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Cost of studying in the USA

You should be able to find the total cost of studying per year (called 鈥渢he cost of attendance鈥�) on a university website (it may be in a section called financial aid).听听

Unlike a UK university, it is not unusual for the cost of attendance to include more than tuition fees 鈥� it may also include any additional fees, health insurance and costs like room and board and personal expenses, depending on how the university approaches this information. This is important to remember if you are trying to compare costs to attend a UK university with a US college!

Remember that the 鈥榮ticker price鈥� isn鈥檛 always the net cost 鈥� if you are able to secure funding this can reduce the actual cost to you and your family. Using strategies like looking for funding to reduce the cost charged is very normal for US families with students heading to college.

Why funding is important to get a visa

To get a visa, you鈥痭eed to prove to the consular officers at the Embassy that you have access to funding for the first year of your study, either through personal funds or through funding from a university or external funding body. Too often, students leave funding until the end and then miss out on a place because they cannot get the funding together before they need to apply for a visa. 听

As EducationUSA advisors, funding is one of the top questions we receive from UK students, and so this guide is to help you secure funding.

Consider application costs and other costs before you actually start at university

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 plan for:听

• Admissions exam fees (ACT or SAT), if required ($100-$200鈥痯er sitting)听
• Application fees ($50-$100 per university), payable when you submit an application to a US 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 to pay around $650. This will be paid once you have accepted a place at a US college and are applying for a student visa.听

If you can demonstrate that paying a fee to apply to a college would pose a financial hardship to your family, some universities will waive their application fee. You should contact each university to find out their procedures for this.听

It is very rare for non-US citizens to be eligible for admissions exam fee waivers, even if you come from a low income family. Remember, you should always check if the colleges you plan to attend actually require an admissions exam - many do not! 听

Tuition fees听

All universities will list tuition costs on their websites as part of their cost of attendance. Tuition fees will vary widely from institution to institution. 听

Community colleges tend to have much lower fees compared to other institutions, and this is often charged "per credit hour" - essentially the more classes you take, the higher the cost. 4-year colleges and universities will normally charge per semester or per year (regardless of how many classes you are taking).

Public universities tend to have lower fees than private institutions since they receive funding from the state where they are located.听

Something to keep in mind, as an international student, you are considered an 鈥榦ut-of-state鈥� or 鈥榠nternational鈥� student at all public universities, so make sure you are checking the right cost amounts. And whilst public universities may have lower tuition costs, private universities might have more generous funding opportunities available for international students.鈥�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 (clothes, toiletries, fun, travel, mobile phone etc)
• 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 university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 so you know that the universities you are applying to have funding available.

Researching cost of universities

Use our university cost research worksheet to keep track of each university鈥檚 cost of attendance as you do your research and to compare costs between institutions.

University funding

Your best resource for funding will be the university to which you are applying to. Many universities offer significant funding to international students - it pays to be flexible and open-minded about where you apply!听

US universities can offer several types of funding to international students. With all of these types of aid, you will want to double check on each institution鈥檚 website to ensure their aid is available to international students.听

Need-based financial aid听

Some universities offer need-based financial aid, based on a family鈥檚 financial circumstances. Your financial need鈥痠s calculated by subtracting the amount your family is able to contribute towards your university education from a university's鈥痯ublished cost of attendance. 听

Note that the university will determine how much your family is able to contribute based on your family鈥檚 financial situation, so your expected family contribution will be based on how much the university determines your family is able to pay, not what your family is willing to pay.听听

Not all universities offer need-based financial aid, and not all of them offer it to international students, so if this is something you feel you would need in order to attend a US institution, you will want to incorporate this into your research process from the beginning. Some universities offer need-based aid for a certain proportion of the cost to attend - for example, up to the cost of tuition. In this case, depending on the family's financial circumstances the highest award would be equal to the cost of tuition and the student and their family would need to cover the living costs of attending that university.

If you are planning to apply for need-based financial aid and your family have nothing to contribute, you may wish to apply only to institutions that commit to meeting 100% of a student鈥檚 demonstrated need.听Competition for need-based aid is extremely high and you will want to ensure you are an extremely strong applicant for that college.听

Applications for university funding are often integrated into the application for admission. For need-based financial aid, you will likely have to fill in the鈥� to demonstrate your family's financial background. You should check if the university uses the CSS Profile, or if they use鈥痶heir own system.听

Merit-based scholarships听

Some universities will offer merit-based scholarships to admitted students.听These scholarships are awarded鈥痮n conditions of merit in a few categories, such as:听

• Official鈥痵chool qualifications and grades听
• Admissions exam results听
• Performing arts talent听
• Community service听
• Extracurricular involvement鈥�听

You can find the details of these scholarships on individual university websites. Applications for university funding are often integrated into the application for admission. Merit scholarships might require writing an additional essay or submitting your application by an earlier date.听

Niche scholarships听

Niche scholarships are offered to attract particular applicants, in order to fulfil a particular mission or need at the university.听They might be based on any type of applicant criteria, such as:听

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

You can find the details of these scholarships on individual university websites. Applications for university funding are often integrated into the application for admission.听

Sports scholarships听

Read our dedicated section about athletic scholarships.听

Do they offer it?听

Use the following resources to find universities that offer financial aid and/or scholarships to international students:听

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

Make sure you indicate you are an international student if this is an option.听

These resources are not exclusive. Remember to check the websites of each university you're interested in, to see if they offer funding to international students. This includes the pages for:听

• Admissions offices听
• Financial aid offices听
• 厂辫别肠颈蹿颈肠鈥痉别辫补谤迟尘别苍迟蝉听

Need-blind vs. need-aware听

Dozens of鈥痷niversities will fund the full demonstrated financial need of admitted international students. It鈥檚 important to be aware, however, that due to budgetary constraints many of these will factor an applicant's financial circumstances into their admissions decision. This is known as need-aware鈥痑dmissions. If you鈥痟ave high financial need, you will want to make sure that your applicant profile is very competitive compared to the typical applicant at that institution.听

Some universities are鈥�need-blind鈥痑nd do not base your admissions decision on your financial circumstances. However, whilst these universities鈥痙o not take your finances into account during the admissions process and will meet your full financial need if you are admitted, very few universities in the USA are need-blind鈥痑nd they are the most competitive for admission.听

While you may see some universities using these terms, do not be fooled! Need-blind institutions are not more generous with their financial aid packages, they often have some of the most competitive admissions processes and in reality you might find you are the most competitive applicant at a need-aware school. You should focus on ensuring that your applicant profile is competitive compared to the typical applicant at that institution. 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

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

There is bound to be a scholarship applicable to your situation. The following resources can help you search for scholarships based on your circumstances:听

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

Applying for external scholarships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.听

There are thousands of funding bodies so searching will require time and dedication to sift through scholarship listings and submit separate applications to each body.听

It鈥檚 also important to note that the amount awarded by an external funding body can vary greatly. Scholarships may range from very small amounts awarded on a one-time basis to very generous scholarships that cover the full cost of attendance at an institution. For these reasons, we encourage students to first apply for university funding opportunities and then for external funding.听

External scholarships webinar听

Watch our webinar for more tips on finding and applying for external scholarships.听

Loans

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

Unfortunately, the student loans available in the UK are not available for use for studying in another country, unless you are doing a year abroad from a UK degree.听

In the US, it鈥檚 common for US students to either have help from their family for studies or if this is not available or doesn't cover the full cost, they will often take out US student loans. 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.听

Funding when you get to the USA

There may be further financial opportunities once you get to the USA, but be aware these cannot be accepted as proof of funding during your first visa interview and you will need to show that you have funding in place before you go.听

However, while you are studying in the USA, new鈥痵cholarships might come up or be open to students part way through their degree. You can work on campus up to 20 hours a week during term time and up to 40 hours a week during the holidays.听

After your first year, you could apply to be part of the student residence team and receive free on-campus housing and meals in exchange for helping to manage a residence hall.

The bottom line: consider a funding strategy

If receiving funding is essential for you to attend a US university, be sure to incorporate this research into your choosing process so that you ultimately only apply to universities you鈥檇 realistically be able to afford if you were admitted and received the maximum amount of financial aid you鈥檇 be eligible for.听听

Here are some tips to securing an affordable US education if funding is a key concern:听

• Start early and put the effort in to research universities and external funding bodies offering funding to international students听
• Be flexible in choosing your universities and locations, to minimise costs consider applying to universities with lower tuition costs or lower costs of living听
• Collect funding from many different sources听
• Continue applying to scholarships after the university application deadlines
• Scholarships and need-based financial aid go to the top applicants in an admissions pool, and competition for admission, let alone this funding, is fierce between international students. By adjusting the colleges you apply to, you may find you can affect the level of competition. Perhaps you're just scraping in in terms of academic profile of the university you're looking at - you should consider finding other universities where you will be academically at the top of the admissions pool. Or maybe you are applying to a university that is a household name here in the UK - the likelyhood is that so will hundreds of other British students be applying there, and you may stand out more if you apply to an equally-as-selective university that is less well known here in the UK, where you will stand out as one of the only applicants from the UK.听

Understanding financial aid and the cost of studying in the US to you

Have you been admitted to a US university and received financial aid? Congratulations! Use our worksheet to help you understand what you and your family can expect to pay after you take your financial aid into account. If you鈥檝e been accepted at more than one university then you should complete this worksheet for each institution to help you compare your offers. With this information in hand, you will then be better equipped to decide where you鈥檇 ultimately like to enrol.