myUface Blog

Before you being your search for financial aid, you need to know exactly how much money you’ll need to study at a university in the United States.  Having a realistic idea of the costs of university study is crucial to your success.

There are a few ways to research this information.  The most simple way is to use an online calculator like this one, provided by the student loan company Sallie Mae.  Calculators like this one have one major drawback, however:  they’re intended for U.S. students, so they won’t include costs like travel, visas, etc.  Still, if you go ahead and enter all the information – and list any random state as your place of residence – you will be able to get an estimate of what university study at a particular school would cost. 

Important Note about using this calculator: If you are researching a university in a particular state (California, for example), DO NOT choose  that state as your place of residence.  If you do, you’ll get in-state tuition figures for that university, which is SIGNIFICANTLY less than what you’ll actually be asked to pay as an international student.

As an example, let’s look at two particular colleges.  First, my alma mater, Pomona College.  Entering in all the relevant information, I find that attending Pomona will cost:

• $39,500 for tuition
• $13,650 for food, lodging, and personal expenses
• $400 for student fees
• about $1,000 for books

All together, that’s over $54,000 per year. Wow!  What’s more, because of inflation, the costs will rise, making the total cost of a four-year degree at Pomona a whopping $237,000!!!

Don’t worry!  Not every college is this expensive.  And even if you want to go to a college like Pomona there are many ways to save or to find assistance.

I can also find, on the other hand, that a two-year associate’s degree at East Los Angeles College will cost $3,700 per year in tuition.  The other costs for East Los Angeles aren’t available through this calculator, but you can see how different the costs are.

The second way to research university costs – and the way that is probably going to be more accurate – is to ask individual admissions departments about the costs of attending their school.  Most universities will have information specifically tailored for international students.

Regardless of how you get the information, you want to keep in mind all of the following costs:

1. Application fees. Generally these are $50-$100 for each university you apply to.  myUface will help with some universities by allowing you to submit one application (possibly without a fee at all)
2. Test fees. You’ll need to take several standardized tests, each of which costs money.  Count on spending between $300-$600 on tests (and test preparation)
3. Travel Fees. Getting to the U.S. will be a major cost.
4. Tuition. This should be readily available from universities.
5. Room and Board. Each university will be able to give you an estimate of how much this should cost.  Remember, you can spend less or more depending on your lifestyle.
6. Books. Usually between $500-$1,000 per year, but there are ways to save.
7. Health Insurance. A university should be able to tell you how much their plan costs, but about $500 / year sounds right.
8. Clothing, travel in the U.S., and other personal expenses.

Add all you costs up and you should have an estimate of what you’ll need, per year, to study in the U.S.  Don’t forget to factor in inflation if you’re planning to study more than one year (3-5%)

Now that you have an estimate, TWO IMPORTANT THINGS:

1. Don’t panic. You probably are looking at a big number.  But there are ways to make that number go down.
2. Don’t panic. Remember that a U.S. education is an investment.  It’s expensive, sure, but it WILL pay off over the course of your life.

Tomorrow we’ll start to think about how to find the money you need to make that investment happen.

Posts in this Series

1. Your Education is an Investment - 08 Jul
2. Researching Scholarship Opportunities - 07 Jul
3. How to Ask Questions About Financial Aid - 28 Jun
4. Ninth Option for Financial Aid: Loans - 27 Jun
5. The Difference Between Scholarships and Fellowships - 26 Jun
6. Eigth Option for Financial Aid: U.S. Universities - 25 Jun
7. Seventh Option for Financial Aid: Ethnic Communities in the United States - 24 Jun
8. Sixth Option for Financial Aid: Private Organizations in the U.S. - 23 Jun
9. Fifth Option for Financial Aid: U.S. Government Programs - 22 Jun
10. Fourth Option for Financial Aid: Scholarships from International Organizations - 20 Jun
11. How to Ask for Support - 18 Jun
12. Looking for Support in Your Country: Why it Makes Sense - 17 Jun
13. Third Option for Financial Aid: Individuals in Your Country - 16 Jun
14. Second Option for Financial Aid: Private Businesses or Foundations in Your Country - 15 Jun
15. First Option for Financial Aid: Government Programs in Your Country - 14 Jun
16. The Third Step in Financial Aid: Find What's Available - 11 Jun
17. The Second Step In Financial Aid: Identify Your Assets - 10 Jun
18. The First Step In Financial Aid: Identify Your Needs (This post)
19. Finding Financial Aid for your U.S. Education - 08 Jun

As in yesterday’s post, I’m going to speak very briefly about a supposed reason not to study in the U.S.

The reason?  It costs too much.

Verdict: False

As we mentioned in a previous post in this series, while it is true that a U.S. university can be expensive, it’s also true that the U.S. spends more per student than almost any other country.  So it’s not as if you’re paying for nothing.

But more than that, is university study in the U.S. really so much more expensive than other countries? I’m always skeptical of claims like “universities in _____ country are expensive,” because, as we saw in yesterday’s post, there are so many different kinds of universities and programs available.  In every country, you’ll find some programs that are expensive and some that are not.  For example, let’s look at some very basic tuition information available on the web (NOTE:  these are estimates taken from random sites for the purposes of illustrating a point):

• Tuition in the U.K. is between £3,500 to £18,000 a year
• Tuition in Australia is between $A10,000- $A16,000 a year
  
• Tuition in the U.S. is between $5,000 and $30,000 a year

Using today’s exchange rates, and taking the middle point of those ranges,  tuition costs work out to be:

• UK:  $15,695
• Australia:  $9,347
• U.S.:  $17,500

Now, are there differences?  Yes.  Are the differences so overwhelmingly big so as to make you immediately discard the idea of studying in the U.S.?

Probably not.

The bottom line is that, yes, the U.S. will tend to be more expensive for university study . . .but probably not by such a large amount as to outweigh the various benefits of going there. And always remember, there are going to be universities in the U.S. that cost less than the average university in the U.K. or Australia.  It all depends on what you want and what kind of program you’re looking for.

For Your Consideration:

Have you looked at specific universities in the U.S.?  Do you know how much it would cost to attend?  Have you looked for other schools which might cost less?

SERIES:  Why study in the U.S.?

• April 20 – Introduction
• April 21 – Diversity at U.S. campuses
• April 22 – Value of U.S. degrees
• April 23 – The Facilities
  
• April 24 – Practical focus of U.S. education
• April 25 – Variety of U.S. programs
• April 26 – The supposed disadvantages of study in the U.S.: visas
  
• April 27 - The supposed disadvantages of study in the U.S.: cost
  
• April 28 - Some real disadvantages of study in the U.S.:  it might not help in your profession
• April 29 – Some real disadvantages of study in the U.S.: will you fit in “going back?”
• April 30 – Other disadvantages
• May 1 – So, should you study in the U.S.?