if you have talent, you can shine here and don’t need to attend top schools.

My Suggestion

Apply to 5 to 7 schools that have minimum GRE requirements of 1100 to 1150. You will get admission with some form of scholarship. Get student loan for 20 lakhs. If you have scholarship, you don’t need to worry much about your bank balance. With your profile, getting visa will also not bedifficult. I can see bright future for you. So, why are you still waiting to apply?

Related posts:

1. Q&A: Does U.S. Citizens Pay InState College Tuition Fee?
2. Will Professor Pay My College Tuition Fees?
3. Reader’s Question: In State Tuition fee Qualification
4. ‘I Scored 1490 in GRE, but I’m Confused’ – Anand
5. Education Loan Approval for Low GRE Score (850)?
6. Q&A: Do I Have to Pay Whole Fees if I Get Low GRE Score?