International Students - How are you paying for your program?

[eigenvector]

Im looking at HSBC too.. although SBI is good too ! Can we take loans from US? I mean stuff like the loans where they return $25 per month sort of thing ?

Did you have a word with them? What's the ceiling?

[clover123]

Did you have a word with them? What's the ceiling?

I haven't looked at SBI yet. What's the cap? is it the same 20 lakh? I wouldn't hope to take any more, but I'm leaning on attending Wagner, and that might get a bit more expensive. :S

[enkayem]

after reading this discussion, i'm going for the school that's giving me 80k dollars to study. taking loans terrify me and i want to avoid the cycle of getting trapped in a high-paying and potentially dissatisfying job to pay off a dollar denominated debt in my currency.

for indian students, as long as you have a co-signer the us loan actually works out very well. lower interest rates, from what i hear, and nearly 20 years to pay it off. when my brother went to study in the states he took the loan from his university. when i studied in the uk, i took a loan from SBI.

some schools advised me to defer by a year and apply to scholarships this year. i already have one so won't do so, but it was tempting.

[fleetly]

after reading this discussion, i'm going for the school that's giving me 80k dollars to study. taking loans terrify me and i want to avoid the cycle of getting trapped in a high-paying and potentially dissatisfying job to pay off a dollar denominated debt in my currency.

for indian students, as long as you have a co-signer the us loan actually works out very well. lower interest rates, from what i hear, and nearly 20 years to pay it off. when my brother went to study in the states he took the loan from his university. when i studied in the uk, i took a loan from SBI.

some schools advised me to defer by a year and apply to scholarships this year. i already have one so won't do so, but it was tempting.

enkayem, could you please share your profile with us ? and congratulations on such super funding you've received !

[fleetly]

I haven't looked at SBI yet. What's the cap? is it the same 20 lakh? I wouldn't hope to take any more, but I'm leaning on attending Wagner, and that might get a bit more expensive. :S

Did you have a word with them? What's the ceiling?

20lakhs for them too !

although, im guessing the 2nd year should be a respite.. i think most schools provide some assistance to almost all students...

do you think there's a possibility of converting the degree to a phd after the 1st year ?

[enkayem]

Hi, Thanks!! Yeah, I am reeling from shock, I never thought anyone would pay me to study at their institution.

I also just got some money from SIPA = $28,000. It's a lot but it doesn't match the financial offer at Harris (full tuition off). Dunno whether SIPA's a considerably better school to justify wiping out my personal savings and sending my TNW in to the sub-zeroes. Still waiting to hear the scholarship offer from SAIS and GPPI. Apparently SAIS sent out financial aid offers on Friday 16 March, but I never got my email.

So profile, I have no clue what that means but I'll give it a shot:

GMAT 710

GRE 166 v 167 q

Do GRE-GMAT have any relevance during the application process? I really wonder. I've known people with mediocre scores (mine border on mediocrity and just good) get in to places. Nothing can compensate for work experience, your essays and your recommendations methinks. Unless of course the scores are total wipeouts.

GPA - don't have one. Have a UK Masters in IPE which I aced but missed out a first div on and an Indian Econ degree where I did terribly. I mean mediocre but there are sore points in that mark sheet. Whenever I see people fussing over their grades here, I just shake my head. The moment you let that number define you, your application's gonna tank. It didn't deter me from going to the UK, it hasn't made a blip on U Chicago's radar.

Work-ex: 1.5 yr internships with Indian economists after undergrad, 1 yr working in Germany doing something random, 3.8 yrs of IFC in South Asia

This profile looks like a shoe-in on paper (I am waitlisted in HKS and WWS, so guess it isn't), but what it doesn't reveal is that I am mostly a dithering idiot.

Re: the person who raised the PhD question. I have a friend who will graduate from MPA-ID and is going to Columbia for a PhD. I think instead of 2 more years of coursework, she's been allowed to transfer many of her credits, reducing the pre-writing up the PhD part to about 8 months of coursework. Hope this helps.

[Azrou]

Mediocre and just good? Your GRE scores are in the high 90's percentiles. That puts you way above the vast majority of people who take the test, and indeed, the vast majority of people on this forum. I've heard that many IR/policy schools take a close look at the Q score in particular to get a sense of how applicants will be able to handle the econ and stats portions of the curriculum, and you'll see many profiles with scores in the 70-80 percentile got into top schools with $$.

I don't know anything about the GMAT but Google tells me a 710 is 92nd percentile. I would say that places you squarely out of the "dithering idiot" range.

[clover123]

Hi, Thanks!! Yeah, I am reeling from shock, I never thought anyone would pay me to study at their institution.

I also just got some money from SIPA = $28,000. It's a lot but it doesn't match the financial offer at Harris (full tuition off). Dunno whether SIPA's a considerably better school to justify wiping out my personal savings and sending my TNW in to the sub-zeroes. Still waiting to hear the scholarship offer from SAIS and GPPI. Apparently SAIS sent out financial aid offers on Friday 16 March, but I never got my email.

So profile, I have no clue what that means but I'll give it a shot:

GMAT 710

GRE 166 v 167 q

Do GRE-GMAT have any relevance during the application process? I really wonder. I've known people with mediocre scores (mine border on mediocrity and just good) get in to places. Nothing can compensate for work experience, your essays and your recommendations methinks. Unless of course the scores are total wipeouts.

GPA - don't have one. Have a UK Masters in IPE which I aced but missed out a first div on and an Indian Econ degree where I did terribly. I mean mediocre but there are sore points in that mark sheet. Whenever I see people fussing over their grades here, I just shake my head. The moment you let that number define you, your application's gonna tank. It didn't deter me from going to the UK, it hasn't made a blip on U Chicago's radar.

Work-ex: 1.5 yr internships with Indian economists after undergrad, 1 yr working in Germany doing something random, 3.8 yrs of IFC in South Asia

This profile looks like a shoe-in on paper (I am waitlisted in HKS and WWS, so guess it isn't), but what it doesn't reveal is that I am mostly a dithering idiot.

Re: the person who raised the PhD question. I have a friend who will graduate from MPA-ID and is going to Columbia for a PhD. I think instead of 2 more years of coursework, she's been allowed to transfer many of her credits, reducing the pre-writing up the PhD part to about 8 months of coursework. Hope this helps.

and you have some pretty amazing work ex

If I don't get considerable funding from my outside scholarships and stuff. I'm probably going to defer another year and get more work ex. That definitely helps with funding.

Or I'm going to take a shot and just get the loan and work my ass off in the 1st year, to get a research assistant position in the 2nd year. That might be pushing it, but let's see.

[fleetly]

Hi, Thanks!! Yeah, I am reeling from shock, I never thought anyone would pay me to study at their institution.

I also just got some money from SIPA = $28,000. It's a lot but it doesn't match the financial offer at Harris (full tuition off). Dunno whether SIPA's a considerably better school to justify wiping out my personal savings and sending my TNW in to the sub-zeroes. Still waiting to hear the scholarship offer from SAIS and GPPI. Apparently SAIS sent out financial aid offers on Friday 16 March, but I never got my email.

So profile, I have no clue what that means but I'll give it a shot:

GMAT 710

GRE 166 v 167 q

Do GRE-GMAT have any relevance during the application process? I really wonder. I've known people with mediocre scores (mine border on mediocrity and just good) get in to places. Nothing can compensate for work experience, your essays and your recommendations methinks. Unless of course the scores are total wipeouts.

GPA - don't have one. Have a UK Masters in IPE which I aced but missed out a first div on and an Indian Econ degree where I did terribly. I mean mediocre but there are sore points in that mark sheet. Whenever I see people fussing over their grades here, I just shake my head. The moment you let that number define you, your application's gonna tank. It didn't deter me from going to the UK, it hasn't made a blip on U Chicago's radar.

Work-ex: 1.5 yr internships with Indian economists after undergrad, 1 yr working in Germany doing something random, 3.8 yrs of IFC in South Asia

This profile looks like a shoe-in on paper (I am waitlisted in HKS and WWS, so guess it isn't), but what it doesn't reveal is that I am mostly a dithering idiot.

Re: the person who raised the PhD question. I have a friend who will graduate from MPA-ID and is going to Columbia for a PhD. I think instead of 2 more years of coursework, she's been allowed to transfer many of her credits, reducing the pre-writing up the PhD part to about 8 months of coursework. Hope this helps.

wow ! your profile sounds brilliant ! everything the scores and the work ex is very impressive !!

I HAVE to say : you deserve the acceptances and the scholarships !!

Thanks for that PhD info.. I'm hoping to start with PhD asap and in case they let me start right after the 1st year..it'l be awesome !

Thanks for your help and good luck !

[enkayem]

Thank you everyone. Because it's the new GRE I actually don't have a clue as to what is or is not a good score. As far as the GRE is concerned I am surrounded by super brilliant IIT (extremely difficult and challenging engineering school in India) students who kinda sleepwalked through the GMAT and score 750+. I worked my butt off and got a 710, maybe that's why I sounded a bit *humph* about it, The work-ex certainly helped, but I got in to IFC without any training in finance, directly relevant work ex and without the GRE-GMATs to spruce up my credentials. Ergo, how you sell yourself has a lot to do with it. I had a friend who went to SIPA with a 1300 in the old GRE, no math since year 10 in high school, no econ but she had very relevant work experience and writes like Hemmingway. She also eventually got a full tuition off fellowship in the second year. That's something I have heard about SIPA. If they don't fund the first year and you do well, they will find a way for you to support yourself through the second year.

[IRToni]

I thought of maybe renting out my uterus to some super rich (gay) couple. I'm joking... I think. Still waiting on some schools, I've been looking into loans from my home, some of them don't have conditions that are all that bad, they're just not good either. In addition, They're usually capped somewhere, so if worst came to worst, I'd have to take out three different loans (one for first year, one for living expenses, one for second year).

[metamorfoz]

Payment stuff is terribly annoying although I am a Fulbright scholarship grantee. The only thing is that you have to leave the USA for two years if you want to come back and work/live there. It works well for me because I really want to come back home with a great education background + amazing network at the end of 4-5 years.

Good luck everyone!

[enkayem]

goodluck with that IRtoni, i come from an over-populated country so that option does not exist for me.

i'm in theprocess of creating this mega complex excel sheet that identfies loan amounts for the 4 schools i am in and then back calculates an emi for 10 years based on different interest scenarios. trying to decide whether a home country loan is better than a university/federal loan. will send it to you when done. i've overthunk it so it's too complex now.

[fleetly]

goodluck with that IRtoni, i come from an over-populated country so that option does not exist for me.

i'm in theprocess of creating this mega complex excel sheet that identfies loan amounts for the 4 schools i am in and then back calculates an emi for 10 years based on different interest scenarios. trying to decide whether a home country loan is better than a university/federal loan. will send it to you when done. i've overthunk it so it's too complex now.

enkayem, this is great ! I'd be grateful if you could share you excel with me as well. this loan thing is just out bounds ! and i want to come to india and work and who knows one may not even get a job out in the States.. it's a series of 'ifs' and 'buts' ..!!

[clover123]

enkayem, this is great ! I'd be grateful if you could share you excel with me as well. this loan thing is just out bounds ! and i want to come to india and work and who knows one may not even get a job out in the States.. it's a series of 'ifs' and 'buts' ..!!

I'm just wondering though.. are we eligible for loans from the US/university? Don't we need a cosigner from the US?

Am I missing something? or do I need to ask the university if they offer a loan?

I would definitely need to take a loan too, I'm just worried about how much/from which school. ugh! Any help would be appreciated!

Too all the indian students here - Those of you who haven't gotten full tuition scholarships or a lot of aid, how are you guys paying?

[enkayem]

i have co-signers, which is why i am debating it.

[clover123]

i have co-signers, which is why i am debating it.

Ah that makes sense

What about others?

[fleetly]

Ah that makes sense

What about others?

i have co-signers, which is why i am debating it.

I have co-signers too ~

[JayLovesAfrica]

If I don't have cosigners, am I doomed? I got into SIPA and they gave me a big ol' goose egg in terms of funding. My parents can offer me $40,000 per year, so I'm not exactly whining but the rest I will have to borrow, it seems.

Surely there must be options for those of us who do not have an American cosigner? Does anyone have any trusted resources?

[clover123]

If I don't have cosigners, am I doomed? I got into SIPA and they gave me a big ol' goose egg in terms of funding. My parents can offer me $40,000 per year, so I'm not exactly whining but the rest I will have to borrow, it seems.

Surely there must be options for those of us who do not have an American cosigner? Does anyone have any trusted resources?

haha no! I don't have a co-signer either.

I don't think we're doomed at all. We just need to keep looking for outside scholarships/grants, if we choose to go to the more expensive schools.

I can get about 40,000 for the year too, and I'm sure in the 2nd year we can apply for assistantships etc.

But yea, if anyone does know any good resources, please let me know too

[JayLovesAfrica]

Oh hey, I also got into Milano, with funding! But since I somehow got my foot in the door at SIPA, I may as well try my damn hardest to get some more money from somewhere?

I thought that the deadlines for most outside scholarships would have passed by now! Where's a good place to look?

[Crix]

In my case I'll apply for a government scholarship (Chile) that pays full tuition, airline tickets, a living stipend (around US$1.8 K/Month for NYC) and some money for books, insurance, etc. Thankfully those are granted quite liberally for top 150 schools and especially for public policy studies. I'll also use some of my savings to make living a little bit more comfortable (Around US$10K or US$20K).

I'm applying for the same fellowship. I am quite confident since Seismic Engineering is one of the most important issues for the country after the 2010 earthquake.

The only bad thing of the scholarship is that it forces you to work in Chile for twice the time you spent studying abroad. That's at least 8 years for a PhD!

[lecorbeau]

The only bad thing of the scholarship is that it forces you to work in Chile for twice the time you spent studying abroad. That's at least 8 years for a PhD!

this seems entirely fair to me.

[Crix]

this seems entirely fair to me.

Yep, I completely agree it is a fair thing. If their are giving you the money the least you can do is to work back in the country.

But it still sucks to have to reject work offers from abroad.

[MCRM]

I have a $50.000 loan/scholarship (they lend you the money but if you come back to Colombia they give half as a scholarship) and 10k in savings but I'm still short, especially if I choose NYU. I'm hoping to get some financial aid from either NYU or Ford to make this doable.

For anyone from latin america or the caribeann, the OAS has a great interest free loans programm than lends you up to 15k for studying in the US. http://www.oas.org/en/rowefund

Hey Andrea! You are talking about Colfuturo right? I'm applying for this year PCB. Did you apply last year or you are applying for this year too?

Also about the OAS loan you have to be in the US to apply right? That's what I had understood, since they ask for your I-94