Anyone willing to stake me 40k?

Neh, this isn't poker related, nor am I serious about the request (although millionaires are still welcome to chip in :D ).
Today I received a package via UPS. It turned out to be a letter from an American University saying they've accepted my application and that I was admitted to said Uni.
Background for the story: I live in Romania, Romania sucks big ass, average salary 150-250$/month.

Continuing. The total fees for the Uni are 42K/year and I've got a 7.5k/year scholarship provided I maintain a 3.0 GPA. Obviously I have no chance of making it with the 7.5k scholarship, however it might be increased to 20k/year if I show need. And bloody hell I've got plenty of that.

The question being, If I get 20k/year and a further 10k per year from my mom, where can an immigrant with an F1 visa work in the US and how much could he earn?
Obviously I'm not discounting poker, however i'd like a more stable income to be sure of things.

Oh, and... I ROCK! :cool:

congrats. go somewhere cheaper.

drm, even state schools are surely expensive as fuck to international students.

anyways, good luck hate.

not 42k a year! That's robbery. No one cares where you go to college after you leave.

Holy crap! So school will cost you what in total? Up to 120k$? Thats like half a house!

Oh and congratz and I don't live in the US so I can't help you.

Well, I care where I go. I don't want to be surrounded by retards...I've had enough of that in my first 12 years of school

Everyone knows Americans are dumb as shit! You can come to my uni for €20k

+ 1k for me on the side. Deal?

Deal. Where?

Trinity College, Dublin Ireland.

Transfer through Stars?

the retards are everywhere.

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Originally Posted by drmcboy

the retards are everywhere.

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Tis true.

you can get a job making 8/hr at a restaurant or something. if you worked 30 hours a week during the year, and 40 hours a week during the summer, you'd probably make like 15k, maybe a bit less

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Originally Posted by drmcboy

congrats. go somewhere cheaper.

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Like in Canada maybe. What degree are you chasing?

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Originally Posted by drmcboy

not 42k a year! That's robbery. No one cares where you go to college after you leave.

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When's the last time you took a look at tuition costs? I would have paid $36k at Towson University last year if not for my scholarship...

Short of going to a state school as a resident, 35-40k is standard now.

Avg. Canadian tuition fees:
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040902/d040902a.htm

Old CNN article on Americans choosing to study in Canada:
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATI...da.college.ap/

yikes. It looks like you can get in to Ohio State for 20k no resident, but that's still too much. total con job, do the Canadian thing.

it's totally feasible. not sure how the funding you're getting provides for living (cafteria plan, housing, etc) - assuming that it covers the basics, you really only need to pull a little over $1,000 mo. after taxes. school year could even be a little less if you bust your ass over the summer.

what's an f1 visa? ie. what does it allow you to do?
where is the school?
are you already doing work study as part of your funding?
have you exhausted all other sources of funding, eg. grants for international students in your field; rich uncles, etc...

Let me add to the chorus that 42k a year is highway robbery. A bachelor's degree is worth next to nothing these days. My advice is to spend as little as possible getting your bachelors and then spend the real money on graduate school. Going into serious debt for a bachelor's degree is insane.

Just do what everybody else does and get a loan...

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Originally Posted by drmcboy

not 42k a year! That's robbery. No one cares where you go to college after you leave.

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Denial is a beautiful thing.

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Denial is a beautiful thing.

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Sorry, but you're the one in denial if you think it's that important where you get your undergrad degree. With the exception of a couple of schools that still carry real weight w/ certain employers (read: Harvard and Yale), no one really gives a shit whether you get your bachelor's from Duke or Emory or Southwest Bumblefuck State.
If you have rich parents willing to foot the bill then by all means, but otherwise, you're pretty much a sucker.

yah, what school you go to really doesnt mean shit for undergrad from what I know. It doesnt even really matter what you get your bachelors in. You can get it in philosophy and then go to grad school for computer science. Seriously thats what my gf's dad did. And he makes more then a decent living now.

On a similar note, college at a whole is not all that important depending on what field you go into nowadays. Its just like poker, when everyones doing X, it often pays to do Y. No one really just tries to learn through working. For example, if you wanted to be a chef, you could go to culinary school. But you could also just go pretty much beg someone to pay you next to nothing, but teach you while you work. If you can learn well dong this its soooo +ev, because everyone else is going into debt to get hte expierence you get while getting paid. And in this example, as a chef, your expierence goes a lllong way. If you worked at several prestigious restaraunts and the head chefs all have good thigns to say about you, that says more then a stupid piece of paper from a school.

I was going to attend an audio engineering school that costed ~$22k, but I decided against it. I'm glad I didn't now because unless I got a great job out of that school, I'd be up to my ears in debt

Well, i'm not getting the 20K per year from them apparently, so that'd leave me with close to 40K/year to pay out of my own pockets. That's fucked up.
And yes, I've exhausted all other possible sources of income.
An F1 visa does not allow you to work in the US (but meh..who cares about minor details like that)
And no, I'm most likely NOT going there, even if I take next year off and apply again to lesser colleges with lesser costs
And right now, thanks to some of the posts, I'm seriously considering Canada as an option.

I would argue that better schools open certain doors that others don't. I'm not saying just an undergrad degree from a better school is a golden ticket, but it certainly helps. I know for a fact, that many company recruiters come to schools like mine first. You can tell yourself that undergrad doesn't matter, if that makes you feel better, and I will agree with you on certain things up to a point, but saying it doesn't matter is blatantly wrong. It's certainly not the only thing that matters, but it certainly helps.

Can someone stake me $200K because that's around what I'm going to owe when I'm through with school? Just take out loans like everyone else does.

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Originally Posted by DaNutsInYoEye

Can someone stake me $200K because that's around what I'm going to owe when I'm through with school? Just take out loans like everyone else does.

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Meet me behind the tool and we'll talk. Bring only whipped cream and a toga.

Well, if I COULD take out a loan, you think I wouldn't?
Tell me who in the US gives loans to non-residents for Uni tuition and then post smart-ass remarks.

Or I was simply unaware that you were not capable of getting a loan...

For the record, a foreign student getting a loan is not at all unheard of by any stretch of the imagination. And it was an idea that hadn't even been mentioned yet. Sorry for trying to help.

Hate, Canada is a good option, but education is heavily subsidized for canadian citizens. So for a foreign student a place that you would consider decent might cost upwards of 15k (obviously much cheaper than the american option).

Another option is, attend a college in canada for the first two years, keep your grades up (which really isn't very hard for a motivated person such as yourself) and transfer to a university. This would cost you alot less (i'd estimate about 5k a year, but i can't be sure) for college, and then the 15k a year for a university. You are still graduating from a "prestigious institution", for alot less money and get a better education because generally college teachers are better than university profs.

Plus americans are loud and obnoxious, and Canada is much better.

Come to Manchester, UK.

a) There are like, thousands upon thousands of foreign students here. Mostly Korean/Japanese/Taiwanese and stuff but there's a pretty big mix. There are LOADS of polish people around.

b) I'm pretty sure there's some deal that gives you grants or whatnot.

c) British degrees are the real deal.

d) This city is cooler than Phil Ivey sucking a lolly in a freezer at the North Pole. During an ice age. On pluto.

Although it does rain a lot.

http://www.manchester.ac.uk/international/apply/

I'm not saying it makes absolutely no difference where you go to school. All things being equal, it's more advantageous to attend an expensive name university than a cheaper less prestigious one. How much more advantageous is the question. The answer is, not a whole lot, and certainly not $200,000 more advantageous. Not even close. It's not like I'm pulling this out of my ass, either--it's well documented. http://www.brookings.edu/views/artic...asterbrook.htm

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You can tell yourself that undergrad doesn't matter, if that makes you feel better

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I'm posting to try to save this guy money, not because I have a vested interest in being right about this, so you can lay off the smug little barbs. Maybe the guy with the Cornell avatar is telling himself an expensive undergrad degree is important for some reason?

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Originally Posted by Bmxicle

Hate, Canada is a good option, but education is heavily subsidized for canadian citizens. So for a foreign student a place that you would consider decent might cost upwards of 15k (obviously much cheaper than the american option).

Another option is, attend a college in canada for the first two years, keep your grades up (which really isn't very hard for a motivated person such as yourself) and transfer to a university. This would cost you alot less (i'd estimate about 5k a year, but i can't be sure) for college, and then the 15k a year for a university. You are still graduating from a "prestigious institution", for alot less money and get a better education because generally college teachers are better than university profs.

Plus americans are loud and obnoxious, and Canada is much better.

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This is exactly what i am doing. I will be going to a community college for my first 2 years and then transfering into university for another 3. An extra year but it saves me around 15k

My two cents:

You can get a very very good education at any accredited university in the United States as long as you are willing to work for it.

It is true that the guy who graduates from Harvard in the middle of his class will have many more opportunities than a guy who graduates middle of the class from Chico State. But a guy who graduates in the top 10% at Chico State (which arguably is easier to do) will have a buttload of opportunities as well.

When I finally have little whipper snappers - there is no way I am paying for them to go anywhere that would cost more than in-state tuition. If they want the prestige that bad, they can pay for it.

Oh - and I'm not hating on Chico State - it's a great party school from what I've heard (although my alma mater beats it there too).

Haha, I can't believe this thread is still going, I should come in here more.

You're IN college. Reality will be the suck, get ready for it. Think about how goofy HS seems right now. Trust me, it's the same. It may be easier to get your foot in the door, but you'll get more value out of trying to get your foot in the door another way. I flat guarantee you not one person I interviewed with more than glanced at my resume. People that work in HR aren't magic fairies, they are lazy and hate their jobs just like everyone else.

This all assumes you'll end up in the 'real world', if you're planning on staying in the ivory tower, you're better off at the fancy places.

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Originally Posted by DogOnMySide

c) British degrees are the real deal.

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it's true!

- Staresy, BA (Hons)

It is true

- Matt, BA (Baracus)

Ok, what the hell, I'll keep it going.

Going to grad school is very important these days, everyone has a bs or ba. To get into med, 1st tier law, and 1st/2nd tier mba schools it helps tremendously which undergrad school you graduate from and how well you did there. For everyone else just do good at the state uni and go to grad school. If you want to be a chef listen to boost.

There is more competition out there than i can even imagine.
Stupid 7 sister's.

o wtf, i'll keep it going a little longer.

if you have an inflexible plan and are willing to exist according to the strict dictates of a maximum utility calculator, then it may not matter much where you attend undergrad.
if you want your undergrad to be a time to not only explore various options, but also to actually participate in something called quality education, then it matters a great deal.
imo, it matters in no small part because of one's peers.
when the op said that he didn't want to be surrounded by morons, i thought that was basically a good criterion (among others) for choosing a school.

Well, if you're throwing the utility calculator out the window, screw college and the morons you'll be surrounded by there, get out into the real world and do some interesting stuff. The decision to go to college is an inherently pragmatic one that assumes you'll be in a better financial spot for it afterwards--I therefore fail to see why you shouldn't think of it in practical terms. Unless, of course, your family is rich and has a quarter million dollars laying around you can spend to have an "experience," or whatever.

Also, the idea that going to an expensive school affords you a "quality education" you can't get elsewhere is patently ridiculous. Almost all American universities are grade-inflated diploma factories at this point, particularly the expensive ones. You can get a good education anywhere--it all depends on the student.

Okay, let me expand a bit.
My mom actually searched EVERY single website that pertains to a US university for scholarships awarded to international students. The handful she found that DO award scholarships (and are not beyond my SAT score level) I have applied to. Going to a university that does not grant scholarships to Int. students is not an option bearing in mind that Int students get no federal grants/financial aid + I cannot work with an F1(student) visa.

I'm mostly decided not to go to that uni even if they grant me(slim to none chances) the 20k/year as that would lead to 4 years of uni filled with financial worries and playing poker to pay my way through Uni. That is NOT what I have in mind.

My other options are:

1) The AUBG (American University of Bulgaria) - an accredited institution with faculty who have attended universities such as Texas A&M Commerce (a pretty damn good institution), and also a place where there is a lot of fun to be had, there is already a moderate Romanian community of students, and all for the price of 7000$/year with the possibility of a FULL scholarship or even a smaller one.

2) Waiting a year in which I'd mostly play poker and applying to Canadian Unis next year.

3) Getting admitted to Texas A&M with a very decent scholarship (entirely possible).

Basically 3 is wishful thinking, while 2 is something I'd rather not do.
Right now I want to play a lot of poker, move up, earn some money and see if I can make it. I have what it takes and I'm confident I can earn some good cash, but as always there can always be some unexpected factors that might come into play, which is precisely why I want to leave myself outs by going to an accredited institution. Not to mention the fact that I WANT to experience college life.

To lukey: My post wasn't aimed at you, rather at danuts, but I however apologise for the tone in aforementioned post.

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if you worked 30 hours a week during the year,

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This is nowhere near feasible, especially at AU.

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Originally Posted by samsonite2100

The decision to go to college is an inherently pragmatic one that assumes you'll be in a better financial spot for it afterwards...

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I disagree. If you said that “most people in the U.S. today decide to attend college mainly because they expect future financial rewards” then I wouldn’t really have a problem with the statement. As is, your statement has a normative dimension - in isolating and elevating ‘pragmatism’ and in suggesting that it is essential, it suggests that ‘pragmatism’ should be the dominant, even the sole, criterion in all decision making around higher education.
You seem to be taking that as a given, so I invite you to examine your assumptions.

I propose that any free society’s system of education should ideally strike a balance between education as a means and education as an end. By contrast, totalitarian ecucation tends toward complete ‘pragmatism.’

In the U.S., community colleges and vocational schools were established to deliver instrumental/technical schooling. Land-grant (state) schools have struck various compromises throughout their zigzag history. For one, they are founded on religious traditions associated with liberal education; their missions shifted when they were charged by law (Morrill Act, 1862) with delivering utilitatarian education; skipping forward - there was a post-war resurgence of support for (and funding for) liberal education; over roughly the last 2 decades we’ve witnessed the convergence of factors as diverse as student demographics, economic trends and conservative cultural/political forces that have fostered an increased instrumentalism.

In the end, I think most people would agree that 4 year colleges and universities are supposed to be fulfilling the mission of educating young people for life as well as preparing workers for post-industrial employment.
By the same token, most students decide to attend college, and guide their selection of school, for reasons that combine these values of education as a means and education as an end.

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Originally Posted by samsonite2100

Unless, of course, your family is rich and has a quarter million dollars laying around you can spend to have an "experience," or whatever.

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College should be more than a training camp for post-industrial workers. That has little or nothing to do with relative wealth of prospective students and a lot to do with what it means to be educated. I'm not sure what the 2nd half of your statement means exactly. You seem to be trivializing certain aspects of education, such as trying out new modes of thought and action. Perhaps I should let you clarify before I try to take this apart. For now, I'll just say that trivialization is anathema to vibrant intellectual community - the hallmark of which is taking ideas seriously.

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Originally Posted by samsonite2100

Also, the idea that going to an expensive school affords you a "quality education" you can't get elsewhere is patently ridiculous. Almost all American universities are grade-inflated diploma factories at this point, particularly the expensive ones. You can get a good education anywhere--it all depends on the student.

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I didn’t say that the most expensive schools deliver the best education. I didn’t say that the price of a school correlates to the quality of education. I wouldn’t even say that the ranking or reputation of a school guarantees a quality education.
I really don’t know what is meant by the statement “you can get a good education anywhere.” I think you’d agree that some schools are better than others. There are an awful lot of factors that distinguish schools, and we can talk about those if you want. Let's just not pretend that because nothing is ideal, everything is the same.

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Originally Posted by samsonite2100

Well, if you're throwing the utility calculator out the window, screw college and the morons you'll be surrounded by there, get out into the real world and do some interesting stuff.

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I have a lot of respect for people who decide to go do interesting stuff.