MPH financial! (for international)

[MPH]

Hi all
still waiting to hear back for admissions decisions but i was wondering how other international applicants are planning to pay for their MPH degrees.
i am hoping for a scholarship/RA but was wondering if anyone has any other specific suggestions.
thank you! good luck to everyone!

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[Kang]

Hey!

I am an applicant to the MPH course too and while I've asked for financial aid everywhere I havent really filled in any particular forms or anything. Besides,I still have to hear from universities; have applied to Minnesota, UMich and Yale as of now. Most scholarships or aids seem to be meant for american citizens though. Would be grateful if someone knew of some way by which an international applicant can apply for aid !

 

[drprabhjot]

Well I am doing my MPH and paying for it. Took an education loan from my home country. That is one thing you can do.
Otherwise if you have time- which doesnt seem to be in your case- then you could apply for FULLBRIGHT Scholarship, full tuition and living is paid but has a catch as you will get a J-1 visa-which means that you will have to leave the country(USA) at the end of your course.
Alternatively theres Aga Khan foundation also giving aid for tuitions.

Getting a RA/GA depends largely on the university you end up in- In some of the top universities it will near impossible to get one- like in Pittsburgh the school has a policy of not funding master students, while University of South Florida has funding from 2nd year only. Other than that some Ivy League colleges like Yale (GATE-Y) and Harvard have their own loan programs that you can avail of. No hassles as you dont need an American co-signer for the same and the repayment time is fairly long like 15 years for Harvard.

 

[rajju077]

if i get in, will take a loan and pay it off, i am too late for applying for financial aid

 

[babyjapdoc]

Me too, the tuition and other expenses are real headache.
Can anyone tell me how to apply for financial aid, or any similar stuff?
Since most are limited for US citizens....
Money is the bottom line

 

[teshi1]

Its a bummer that international students don't receive a lot of financial aid for masters program. I am planning on taking out a loan as well. I guess you can look in to scholarship programs such as fullbright and aga khan scholarships but those are typically limited and very hard to get. However, you can reduce your "debt burden" by working on campus (limited to 20 hrs per week), applying for a CPT (can work anywhere without any hrly limit), applying for a research assistant position (typically hard to get) or applying for a resident assistant position (pays for room and board).

 

[MPH]

what is resident assistant position? you mean in the dorm? how to apply? a lot of the international scholarship programs (like fulbright) also come with home residency requirements for 2 years after your graduation (if you get a J1 visa) that you might want to keep in mind. Usually that means no work authorization visa after graduation which many times limits your work experience.

 

[teshi1]

what is resident assistant position? you mean in the dorm? how to apply? a lot of the international scholarship programs (like fulbright) also come with home residency requirements for 2 years after your graduation (if you get a J1 visa) that you might want to keep in mind. Usually that means no work authorization visa after graduation which many times limits your work experience.

Yeah..I meant being an RA in a dorm, I don't know about other schools but places like BU have an online application for newly accepted graduate students (although I dont think "new" students are given first preference). I automatically don't qualify for fullbright/aga khan because they require you to be studying in the US for the first time. I got my undergrad in the US and am currently utilizing my OPT from undergrad. I do plan on going furthur than an MPH so I guess I will be paying off loans for a loooooong time!