I got accepted into RIT with $29,000 merit-based scholarship for chemical engineering.
They also invited me to the accelerated program for BS and MS, which is 5 years long.
Taking the scholarship into account, I have to pay about $43,000 per year, and maybe a bit less in the last year. I am an international student and I am not eligible for financial aid in this school. My parents said that they could pay for the first year, but then I will have to pay for the rest. I am not sure if studying in RIT is worth it because of its high cost, but also especially because my father is taking out his retirement plan money to pay for my first year, which makes me feel very guilty. As an international student, can I apply for financial aid or apply for student loans in United States once I get a part time job in my freshmen year? My current future plan is starting a business related to the field of chemistry at the end of the college.
The other option is studying in South Korea where my family resides. Due to my circumstances, I donโt think I will be accepted into prestigious and โgoodโ schools, but mediocre colleges. The cost will be about $9,000 per year for tuition, and probably it will be more favorable for my mental health since I will be closer to my family.
So you have to find $129,000 to pay the last three years or even more if you do a Masters.
I donโt know about jobs in Korea, etc - but if you were American, not only is it not worth it, it would be a financial train wreck. Here - the government would only let you borrow $27K over four years (a US citizen) - thereโs a reason. To get the rest of the $$, an American student would have to pay onerous interest and fees.
Korea will be affordable and as you note, youโll be closer to family.
Win Win.
Stay home and study there - I think youโll be much happier for it later.
To obtain your student visa, you will need to provide proof of finances to pay for all four years of college. It does not seem like youโll be able to do this?
That seems very unwise to me. Sacrificing your parentโs retirement isnโt a good plan.
RIT does not meet the financial need of international students. You cannot apply for federal loans since youโre not a US citizen. It will also be pretty much impossible to obtain a private loan without a US guarantor.
On your student visa you can only work on-campus for a maximum of 20 hours a week. There is no guarantee that you can get such jobs, and they typically donโt pay more than $15 an hour. Thatโs nowhere close to the cost of attendance.
And again: for your student visa you will need to show proof of existing funds, not hopes of future earnings or loans that have not yet been approved.
That seems like the best option for you and your family.
Didnโt you say in your previous thread that you lived in a South American country? Do you have affordable options there?
What it sounds to me like is youโve already assumed that you are going to be coming to the US for school.
The issue is that you canโt fund all four years.
You are not eligible to apply for loans from the US government because you are not a citizen.
Youโre not eligible to work in any job outside of the campus and most of those jobs pay barely minimum wage.
At the most youโll make about $70-$200 per week, during the school year, if you can get enough work hours and thatโs before US taxes.
That income will not cover your tuition costs. What you make, will just cover your incidental costs during the week. The US is very expensive.
And the fact that you have to prove to immigration that you have the funds to cover you for four years is just โone more nail in the coffinโ.
I neglected to add, in my previous post, where did you get the idea that you could apply for financial aid or student loans, in the US, once you get a part-time job?
When you are accepted to a US university, they will give you information about applying for a US โstudentโ visa which allows you to visit the US as a โstudentโ to study at a university.
It is not a work visa. Work visas allow non citizens to work in the US for a limited time.
As a student you can only work on the university campus. A student visa does not automatically give you US citizenship, nor give you permission to work in the US, nor permission to apply for US government funded loans.
You donโt become a US citizen just because you received an acceptance from a US University. I hope you can understand that it is a very long and tedious procedure.
It is very possible that you will need to complete a certificate of finances that documents you have the money at the ready to get a student visa to study hereโฆmoney for all four years of your undergrad education.
@eunji : how would you pay? Do you have that money in a bank account or trust fund in your name?
It means this school is not affordable.
You cannot mention a job or you wonโt get a student visa.
Thes universities still have places and offer scholarships/bursaries or are lower cost:
If you study in Paraguay, it means you speak Spanish fluently and presumably can sit the university entrance exams for Spain? Perhaps Chile? https://www.uc3m.es/bachelor-degree/admission
Just chiming in, as a parent of a ChemE student at RIT, the program will require you to do 4 paid coops* over the course of the 5 year program. Two of these will result in non-tuition paying semesters (the other two occur in summers), so many students use earnings from their coops to either pay down existing loans or fund future semesters. Iโm not sure if your non-citizen status would make it more difficult for you to land these in the States, and I donโt know how difficult it would be to get approval for one in your home country. Just something to consider.
*This is for the BS. The accelerated program has a different requirement (one less coop semester + two summer semesters of tuition-paying coursework, I think).