<p>A counselor at United States Education Foundation said that it is difficult to get into a big univesity but once you get the admission, recieving funds would be relatively easy, because being a big university, obviously they will have lots of funds!!!. </p>
<p>Sounds plausible. But I doubt it.</p>
<p>What I think is “Big university, Big tuition fees”.</p>
<p>define big university?</p>
<p>Those universities which have a lot of researches going on and lots of sponsors -(big companies (now I won’t have to define that, should I? 
) ) to pay for their researches. Those which are top ranked… which has thousands of applicants …those which can run their unviersity from the money they get from application fees alone… ;-)</p>
<p>Phew!! there.</p>
<p>That’s more or less true…</p>
<p>Unless you’re looking at “professional” programs (e.g. MBA, MD, etc.) or some terminal masters programs, you should pay little nothing for your graduate education. This is true regardless of the size of the university.</p>
<p>Typically, you’ll be awarded a financial package after you’ve been accepted to a program. The most common package for PhD programs consists of one or more years of fellowships, a few years of TA or RA duties and then another year of fellowship to write your dissertation.</p>
<p>But this can vary tremendously, year to year, student to student, and of course school to school. International students in some cases will have a more difficult time with funding because some major funding sources require US citizenship as a condition. </p>
<p>As you research your list of programs you’ll find their websites will tell you what kind of funding is available. You might also want to take a look at the first page of the “Graduate School Admissions 101” thread that is pinned at the top of this forum and there is a good book (though hopelessly out of date on technology) called “Getting What You Came For” that does a good job of outlining the whole process.</p>
<p>I agree with William. You should have to pay little or nothing for a Ph.D. degree, and Masters degrees vary in the support you receive. For instance, MS non-thesis degrees are usually not funded from my experience. Usually, for Ph.D. matriculants, they often have to pay fees (varies from 2-300 dollars/semester to 6-700 dollars a semester or more) not covered under the tuition remission, if anything at all. Always ask about these “extra” fees because you might find yourself needing a loan to cover them. And of course, stipends, fellowships, assistantships all vary from school to school and program to program. I also second WilliamC’s recommendation of “Getting What You Came For” by Peters. Great reference, but as was mentioned, is terribly dated concerning the internet, computers, and so on. If you are on here posting questions, you can figure out what the author is getting at and more, I’m sure. Still worth having, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Is it common for MS thesis degrees to come with some kind of funding? I’m waiting on the funding packages from Columbia and USC, and so far it’s not looking great. :/</p>
<p>I’m applying to a EE program as well.</p>
<p>TOMC,</p>
<p>I am coming from the biological sciences, so my advice may not directly apply to your situation as I am not sure exactly what field you are applying to. However, most MS-thesis programs (that I know about) in the sciences come with some funding and tuition remission, usually in compensation for your services as a teaching or research assistant. Of course, the value of such funding varies greatly, and may be competitive based on your test scores, GPA, experience… Some programs will not admit students unless there is funding available for them, so again this is all variable. I assume if you are interested in research in a science or engineering, especially at well funded schools, you should receive some funding if admitted to an MS-thesis program. However, this is certainly not set in stone, and it is possible to be admitted on your own funds for the first year, then with an option to obtain such funding upon entering subsequent years in the program.</p>