The universities may provide financial aid in the form of:
PhD students are preferred for offering scholarships or assistantships since the university would want you to be free of financial obligations since the pressure of research activities is great. Also the PhD students are looked as a great asset to the school since you would effectively contribute to the school's resources through their work..: Fellowship
In case of Fellowship, you are offered a complete tuition waiver and a stipend for bearing living expenses. Often fellowships are merit-based, meaning they are competitive based on one's academic performance, test scores and SOP or application essays. Several but not all U.S. schools offer scholarship and aid to foreign students. You should check with the schools to which you are applying to see if they have such scholarships and their requirements.
.: Assistantships
Assistantships require you to provide services to the university and you are paid a stipend for it. In some cases the tuition is waived while in other cases it gets transferred to in-state fees. (40-50% reduced amount from out-stet fees). The following are the different assistantships that are offered by the US schools: Graduate Assistantship (GA):
The positions include computer lab consultants, student helper at the graduate office and library. It helps if you have specific computing skills and organizational abilities when applying for these positions. You are also assigned short-term projects like maintaining the college web page, data entry jobs or data base maintenance.
Teaching Assistantship (TA):
There are two kinds of teaching assistants at the universities, one who are given grading jobs and the other who are given teaching assignments. Schools have an Oral English Proficiency Test for selecting candidates for the teaching position. You would be expected to have done the same course or similar course for a teaching position.
Research Assistantship (RA):
Research Assistantship usually requires you to assist the faculty member in research activities. Some universities have a non-thesis option for students, which require only course work as degree requirements. In some schools only students opting for a thesis option are eligible for a RA. Normally the student with a thesis option works on the thesis under the person for whom he works as a research assistant. You should contact the concerned departments describing your research interest. The availability of financial assistance varies from field to field. .: Tuition Waiver
In this case the university waives of partial tuition fees or waives off full tuition fees. However general fees (for the use of university facilities like the library, computers, sports and health services) and the living expenses usually have to be borne by you.
.: On Campus Jobs
Your international student visa permits you to work on campus on a part-time basis for 20 hours per week. The positions include student helpers at the university bookstore, campus post office, dining halls, supervisory roles at graduate housing office etc. you will be paid on an hourly basis and that would be sufficient to you're your living expenses.
.: Co-operative Education
Universities that are situated in locations with a high concentration of industries offer a co-operative education option. After the first semester or year of study depending on your grades the International Student's Office issues a complimentary practical training card to the students that allows you to work off-campus for 20 hours per week. The work however has to be related to the chosen field of specialisation and you need to maintain a certain GPA throughout.
NOTE: There is very little aid for MBA program; rather it is very rare that MBA applicants get aid. This is because the workload at an MBA level is so high that schools feel that it is difficult for the students to work while they study.
|
|
