This post is a bit long but I’ll really appreciate it if someone who knows can answer some of my questions. Thanks a lot.
I’ll be applying to grad schools in the US and Canada for the coming fall inshallah.
I did my undergrad from the US and my college also had a grad school so I do have some exposure to grad schools, but I’m unaware of a lot of the procedures involved.
One issue that I’m specifically concerned about is funding. I was on a full scholarship for my undergrad so technically I did not have to pay anything from my own pocket. Right now the maximum I can contribute towards grad school from my own pocket is just the fee for one semester, as GRE costs, application costs and then travel and visa expenses etc themselves add up to quite a bit. (I know a bank statement is required for the visa, and inshallah that should be OK to secure a sponsor for that purpose but that won’t help me towards my actual fee.)
In undergrad, I only knew about some Indo-Pak grad students who almost all, were being financed by the university, and used to get TA (teaching assistantship) and RA (research assistantship) from the uni. They were on contract for N number of quarters and had to find new TA and RA ships once the ones they had were over. They were all either in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering and you can easily get TA and RA ships in these two departments usually. I won’t be applying to these two depts though.
What are the different options for funding for international grad students? If you applied to the US as an international grad student: Which schools did you apply to and what options for funding were you considering for yourself?
Second thing is, I saw in the applications for some grad schools, they ask you whether you want to apply for financial aid or not. I don’t know how it works in grad schools, but for undergrad admissions, if you asked for financial aid that actually decreased your chances of admission. Unless its necessary, if asking for financial aid from the university will decrease my admission chances, I wouldn’t want that. Can I bank on TA or RA ships and not ask for finaid from the uni? I’m not sure how this works, and how asking for finaid affects your application. Should I ask for financial aid on those forms or assume that I’ll be able to arrange for my own finances once I get there, ofcourse only through legal means.
I’m not sure who this site is affiliated with, but it has some detailed information about international students and financial aid. It also has several helpful links. Insha’Allah. Most of the international students I know are paying out of pocket or doing TA or RA. Few have scholarships.
salam irem,
i am not sure about ur major or interest in a particular university, but I know of someone who got accepted into a masters program at CSU Hayward this fall on a full scholarship, paid for by the CSU, from pakistan. This person had his bachelors in accounting. I understand that you are familiar with bay area, so I am sure you won't mind coming back (after all, it is one of the best places in the US). Obviously one more (familiar) route that you can try is to get in touch with your old school and see what they have to say. Good luck in advance.
Munni, I was just browsing through the link you put up, it looks really useful and has some info on it that I had no idea abt. Thanks a lot
Jayzee, w’salam, thanks :k:
my major interest is:
a mixture of education and technology or management and technology, or HCI…some program that fits into either/several of these categories…
I’m also asking ppl from my old school for info, but most of them have TA or RA ships and almost all are in CS/EE…
and yup bay area is awesome and I’ll prolly be applying to some bay area unis inshallah
Are you in the bay area as well? Student/Working?
Grad schools are in a clan of their own when it comes to issues like Financial Aid... first and foremost, understand that you'd be doing a huge favor to your faculty who's research you'll be aiding in, hence, they're obliged to you and obligated to pay you... :D o.k. no Not Really!
However you should definitely indicate that you will need financial aid! it will have almost no bearing on the chances of your application being accepted - the reason being that most students who think of grad studies are "genuinely" interested in learning more, and are not doing it for the sake of doing it. So universities are more supportive of them in general.
Secondly, at most universities, financial need is a major criteria to assign TA and RA positions... and your colleagues who qualified for financial aid will be higher on the list for those positions - its strange sometimes because you may be better suited but someone else will get it... now you know why... it happens all the time! and you're right, you'll have to renew those TA and RA assignments every couple of semesters, usually after every academic year for sure.
Finally, its advisable to engage in research based activities with your own supervisor even on a voluntary basis when you start your program... this way when you are a couple of terms into your program, you can start asking for actual paid RA work.
In my university, its usually the profs who indicate their preference for grad students... I usually decline the TA assignments because I've already negotiated RA assignments with my supervisor ahead of time so that I don't have to work as a TA for a second prof. who's research area isn't aligned with mine, and there's little value added. With an RA type assignment, I get to do work that's closer to my own interests and may even get one or two refereed publications out of it.
TA - teaching assistants
RA- Research Assistants
GA- Graduate assistants (work in areas like admission, diff uni offices etc)
GA's are given many times on the basis of need and timing, TA and RA are more based on specific skills needed.
My bro who had a renewable energy background worked as an RA throughout his masters, it was a position he obtained before he even accepted the admission offer.
I had a Research Assistantship which i obtained after i started my program, and this was helping a prof with research which eventually ended up in a book.
I would suggest that you short list your universities and start communications with the profs in the target department there and secure a GA that way.
Fraudz and Umar Talib thanks a lot for your detailed replies :k: really appreciate it
I’v been getting mixed responses from people, and the conclusions I’ve drawn are as follows. if u disagree with em, do lemi know…
each school has its own policy that it follows regarding grad student funding so I need to approach this matter on a school by school basis. If I do plan to apply to a college, in a certain program, I should check with the director/coordinator of that particular program directly abt the finaid issue and how it affects my chances of admission.
since my undergrad was in CS [computer science], I could get into a masters program for lets say a “design and technology” ms track, but could become a TA for lets say an “intro to the C programming language” class in the CS dept, or even a TA for an Arabic prof, it depends on my luck and negotiating skills with profs and what fields/subject matter i have familiarity with, so i shudnt necessarily aim to get TA.RA in my field of masters alone.
i should be ready to pay atleast the first quarter/semester’s fee, and it’ll be easier for me to get a TA/RAship once I’m already enrolled and physically at the institution so i can go and talk to different ppl and contact profs individually.
just some stuff i’ve gathered…could be correct/incorrect in the sense that it might not apply to all situations tho..
Umar has noted all that i would have said, I just want to emphasize, the more pre-work u do the better off you are.
if you are going to a uni and a prof is engaged in research that lines well with your interests, read up on the profs work, contact the prof..express your interest in the work and your desire to be in the program etc, ask about any research positions that are available. My brother was able to get RA offers from multiple unis with his admission, starting first sem.
Irem, sure no problem. Actually I am a faculty just like Umer (not sure about fraudia bhai, but he sure sounds like one). Both of these gentlemen have provided you with some excellent information. Now let me add some twist to it: Have you ever considered a Masters in Biotech? from your background, it sounds like it will be a wonderful career-track for you. Interestingly enough, Cal State San Jose (or SJSU as its also called) is offering a 2 years Masters in Biotechnology program which is sometimes considered at par with the Berkeley program. The fees for the entire 2 year program is only $19,000. You can check it out at www.science.sjsu.edu/mbt Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Jayzee, wow you are faculty! thats so cool mashallah :k:
If its not too personal to ask, which university and which subject? You can ofcourse answer via PM if you don’t want to post here.
Thanks for the info you provided
I would have loved to do biotech actually because biology had been my favorite subject in high school and I had always planned to be a doctor, but I haven’t touched biology in college, so I’m not sure if I have ample background (undergrad courses, work experience) to apply for a grad degree in that.
Another thing with biotech is that it lands you either in companies or academia/research, and that doesn’t sound so appealing for some reason.
Lastly, I don’t know what the scope for biotech is in Pakistan. I’m sure there is some scope, but its not a very common field.
As for SJSU, yup I have heard about it a lot, actually I used to go to Stanford which is very near that I will most probably be applying there for masters as well.
irem i feel biotech is a very strong major. I can tell you just in California they need thousands of people in this field, and companies such as amgen are hiring (still) like crazy. Mashallah you have very strong undergrad background from stanford, and I am pretty sure you can take a couple of bio classes at a local community college to make up for any deficiency. Infact, I know that all students at SJSU have job offers way before they complete their program; hence you can pretty much pick and choose based on your personal preference either academia, lab, or a company. As far as biotech in Pak is concerned, it is indeed a matter of time when it will explode there, and hopefully that time will coincide with your biotech graduation. Lastly, SJSU is an excellent deal and a very good buy at 19,000 for the entire program, and this amount won't burden you with a lot of student loans etc. (i have a funny feeling i am beginning to sound like their admission counselor :-)
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*Originally posted by Jayzee: *
Irem, sure no problem. Actually I am a faculty just like Umer (not sure about fraudia bhai, but he sure sounds like one).
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No yaar, I am not a prof, I just play one on TV :D
Does anyone know how can a US national become international student in his home country. I self financed my undergrad and now need funding for my graduate school expenses. I can not seem to get anything through the "normal" process.
what type of grad programs are you applying to bud?
Business programs are typically the hardest to get financial support for... cuz I guess they think 1) either your company's paying for you, or 2) you can take a loan and repay it later cuz you're bound to make tons of money later.
waise if u r a us national toh kis baat kee fikar hae, u can work for as many hours as u can, and you can take semesters off in the middle, and so on, u can work full time, u can take loans
its us poor int’l students that have so many strict laws confining us
Umar bhai, I am doing masters in electrical engineering. I thought about studying full time and applied to various schools in state and out of state. Most of them sent me acceptance letters without much $ so I end up going to the same school I went to for my undergrad. They knew I won't ask for money so they welcomed me with open arams :) Now I am working full time and studying part time, I have been doing this since my undergrad years, the difference is, at that time I was a full time student with a part time job. I think education department should spend money on poors like us because we are the ones who pay taxes later and thus support the system.
The other thing I don't like is charging out of state tuition from non-residents even if you are US national!
