toxicdevil

My university requires me to pay Commonwealth Facilities & Equipment fee and comprehensive fee a total of around 1250 per semester. I did not have to show any money for visa because my I20 did not require any funds from me.

My questions in list form: - What is the baggage limit and what stuff should I pack? (Qatar airlines) What should be in my hand carry (documents, clothes?)? - Where do I buy a sim card? Will I need a credit score to buy it? - When I make a bank account what would be the most convenient way for my parents to send me money? Quick and cheap. - How much money should I bring? And in what form (cash, card etc) My apartment is unfurnished so I need to buy furniture and utensils etc. - What are the options for moving furniture to my place? e.g. where I live we can easily rent a small truck (or a donkey cart) to move items, the driver often helps in unloading the items to the room.

maybe he wants to check it for plagiarism.

@TakeruK's explaination was awesome! I would like to add couple of things. I would suggest that you contact the unis housing dept and ask for an early move-in date. Maybe they will allow it. Sometimes universities have special housing areas just for people requiring temporary accommodation. Ask your uni about this. Many universities have off-campus housing websites where students of that university and leasing agencies post listings (much like craigslist). something like this (http://usc.offcampuslisting.com/ not official i think) Off Campus housing is "often" cheaper than on campus. (depends on the city and university e.g for me on-campus is around double the cost even after electricity etc and on top of that I have to purchase a compulsory meal plan if I live on campus. Bus is free here and I dont need a car.) If you have an advisor you should ask him about summer funding (summers are usually RA and not TA). For me...some universities mentioned summer RA in the official offer letter, while my advisor in another university told me informally that he will take me as an RA in the summer, another place offered fellowship for all 12 months. Usually first summer you will be asked not to do internships (in case you are planning to) since first summer is a great time to get to know your research group and area. You say 19000 after taxes but you should also subtract compulsory expenses like insurance and university fees not covered by the waiver in order to get a better estimate. e.g.my stipend is 1850 per month and the cheque my seniors told we get is around 1200-1300 after fees and tax. Another good resource is facebook, search for: - official USC groups - USC fall 2016 admits (or something similar) - join ms in us edulix fall 2016 facebook group and ask for info there. - google or search on facebook USC + PSA/ISA/BSA (for pakistani/indian/bangladeshi student associations) or USC MSA (muslim assos.) they will be happy to help you out, they may even have a bangladeshi specific listing for apartments (on google sheets or something). If may even have a website with resources. For my uni I found a complete guide starting from visa procedure to what to pack to immigrations to apartment finding, an apartment list with pros and cons etc and much more.

In my field starting salaries are easily 75k+ (full packages including bonus, stocks etc often reach ~170k for top companies [which are obv. difficult to get into]). For mid range universities living costs + intl/out of state tuition is around 45*2 years = 90k for the complete MS degree. If you dont change your standard of living drastically after graduating I think most people would be able to pay their loans in around 3 years.(or earlier if you take into account salary bumps over time) Right??

Masters degree does not help in getting jobs as much as you'd think. I would go to CMU is my goal is to work in USA. Studying in USA will help in getting jobs later (and visa too). Plus CMU has a much better brand name than UBC. This is of course considering that money is not an issue.

If I had the money I would go to UIUC. Plus there is a chance of getting a TA or RA position later.

My test center provided me with ear plugs. They dont allow you to bring even a pencil with you. Secondly I tried to finish my earlier sections as soon as possible (they are easy). So I began my speaking section before others and was able to speak freely in almost half of my speaking section because no one else was speaking at the same time.

Ask your advisor to send you emails of his students. It is probably spring break/midterm exam time maybe thats why they are not replying. Check out https://boston.craigslist.org/search/hhh and http://www.northeastern.edu/offcampus/ Rent is around 1000-1200$ per room.Avg. Food is around ~500 per month less if you cook. Other costs include phone, internet, utilities, transportation etc.

You should not give a lot importance to factors like courses and age of program as long as the faculty is good. Have a good research record and past student record. You advisor is the most important thing that should matter in your PhD. I know people who joined their university because of the prospective advisor, even though they got into another university that was around 25 places higher in the rankings with a well known program.

@TakeruK One more thing. The tax year is from Jan-Dec right? So my first semester will be tax-free (I will earn almost 9000 till dec and personal exemption+treaty exemption = 9000). How much time does the refund process take?

I applied to CS. And I havent seen ANY mail from UBC regarding ANYTHING!

What are the different taxes that I will have to pay on my stipend? I am an international student on F1 visa. My country has a treaty which exempts $5000 from tax. Funding is TA 1850 per month for 20Hr/week TA duty in Blacksburg, VA. It is for 9 months so I am expecting an RA offer in the summers. I think there are only two taxes: federal and state. Am I right? I have calculated state tax which is <5%. Can anyone help me with the Federal tax rate? How do I calculate it? Also can someone help me understand the US tax system? Do I pay the taxes at the end of year or are they deducted automatically per month? In my country you often pay "advance tax" and "withholding tax" on things and you get it refunded when you file. Is it the same for USA? Any information about deductions or exemptions I may qualify for? Let me know if you need any more info.

From what I have hear NEU has a pretty good networking faculty. Network Science PhD Program has the same faculty as the CS PhD right?

Money is around 1850 per month for 20Hr/week TA duty. University is in Blacksburg, VA. My country has a treaty which exempts first $5000 from tax. Visa is F1 study visa. I have calculated state tax which is <5%. Still cant find any other info, mainy because I donot understand US tax system.