Some guidance about the application process

[Bemanos]

Hello fellow prospective/current students!.I Have some questions about the application process 
I live in Europe,and i am currently finishing my 2nd year(out of the 4) in a B.Sc program in chemistry and i would like to apply to a US/Canadian uni for post graduate studies
I finish the degree at around spring 2016 ,and i want to start the graduate studies at fall 2016. 

-(1)When should i apply for the fall 2016 sessions? 
According to some research i've done i came to the conclusion that i should apply one year earlier (fall-winter 2015) if i want to start at fall of 2016 
So ,i should take the gre/toefl test ,at around the summer of 2015.The thing ,is that by fall 2015 i wont have completed the degree ,ill still have 1 year left ,so ,it does seem a bit odd to me that i should apply for a graduate program before i have finished my B.Sc .
Is that how it works in the US? Or should i first finish the bachelor ,and apply for fall 2017

-(2)About financial support ,given that i do not have sufficient funds to support the whole thing ,are there any viable options for my situation? I think that most graduate programs ,offer a stipend and financial support ,through fellowships/ assistantships ,but that raised a question: If graduate students do not actually pay for tuition ,what is the(financial) benefit for the university ?
Apart from uni jobs( eg fellowships) ,is it possible for someone with a student visa(immigrant) to get a job outside uni?(part time ,of course)
If all of the above(the stipend ,etc) are not possible ,is getting a student loan ,a viable thing?

 

 

-(3)If and when i finish the graduate studies in the US ,and the student visa expires ,is there any way that i can get a permanent citizenship? I have heard that you can get one ,either by finding a permanent job ,or by marrying a us citizen.


-Thank you in advance

Edited July 19, 2014 by Bemanos

[fuzzylogician]

This is for the US; Canada is similar, but there may be some differences (in particular, I believe immigration may be easier).

 

(1) You should apply in the application cycle prior to when you want to begin your studies. For Fall 2016, the application deadlines are usually around December 2015-January 2016. You can apply before you graduate with your BSc. You'll be competing with students who have already graduated and some who have MAs, but generally there is no reason why you can't apply and be quite successful. You'll submit a transcript based on your current status at the time of the application. If you are admitted to a school, your acceptance will be contingent upon finishing the BSc before you start your advanced degree. Some schools will also want you to submit a final transcript at some point, maybe also maintain a certain GPA. 

 

(2) I assume you'll be applying for a PhD. Most (all?) reputable programs in Chemistry fund their students, so if you are admitted, you will in all likelihood be funded. I wouldn't worry about what the university gets out of it (but since you asked, graduate students are very cheap labor, and the university also gets prestige because of your work). Your ability to work will be limited, for several reasons. First, most of the time programs require students to be committed full-time, so students aren't allowed to work during the semester. If you work in a lab, you may just not have the time. Moreover, as an international student, you can only work 20 hours a week during the semester, 40 during breaks. You can only work on-campus; you can get permission to work off-campus at a job that is related to your field of studies after one year in the US, but jobs are not easy to come by. That said, the stipend you'll get should be enough to cover your needs (assuming you don't have a family, then it's a different story). It will not be easy for you to get loans from US banks, since you don't have a credit history or (I assume) sponsors. [Note: MA programs are few and far between, and normally not funded. This is one way the university makes money.]

 

 (3) There is no way to get citizenship/permanent residency status based on your studies alone. You get a chance to find work in the US after you graduate (if you're on a F-1 visa, it's called OPT, you can google it; there is a parallel option for students on J-1). If you find a job that wants to keep you, they can sponsor you for a green card. There are also ways to sponsor yourself, though I don't know how easy it is to do that. If you find a job in academia, the university that hires you will usually be able to get you a green card. Or, like anyone else, you could fall in love with a US citizen, get married, and have your spouse sponsor you for a green card.

[TakeruK]

Here are the answers for a Canadian school, to add onto fuzzy's answers.

 

1. Yes, you should apply before you finish your degree, this is normal in Canada/US. Most Canadian schools have deadlines in Jan 2016 or Feb 2016 for a Fall 2016 start. You may or may not need the General GRE test to apply to Canadian schools--check with each program separately. Note that you should be careful to check the international requirements, almost all Canadian schools will not require the GRE for Canadian applicants, but make sure it's the same for international applicants!

 

2. It sounds like you are looking for a graduate program in Chemistry. In Canada, all good programs in the sciences will include funding for you to pay for tuition and living expenses. The reason they pay you is because you work on research and you teach for them (Teaching Assistant). One difference in Canada vs. the US is that almost all Canadian schools do not have a tuition waiver. Instead, they will pay you something like $40k per year and then you pay them back the cost of tuition. Graduate programs will pay you through a combination of research work (usually around $20-$25/hr), teaching work ($30-$40/hr) and fellowships that they award to their students so that the total pay is enough to live on and attract students. The number of hours you are contracted for research work is pretty arbitrary and most people do the work required to get a good result, since most RA contracts are something like only 20 hours per month. For international students, your tuition will be around $10k to $20k per year, but your stipend will also be higher than a Canadian student so that both of you take home about the same money after you pay tuition.
 

**Note: Important funding difference / program structure. In Canada, the normal grad student path is a 2 year MSc followed by a 3-4 year PhD program. So you will most likely be applying to MSc programs in Canada and PhD programs in the US. However, unlike most US Masters programs, Canadian MSc programs are fully funded just like a PhD student because it's basically the first two years of a PhD program in the US. Most science programs will either allow you to "advance"/"fast-track" to the PhD program after 1 year of a MSc program, but most students choose to defend their MSc thesis and get a degree before going to a PhD program. You will have to apply to the PhD program separately while you are in your last year of the MSc program (even if you are planning to stay in the same school for your PhD).

 

3. I know this question was for US only, but just wanted to answer it anyways for Canada In Canada, you can apply for Canadian Permanent Residence (aka "Canadian green card") while you are pursuing a PhD (after your 2nd year of work towards a PhD) or right after you graduate from a PhD program. Permanent Residency is the first step towards becoming a Canadian citizen. Canada wants to attract smart people from around the world so there is a special immigration program for PhD students under the "Federal Skilled Workers Program". For more information, start here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/permanent.asp

 

 

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And one thing to add about OPT in the US that fuzzy mentioned. For fields like Chemistry, your OPT limitation is a whole 3 years, so it's perfect for a postdoc or something like that!

Edited July 20, 2014 by TakeruK

[DeleteMePlease]

Just wondering, would one be able to apply for a green card (via the lottery) on a F-1 visa?

[fuzzylogician]

You can register for the lottery on any status, so F-1 should be fine. If you win, actually applying for the green card is perhaps more complicated, because F-1 is not a dual intent visa (that is, it can't be used as a basis for immigration, which is why as part of the application process you need to demonstrate ties to your home country). There are discussions about this online if you google for DV lottery and F-1. It seems that it's possible to change your immigration status in the US and there shouldn't be a problem. I've noticed that sometimes people suggest documenting (don't ask me how) your lack of intent to immigrate when you first receive your F-1 status, because it's ok if your intentions change at some point, as long as you didn't lie when you originally got the visa. Basically, what I take from this is that 99% of the time there is no problem with this, and the 1% is not something you can really worry about anyway, so if you're interested, apply and only worry about this later if there is a reason to.

[Bemanos]

Thank you both for your answers .I am completely covered