While the college tuition rates of today’s times are in itself a hassle for most students, it gets even more complex and harrowing for international students. There are very few scholarships that you can avail, you cannot avail in-state tuition fees, or you have to opt for a private college which translates to a great expense on the expenditure scale. Apart from this, you also require a host of documents.

Prerequisites
Firstly, understand this, getting into an American school while being an international student is not a very simple task. There are quite a few hassles that you should be prepared for. Not all schools are allowed to host international students, so, ensure that the school you’re applying for meets the necessary standards. You need to make sure that your student visa is rightfully in place and also that your skill in the English language is up to mark.

How to pay for college – Financial aid
Once you’ve cleared your TOEFL test and gotten yourself registered to a college, it’s time to think about how to cover the huge tuition expenses. While most of the scholarships available for graduate students are meant exclusively for American citizens, there are a few options that an international student can avail.

The financial aid provided to an international student often varies from college to college and even from subject to subject. The trick is to dig deep and find all the scholarships that are available for your geographic region and apply for all of them. The Institute of International Education has quite a few grants available for international students, and so does the Fullbright grant. So these are the places you should definitely check out. Apart from these, there are also individual NGOs and other private organizations that provide economic assistance to international students in need of financial assistance. The key here is to do a thorough search for all grants available.

While grants and scholarships are a great option to cover tuition costs, in reality, the best option for an international student to receive educational aid is by becoming a teaching assistant, research assistant, or enlisting in some other form of an on-campus job. These are available in almost all universities and the amount of aid does not get reduced for an international student.