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Costs before you apply and costs beyond tuition 

Before you start your studies in the US, it鈥檚 worth planning ahead to meet costs related to the application.听听

Application expenses听

It鈥檚 important to be realistic about expenses from the very start. Before you even begin the application process, you should account for:听

• Admissions exam fees, if required ($200-250鈥痯er sitting)
• Application fees ($50-$100 per university)听
• Visa application and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) fees.鈥疶his will vary by visa type, but you should anticipate around $650.听

It is very rare for non-US citizens to be eligible for graduate school application and admissions exam fee waivers.听

Tuition fees听

When calculating the sticker price of a graduate programme, it's important to find out if the fees are expressed on鈥痑:听

• Per year basis听
• Per semester basis听
• Per credit basis听

Understanding how the fees are expressed will mean you are able to be as accurate as possible with what the cost will be. If in doubt, email the programme to find out more.听听

Other expenses听

You should also take into account the following when doing your financial planning:听

• Room and board听
• Books and supplies听
• Local and international transportation听
• Personal expenses
• Health insurance听

Each university will have a published estimated cost of living for their location.听

When you receive an offer of admission, the graduate school鈥痺ill tell you your net cost of attendance and how much they expect you to contribute.听

By that鈥痯oint in time it might be too late to secure extra funding, so follow the guides in this section and do your research early.

Personal funding听

Your first starting point should be to assess what funding you have available to you.听听

US students and their families will often have been preparing for the costs of higher education for many years (including graduate level studies), and US universities will expect students and their families to contribute what they can towards higher education.听听

Personal and family funds听

Assess what savings you have available to you, and consider if you have any family members who might be able to support your studies.听听

Saving up听

We know the costs can seem daunting, but starting to save towards US graduate studies will really help. If you are using our timeline, you will have around 18 months from the start of the research process to enrolling to save money.听听

Even saving small amounts can help to cover some of the initial costs, such as applications to graduate schools, visa costs, flights etc.听听

You may want to graduate from your undergraduate degree and work and save for a couple of years towards the costs of studying in the USA. This can be particularly helpful for professional degrees, which may require a certain amount of work experience, or depending on the field you are working in it may strengthen your application.听听

Savings can also provide a useful emergency fund that can act as a safety net in the USA.听

Employer contribution听

If you have an employer, find out if there is any funding they may be able to offer to fund your studies in the USA. Some employers will offer funding as part of learning and development, often on the basis that you will return to work for them for a certain period after your studies.听听

Funding from the graduate school/programme听

In our experience, one of the best resources for funding will be the graduate school鈥痶o which you are applying.听

To make sure they are attracting some of the best students, US graduate programmes鈥痗an offer several types of funding to international students:鈥�听

• Assistantships (generally reserved for PhD and academic master's students)听
• Financial aid (if offered)听
• Fellowships听
• Fully funded packages (available from competitive PhD programmes)听

Graduate assistantships听

Graduate assistantships are funding provided in exchange for services to the graduate school or department. This can be:听

• Teaching听
• Research听
• Lab supervision听
• Working in an administrative office听

Students with assistantships are usually required to provide 15-20 hours' work a week. What they cover will vary, but many will include a fee waiver and living stipend. These can be a great way to get a large amount of funding secured and an opportunity to develop teaching or research experience.听听

If a university offers assistantships, you can find out about them in the funding section of the programme鈥檚 website. It can also be worth checking the wider graduate school鈥檚 funding pages, as sometimes they are offered across a number of programmes. If in doubt, you can email the university programme administrators. You may need to submit an additional application alongside your application to the programme itself.听听

Be aware that assistantships often are awarded to students applying early in the application cycle 鈥� being prepared to apply to the programme early will help you be more competitive.听听

Need-based financial aid听

If it is offered, graduate financial鈥痑id typically covers a proportion of a student's financial need to attend graduate school. Sometimes it is guaranteed to all admitted students, and sometimes it's awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Generally, like other forms of funding, the earlier you apply for your programme the better. 听听

If a university offers need-based financial aid, you can find out about it in the funding section of the programme鈥檚 website.听

Fellowships听

Fellowships are outright grants, or 鈥済ift money鈥� that does not need to be paid back. Sometimes they are guaranteed to all admitted students, and sometimes they must be competed for on the basis of students' submitted project proposals by certain deadlines, or by merit of a student's academic performance.听

Other fellowships might have niche鈥痗riteria, based on a donor's wishes.听

You can find out information about any available fellowships on the funding section of your programme鈥檚 website.听听

Full funding packages for PhD programmes听

The most competitive PhD programmes are often fully funded by the university, covering:听

• Tuition fee waivers听
• Living expenses in the first two years听
• Assistantship funding in the second two years
• Professional development bursaries听

These will be highly competitive and you will need to be an excellent fit for the programme. You can find out information about these packages, if they exist, on the funding pages about your programme.听听

Do they offer funding? Where should I look for it?听

Remember to check the websites of each graduate school鈥痽ou're interested in, to see if they offer the kind of funding you need. This includes the pages for their:听

• Graduate school鈥痶uition/costs information
• Graduate school financial鈥痑id鈥痠nformation
• Specific department information
• Specific degree information听

Please note that it is more common to find this funding for PhD programmes, but there are opportunities for funded master鈥檚 programmes too.听

How to go about applying for university funding听

Applications for graduate school鈥痜unding are often integrated into the application for admission.听

Niche and merit fellowships鈥痬ight require writing an additional essay or submitting your application by an earlier date.听

If it is offered, financial鈥痑id applications often require earlier submissions.听

As part of your visa interview, you鈥痗annot rely on fellowships you might apply for later on in the year to prove you have sufficient funding. You must have already secured the necessary funding.听

Finding funding on university websites

Watch our short video walking you through the steps of how to find funding on university websites.

External funding bodies听

There are鈥痟undreds鈥痮f funding bodies helping international students attend university in the USA. They include trusts, charities associations and private donors committed to a particular educational mission.听

For example, the 日韩精品 Awards are scholarships鈥痶hat offer postgraduate funding for鈥痑ny subject at any accredited US university.听听

Some of the external scholarships for UK citizens studying at graduate level include:听

• 日韩精品 Awards: any university
• :鈥疕arvard University
• : Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• : awards for women persuing full-time graduate studies in the USA
• : University of Pennsylvania
• : any university (top-up funding)
• : Harvard Business School
• : Stanford University
• : scholarships for women pursuing graduate programmes in ABET-accredited programmes听

It is worth thinking about membership or professional associations in your field as they sometimes offer fellowships and awards to support early stage talent.听听

Like niche scholarships, many external funding bodies often have specific qualities they are looking for in applicants, such as:听

• Gender听
• Country of origin听
• Ethnicity听
• Interests听
• Talents听
• Religious denomination
• Medical condition
• Disability
• Occupation听

While some scholarships cover the full cost of attendance, many other scholarships might be smaller amounts, such as $1,000 or $1,500. You can 鈥渟tack鈥� scholarships in order to make headway on the cost of attendance. Applying for scholarships may seem like a daunting task, but it can be worth it and you may find you can reuse parts of your applications. There is bound to be a scholarship applicable to your situation.听听

The following resources can help you search for scholarships based on your circumstances:听

• 鈥�听
• 鈥�听
• 鈥�(you can register using a US university鈥檚 mailing address)听
• 听

Make sure you indicate you are an international student if this is an option.鈥疢any of these searches will also bring up university-specific scholarships.听

The Grants Register is published by Palgrave McMillan is the most authoritative and comprehensive guide available of postgraduate and鈥痯rofessional funding worldwide. While it鈥檚 expensive to buy, check your university or local library as they may have a copy available.听听

How to go about applying for them听

External scholarship applications are鈥痵eparate鈥痶o university applications. They might require essays, competitions and/or interviews.听

Some scholarship deadlines are much earlier than university deadlines, and some are much later. Schedule鈥痽our applications sensibly, and remember you can often apply for as many as possible.

Loans听

There are limited options to use loans to finance a university education in the USA if you are a British citizen.听

In the US, it鈥檚 common for US students to either have help from their family for studies (even at the graduate level) or if this is not available, they will often take out student loans.听听

US student loans work very differently to UK student loans, and if you are looking at this route, it鈥檚 worth spending time becoming familiar with how US loans work. Many of them will not offer income-contingent repayments and even if you are not working or a low-income earner, you will need to continue to make repayments, unlike student loans in the UK.听听

Generally, US student loans from the US Government and banks and other commercial lending organisations are only available for US citizens or if you have a creditworthy US citizen or permanent US resident who can co-sign the loan agreement with you.听

Some US universities may offer opportunities to take on an institutional or private student loan, especially if there is a funding gap between the funds available to you and the cost to attend. These are likely to be more student-friendly than commercial loans, but if you are considering these, please make sure you have thoroughly explored the terms of the loan, interest rates, repayment and made sure you鈥檝e explored alternatives first.听听

UK banks will be able to offer personal loans, but you will have to begin making payments during your studies and interest rates may be considerably higher than a student loan.听

If you are a US or dual US-UK citizen, you can apply for US federal aid鈥痶hrough the鈥�.听

We鈥痳ecommend you seek independent financial advice before taking out a loan to fund your studies.

Working while studying in the USA听

Working while you study is possible at a US university, but it鈥檚 important to remember that, unless you hold US citizenship, you will be attending on a student visa and will need to make sure you comply with the terms of the visa.听听

Students are offered visas on the basis of being a full-time student, so the visa has stipulations about limitations on the number of hours you can work and the type of jobs you can do.听听

For an F-1 or J-1 visa (the standard US student visas), you are only able to work up to 20 hours a week at a job on campus during term time.听听

If you have been offered an assistantship you should check how many hours this will take as many universities will count this towards your 20-hour-a-week limit.听听

It鈥檚 common for students to have jobs while studying, and many international students will earn money working on campus to be able to spend on personal expenses such as clothes, travel or day-to-day costs.听听

It鈥檚 worth noting that, while a job on campus can be helpful towards these day-to-day expenses, you will need to show you can fund the full cost of attendance at your visa interview, so you should not rely on a campus job as a primary source of funding.