I launched a similar topic 2/3 weeks ago. I received any opinion and my topic has been relegated on the bottom of the category. So with that new topic I hope getting more answers from the USA.
Hi, I’m Ertan, French. I study on the “Ingénieur Polytechnicien” curriculum purposed by “L’ école Polytechnique”, a great French “Ecole d’Ingénieurs” located near Paris ( Palaiseau if you want to know ). I’m at the end of the second year ( so 4y after 12th ). On the fourth year I’ll have to make the specialization year : I’ll can study as a “Grand Corps d’Etat” or make a thesis or study abroad : I’ll try to do it. My goal is to work as a software engineer in the USA.
With my school I have several opportunities of international academic exchanges which are on two categories : the first where there are specific partnerships and tuition exemption with international universities and the second where there is any partnership and where students have to pay tuition ( ~45k for Stanford ). Some schools of Cat.1 : NTU ( 2nd for ARWU 2016 Engineering ), NUS ( 6th ), EPFL ( 11th ) and ETHZ ( 27th ). Others universities are in Cat.2.
What should I do ?? Go to one of Cat.1 partners or try a Cat.2 and try to find a scholarship to help me paying the tuition. I have to tell I have an asset of 9.5k$ and I’m paid 1k$ per month coz I study … ( I have militar status ) …
Are you hoping studying in the US for a year will help you work here? If that is the case, you’re mistaken. You might develop some contacts here, but the process of getting a work visa will be the same: you still have to find an employer willing to sponsor you for a work visa – it’s a time consuming process and expensive.
It’s unlikely an American university will give you much of a scholarship for a one-year exchange – there is very little financial aid for international students, much less for those who will be on campus for just one year.
My advice? Go on an exchange program that’s either free or costs very little. Then finish your studies and try to get into an American graduate program (master’s, phd) which would increase your odds of being able to work here.
@katliamom : US schools graduated have the priority for the H1B visa. 20k just for them before 58k for others. There are a few of scholarships, but are there some possibilities to finance a part of the year ( I contacted Stanford about it ). A US degree will also be useful to get the OPT program : with your visa you can work up to 1 year just with your F1. I have the possibility to study in great universities of Singapore : NTU and NUS, should I try them to work in the US ??
It is VERY DIFFICULT to get an H1B visa with only a Bachelor’s degree. Research the number of applicants vs. the number of awarded visas. Your odds will be much better if you have a Master’s or higher.
You probably already know this, but I feel compelled to point out that spending an exchange year in the US will NOT come with the benefits of completing an entire degree at a US university.
The exchange visit would not qualify you for the extra 20,000 H-1B visas.
The J-1 visa for exchange students comes with a requirement that you need to return to your home country for 2 years before you can apply for a US work or immigrant visa, if your US stay is even partially funded by your home government.
That aside, I want to echo katliamom’s warning about how difficult it is to get a work visa in the US. Employers too know how difficult it is to obtain a work visa. Most employers won’t even consider applications from foreigners who would require work visa sponsorship in the future.
The surest way to immigrate to the US is to marry a US citizen. If you don’t like that approach, I suggest you plan for a career elsewhere.
I completely agree with the posts above regarding the difficulty of getting a work or immigrant visa to the US.
Given that you are a citizen of France, and that you appear to be quite strong at English also, you might want to consider universities in the Province of Quebec (in Canada of course). There is a very good cooperative agreement between France and Quebec, which allows citizens of France to study at any university in Quebec and pay the same tuition as a Canadian who is a resident of Quebec would pay (which is very inexpensive).
For graduate school the two most obvious schools to consider are McGill University, and Université de Montréal, although there are other good universities that you could consider. McGill of course has all courses (except language courses) in English, but allows students to optionally take tests in French (except language courses). The Université de Montréal is a French language university. Some other universities that you might want to consider include Concordia, Laval, and Sherbrooke. I am almost certainly missing some other good schools.
@katliamom : Yeah actually I’m “bachelored” but when I’ll finish I’ll get a Master Degree recognized by the AACRAO and the CTI ( French authority ).
@b@r!um : I will ask Stanford if I can get their diploma with 1 year exchange ( I can do that if I go to a Cat.1 partner ). But I thank going to the US with the F1, and not with the J1 ( F1 will be better -> OPT will be profitable )
@DadTwoGirls : I’ll see for McGill possibilities. But French citizens don’t pay the Quebec fee but they pay the Canadian fee, which is higher. But I’ll see for that …
American universities don’t do that “dual degree” thing that European universities are so into. Either you get a degree from your French university, or you get a degree from Stanford. If you want a degree from Stanford, you’ll have to apply as a transfer student (which is MUCH more difficult than applying as a visiting student) AND satisfy all of Stanford’s degree requirements (such as general education requirements that don’t exist in Europe).
As a visiting/exchange student, you don’t have a choice between an F-1 or a J-1 visa. Since F-1 status requires you to be enrolled in a degree program (not just as a visiting student), you’d only qualify for the J-1 visa.
Actually, Columbia has dual degree programs with Sciences Po and City U of HK. American has dual degree programs with various foreign unis. W&M offers a dual degree with St. A’s. Earlham offers a dual degree with Waseda, and Columbia, WashU, RPI, USC, ND, Case (and some other schools) offer 3-2 engineering programs where you would get 2 bachelor’s degree, but it’s true that I don’t know of HYPSM offering undergraduate dual degrees (a fair number at the graduate level).
But anyway, to the OP:
Why not graduate from X and enter a Master’s program in the US?
Nothing says you can’t get multiple Master’s.
You could ask about getting a degree from Stanford as well.
@PurpleTitan : The X cursus was designed to offer an internztional experience to get an abroad diploma for the 4A. Some Polytechnicians go to Stanford for the 4A, but I don’t know if they get the Stanford’s MSc.
@PurpleTitan : But is Columbia good for Computer Science ?? Is it good to make a solid network ?? Some people said me that Columbia is good for law, medicine and politics …
It’s always surprising how little some people may know about unis in the US. Yes, Columbia is good for CS (as well as law, medicine, business, and a bunch of other fields). That is true for Stanford as well, BTW.
You’d be surprised. I’ve work with H1B engineers and CS grads from Texas Tech, Michigan Tech, Toledo, and directional universities from half a dozen states, as well as an ivy or two plus a bunch from MIT. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern.
(One of the MI tech grads moved there from India in January. They average between 5 and 6 meters of snow per year in Houghton
I hope you realize that those exchange programs are really competetive due to limited spaces. I go to university here in Sweden and the university I go to has an exchange program with Stanford too. My school do pay for the tuition tuition at Stanford though. At my school you need to have about a 3.8 GPA to be eligible for a spot at Stanford, but that’s just the beginning. You also need to have an interview and perform good during it. If selected, you would be admitted to Stanford as a grad student where the first year of the MS degree is paid by the home university. If you would like to complete the MS degree at Stanford then you would have to pay for the second year by your own, if not then you just go back to the home university and complete the last year there. The agreement with Stanford your school have seems to suck so I would not consider it.
The other schools you listed are also very competitive to get a exchange spot at so don’t expect it to be easy.
This is what I would do in your situation. I guess you are admitted to a 5 year engineering program 3 + 2 BS + MS? That’s equivalent to the civilingenjör program in Sweden. Take a bachelor degree after your first 3 years and then try to get into a relatively cheap US school for grad school and complete a MS degree there.