<p>Hi all. I’m an international student getting a fellowship (CAL-RA) to go to UCSD. The support pays the tuition fees and gives me a stipend of $1743.65/month. Does anybody know if it’s enough to get me the visa or I have to prepare extra money on my own? I asked the person in charge for this matter but she won’t have the required figure ready yet until the middle of March.</p>
<p>I have no clue what you’re asking. Are you asking if that stipend is enough to live on? Are you asking if somehow a fellowship means you can get a foreign visa? Are you talking about credit cards?</p>
<p>I mean does the fellowship suffice to complete the financial statements?</p>
<p>It depends on whether your funding package will cover the entire cost of attendance (estimated by each school) - this includes tuition, room & board (estimates), books, health insurance and incidentals. UCSD should have the total cost of attendance for graduate students in your field listed somewhere on their website. If your package equals that amount, you’re good to go - your I-20 will show you’ve been awarded sufficient funds. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to make up the difference between your package and the total cost through other grants, loans, parental support or personal savings. You’ll need to prove to the US embassy or consulate that that funding gap is bridged. Typically, full funding packages equal the cost of attendance, but I’d check to make sure.</p>
<p>Thanks mate. I asked the school but they won’t have the answer until 15th March. But I guess I may just have to make it up for a few grands in case the support doesn’t meet the cost of attendance</p>
<p>your school will send you an F-1 that will state both the cost of your tuition and the total amount of the fellowship they’re giving you (so your stipend + the cost of tuition). it will clearly demonstrate to immigration officials that the school is fully covering you. that should be sufficient for the immigration officials, they won’t need any other financial information from you in order to process your student visa.</p>
<p>of course, something else completely arbitrary could hold you up, but the tuition remission plus the monthly stipend is enough as far as the visa processors are concerned.</p>
<p>edit: they won’t send you an F-1, they’ll send you an I-90 form that you need in order to get your F-1. sorry. but yeah, the I-90 will state clearly that the school is covering all of your tuition plus giving you the monthly stipend, which is definitely enough to live off of. once you have the I-90 in hand, you’ll be good to go.</p>
<p>Thanks mate! That’s really helpful</p>