Chances for Approval? (NEED Opinions)

[Suze1 366]

Yes, Buddy, now you are talking.

Don't want you to get caught getting rejected because USCIS says - "You can study that in your own country, why do you need to come here for that!"

So, first thing is, do NOT oversell what you are doing.

 

Secondly,

 

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings

2021 Best Business Schools

Ranked in 2020

A career in business starts with finding the MBA program that fits your needs. With the U.S. News rankings of the top business schools, narrow your search by location, tuition, school size and test scores. Read the methodology »

....

 

As said above, our best business schools are MBA-focused. I went to , and taught at, Harvard. I could NOT go to Harvard Business School as an undergraduate. Likewise with Stanford Business School.

Wharton is different...you can do there at the undergraduate level. I mean within the TOP schools, they are all about graduate school not undergraduate. As a Harvard undergraduate, I took THE ONLY COURSE Harvard Business School would let us take (at the time, anyway). ONE course. One! In Accounting! Arghh

 

But the key is that if great business education and profile is what you want/seek/need...then you could go to a school in your own country for probably less money and do very well and THEN go to ONE of the BEST business schools here or there for only TWO YEARS for your MBA - which is worth A LOT more than trying to do some questionable "top" undergraduate business school.

 

As you might be aware, we generally do four years of undergraduate (not three after A-Levels as was/is typical in the UK, again, I did Cambridge School Cert), AND THEN TWO YEARS for graduate business school. THAT can set you up nicely, if business is where you want to make your mark and distinguish yourself.

 

So, again, do your financial analysis well..

 

If you want to chat privately, no worries.

 

Cheers.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Suze1

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

2 hours ago, Suze1 said:

The "BEST" business schools in the country generally do not offer bachelor degrees.)

A number of very good ones do - Wharton, Stern, Ross, Kelley, Haas off the top of my head - but none of those were anywhere near the ballpark $$. Plus Wharton and stern are private, Berkeley gives preference to CA residents transferring from CCs (I am not even sure if those can transfer into Haas itself), etc. So none of the top ones matched the description. 

 

Also it appears a bachelors degree in the UK still costs around £9k a year, which is a bit less than $13k a year, and for a 3 years bachelors will therefore cost way less than this route. It’s an odd choice imo. 

 

58 minutes ago, haliman said:

about this business school in particular to me is that they have state of the art bloomberg terminals for the students use as well as a lot of research into niche fields that interest me.

I don’t know about the niche research, but most b schools these days should have Bloomberg terminals, not that you necessarily need to go to a college to learn how to use them. Most of us old timers who went to college before BBG became widespread learnt them on the job, and they have excellent training support.

Edited March 17, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[Suze1 366]

On 3/17/2021 at 5:01 PM, JonSeattle said:

Louisiana is #69 on this ranking. No doubt it's a fine program, but I'm not sure that would qualify for a "one of the best" label.

 

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings

 

The OP's school is NOT #69 on the list referenced.

 

University of Louisiana at Lafayette https://louisiana.edu/  in Lafayette, LA 70503

Is NOT

Louisiana State University  https://www.lsu.edu/index.php in Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, which is #69 on the list.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Suze1

[jan22 3,053]

I think you need to take a look the costs involved in your plan again. You say you have about $86,000 for your education -- good for you!  Not many 18-year-olds start with that. 

 

About $32,000 of that will be taken up by the first two years at a community college ($15,000 per year, including lIving costs, plus round-trip transportation costs of about $2,000, with 1 trip per year).  That leaves you +/- $54,000 for the final two years. 

 

However, each year at Univ. Louisiana - Lafayette, including the added out-of-state tuition cost of $13,728 per year, will be approximately $42,000 - $43,000, with lIving expenses, plus about $2,000 round-trip airfare (1 trip per year) -- a total of about $86,000 - $88,000.  The scholarship you reference -- assuming you get it -- provides approximately $6,900 per semester (currently $6864), or $13,800 per year.  That leaves you short by about $18,000 - $20,000 for the two years.  And that doesn't include money for entertainment, personal expenses, etc.  

 

The visa officer will almost assuredly ask you what your plans are after finishing the two-year course at the community college. When you inform them of your plans to transfer to the university to finish your Bachelor's degree, they will conduct the same analysis that I just did and wonder where the additional funds will come from. Not sharing your plan to transfer when asked puts you very close to misrepresentation which has serious consequences for US visas.

 

You might find a better way to use your educational funds.  Just my opinion.....

[jan22 3,053]

12 minutes ago, jan22 said:

I think you need to take a look the costs involved in your plan again. You say you have about $86,000 for your education -- good for you!  Not many 18-year-olds start with that. 

 

About $32,000 of that will be taken up by the first two years at a community college ($15,000 per year, including lIving costs, plus round-trip transportation costs of about $2,000, with 1 trip per year).  That leaves you +/- $54,000 for the final two years. 

 

However, each year at Univ. Louisiana - Lafayette, including the added out-of-state tuition cost of $13,728 per year, will be approximately $42,000 - $43,000, with lIving expenses, plus about $2,000 round-trip airfare (1 trip per year) -- a total of about $86,000 - $88,000.  The scholarship you reference -- assuming you get it -- provides approximately $6,900 per semester (currently $6864), or $13,800 per year.  That leaves you short by about $18,000 - $20,000 for the two years.  And that doesn't include money for entertainment, personal expenses, etc.  

 

The visa officer will almost assuredly ask you what your plans are after finishing the two-year course at the community college. When you inform them of your plans to transfer to the university to finish your Bachelor's degree, they will conduct the same analysis that I just did and wonder where the additional funds will come from. Not sharing your plan to transfer when asked puts you very close to misrepresentation which has serious consequences for US visas.

 

You might find a better way to use your educational funds.  Just my opinion.....

Correction --  Sorry, I only added in one year of the scholarship (which isn't guaranteed).  But, still leaves you at Ieast about $5000 short.  

[haliman 8]

1 minute ago, jan22 said:

Correction --  Sorry, I only added in one year of the scholarship (which isn't guaranteed).  But, still leaves you at Ieast about $5000 short.  

13,000 per year for tuition and 10,000 per year for living expenses would make up 46,000 for the two years, not 86,0000, right? Or have I misunderstood your calculations somehow

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

33 minutes ago, jan22 said:

You might find a better way to use your educational funds.  Just my opinion....

I’m wondering if there is a boyfriend or girlfriend involved in this decision. I can’t make sense of it otherwise. I can’t see how an education that is more expensive (and frankly probably lower quality) than a UK university degree makes sense at a college that is unknown in the UK so no help for job market there, for someone who does not have work authorization in the US so can’t use it here. Especially for someone doing a business degree, where things like return on investment should be informing thinking. I do understand the value of niche specializations - a friend is a prof at a pretty unremarkable business school but in a niche field where they mostly have fabulous placement for their graduates - but that comes back to the issue of US work authorization.

[jan22 3,053]

20 minutes ago, haliman said:

13,000 per year for tuition and 10,000 per year for living expenses would make up 46,000 for the two years, not 86,0000, right? Or have I misunderstood your calculations somehow

Tuition is not $13,000 per year for out-of-state students (i.e., students who are not residents of Louisiana) -- it is $24,098 ($10,370 for all plus $13,728 additional for out-of-state students.  Then, you add $1,300 per year for books, $4,260 - $5,160 of other costs, and $11,520 for room and board, and you have a yearly total of $41,178 - $42,078.   (Plus travel expenses and I there personal expenses).  Those are the numbers listed as the estimated costs on the university's website and that will be on your I-20 once you get admitted.  And, that's the total a visa officer will be interested in.

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by jan22

[saxon 0]

11 minutes ago, jan22 said:

Tuition is not $13,000 per year for out-of-state students (i.e., students who are not residents of Louisiana) -- it is $24,098 ($10,370 for all plus $13,728 additional for out-of-state students.  Then, you add $1,300 per year for books, $4,260 - $5,160 of other costs, and $11,520 for room and board, and you have a yearly total of $41,178 - $42,078.   (Plus travel expenses and I there personal expenses).  Those are the numbers listed as the estimated costs on the university's website and that will be on your I-20 once you get admitted.  And, that's the total a visa officer will be interested in.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'd previously been under the impression out of state tuition isn't tacked onto instate tuition, its as an alternative right? I'm no expert though

[jan22 3,053]

26 minutes ago, jan22 said:

Tuition is not $13,000 per year for out-of-state students (i.e., students who are not residents of Louisiana) -- it is $24,098 ($10,370 for all plus $13,728 additional for out-of-state students.  Then, you add $1,300 per year for books, $4,260 - $5,160 of other costs, and $11,520 for room and board, and you have a yearly total of $41,178 - $42,078.   (Plus travel expenses and I there personal expenses).  Those are the numbers listed as the estimated costs on the university's website and that will be on your I-20 once you get admitted.  And, that's the total a visa officer will be interested in.

 

BTW, the transfer scholarship appears to be a waiving of the out-of-state tuition fees for international students. The scholarship is $6,864 per semester for a total of $13,728 per year, which is exactly the out-of-state tuition cost.  If it makes it easier for you, you can then just look at the total estimated costs that the university lists for in-state students. With the tuition, books, other expenses, and room & board, that estimate is $27,450 - $28,350. That's a total of $54,900 - 56,700 (plus travel and personal expenses) for the two years.

 

But, the I-20 will list the costs with the out-of-state tuition included and then reflect the waiving of the $13,728, assuming you receive the transfer scholarship.  

Edited March 24, 2021 by jan22

[jan22 3,053]

6 minutes ago, saxon said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'd previously been under the impression out of state tuition isn't tacked onto instate tuition, its as an alternative right? I'm no expert though

Some universities list in- and out-of-state tuition separately, with a total for each one.  Some don't.  If you look at this particular university's website, it lists the annual tuition rate and then has an asterisk on it that says "Out-of-state residents add $13,728".

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

9 minutes ago, saxon said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'd previously been under the impression out of state tuition isn't tacked onto instate tuition, its as an alternative right? I'm no expert though

No, it’s added on, at least on the website under question. “Out-of-state residents add $13,728”

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

6 minutes ago, jan22 said:

plus travel and personal expenses

Oh yes - OP either has to fly home or fund summer accommodation. Either of those will probably be a couple of thousand. Seems the college summer stretches from late May to late August, so the listed room and board costs will only cover 9 months?

[jan22 3,053]

Just now, SusieQQQ said:

Oh yes - OP either has to fly home or fund summer accommodation. Either of those will probably be a couple of thousand. Seems the college summer stretches from late May to late August, so the listed room and board costs will only cover 9 months?

Right -- which is why I included an additional $2000 in my original calculations -- and I think that's an under-estimate of the actual costs.

[haliman 8]

3 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Oh yes - OP either has to fly home or fund summer accommodation. Either of those will probably be a couple of thousand. Seems the college summer stretches from late May to late August, so the listed room and board costs will only cover 9 months?

I'm going off campus for accomodation, the apartment I'm looking at is about 480 dollars a month, so that shouldn't be a concern. Also replying to what you said earlier no there isn't a bf/gf involved lol, I've only recently came out of a relationship.