Studying in the United States is a great intellectual and cultural experience for students from India. What may be difficult is financing that experience. It is vital to plan your entire U.S. education, including how to pay for it, before you leave India.

The Application is key

“Starting the process late is also one of the biggest mistakes that students make.”

To begin with, students must make it clear on the university application form that they are applying for financial aid. Remember, there is tough competition. Applying before the deadline is a must and applying early is highly recommended.

"What students must do is to apply with a strong application, which means complete in all respects and in the way the university desires it, with no misrepresentation whatsoever,” says Luna Das Bangia, an educational adviser at the United States-India Educational Foundation (http://www.usief.org.in/). “Starting the process late is also one of the biggest mistakes that students make."

Calculate the total cost of studying

It is vital to plan your entire U.S. education, including how to pay for it, before you leave India.

 Fee structures differ from school to school, but public colleges and universities usually cost less than private ones. Apart from fees, tuition, books and transport to and from the United States, you need to consider the cost of housing, food, any special medicines, clothes and social activities. The costs of these can vary, depending on whether the school is in a big city, small town, on an island or near tourist attractions. Some American universities are in locations where it snows in the winter, so you’ll need heavy boots and coats that you may not use in India.

Financial help is at hand

 Many American universities offer partial to full funding to outstanding undergraduate students. According to the Education USA network of the U.S. State Department (http://educationusa.state.gov/) about 1,000 scholarships are available each year to international students at 100 American colleges and universities.

You also need to consider the cost of housing, food, any special medicines, clothes and social activities

To get a full scholarship, you must be one of the top students in India, with excellent marks in almost every subject, high SAT and TOEFL scores, and distinguished performance in areas such as leadership and community service.

"More funding is usually available in the sciences—physics, chemistry, biomedical sciences—and for Ph.D. students," says Bangia.

When planning your education budget, consider these ways to save money:

Job possibilities on U.S. campuses include:

Courtesy: SPAN Magazine