This one’s gonna be really useful for the ones who are really worried whether they have enough money or not to complete their masters degree in the US. Here’s a break up of the expenses that you are likely to incur when you come to the US for your masters. I would like to remind the readers that these figures are from the point of view of University of Missouri - Rolla.
All International students fall in the category of non-residents. So here’s the break up accordingly.
1. Resident Tuition Fee (9 credit hours) : $2582.10
2. Non-Resident Tuition Fee (9 credit hours) : $4085.10
3. Supplemental Fees : $471.60
4. Other Fees(Health, Memberships etc) : $446.88
5. Health Insurance : $438.00
6. Total (per semester) : $8023.68
7. Monthly Expenses for first 5 months : $1700.00
Grand Total (For 5 months of study and stay) : $9723.68
Your course of study lasts for approximately 18 months. Doing a little bit of math, the total required amount comes up to $35005. 25. That sounds really scary and for the one’s who cannot afford it, it sure is disheartening. What I have written so far is the worst case scenario. Generally, almost 85% of the students get supported in some way or the other. First let me talk about the assistantships/fellowships. When you start working as a Research Assistant, the figures in the list numbered 2,3 and 4 become zero. That itself reduces your total expense by nearly $5000 per semester. Effectively, $1000 per month and thus in 18 months, your total expense is halved. Also, as a research assistant you will get paid at least $800 per month. So, over 12 months of work that you will do, you earn another $9600. So now the total expense has come down to somewhere about $9000.00. This amount can easily be obtained from banks at a decent interest rate and can be re-payed with a lot of facilities. The jobs generally people get, pay you around $50000 per year. If you assume your living expense to be even $1000 per month, you spend only $12000 in a year and assuming that you were not at all supported by the college, you can easily pay off the total expense for your complete education in just one year. And then its just profit making.
It’s not really that difficult to complete your masters with a shortage of funds.
I have explained the worst case where you don’t get funded and also the case where you have some funding. There have also been cases where people save money after completing their education. Remember a couple of things. Firstly, these are expenses in a state where living costs are low and a university which is not that expensive. Secondly, these are not the only expenses. You will spend quite an amount on pre-departure stuff like applications, shopping, flight ticket etc. Be prepared for all that and remember its an investment worth making which can earn you rich dividends later.
With the advent of online banking a housewife involved in work at home business can easily access her account and make payments conveniently. The cheap loans are available for the progressive small businesses willing to grow with a debt relief package to make paying back easy. One even doesn’t have to show buy to let mortgages for getting the loans. Now being in debt is not being in trouble. Even all the formalities involved in submitting a credit card application have been made trouble free for the customers.
Popularity: 68% [?]
thanks alot it helped a lot to convince my dad abt my funds.. it really helped a lot.. thanks alot
harshini
October 16th, 2007
@Harshini
It feels great if the information on this site help anyone and thats the reason we are doing this. In case you have any other doubts feel free to contact us. The after-grad team is always there to help you. All the best.
Pratik Shah
October 17th, 2007
its too gr8 n helpful for me type of student …………who is new to this feild n obiviously it help some new contestents also .good work
Krishna
October 20th, 2007
@Krishna
We are glad that our efforts are of help to you. Feel free to contact us about any doubts you have.
Pratik Shah
October 21st, 2007
The situation now caused more students graduated in deep debt. This is a nice analysis.
KCLau
October 21st, 2007
Would like to add that for other universities, you can scale all numbers by a certain factor considering how expensive it is relative to UMR.
Pratik Shah
October 26th, 2007
[…] presents How much will you actually need?? posted at After-Grad.com. This articles shows you the expenses you should expect if you are going […]
Blog Carnival: Personal Finance Oct 27
October 27th, 2007
u guys r doing a great job.
this site is worth.
i am planning for fall 08.
i am working with accenture for past 1 year.
if i would be helpful to u guys i would be glad.
vivek
October 30th, 2007
thanx a lot buddies !
this site is excellent for gre aspirants !
i m engg. under graduate & a gre aspirant ..i m plannin for gre spring ‘08
can u post some more details regardin scholorships.
peeyush
October 30th, 2007
@Peeyush
There are a lot of misconceptions regarding scholarships. A lot of universities offer scholarships with your admits even before you finalize the university. It’s just an added bonus for you to select the university. These scholarships continuing is often conditional but not the conditions are not difficult to maintain. Then there are assistantships which I have described in my post ‘Fundas of Funds’. Also, for PhD students or students with work-ex, often universities offer assistantships with the admit. You have to be lucky for that. If you need any more information feel free to contact the after-grad team at any time. All the best for your future….
Pratik Shah
October 31st, 2007
Hello Pratik,
I have scored 1140(Q-750 V-390).I want to do MS in VLSI.Please evaluate my profile and suggest me some good universities with some kind of aid or scholarship.
I have a LOR from MENTOR GRAPHICS.
Thanks and Regards,
Gaurav Sharma
Gaurav Sharma
November 5th, 2007
@Gaurav
From personal experience, I feel UMR is a good option since there are a lot of funds in VLSI here. At least thats what I have heard. Other than UMR, you can look at Syracuse, NJIT, NY Poly and George Washington Uni. I hope you want to do VLSI as an interest and not only because the job scenario is good. I have seen a lot of people drop the courses because they cannot cope with it. Another good place is University of Texas - Arlington and also Northwestern university in California(Not highly rated).
Pratik Shah
November 5th, 2007
Hi! I really like your site; it’s very useful.
Would it be possible for you to evaluate my profile too?
I secured 68% in my final year of Computer Engg from Mumbai Univ.
I have scored 1420 in the GRE(Q-740 V-680) and 114 in the TOEFL.I want to do MS in Computer Science. Please suggest me some good universities where I could get maximum aid or scholarship.
I was working with Infosys Technologies Ltd. for an year and would get 1 or 2 LORs from there.
Thanks and Regards,
Veena.
Veena
November 10th, 2007
Thanks for the appreciation Veena. You have an excellent profile and you stand a very good chance of scholarships/funding from good Universities. I am not knowledgeable enough to suggest you the names of any Universities suiting your profile but you could apply to Universities having ranks in the range of 15-30. Check Usnews for rankings. We wish you all the best for your future!
Manjiri Keskar
November 10th, 2007
@Veena
Your GER score is awesome. Seems like you have a great command over English considering your verbal and TOEFL scores. As far as computer science goes, I am really jealous of these people. They have a real advantage which allows them to get funded in any department. The only reason is that most of the research need software to support it. As far as selecting universities is concerned, it is obvious that you should apply to the top schools but make sure you speak to seniors there through one of the community sites and confirm the funding scenario there because it varies vastly. Feel free to post any more questions you have and we will be glad to answer them.
Pratik Shah
November 11th, 2007
Thanks Manjiri and Pratik. I’ll get back to you if I have any more doubts.
Veena
November 11th, 2007
[…] How Much will you Actually Need (for your masters) by After Grad […]
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November 19th, 2007
hi pratik…
read all yr columns and posts.
I can just say u and manjiri are doing fantastic job.
hats off to u guys.
Now coming to my querry.
I am a Electronics & Communications engg 2007 grad.
1.Can you tell me actually how much amount you need to show visa officer so that he gives you visa?
2.I have heard that you need to show just 1st year full expense of uni and you will get visa, is it true?
3.can tell me how much money one actually needs to pursue complete masters in U.S atleast you can say of UMR?
parth
November 22nd, 2007
@Parth
Thanks a lot for you appreciation. Let me answer your questions one by one.
1. The amount that you need to show is generally the complete expense for the course duration including your living and tuition. Your course may end in 18-24 months depending on the university.
2. Generally they do not actually check your funds availability till they have a doubt or they just dont want to give you the visa. They will ask you a question or two about the finances and trust you on that. So do not lie there. Your papers and your answers should tally.
3. I have described the actual requirement of funds for UMR. You can read above. Also, it varies from state to state and university to university.
I hope you find this helpful. IF you have any more questions, fell free to ask us.
Pratik Shah
November 23rd, 2007
Dear Pratik,
Wonderful Work!!!
Geting straight to the point, I am just dreaming abt GRE. Nothing planned since my pop doesnt have so much money, im sure.
1.My dad doesnt own any property
2.My dad doesnt even pay the Income Tax (no return statements)
3.I dont want my relatives help(I dont mind taking help for showing the cash in the account).
Will the bank hlp me?
Does 1.,2.,3. come in my way for a visa if bank helps me?
Thanks in advance.
Roshnee
November 23rd, 2007
@Roshnee
I hate discouraging people but the problem is that you need IT papers for your sponsors for the past 3 years. This is a sure shot question in the visa interview that whats your sponsors annual income. If your parents dont and someone else sponsors you, you will have to give a good enough reason for that person sponsoring you. So effectively, only the second point from your concerns will be a problem. I should not be advising you to do this but, you may go without the papers and hope that you are not asked for verification. But in case you are asked, the you are in SUPER trouble. So dont try that. If you have any more doubts then do let me know.
Pratik Shah
November 24th, 2007
[…] How much will you actually need??- If you’re considering persuing your Masters (like I am), After-Grad.com looks at the expenses you’re likely to incur. I particularly like the fact the numbers aren’t based on an ivy league school but a Mid-West state university. So often pieces I see on college expenses are based on either ivy league schools or schools in states with high costs of living. The fact that there is a whole lot of America between California and the Eastern seaboard seems to be frequently overlooked. Bookmark to: If you found this page useful, consider linking to it. Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)It will look like this: My First Blog Carnival<a href="http://moneyclipped.com/2007/11/12/my-first-blog-carnival/">My First Blog Carnival</a> […]
MONEY CLIPPED » My First Blog Carnival
November 25th, 2007
Thats a good analysis dude.. I got one more query…i got admit for fall -08 in UMR I dont carry any aid.. will the assistantships RA be sufficient imaginin i work damn hard to fund all my MS & save some money for living expenses?… i have 2 yr work exp at IBM Thanks pratik
Manoj
December 13th, 2007
@Manoj
I think it should be almost fine… just about… it will pretty much be a break even type situation.
Pratik Shah
December 14th, 2007
Hi Pratik i also hold a auburn fall 08 admit .How is UMR mech dept..& i dunno what break even situation means .can you explain that Thanks.. keep up the gud work
Manoj
December 14th, 2007
Break even means that you will be almost recover all that you have invested i.e. paid up initially for ur fees and stuff. For that it is important that you get an assistantship as soon as possible. See my posts on Fundas of Funds for more details.
Pratik Shah
December 14th, 2007
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
Idetrorce
December 15th, 2007
u r doin a great job man! kudos to u!… btw, hows umr for communication and signal processing?…
andrick jones
December 26th, 2007
@Andrick
UMR is really good for Electrical especially. When it comes to Comm and Sig Proc, it pretty decent. It has one of the best Electromagnetics courses.
Pratik Shah
December 27th, 2007
hey guys!!!! this blog seemed very useful to me….well one query i hav is tat….ive applied for fall 2008 into 12 universities, my score being 1110….well i needed to kno tat is it posbl to defer the admission by nxt term or nxt fall for some reason ……will it affect perhaps the assistantship/scolorship will b given?
ive not got the replies frm them yet, but things r not working for me now….n im really willing to b der…
vidhya
February 3rd, 2008
@Vidhya
The scholarships/assisantships granted are retained for 90% of the time if you defer.
Manjiri Keskar
February 6th, 2008
Hey guys ..U r doin a great job in helpimg ppl out…I too hav a few queries..
I m doin my B.E(3rd yr). from Delhi college of engg..I will b giving my GRE in april, n prob expecting a score of app 1400( fingrs xrossd)…Also I have been a member of 2 research/vehicle projects ,SAE supermileage n Formula student(these r events which have taken place in USA n UK)..also i hav 2 research pprs…n .. m the gen sec of SAE DCE chapter..but the problem wid me is my coll marks r really poor (59%) ….I m plannin to do MS in aerodynamics..so can u tell me in which colls cn i get through..
Thanks a lot..
Aniket Samat
March 7th, 2008
nd..i m doin mechanical engg…
Aniket Samat
March 7th, 2008
@Aniket
Its really strange that with such a great profile, your acads are a little low. I think with your exceptional case you may be able to get into most universities. Make sure that you contact professors from the universities you apply to. They may want you in even if the admissions dept may not recommend you. That will help. I suggest you apply to MS&T because here we have a formula SAE racing team which is pretty highly rated. All the best!!!
Pratik Shah
March 8th, 2008
@Hradik
Your profile seems excellent. The worrying factor is AWA. I hope that does not cause a problem. Achievements as winners counts. Do not send or mention participation certis since you have so many winners certificates. Do not bother to send gk quiz and stuff which is not really important. CSI involvements will be helpful. I think your unis are a little ambitious but you should be fine. Look at applying to a couple of unis which are safe.
Pratik Shah
March 9th, 2008
hey in my case i’m thinkin of apply this june after i get my sisth sem result which the universities req. with the present score . . nw in case i’m not accepted can i reapply with a fresh gre score which i will be given in oct in case i don’t get selected. . .
i will also be givin the subject test in august . . for which i have already taken the date . . UCLA asks for subject test . .
another thing in case i get admitted to one of the university and retake the gre after that and apply to some other university on that new gre score than is this thing legal . . or i have to also report my new score to university i’m selected in. . .plz reply on this . .
n i guess usc will be fine on this score . ..
i will be givin toefl in may . . .
hardik
March 9th, 2008
hey thanks a lot for taking time out…i will defi. take help of the tips u gave me…
I had 2 ask one thing more..are the uni.’s such as cornell , MIT Amherst or Caltech too ambitious??
Aniket Samat
March 9th, 2008
@Hardik
Frankly spekaing, I have never thought of all these complications. As far as taking the GRE again in oct is concerned, I dont think any of the universities will reply so early. The remaining questions will be better answered by the universities individually.
Pratik Shah
March 11th, 2008
@aniket
I guess Cornell and Caltech may be too ambitious. May be Umass AMherst is just ok..
Pratik Shah
March 11th, 2008
hey thanks mate for the information . . .it was really helpful . . .
and ya what is the ideal time for the universities to reply in case apply so early???
and one other question was on taking gre again, are the new scores counted or the average is counted???
hardik
March 11th, 2008
@Hardik
Some universities consider the average score. Most of them take into account the latest score. You would be better off asking the universities about his.
For the fall semester, generally the universities will reply to you sometime in november (this is really early). Most replies will come only after the end of January.
Pratik Shah
March 12th, 2008
Hey thanks buddy you are doin a great job keep it up!!!
hardik
March 14th, 2008
hello friends,
all the after-grad bloggers have done a great job.everything from scratch has been discussed here.
here is my query:-
You have mentioned ‘Financial documents’ under the list of documents for application.what does that include?does it include the bank statement as a guarantee for further studying.in that case i will need to apply for a bank loan before anything can be done.
pratik dhruv
July 6th, 2008
@Pratik
Generally financial documents refer to all the liquid assets that your sponsor possesses. I guess you are referring to financial documents with the application for admission. In that case, you will need a statement from a CA/bank that says that your sponsor’s net worth is enough for you to be able to complete your studies.
Pratik Shah
July 9th, 2008
Dear sir,
I son is doing his final year mechanical engineering in Vit. He has scored a GRE score of 1360 and is yet to take tofel. He has got 8.7 ie 87percent in his acadamics. He intends to do his final year project in Ashok leyland. what are his chances of getting admitted in top us universities?
P.gita
July 18th, 2008
@P.gita
That looks like a very strong profile. You should definitely try for the top universities.
Pratik Shah
July 27th, 2008
Hello.
The Good resource. Much what interesting for itself has found.
Bye.
nikita216
August 30th, 2008
student loans defer payments…
After reading your article I am left with the feeling that there is more to this topic than I originally thought….
Eric
November 4th, 2008
Hello..I am a B.E electronics final year student.In order to decide what to do next(i have got a job too.i am planning to work for 2 yrs and go for higher studies),i was doing google search to figure out whether MS suits me where i came across this awesome site.I have got a few questions for which am finding answers so that i can justify myself that my decisions are proper.
1.I dont have a profile that can fetch me a assistantship.i have good academic percentage but i have not worked on projects or presented any papers.So whats other source of earning while studying..?
2.Considering worst case scenario(no fundings),it may cost around 20L rs.Is it possible to repay it back soon.?I have heard that we can send INDIA 40% of whatever we earn there..true?
Thanks in advance
sharath
March 19th, 2010