Welcome to our education USA presentation on undergraduate financial aid, brought to you live via EdUSA Connects online. Education USA advising centers are available to assist you throughout the US college and university admissions process. These centers are supported by the US Department of State and they provide international students with information on the full range of educational opportunities in the US. The information they provide is accurate, comprehensive, impartial, and timely. This is a worldwide operation with over four hundred Education USA advising centers in one 170 countries. For more information, and to locate an advising center near you, please visit our website at www.educationusa.state.gov.

Under the student section of our web site, you can also find additional information on financing your studies. This includes a number of online search engines, which allow you to locate financial aid according to your major, country of origin, location of study in the US, and so on. You can also search for an advising center near you to speak with a qualified Education USA adviser and receive further assistance.

Also remember to find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, where you can find more links, post questions, and receive weekly financial aid announcements and updates. All of these are listed on the left in the web links menu. Before turning it over to our guest speaker today, we would first like to congratulate you and your decision to pursue an undergraduate degree in the United States. The US offers a wide range of tuition fees and living costs, plus some financial aid from colleges, making study in the US affordable for hundreds of thousands of international students each year.

Current immigration regulations also permit international students to work part-time, up to 20 hours per week on campus. International students typically earn about $2,000.00 per year, which can really help with personal expenses. In addition, optional practical training, or OPT, allows up to 12 months of practical internship training to foreign students enrolled and participating full time in a US college or university. Students of Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math may apply for a total of up to 29 months.

Now, tuition costs can vary by type of institution. For instance, the average tuition costs for international students paying the out-of-state rate at a two-year public community college is about $6,50.00 US per year. At a four-year public institution, the average is about $19,600.00 per year. At a four-year private institution, the average is about $27,300.00 US per year. This does not include living costs, which can vary greatly across the united states. To lower overall costs, many undergraduate students will complete the first half of an undergraduate degree at a two year community college and then transfer, completing their last two years of their undergraduate degree at a four year public institution or a private institution.

Now, here are some of the main living expenses you will have in addition to tuition and fees. Room and board includes your housing and meals. It varies across the US and largely depends on the location, college, and whether or not you will live and eat on or off campus. The national average for both room and board is about $7,400.00 per year. Books and supplies include your course materials and this cost should be published by the college in advance. The national average is about $1,100.00 per year at a public, four-year institution. Transportation cost depends on many factors, whether or not you are commuting to the campus, and if you are returning back home to visit each year. The average cost is around $1,000.00 per year at a public, four-year institution.

Your personal expense really depends on you and your lifestyle. This could include laundry, cellphones, entertainment, and so on. You should keep careful track of this, as it can quickly add up. The national average is roughly $2,00.00 dollars per year at a public, four-year institution. Also, colleges and universities require that all of their students have health insurance. The cost of health insurance varies depending on the plan and it can average around $700.00 per year.

Financial aid can come from various sources, starting with personal and family funds, but also from US and foreign institutions, governments, and sponsors, such as companies and foundations. Last year 79% of international students relied on their own personal and family income as a primary source of funding. Many of these students may have received financial aid, but they still relied on family funds as the primary source. But 11% of international students primarily relied on US colleges and universities for funding. According to our survey, over 900 US colleges and universities offered international students financial aid of over $10,000.00 US per year over the past few years. Of these 900, 195 offered between $20,000.00 and $30,000.00. 80 offered between $30,000.00 and $40,000.00. 145 offered more than $40,000.00 and 183 awarded full funding, paying over 90% of the total costs.

Remember, however, that financial aid rarely covers the full cost of tuition. It will, in most cases, only cover a portion of your costs. You should also apply early to receive full consideration for financial aid. Most schools require applications by January 1st of the year in you wish to enroll. It can also be extremely competitive. Typically 10 to 20 highly qualified international students compete for each funded place in the class.

There are two basic types of institutional aid offered by US colleges and universities. The first is merit-based, and it considers such things as academic achievements, such as your high school GPA, scores on standardized admissions tests, such the SAT and ACT, special talents in areas such as music, the arts, and so on, athletic abilities in certain sports, the student's potential for leadership, typically demonstrated through activities outside of the classroom, and other personal characteristics, like community service or volunteerism.

Need-based financial aid basically considers the student's family income and financial need. It may also take certain merits into consideration as well. There are over 2,000 four-year colleges and universities awarding an undergraduate degree in the United States. About 900 of them offer significant amounts of merit- or need-based aid. Today, one of those institutions is here with us to speak about undergraduate financial aid. We will now turn it over to our guest speaker, who will begin with a short presentation before opening the chat room to take your Questions.