O_O

[jhameia]

So UC Santa Barbara has this Cost of Attendance calculator which the advisor linked me to and I checked it out.

Tuition: $12192
Student Services Fees: $746
Books and Supplies: $1414
Food: $2484
Telephone: $281
Transportation: $1214
Health Care Allowance: $2345
Personal Expenses: $1512
Rent: $13198
Utilities: $422
Non-Resident Tuition Fee: $14694
Additional Non-Resident Education Fee: $408
Total:$50910

Given how the US Dollar keeps falling, my family could probably handle it, but.... but... BUT. The Non-Resident Tuition is more than 100% the tuition.

I have NEVER seen this before. EVER. I mean, HOW?

OK FINE IT IS LIKE ONLY 5% MORE BUT STILL. I'm used to seeing int'l student fees match tuition fees, NOT EXCEED THEM.

I'll be on my bed weeping and wondering if it's worthwhile to apply anywhere now.

Comments

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

California is pretty notorious for this. Years back, it helped also make college more affordable for folks IN CA, but that's not true anymore.

Anyway, most people end up moving here for a year to establish residency THEN going to school.

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

US schools usually treat out-of-state students the same way Canadian schools treat international students; someone going there from Nevada would get creamed the same way that you or I would. It's one of those things that guaranteed I wouldn't be applying to US schools. :P

[shweta-narayan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, non-resident tuition is dire :(

The good news, such as it is, is that if the department offers to cover tuition (which grad schools do sometimes!) then that includes the non-resident tuition. And I think they do that more often than they offer actual money, but if you can swing that plus TA positions, it is livable, cause the UC system has a good grad student union.

[jolantru.livejournal.com]

*Hugs* :(

[karcy.livejournal.com]

You and I are in a very similar boat.

Are there any chances of you securing a TA position before you begin your first semester proper, though?

[heyiya.livejournal.com]

Many PhD programs offer full funding such that you never even have to think about tuition. The UCs can be difficult and often don't guarantee it, but I think most PhD students there are not paying tuition, either. Often when you are offered admission there will be a funding 'package' where you will be offered a mix of TAships and fellowships; even in the current dire economic climate, I think you are very unlikely to expected to bear the whole cost yourself. PhDs are labor for the university at least as much as they are students, remember.

I only applied to fully funded programs in the US because I knew that I wouldn't be able to pay any kind of tuition, which is how I ended up at a private university; I know it gets more competitive every year and it's all pretty much a mess, but there are still a lot of programs that do this and it's worth taking into account.

[infi-chan.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, Non-resident tuition being higher is sort of normal some places. My tuition at York was about two or three times what it was for British students.

[melissagrey.livejournal.com]

Since the UCs are state schools, their tuition disparity is going to be greater than most private liberal arts universities in the US. It can sweet if you're a state resident but sucks for everyone who isn't.

[februaryfour]

Yeah, I had to wait an entire year before applying to University of Colorado because of this. I won't start until January 2012 because I arrived in the USA in November 2010. Even then, because I only got my driver's license in _LATE JANUARY 2011_, they classified me as non-resident. Thank god the residency coordinator took pity on me and used Doug to classify me as resident.