Bachelor’s level education in USA is costlier than Master’s level. Students are expected to take more credits per semester, which leads to an increase in costs. Average cost of tuition and fees is approx. 10,000 – 20,000 $ per year, depending upon program, institution and location. Living expenditure would add up to another 8,000 – 10,000 $ per year, according to the student’s lifestyle.
Financial Aid is very rare for Bachelor’s level international students. While there are several options like Federal Stafford Loans and others for domestic students, such facilities are not available for non-domestic applicants. Since Bachelor’s is a four-year program, the costs tend to be very high overall.
This is one of the reasons why most students prefer studying from the Master’s level in USA or elsewhere. Of all the international students, only 19% of them went for the Bachelor’s level as against 79% for Master’s level! It is not easy to support oneself with part-time employment since the program is intensive and students hardly find time to work beyond their study schedules.
Also, Teaching and Research Assistantships are available for Master’s level and not for the Bachelor’s. Thus, part-time employment options are limited and returns from the same, meager. In order to offset the costs, MEITS assists with educational loan.