College in Boston (Worcester, Springfield, Lowell: apartments, for rent, credit)

[Tim131]

Hi all,

I'm shuffling between Ireland and the UK at the moment, doing my BSc in the UK. Upon graduation I would LOVE to study in Boston, as I love the city, and have family connections over there. However I'm wondering as I'm an international student, is there a bit of discrimination in the college system? obviously the colleges should choose the residents over internationals, but what I'm asking is do a lot of international students get in to colleges over there? Now I'm not talking about MIT or Harvard, as I know the whole of the country try to get into there, so I wouldn't have a chance. But for internationals is Boston a good place to be studying, it is soooo expensive though, It would cost €40,000 + to study in BU, and around €25,000 to study in UMass, Boston. As I say I'd love to study there, for either a masters or a PhD, but at that type of money its pushing it, as I'm fairly poor and will want to be going straight after I leave college in the UK. Is there some sort of loan system? or like grants for internationals. As far as I'm aware you can't get part time jobs when studying either, so thats pretty bad for me, as I say, I don't have a lot of money, and my family certainly don't.

I know this is a weird place to be asking, but I figure, thousands of MA residents must go on this site, at least one of them is bound to have an idea.

Many Thanks,

Tim

[bryan6]

I went to BU for a year and can say that for the most part they do not seem to discriminate. I had classes with a lot of international students. I think they have two separate quotas to fill, in-country and international. So, as long as you have the grades and are qualified you shouldn't have an issue.

[shiver]

There are lots of international students in Boston. However, they usually have to prove that they can afford to pay the tuition. I don't know very much about financial assistance for international students, but I would suggest contacting the financial aid offices of the schools that you are considering. They may be able to point you in the right direction.

[Tim131]

OK, Thanks for that guys! I will just focus on my studies then, and worry about the finances closer the time. Sorry for the late reply.

[zoo_x]

Tim are you talking about undergrad or master/PhD? since the financial situation is totally different for those options

[Tim131]

Hi Zoo, I'm talkin about graduate study, like a PhD or a masters! Thanks

[zoo_x]

Did i see you on CC's forum too?

just so you know---my engineering PhD program at BU pay around $27k/yr stipend and plus a tuition waiver, other schools in the area should be similar (I also got NEU's offer, almost identical stipend amount), so you wont need to worry about cost of study. If money really is a big factor to you, you can focus on PhD over masters. (Masters dont cover your tuition and is expensive in Boston)

[Yixi]

Originally Posted by zoo_x

Did i see you on CC's forum too?

just so you know---my engineering PhD program at BU pay around $27k/yr stipend and plus a tuition waiver, other schools in the area should be similar (I also got NEU's offer, almost identical stipend amount), so you wont need to worry about cost of study. If money really is a big factor to you, you can focus on PhD over masters. (Masters dont cover your tuition and is expensive in Boston)

Tim, Zoo is right. If you really want to study in the US--Boston specifically--and want to avoid the expense, then apply to Ph.D. programs at the schools you are targeting. Obviously, you want to apply to the schools that have the doctoral program(s) you are interested in. However, I would apply to as many as possible so that you will have more options in the end. The schools in the Boston area that may have programs you would be interested in are Boston University, Boston College, UMass Boston, Tufts University, Northeastern and Brandeis University.

Most master's programs do not provide good funding and can cost you a lot in the end. However, I have met very few people who have paid for their Ph.D. If you are good, a program will provide you with funding that will cover your tuition and fees, plus pay you a stipend to live on. In exchange, as a Ph.D. student, you are expected to serve as a teaching assistant and to teach and tutor undergraduate students. This is not always but most often the case. There is no discrimination as to whether you are a US citizen or an international student at the doctoral level; it does not matter. The discrimination, as you call it, mostly takes place at the undergraduate level because that is where federal (government) funding is most often offered to students. That funding is largely based on collected taxes, therefore, being a citizen and sometimes (depending on the school) a resident of a particular state will determine how much funding you will receive.

If you are good and they want you, a university or doctoral program will fund you. Because of this, I would advise you to also apply to Harvard and MIT. Also close by is Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It is an excellent (Ivy League) school that is only about 45 minutes to one hour away from Boston. I know you want to be in Boston but Brown is excellent and close enough to meet your needs. In the end, you would walk away with a degree from a most respected American institution. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Best of luck.

[DreamworksSKG]

Have you considered some of the state schools as well? I went to Salem State College and the education was great, the location being in Salem was cool too - there's commuter rail into the city there- and the education I found to be challenging and the professors were excellent. The main thing is you are saving a ton of money tuition wise by going to Salem State --I would highly recommend Salem State and renting an apartment in Salem area..--the only issue at SSC is the amount of available parking but there is housing for rent to students within walking distance to campus, plus you can walk to downtown salem--a few blocks away or grab the SSC Shuttle or the MBTA bus Salem is a cool area and SSC has a lot of great Academic Programs.
Maybe its not HArvard or BU but its still a great institution in my opinion.
Salem State College : Salem State Home
President Clinton Visited there back in 1998. They also have a cool speaker series each year with famous people every year.


Another option would be to check out Framingham State, Fitchburg St, UMASS Lowell, Umass Amherst (in Springfield), WPI in Worcester, Clark University (Worcester area), Brandeis (Waltham), Bentley (Waltham), and Northeastern University. Umass Boston would be a good choice as well.
in Bridgewater there is BSC - Bridgewater State College as well.
Emerson is mostly theater-communications, arts, and tv/film production
Emerson College - Bringing Innovation to Communication and the Arts

Here's a list of some other colleges in the area and universities



Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[DreamworksSKG]

The best thing about Salem State is the quality of professors and education per degree program - the location - and ease of getting into Boston if you need to - and most of all the cost of tuitition savings

Out of State - Day Undergraduate
$293.75 --per credit
$3,525.00 ---tuititon per semester out of state

SPRING

$293.75 -per credit
$3,525.00 --tuititon per semester out of state -

Out of State - Evening Undergraduate $150.00
$150.00 -per credit

Total 1 year - out of state tuitition - would be about $7,000 for the full year, and its basically the same education as a bigger private expensive school
I would highly recommend you look into Salem State College

in state people if you're from Mass already the tuititon is even cheaper being a state school

IN STATE TUITION!!! QUITE AMAZING IF YOU ASK ME

FALL SPRING
Per Credit
Full Time*
Per Credit
Full Time*

In State - Day Undergraduate
FALL

$37.92 -- PER CREDIT
$455.00 -- PER SEMESTER

SPRING

$37.92 --PER CREDIT
$455.00 --PER SEMESTER


TOTAL TUITION PER YEAR - IN STATE

$910 + fees could bring it up to around $1000-1500
for the year IN STATE

of course then you add in cost of housing and books/apartments
but it would beat the private schools any day and its basically the same education in my opinion

Please do yourself a favor and look into SSC (come to campus for a visit, tour downtown salem and such) and take the commuter rail from Salem into Boston for a day trip)

You'll like SSC





In State - Evening Undergraduate $115.00
$115.00