Now, study more, pay less in the US

Updated on: Tuesday, December 13, 2011

There’s good news for meritorious Indian students aspiring to pursue higher education in the US. American institutions have started charging foreigners with top academic records in-state tuition fee – fee US students pay and which is less than that fixed for international students.

Anand Krishna, information officer (public affairs section) at the US consulate in Chennai, said certain American schools were offering in-state tuition rates to highly qualified international students. In other words, talented international students might receive in-state tuition, rather than a scholarship, as part of their financial assistance package.

“Because of the excellence and diversity of our colleges and universities, more students worldwide are choosing to study in the United States,” said Ann Stock, assistant secretary of state.

“Students from India traditionally come to the US for post-graduation programmes, but this trend is slowly shifting. Colleges and universities value international students, particularly those from India, immensely. They are well-prepared academically and their language skills make for an easy transition to the US educational system,” Viji George, president, Concordia College, New York said.

N. Aakaash, a third-year B.Tech (electronics and communication engineering) student at VIT University welcomed the move. He said it would help international students with good academic records join US universities.

“US universities are looking at quality international students to do world-class research. Such schemes will help,” Aakaash said.

As per data on the College Board (a not-for-profit organisation committed to excellence and equity in education in the US) website, public four-year colleges charged in-state students average $8,244 for tuition and in fees during 2011-12, whereas the average surcharge for full-time out-of-state students was $12,526.

Private, non-profit four-year colleges charge average $28,500 a year for tuition and in fees, while public two-year colleges charge $2,963.

Now, study more, pay less in the US

More Education news