Costs to Consider Before Heading to a U. S. College

In some countries, including my home country Germany, education is free. You apply for your program of choice at a public institution and you get accepted. You may have to wait for a spot or adjust your major a bit, but in the end you get free education.

You have to pay for living expenses, of course, such as food, housing and a phone bill, but even those tend to be more affordable in Europe than in the U.S.

For international students, there are a lot of costs to consider before pursuing higher education at a U.S. college or university, as there are big gaps between the cheaper and the more expensive schools. The following are a few costs prospective international students should weigh before making their decision if and where to study in the U.S.

1. Tuition and room and board: The main factor that will decide on your expenses abroad is tuition at a certain school. Tuition largely depends on the type of school you're considering.

Private institutions are more expensive in general than public, or state, schools. Size and reputation are also a factor: The bigger or more well-known the school, the more likely are higher tuition costs, especially at schools such as Duke, Purdue and Harvard where you also pay for the brand and the name of the school itself.

Location of the school itself can be a factor. Colleges in very popular and expensive areas, such as the New York City metropolitan area, tend to have higher tuition and room and board payments. Not only do students want to go to school in that kind of environment, the cost of living in those areas is higher.

Schools in more rural areas and in states with a lower cost of living, such as Alabama, may attract students to those areas with lower tuition -- though this is not necessarily true for big-name schools. Many are in areas where they have enough room to build large campuses.

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2. Fees: Students look at tuition and housing costs when researching schools, but some forget about fees. Fees can vary widely from school to school, since every school decides those fees on its own -- a change for international students used to a national system. There are academic fees, administrative fees, parking fees, athletic fees and even international student fees, in some cases.

It's important to see how much these often mandatory fees might cost you, since they can vary widely: from less than $1,000 to thousands more. Costs for tuition and fees are normally shown per school year, but make sure to check the units during your research.

3. Banking and currency costs: In order to save on currency exchange fees and wire transfer fees, I would recommend opening a bank account once you get to the States. You can make all your transactions through this account, get cash and deposit money there, such as from a student job.

If you have a lot of money saved in your home country for your stay in the U.S. I would bundle that money in as few transactions as you can in order to save the costs for the wire transfers. These transfers cost a fixed amount of money -- around $15-$20 -- for every transaction on both ends: your American and your home country accounts. This might not sound like a lot of money, but it could pay for lunch for three days.

[Understand how to navigate your first year financially as an international student.]

4. Food: While you're in the U.S., you will have to eat of course. Students generally have two options: Get on a school meal plan, or prepare your meals at home.

If you live in a dorm you might have a hard time doing the latter because there are generally no kitchens in the rooms, but only in the common areas -- and sometimes, that's not a full kitchen. These may not always be in great condition.

When I was at NJIT, I lived off campus and had my own kitchen. I could have chosen the meal plan, too, but it was too expensive for my taste. Mostly I didn't need all the food they had at the cafeteria, preferring a sandwich or salad. If I wanted to go check out all the options, I was able to tag along as a guest with someone who had a meal plan.

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One of the disadvantages of a meal plan as an international student is that you depend on the times the cafeteria is available. During semester breaks, many campus cafeterias and dining halls cut down on their business hours or even close fully if there are few students staying on campus. Many international students elect to stay on campus during vacations and breaks between semesters.

If you choose a meal plan you will have to think of alternatives for those times like dining out or cooking -- which will also add to your budget. In more urban areas prices for groceries and dining out are likely to be higher -- which results in additional costs international students should plan for.

Mirjam Milsch, from Germany, received a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology through a grant from the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. She previously studied at Fachhochschule Hannover in Germany.