“The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.”
This definition, according to Wikipedia, describes the myriad choices between the pathways toward success generated by the opportunistic environment in which Americans are born into unintentionally. International students crave this freedom and strive to penetrate the auspicious atmosphere in their educational pursuit of a more fulfilling life. To accommodate these devoted scholars, colleges are awarding more and more financial aid to help international students overcome monetary hurtles of hovering fees and towering tuition.
USC student Vasudha Goel, originally from India and featured on the International Student Stories page of Education USA, said that studying in the US has given her “access to all these resources and opportunities that you would not get elsewhere.” Benefits of college education in the US usually come at a high cost for international students, requiring out-of-state tuition fees which demand thousands of dollars more than in-state tuition, but some US colleges realize that steep prices deter valuable students in adjacent states and internationally from attending their schools and have adjusted their prices to allow these students to pay in-state tuition costs.
With the Academic and Cultural Sharing Scholarship and GPA standards met, St. Cloud University in Minnesota and Minut State University in North Dakota offer in-state tuition costs for international students. International students applying to Minnesota State at Moorhead and Mankato receive the in-state scholarship automatically upon admission for the first semester, but have to meet certain criteria to keep the scholarship funding. With the same Academic and Cultural Sharing Scholarship, North Dakota State University contributes by covering 50% of the non-resident tuition (a savings of $8,500). Other schools offer specific programs for international student admission, like the teaching assistant program at University of Utah, the Tuition Assistance for Mexican Students scholarship, and student sponsorship opportunities available at The University of Texas at Austin.
The progressive movement towards global understanding and education is underway because US colleges value international student contribution. If you are interested in comparing international student college tuition in the USA, Great Value Colleges has compiled a list of tuition costs and average awarded scholarships called The 50 Great Affordable Colleges for International Students.
Photo Credit: Ryan Tyler Smith
