This is pretty straightforward. I have received an admit to both the Universities mentioned above. However there is a catch.
UM Ann Arbor tuition fees for 2 years is about $ 66000 (minimum)
UT Austin tuition fees for the same period is about $ 38000.
That difference in money is a pretty hefty amount being an international student.
Although I have read a lot that both these schools will offer a great education and experience, it is slightly disappointing that UT Austin does not offer a STEM degree. And this shall surely affect my opportunities as an international student to land a job during the OPT period.
Note that I intend to work for at least 2 years - a period that will be enough to pay back most of my student loan before I move back to my home country (considering that I do not apply for an H1B visa). Currently I have a decent 3+ years of work experience as well.
Any suggestions on what should be my best course of action? What are the possible outcomes, how do employers view a STEM vs a Non-STEM international student for the purpose of employment opportunities, etc.
There’s also option C: don’t go to graduate school this year. You could wait a year, re-apply, and attend a graduate program that has both the major you want and a tuition bill you consider affordable.
Or option D: go to graduate school in a different country where tuition is cheaper.
As a general note, it’s dangerous to plan your future on the continued existence of a particular visa/immigration program. The OPT STEM extension is a relatively new program that’s undergoing frequent revisions and court challenges. Given how hostile the current administration seems towards immigrants and scientists, I would not be surprised if they decided limit the scope of the program or to discontinue the program entirely.
I was admitted into the Energy and Earth Resources (EER) graduate program at Austin.
At Michigan it would be an MS at the School of Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). That would again be into sustainable systems and environmental policy.
I have been informed that the EER program (at Austin) does not fall under OPT STEM.
@ b@r!um: I agree with you that the STEM OPT can be dangerous to consider with the current administration and policy changes, and I have been wondering about that too. But tbh, even applying next year will not change that fact that I will be in the same dilemma. What I have mentioned about the costs is a worst case scenario, and of course both Universities have good work on campus/ internship opportunities that could offer funding and research opportunities that can surely reduce my fees. All this depends on how proactive I am etc. which I totally understand. But the best I can do is be pragmatic and factor the current political/ administrative scene rather than constantly worry about changes that may or may not happen in the future.
Graduate schools in most other countries come down to similar costs. If not for more tuition, then I may not be able to work part-time, thus my living cost would be on the higher end. While in the US I can work part time and pay for living. So there are pros and cons either way, unless you could please suggest any alternatives that I may not be aware of?
And I am still trying my best for certain scholarships but the results for those I shall only know after a couple of months.
I am super curious how Michigan’s degree qualifies and Austin’s degree does not. Did Michigan tell you definitively that their degree qualifies for the extension? Did they give you the CIP code by any chance?
Let me rephrase what I was trying to get at with my earlier post: if the STEM OPT extension is something you care about, would it make sense to postpone graduate school for a year in order to re-apply to a different set of programs? To find one that qualifies for the STEM extension, aligns with your academic interests and also charges you tuition in a range that you consider reasonable?
You remind me of a lecture I got from a professor when I was an undergraduate applying to graduate programs. He told me that I can study the same content in different degree programs, but I’ll have vastly different career outlooks based on the name of the program I choose. (In my particular case, I wanted to study math, and he was trying to convince me that I could study the same theoretical math in a computer science or engineering department and get paid twice as much afterwards. I should have listened…)
I wonder if something similar might apply to your case. If you study the same content in a degree program that contains a word like “environment” or “technology” or “sustainable” (all key words for STEM designations), would your major suddenly become eligible for a STEM extension?
How long does the program at Austin typically take to complete? It looks like it might be designed to be completed in a single year (24 credits + thesis), or maybe 3 semesters, which would make it even cheaper in total than the 2-year Michigan program.
If you can find the names of recent alumni or current international students in the programs at Michigan and Austin, I would suggest you try to reach out to them and ask them about the career trajectories of international graduates of the program. How difficult is it to find a job in the US afterwards? What starting salaries can you expect?
That’s a good point, but… Were you guaranteed an RA or TA position with your offer of admission? If not, consider the possibility that you might not get one. Other on-campus jobs won’t pay you anywhere near enough to cover your cost of living. (A typical on-campus job might pay $3,000 per year, at $10 per hour, 10 hours per week, 30 weeks per year.)
I did ask Michigan for the CIP code, however they mentioned that they need to look into that. But they confirmed that all their masters programs at the school are under the STEM domain, and I also confirmed the same in conversation with students in the program.
Austin particularly mentioned that this program does not fall under the STEM domain - I’m guessing its something to do with the versatility of the course into finance, policy, economics, etc. I also have the choice of graduating with an MS or MA degree (based on the subjects I study) from Austin, while Michigan is solely an MS degree. This might be another reason why the degree at Austin is not STEM. This is unfortunately designated by the state department, hence keywords itself will not be able to me.
Both the programs are for 2 years, and I can most definitely complete both in 3 semesters. The cost I mentioned in the first post (where I highlighted that Michigan is $ 66,000) - that is actually for 3 semesters of tuition. It costs $ 22,000 per semester. If i have to take the 4th semester it would come up to $ 88,000.
Austin on the other hand has a cost per credit hour, so that means I pay almost a similar amount (of about $ 38,000) should I choose to complete it in 3 or 4 semesters.
I am already in touch with a few international students from both schools. Jobs for international students graduating from Michigan seem better considering that I have 3 years under the STEM domain. Of course I will have to equip myself with some data analysis tools etc, because employers seem to consider that international students are better at hard analytics. I come from an engineering background, and I am currently looking at learning new hard analysis tools that should bring my skill set up.
I have not been guaranteed an RA/TA position. I did discuss this with international students, and they say that I can only know this after my First semester - when I have networked enough with my Professors and understood the kind of positions available that would suit my interests. That is reasonable considering that I am doing my Masters rather than a PhD.
Yes it would make sense to probably wait a year. However I am guessing that the tuition will not drastically change either way. Austin has always had a cheaper tuition, while the tuition at Michigan threw me a bit off guard - a reason why I applied before the financial aid deadline. Guess I wasn’t lucky on FinAid.
Coming back to my original point question though - I still wanted to understand if gambling on the STEM period makes sense in terms of an ROI on my investment, and landing a job for at least 3 years (from Michigan) as compared to 1 year (at Austin). Coming back to my homeland is a no-go for either Austin or Michigan that way, as it would take me a huge amount of time to pay back my loans irrespective.
On another note, thanks for your guidance! Means a lot to have people out there who would respond to my queries on an anonymous forum.