sunshine22

Hello I am currently a student studying a BA Hons in Tourism Management, later this month I will be going into my final year. I posted on this forum last year as I have just come back from America from doing a one year internship, I had questions regarding my J1 visa. I finish university in May 2012 and my graduation would be in November 2012.

So I am back again, after one year in America I have grown to love the country and would like to go back in the fall 2012 and do a masters course in New York City on a F-1 visa. I have been researching all day everyday for the past few days and have a few questions. I have also read a few threads in this forum.

I have noticed that the tuition fees and living expensive in NYC are a lot more expensive that in England. My first question is how do people afford it, my parents are unable to help me with the costs. I have read that as I will be an international student I will not be entitled for financial aid but can get loans. Where do you get these loans? Would I have to show the university/college that I have to money before they offer me a place there or will they offer me a place and then assist me with obtaining a loan? I have noticed there are assistantships and fellowships and I plan to try and do that. I believe I am also able to work on campus for upto 20 hours so I plan on doing that also. I saw on one website that to receive money from a university you have to have a social security number which I do not have, do you think this is true? I could also be a resident assistant on campus and in return receive free housing.

Also I have noticed a few people’s getting the visa denied as they have been unable to show strong ties to there home country. I would be a newly graduated student who has just left a 3 year university degree, therefore I will not have a lot of savings, a job or a property. So how am I supposed to show strong ties to England? My family and friends are here, I am an only child my mother and father both have houses so I guess I could say I have those to come back to. Any other suggestions?

I would be grateful for any advice, opinions and links you may have.

Thank you in advance

scrubbedexpat099

You either save it, get it gifted or borrow it.

So if the second is out then talk to you Bank or Building Society. You could also talk to the Uni, but that seems unlikely. Can you get a scholarship?

The working on campus has strings, maybe OK for future pocket money.

Free housing sounds good.

md95065

As a prospective international student you will have to demonstrate that you meet both the entry requirements and the financial requirements for the course that you want to take before the school will issue you with the I-20 form which you need to have in order to be able to apply for an F-1 visa.

I believe that you are only eligible for the on-campus employment after you have completed at least one semester. Do not assume that on-campus employment will be available, will continue to be available, or will pay more than a very small amount. While holders of F-1 visas are not normally eligible for social security numbers they can (and, in fact, must) get one if they are working on-campus - essentially you get a letter from the school's "designated official" for international students saying that you need an SSN and then you can apply for one.

There are even more people (most of whom do not post on here) who get F-1 visas with little or no problem - in many cases it just comes down to whether or not they believe that you intend to comply with the terms of the visa - if they believe you then you will never even be explicitly asked for any kind of evidence - if they don't believe you then no amount of evidence will convince them.

zerlesen

Often, "financial aid" just means government-backed loans. It seems to me you wouldn't be eligible, but I have no personal experience with that system. You can get private loans anywhere you like. (Unless you're very, very sure of your future marketability, I wouldn't recommend it.) The institution should have someone working in the admissions office whose job it is to talk to prospective international students about this sort of thing.

Best of luck, but you're talking about moving to pretty much the most expensive place in the country. One way people afford college is by not trying to live in New York when they don't have a reasonable income or independent means. (Another way is by running up massive loans that then haunt them for decades.)

Don't count on it.

If you make it this far, that part would not be a problem. It takes a little while to process the application, though, and the institution won't pay you until the SSN is issued.

tht

Some peoples parents in the US start saving when children are in their early teens or younger, most of my friends in the US did a mixture of loans and parents helping out.

Expensive tuition in the US is the norm and people prepare for it years in advance. Others will work their way through college with study in the day and jobs nights and weekends.. not having the ability to work will stop you following that path.

tht