Tuition and Fees, Cost of Education

USA Cost, financial aid facts

• The cost of the study per year (tuition and fees, does not include living expenses) in the USA varies from $5000 to $50000 (might be much more for MBA/Medical/Law and some other programs) per year.
• The cost of living (food/housing etc) depends on the location. For example states like Washington, California and areas around New York are expensive.
• In general cost of living for international students from countries (Most students are from: India, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Middle East may vary from $6000 to $20000 per year). It is assumed that students will live in shared apartments, live out of campus and have fewer telephone bills and other expenses are at bay.
• A portion of the living expenses can be met while working on-campus jobs. The hourly pay for the on-campus job varies from $7-8(min. wage) to $15 per (sometimes it may be $20 or more) hour depending on the type of work.
• Major portion of you expenses are apartment rent and utilities (heat + electricity + cable + phone etc).
• Getting financial aid is quite important otherwise it's not easy to cover up your expenses + tuition fees (even if you do a summer internship it's hard to cover the entire cost of education)!

Working on the Campus

• International students (F1 visa) can work for 20 hrs per week and 40 hrs per week during summer. Students may be allowed to work out of campus (internship) after nine months(2 semesters) of their arrival in America.
• Students receiving any financial aid like TA / RA / Fellowship/tuition waiver / out-of-state waiver or GA need not have to worry about costs.
• Students not receiving any financial aid must be prepared for tuition fees and living cost for an initial 2-3 months (also please note: getting an on-campus job might take some time.. earlier you come the better).
• In some universities like the University of Missouri-Tech and the University of Texas-Arlington, there is a huge shortage of P/T jobs (Why? because these are university towns and everyone is looking for P/T jobs on campus). So students planning to go to these universities must either have scholarships or adequate funds.
• It's highly recommended to contact current students via email for the latest information regarding financial aid, P/T job scene, internships, etc.
• In some universities, students can pay the fees of their last semester after graduation.
• Some Universities may grant tuition waivers (or even in-state fees) after the first semester (if your performance in the 1st semester is good). It is also possible that some other department may offer a scholarship (Like you might be doing MBA but you might find a software job in Medical college, and they might offer you scholarships).

See where the money goes

GRE
The General Test is US ~$205 for individuals testing in the United States, U.S. Territories, and Puerto Rico, US $221 for individuals testing in China, including Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan, and the US $205 for individuals testing in all other locations ($230 for Australia).

TOEFL
TOEFL Costs around $180 - $300 (fees varies by country/region).

• GRE + TOEFL~$410 (around)
• Application Fees varies from $0 (Some colleges have zero application fees) to $150
• Tuition Fees will cost between $5000 to $50000
• Basic Health Insurance may Cost up to 500$ (per semester)
• Books may cost up to $1000 (actually may be much cheaper .. you can get used books from Amazon!)
• Traveling to USA may cost up to $300-$1400
• Cost of Living will vary from one city to other and can be anything between $500 to $2000 per month (Assuming Simple Life with shared accommodation)
• Traveling cost within US may be up to $500.
• Basic cellphone bill might be ~$30 (smartphone will be more like $50) per month.
• If you own a car (you might have to at some point) - car insurance can vary from $50/month to $200/month depending your location/vehicle/history etc.
• Daily bus/train ride might cost 50-$150/month (depends on your commute).

Tuition fees for some Universities. Cheap Universities - Low cost universities

Texas A&M, the University of Texas at Austin, Iowa State University, University of Utah are really good and one of the most affordable universities in the USA (yes even for international students!).

• List of Cheapest Engineering Programs in usa
• Free Education in Europe
• Top Affordable Universities in Canada

University	Tuition (MS Programs) Fees (USD/yr)*	More+
University Of Texas at Dallas	25000(Out-of-State) 13000(In-state)	Very Few P/T jobs are available. Normal cost of Living.
University of Texas at Arlington	18000(Out-of-State) 9000(In-state)	Very Few P/T jobs are available. Normal living costs.
NJIT	28000(Out-of-State) 20000(In-State)	Financial aid is tough. Cost of living little is higher.
Texas A&M University	19000(Out-of-State), 9000 (in-state)	Normal cost of Living. Financial aid generally given after one sem.
Arizona State University	27000(Out-of-State) 13000(In-State)	Financial aid is avg.
University of Arizona	33000 (Out-of-State) 14000 (In-State)	Chances of getting funding is better after one sem.
Illinois Institute of Technology	31000	Financial aid is tough
University at Buffalo - SUNY	13000(Out-of-State) 8500(In-state)	Less financial aid... good for Ph.D.
Ohio State University	27000(Out-of-State) 15000(In-State)	Financial aid generally after one sem.
University of South California	44000	Very Few aid opportunities (almost none for MS). Get Financial aid in beginning or You should have enough funds.
University of Cincinnati	29000(Out-of-State) 16000(In-State)	Good at financial aid. Good Location. Most MS Students are supported.
University of Illinois, Chicago	29000(Out-of-State) 18000 (In-State)	Financial aid requires good GRE/GPA. Good Location.
University of Florida	24000(Out-of-State) 12000(In-State)	Reputed University. Nice Location. Good Placements.
Clemson University	21000(Out-of-State) 11000(In-State)	Ok aid Scene. Respected.
Missouri University of Science and Technology	30000 (Out-of-state) 12000(In-state)	Excellent in Electromagnetics. Fair aid Scene. Respected.
Wayne State University	26000(Out-of-State) 14000(In-state)	Cheap. P/T available easily.
Washington State University	26000(Out-of-State) 13000(In-State)	Good aid Scene.Respected. Excellent Location
University of Wisconsin-Madison	27000(Out-of-State) 13000(In-State)	Top Ranked University.
Portland State University	19000(Out-of-State) 14000(In-State)	Good for VLSI. Good location for VLSI.
University of Dayton	18000	Good for Aerospace. No application fee.
North Carolina State University	25000(Out-of-State) 1000(In-State)	Excellent location. Ranked University.
Drexel University	34000	Good location.
University of Utah	23000(Out-of-State) 7000(In-State)	good for EE/CS.Cheap. Respected
University of Houston	19000 (out-of-state) 11000(In-State)	Good for Telecom. Excellent Location.
University of North Carolina Charlotte	22000(Out-of-State) 9000(In-State)	Fair aid scene.

*Approx.
The Cost is in US$ and Includes Tuition and Fees (for 2 semesters/one yr.)

Average Undergraduate Tuition and Fees for 2020/2021 for Top 20 most expensive states

Note: Only Top 300 US colleges/universities were included: