In the U.S., there are hundreds of universities, which attract many international students. The cost of education, however, in America is very high. Further, the financial aid opportunities for foreign students are limited. If you’re an international student who is planning to apply for admission or has been admitted—without funding—for a M.S. program in a U.S. university, you’ve come to the right place for a variety of info on graduate education in America.

How to Select U.S. Universities to Pursue M.S. / Ph.D.?

Here are useful tips on how to choose American universities to pursue an M.S. / Ph.D. program. These steps also help you to select and designate four universities to receive official GRE scores, at no extra cost, during GRE registration:

1. First, identify you areas of interest of research / specialization

2. Next, decide whether you want to apply for top 25 universities or other universities. Base your decision, among others, on your

Academic profile

Projects

Research / teaching potential

Internship (if any)

Work experience (if any)

Published papers (if any)

Co-curricular activities

Your estimation of how much you would score on the GRE also plays a key role in the selection of universities for specifying the same during GRE registration. Aim for the highest scores on the GRE.

Visit http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/ to search for top universities in the U.S. for your M.S. / Ph.D.

3. Third, search for U.S. universities which has in its program curriculum the topics of your interest and or where professors are engaged in your areas of research interests. Your search also helps you to apply for RA / TA. The websites of the universities usually list / detail the areas of research engaged by their faculty.

The crucial function in this step is you’ve to use top search engines like Google and Bing and use the most relevant keywords / key phrases to identify a few universities that has programs / research that align with your academic and specialization interests.

Another useful resource to find universities that offer graduate programs, in various areas, leading to M.S. /Ph.D. is gradschools.com.

4. Talk to your professors / managers (if you’re working) and check whether they recommend any universities that match your interested fields of research / specialization.

5. Your friends, classmates, relatives who are in the U.S. for their M.S. / Ph.D. may also be a valuable source of information regarding their universities.

Getting Financial Aid to Study at American Universities: Tips For International Graduate Students

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Steps to Apply for an M.S. Program in a U.S. University

Step 1: Identify your aptitude and interest area to pursue an M.S. program in that field in an American university

Step 2: Select at least four U.S. universities that offer the graduate program you wish to pursue. Why four universities? Because you can send official GRE scores to four universities at no extra cost. Read How to Select U.S. Universities to Pursue M.S. / Ph.D. above.

Step 3: Take GRE and TOEFL

Step 4: Prepare your resume and statement of purpose (SOP)

Step 5: Apply online through the website of the university at least six months before the intended semester of enrollment.

Step 6: Ask your professors to recommend you for admission by uploading / sending the letters of recommendation (LOR) to the university

Step 7: Send a bank statement and other related documents, as required by the university, which certify that you’ve the funds available to pursue the M.S. program. Note that not all universities require that you send the financial proof along with your application. Such universities will need the bank statement only if you’re admitted to their M.S. program. You don’t have to send the financial proof at all if you’re awarded full financial aid; if you receive partial financial aid, you’ve to show the availability of funds only for the balance amount.

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How to Prepare a Resume to Apply for M.S. / Ph.D. in U.S. universities?

Many universities in America require the resumes of applicants for M.S. / Ph.D. programs. The admission committees in U.S. universities use the resumes as a tool to evaluate students for admission.

If you’re a recent graduate, you may use the following format for your resume to upload it online with your application for M.S.:

1. Name, address, telephone numbers: cell and land line, and e-mail ID
2. Summary of your academic projects, internship experience (if any), published papers (if any), and academic accomplishments
3. Objective of pursuing the M.S. program, with emphasis on why you want to pursue the M.S. in the specific university
4. Awards
5. Internship experience
6. Published papers
7. Project Work: Detail the benefits and technological significance, your role in the project, list the corporate sponsor (s) (if any), and other relevant information
8. Core Courses: Highlight the important courses with ref to the M.S. program you’re interested in, particularly those in the last two years of study
9. Co-curricular achievements
10. Extra-curricular activities

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Credit Hours Explained

In the U.S. education system, a course is usually worth three credit hours. Some courses, however, can be worth four, two or one credit hour(s).

Let’s assume that all the courses you’ve take to get a M.S. degree from a U.S. university are each worth three credit hours. If a program requires 36 credit hours for an M.S. degree, you’ve to take 12 courses to earn the same. If you take four courses each semester, you can complete the courses for the master’s degree in three semesters.

If you choose a non-thesis option for your M.S. degree, you most likely will have to take a comprehensive exam during your final semester. Check with the website of the university / department you’re interested in for details.

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In-State and Out-of-State Tuition in U.S. Universities for Pursuing an M.S. Program

U.S. universities charge two types of tuition: in-state and out-of-state. In monetary terms, out-of-state tuition is much higher than in-state tuition.

American students residing in an U.S. State–for a particular period of time–are eligible to pay the in-state tuition for their undergraduate or graduate studies in universities located in that state. Students from other states of America are required to pay the out-of-state tuition.

International students also need to pay the out-of-state tuition. However, foreign students who receive an out-of-state tuition waiver pay only the in-state tuition for their M.S. program.

If you receive an out-of-state tuition waiver, your overall cost of pursuing an M.S. program reduces drastically.

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Out-of-State Tuition Waiver for International Students

International students awarded a TA / RA / GA also receive out-of-state tuition waiver. Some international students even receive an in-state tuition waiver with their TA / RA, which means they do not have to pay any tuition at all.

Out-of-state tuition waiver may also be granted without a TA / RA / GA.

The Department for which you’re applying for M.S. in the U.S. University considers your academic performance prior to awarding tuition waivers. Many international students receive tuition waivers, which are not guaranteed, from the second semester, based on their first semester GPA.

Getting Financial Aid to Study at American Universities: Tips For International Graduate Students

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Nine Tips to Complete M.S. on a Fast Track in a U.S. University

Here are nine tips to get your M.S. from an U.S. university faster and in an economical way:

1. Take more courses per semester. Be careful, however, not to overload yourself. Too many courses each semester could affect your health and grades.

2. Enroll for courses in the summer term also. Further, some courses may be offered in the summer term only.

3. If you don’t have a Graduate Assistantship (GA) / Research Assistantship (RA) / Teaching Assistantship (TA), try to get an on-campus job. It can cover at least some of your educational and living expenses.

4. Try to get an out-of-state tuition waiver from at least the second semester, if not from the first. Tuition waiver can sharply reduce your overall cost of M.S. in the U.S. Note that the higher the grades in your courses in the first semester, the better the chances of you receiving an out-of-state tuition waiver from the second semester.

5. Text books are very expensive in the U.S. Here are some strategies to acquire text books at a lower cost for your M.S. in America:

a) Check if you can borrow / buy the books from your friends.

b) Find out whether you can borrow the books you need from the library. You may also want to reserve the text books in advance.

c) If the book(s) are not available in your university libraries, ask the librarian whether the book you need can be acquired through other university libraries by Inter Library Loan (ILL), which is quite a popular service of university libraries.

d) If you can’t get the book at all through libraries, buy used books. Many U.S. universities organize used books sale, which is an opportunity for you to buy the books at lower rates.

6. Share your apartment with other students and reduce your rent expenses.

7. Use e-mail, chat, video conferencing as much as possible, rather than telephone calls, for communicating with your parents and others in India.

8. Avoid / minimize travel expenses.

9. Use public transportation, if possible, rather than own or share a car.

Getting Financial Aid to Study at American Universities: Tips For International Graduate Students