Money, money, money!
Apart from
achieving excellent results in examinations and outstanding records of
volunteering works and leaderships, financial needs also play important role to
ensure that you will graduate from a college with flying colors. As an
International student, financial needs are much more intense as we have to a
large amount of tuition fees, a substantial amount to most people, especially
those who come from countries that have a lower currency value than
Well, enough of the formality of having an introduction for my entry this week. I am lucky enough to obtain a full scholarship before I studied here, thus most all my financial needs have been taken care of. However, during my study here in U of M, I came across a lot of money-making opportunities that enable me to save some money for my future use.
U of M also allows international students to work as a part-time
student worker in the University. I worked as a student attendant in
coffee shop (part of University Dining Service-UDS) during my sophomore year,
and now I worked as a tutor in IT, tutoring lower division IT students in
Mathematic, Physics, Chemistry and other related courses. International
students are only allowed to work 20hrs/week during the school terms and up to
40hrs/week during the breaks. There are a lot of other positions available for
students to work in the University, and it is really convenient since the
workplace is still in the University. The pay is quite good for a student
position and significantly higher than state’s minimum.
There are other ways to help your financial need, such as participating in a paid research conducted by the University, internships, loans, and Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). As I never had done any of these, it is better if I just list several websites where you can find more information about them. Most of the paid researches are advertised on the notice board around the University.
Comments
Great sources!!!
But, It seems the college only provide scholarships covers up to 2,000 for international students. What shall we do in the future?
Posted by: Fan | March 29, 2008 10:05 AM
Hi Fan,
You could also do any cultural event from you country and the University waves off a certain percentage of tuition fees for that. I don't know the exact percentage but it is pretty reasonable. But you can only do this after your first year at U of M. Also, you need to manage your schedule in a way that you have some time for on-campus job. Once you have adjusted it shouldn't be a problem for you.
Azeem
Posted by: Azeem | March 29, 2008 10:10 AM
Hi Fan,
Other than scholarships, you can also try to take educational loans to get a head start to fund the first year of study at the University. You will have to pay it back, but most loans are not due until your graduation.
Posted by: Mohd Faris Hashim | March 29, 2008 11:52 AM
The cultural events that Azeem talked about above is Culture Corps. You can find more information about the program and its application requirements here:
http://www.isss.umn.edu/programs/culturecorps/default.html
Posted by: Matt Rehani | March 31, 2008 3:52 PM
Faris,
Good point about education loans. Almost all US based education loans require a U.S. Citizen to also sign the loan documentation. This holds the U.S. Citizen responsible as well. You may also need to pay interest on the loan while you are in school. This also applies to U.S. based scholarships and financial aid. Most require you to be a U.S. citizen.
Any type of funding assistance you need to be very careful of and understand the requirements well.
Beth Isensee
International Student Adviser
Posted by: Beth Isensee | March 31, 2008 4:11 PM