Applying to Grad School

[samuelam 19]

3 minutes ago, millefleur said:

This is a really good point. My husband enrolled as a transfer student (from his uni in Russia) to an undergrad program, so we didn't have to deal with test scores.

 

I think it's because AOS is a kind of limbo period before permanent residency and doesn't have a hard and fast definition the same way full LPR does, therefore every school just goes about it differently. Once you're a full LPR, you're basically not considered an international student at all, you're treated no different from US citizens.

 

Totally agree about getting all info before enrolling to any schools. Also, grad programs tend to be very expensive and more competitive than undergrad, so it's worth double checking that it makes sense financially. I'm pretty sure a student wouldn't qualify for government loans or grants until they are a full LPR.

Yes, Financial Aid doesn't cover Grad school (Master or PhD) only undergrad, 

 

[millefleur 5,046]

Just now, samuelam said:

Yes, Financial Aid doesn't cover Grad school (Master or PhD) only undergrad, 

 

Not entirely true. There are government loans for grad school that would be considered financial aid if qualified. The Direct Stafford Loan and Direct Student Plus Loan are what I'm thinking of. But you definitely have to be an LPR to qualify and must fill out the FAFSA to find out.

 

As an aside, I would recommend anyone to avoid private student loans like the plague. If one must take student loans, government loans are the way to go.

[samuelam 19]

6 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Not entirely true. There are government loans for grad school that would be considered financial aid if qualified. The Direct Stafford Loan and Direct Student Plus Loan are what I'm thinking of. But you definitely have to be an LPR to qualify and must fill out the FAFSA to find out.

 

As an aside, I would recommend anyone to avoid private student loans like the plague. If one must take student loans, government loans are the way to go.

You might want to double check with FAFSA. Government student loan only apply to postgraduate education and the limit is up to 6 years of school.

US department of Education will pay for the loan interest up to 6 months after leaving the college or university.

 

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by samuelam

[SalishSea 17,829]

3 hours ago, nitad3 said:

Thank you so much for telling me about your experience, it's so helpful to see that the process looked like for your husband! 

 

I have contacted a few schools, and similarly to what you have said, I've received quite mixed feedback regarding tuitions. Community colleges seem to be little more relaxed comapired to state universities. 

Did you contact most admissions via telephone or email? I've had some schools not respond to emails I sent a little while ago, so I'm wondering whether it's best to just give them a call... 

The problem is that the tuition is heavily subsidized by the local tax base, so that is why "residency" is a thing, and transplants from other states or countries must generally pay a much higher tuition.

 

My son was an out of state student at UC Berkeley, and we had to pay the $22k non-resident supplement each year, in addition to the regular tuition.  State of California taxpayers don't subsidize out of state students, when they have enough in-state students whose families have paid into the tax system.

[millefleur 5,046]

5 minutes ago, samuelam said:

You might want to double check with FAFSA. Government student loan only apply to postgraduate education and the limit is up to 6 years of school.

US department of Education will pay for the loan interest up to 6 months after leaving the college or university.

I have a grad degree (Masters) and I paid for it with the above-mentioned loans. These loans are offered under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program for grad students:

 

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/graduate-professional-funding-info.pdf

 

There are significantly fewer financial aid options compared to doing an undergrad degree. Things like Pell Grants will not be available to most grad students, for example.

[usmsbow 801]

20 minutes ago, samuelam said:

Yes, Financial Aid doesn't cover Grad school (Master or PhD) only undergrad, 

 

 

11 minutes ago, samuelam said:

You might want to double check with FAFSA. Government student loan only apply to postgraduate education and the limit is up to 6 years of school.

US department of Education will pay for the loan interest up to 6 months after leaving the college or university.

 

 

 

Aren't you contradicting yourself here? You say financial aid doesn't cover grad school, then you say it does. 

 

Anyway, I paid for my Masters via student loans and state grants. If not for financial aid, I wouldn't have been able to go to grad school. 

 

 

[samuelam 19]

1 minute ago, millefleur said:

I have a grad degree (Masters) and I paid for it with the above-mentioned loans. These loans are offered under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program for grad students:

 

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/graduate-professional-funding-info.pdf

 

There are significantly fewer financial aid options compared to doing an undergrad degree. Things like Pell Grants will not be available to most grad students, for example.

Thanks, I didn't know about William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan.

 

My company pay for both of my Master Degree, that is why I never look into it.

[Daisy.Chain 317]

15 hours ago, nitad3 said:

Hi all, 

I wasn't sure where to post this, so I hope this is the right place to do so! 

 

I'm currently waiting for my K1 via approval, and I am hoping to make it out to US before September. When there, I'm hoping to attend a grad school in my state (Michigan). 

From what I understand and read on similar forums thus far, I am able to apply for Grad schools or perhaps community colleges whilst waiting for my AOS. Could anyone confirm that this is the case? 

Does anyone have any experience with applying to Grad schools and could give me some guidance on how their experience was whilst awaiting an AOS? I would love to hear any experiences anyone had with the process. 

Thank you so much in advance! 

She can apply and attend with no issue. However, she might not be able to get in-state tuition without a green card. My husband needed 6 mos residency to get it. It probably depebda on your state and university.

[CEE53147 559]

Depending on school and degree program, you may be too late for next academic year. Quality schools start the application process in the fall and send acceptances  for people to accept or decline in April.

 

Be careful about enrolling in for profit colleges.  There credit will often not transfer. Also, there is generally a limit to the number of credit hours a grad student can transfer to another school.

[SB5130 88]

6 hours ago, millefleur said:

We mostly spoke via email as that was the residency officer's preferred method of communication. She was pretty good about responding too. When my husband was finally eligible to apply for in state tuition after 1 year, we submitted all the docs and he was approved via email.

 

If there's a phone number you can find, calling would be great. I like calling people because you can get answers right then and there. Another good thing to check in about is financial aid. My husband qualified for financial aid right away as a GC holder, I'm not sure if there are restrictions on that when waiting for AOS.

 

 

I have the same experience. I applied for Grad School (MBA) while pending AOS. There were no restrictions on that part.

 

However, for me to get the in-state tuition, I either had to:

1. Live in the state for 1 year

2. Have a parent who lives in the state for 1 year

3. Married for 1year to someone who lives in the state

 

I chose to wait for enrol after our first wedding anniversary. I was asked to provide these documents to prove residency:

1. Warranty deed of a residential property owned by my husband

2. Husband's voter's registration card

3. Marriage certificate 

 

Policies and procedures differ from school to school. Therefore, I'd recommend to start looking into a program you would like to take. Then find a school. Send an inquiry about the program and the requirements.

[SB5130 88]

3 hours ago, millefleur said:

Not entirely true. There are government loans for grad school that would be considered financial aid if qualified. The Direct Stafford Loan and Direct Student Plus Loan are what I'm thinking of. But you definitely have to be an LPR to qualify and must fill out the FAFSA to find out.

 

As an aside, I would recommend anyone to avoid private student loans like the plague. If one must take student loans, government loans are the way to go.

Agree. There are government loans for grad school. 

 

Also, you can check your school's Financial Aid Department. There would be list of available scholarships. I got $500 scholarship on my first semester. With straight As, on the second semester, I was granted with $1000 scholarship. ($500 from the school and $500 from a foundation). 

[nitad3 80]

7 hours ago, H&T said:

Community college is two year college, so they only offer associate degree. The Grad School(Master) offer at any State University and the requirement to get in Grad School is you already have bachelor degree.

Yes I am aware of this. I am graduating from my bachelor's degree this summer. 

My uncertainty between a grad programme and community college stems from the fact that I'm planning on pursuing a medical degree. I am required to complete a number of credits in the US on top of my bachelor. Thus, my predicament is, either obtain further education through a masters degree, or attend a community college just to check that requirement off. 

6 hours ago, samuelam said:

Most Grad School in US require GRE from applicate from other country. You might want to plan on take the exam and get the score before applying to the University.. 

That's one thing I have also noticed, but thank you for mentioning it. I've found a few grad programmed in Michigan that do not require this ☺️

Edited March 16, 2019 by nitad3

[nitad3 80]

5 hours ago, millefleur said:

I have a grad degree (Masters) and I paid for it with the above-mentioned loans. These loans are offered under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program for grad students:

 

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/graduate-professional-funding-info.pdf

 

There are significantly fewer financial aid options compared to doing an undergrad degree. Things like Pell Grants will not be available to most grad students, for example.

I'll have to check this out, thanks again! 

Even if I don't qualify for this at the time, I can always consider deferring my masters for a year or so. 

[nitad3 80]

3 hours ago, CEE53147 said:

Depending on school and degree program, you may be too late for next academic year. Quality schools start the application process in the fall and send acceptances  for people to accept or decline in April.

 

Be careful about enrolling in for profit colleges.  There credit will often not transfer. Also, there is generally a limit to the number of credit hours a grad student can transfer to another school.

Most of the graduate programmes I've looked at are actually enrolling between now and end of Spring (like U of Michigan and Michigan state), so hopefully not very late for me. 

 

I'm not sure I understand your point about transfer of cradit. I'm not currently in a graduate programme, I'm finishing my bachelor. Do you mean that I shouldn't apply somewhere and then transfer to another grad programme? 

[nitad3 80]

2 hours ago, SB5130 said:

I have the same experience. I applied for Grad School (MBA) while pending AOS. There were no restrictions on that part.

 

However, for me to get the in-state tuition, I either had to:

1. Live in the state for 1 year

2. Have a parent who lives in the state for 1 year

3. Married for 1year to someone who lives in the state

 

I chose to wait for enrol after our first wedding anniversary. I was asked to provide these documents to prove residency:

1. Warranty deed of a residential property owned by my husband

2. Husband's voter's registration card

3. Marriage certificate 

 

Policies and procedures differ from school to school. Therefore, I'd recommend to start looking into a program you would like to take. Then find a school. Send an inquiry about the program and the requirements.

Thank you so much for your response, I'm glad to have found someone who was in the same situation as I am currently!

 

I found a few programmes I like the sound of, so perhaps I'll follow your advise and contact some of them to enquire about all your aforementioned point. But it's beginning to look like I might either have to wait or attend some for of a community college in between. 

1 hour ago, SB5130 said:

Agree. There are government loans for grad school. 

 

Also, you can check your school's Financial Aid Department. There would be list of available scholarships. I got $500 scholarship on my first semester. With straight As, on the second semester, I was granted with $1000 scholarship. ($500 from the school and $500 from a foundation). 

I didn't think of checking that, so I'll definitely plan on asking if there are any scholarships available for some of the programmes I looked at!