is it actually THAT expensive to study in the US?

29 comments

1. Your question is absurdly vague. Give us some actual specifics if you want answers worth a damn.

2. For foreign students, unless there are extraordinary circumstances, it’s extremely expensive upfront.
   You probably won’t be getting the American non-dischargeable loans that result in the current student debt situation unless US citizen or resident since they would have trouble collecting in your country.

3. Depends but this is a very vague question. Do you mean LA/NYC for bigger cities ?

4. Yes. Unless you can get scholarships, a lot of aid, or your parents have the money to pay, it’s very expensive. You’re also deemed as “under” you parents until you’re 24, so how much you get from fafsa depends on that. My family is middle class, the household income in my home was around 85k, so my only option was loans (except for a tiny portion of grants, TINY). The expected family contribution (what they expected my parents to pay) was ridiculous, I had to get private loans to complete school. I am in a loooot of debt, and looking back, I kind of regret going to college because of the debt, but I felt like it was my only option.

   I have friends still in college, it’s a common enough experience. One of my good friends is going through the same thing at the moment, her parents have good jobs, middle class, just not doable without loans.

   I went to community college for two years, then I transferred to Rutgers University for my bachelor’s.

   Edit: Of course I can’t speak from the perspective of a foreign student, but I’ve heard it’s more expensive.

5. * Student loan debt in the United States totals $1.774 trillion.

   * The outstanding federal loan balance is $1.644 trillion and accounts for 92.6% of all student loan debt.
   43.6 million borrowers have federal student loan debt.

   * The average federal student loan debt balance is $37,717 while the total average balance (including private loan debt) may be as high as $40,505.

   * Less than 2% of private student loans enter default as of 2021’s fourth financial quarter (2021 Q4).

   * The average public university student borrows $25,969 to attain a bachelor’s degree.

   While a slim majority of undergraduates borrow money from the federal government, the total amount they borrow accounts for 92.7% of student loan debt.

   * 51.8% of undergraduate program completers use federal loans at some point.
   * 34.8% of federal student loan debt is in Stafford Loans.
   * 11% of federal debt is in subsidized Stafford loans; 23.1% is in unsubsidized Stafford loans
   * 21.6% of federal student loan debt is in direct consolidated loans.
   * 4% of student loan debt is from Parent PLUS loans, borrowed by parents on behalf of their children.
   * 3% of student loan debt is from Grad PLUS loans going to graduate or professional students.
   * 0.1% of student loan debt is from Perkins loans.
   * The federal government loans an annual total of $82.026 billion to all postsecondary students (including graduate and professional students).
   * 29% of undergraduate students borrow federal loans.
   * 66% of graduate students borrow federal loans.

   https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics

6. According to iefa, a foreign student should expect to spend up to $35k a year in tuition at a public university and up to $55k a year at a private one. For being near a major city I’d err on a higher rather than lower number. Dorm living would be around another $10k a year

   For US Citizens going to a public university in the state they’re a resident of, tuition is significantly less – about $24k all-in on average, with between a third and half of that being room and board if you go that route.

7. Yes. Very expensive. Is it common to be in deep student loan debt as an American. I can’t even imagine how foreign nationals manage through our system.

   Sorry, don’t have any estimates. You’ll have to be a bit more specific on what kind of school you’re going for.

8. Honestly, for me I went to a good engineering school and got in-state tuition. Working only during my summers was enough for me to cover my tuition (after scholarships, to be fair, but still).

   However, there are lots of people going to private schools or traveling out of state for party experiences (I’m in Minnesota, for some reason lots of the women I meet here are moving to Florida, Alabama, etc. and paying $30k+/yr because of the partying going on there).

   I really don’t give a shit what others do, however I do think it’s a financially awful decision to do that lmao. If you’re a little bit smart about scholarships and picking schools, you’ll be fine.

   To add some context to the American university costs, I studied abroad in Europe, and one thing I realized is that the “college experience” isn’t a thing in most of Europe. Most of the friends I made and am still in contact with were German, Italian, and French. All of them said their schools were 1-3 building in the middle of some city and they would go to class for the day and then return home at night almost like a job. In the US, you’re paying for your life to be consumed by your university. You typically will play sports, join clubs, enjoy hobbies, etc. all through the university. Most state schools will have extremely nice/large gyms, state-of-the-art facilities, movie theaters, comedy night shows, and massive campuses. Libraries will be open 24/7 and will be full of studying students, bars near campus will be thriving, and campus will have people roaming about doing fun, stupid shit at all hours of the day. You’re paying to have access to a community built for you and personally, I’m glad I spent 4 years of my life in that setting, even if it cost me more than the average European school.

   TLDR; it’s not as bad as people think. Many people make financially poor decisions. The high cost of school in the US is partially due to the fact that American universities cultivate a community built around students and offer everything a person needs to live and more.

9. Yes. Its insane. Going to law school at any tier 1 school (top 50 schools) will set you back 300k+

10. For international students? Yeah, super expensive.

11. I would say yes. The college in my area is a 4 year, but I’d consider it more community college level due to the lack of advanced math and science classes. That university is the only one that isn’t a flight or two away or 100% online. It was a no go for me as a STEM major.

    So in having to move that was also having to afford room and board for 4 years far away from my parents.

    Thankfully I had pretty massive scholarships for college but I know there’s no way I would’ve attended the place I did on financial aide and student loans alone. That would have put me in a mountain of debt. As it were, going to college was still spendy.

12. Without factoring in any sort of financial aid, the university I went to now charges $28,272 for **each semester** in the 2023-2024 school year ($27,862 for tuition and the rest in fees). Add anywhere from $4,825 to $11,810 for housing and dining plans (mandatory for the first two years, I believe).

    Their own website estimates the cost of attendance at **$76,176 for one year** (beginning this fall).

    Edit: I just read the second part of your question. Tuition will be markedly more expensive for you if you’re an international student. It can range anywhere from around **$90,000** per semester at NYU, to **$12,992** (plus a $4,000 deposit) at BYU assuming you’re not Mormon. You get a discount if you are.

13. >do you guys have any rough estimate of how much i would have to spend on a college near one of the bigger cities?

    This reminds me of The Office where Jim Halpert asks “What kind of bear is best?”

    Jokes aside, you’ve gotta be more specific OP. Your question is incredibly vague!

14. Yes, without financial aid, the top schools cost around $70,000 a year. And if you are a foreign student, you’re not very likely to get much financial aid.

15. So schools charge various amounts, public schools are typically cheaper than private (although I’ve heard that private schools give more scholarships, but I don’t know the statistics on that). There are also often many different tuition rates at each school. I’ll use the University of Washington as an example. It’s a well regarded public school in Seattle. In-state tuition (meaning the student is a resident of Washington State) was a little over $12,000 last school year. Out-of-state tuition (meaning the student is from a different state) was over $40,000. International student tuition was $54,000. Those tuition prices are all for 1 year of school, so if you complete your degree in 4 years it would be $48,000+ for WA residents, $160,000+ for out-of-state, and $216,000+ for international students, assuming you don’t get any scholarships. That doesn’t include required things like course materials and cost of living. This is also simplified, there are a few other tuition categories, and some exceptions (such as some states have agreements with each other to give in-state tuition to each other’s residents).

    Now in comparison, Western Washington University (another public university in Bellingham, Washington) was about $7,500 for residents, $25,000 for out-of-state and $27,000 for international students for 1 year. So quite a bit cheaper for a whole degree, to give you some idea of the variation between schools.

    All that said, if you do a study abroad year through a university in your home country instead of getting a full degree at a university here, then I believe you pay your regular home university tuition.

    Also, I got all this information from the websites of the universities, and they all included a full budget of tuition, fees, housing, transportation, food and more. So if you have an idea of where you might want to go, you can look at their website to figure out the full cost of studying here, including housing and everything.

16. That number would be impossible to give to you. All colleges have pretty steep sticker prices, but almost all give out differing amounts of financial aid.

    This financial aid can make all the difference in the world, but is totally dependent on your background.

    All I can say is apply to as many schools as you can, and see which is the best offer for you.

17. I suggest to you that you attend university elsewhere. Someone else will happily take your place, someone willing to put forth the effort and do the research required for such a decision rather than actively avoiding it.

18. For a public school in Texas, it’s going to be more than $30,000/year for an international student. Maybe a lot more, I’m not sure.

19. So I studied abroad in Australia and costs were on par with the US. Think about it; the living expenses are the same: a room in a sharehouse, groceries, cheap public university tuition, etc. The difficulty for Americans comes in when you have someone who put all those expenses for 4+ years on debt, but then went into a field that isn’t very lucrative: theology, let’s say. Or, you dropped out of college after 2 years. Or, you’re a young person in a field that is lucrative, but entry-level salaries are never superb. Of course the US has income-based payment plans for public loans (if you’re not making much money your monthly payments are very reasonable) but the loan amount is over your head for when/if you make money later

    The difficulties for you are whether your study abroad program lets you get at subsidized public tuition rates (i. e. an exchange program) or whether you’re paying international tuition. Because the latter is fucking obscene. It’s a giant racket many first world countries get up to, where we charge like 30+k for a year at public university for foreigners, and in exchange, make that attendance useful for immigration, effectively extracting money from wealthy Indian and Chinese families

20. For a non-resident, it can be very steep. Annual tuition at the state university here in San Diego (SDSU) is about $8,000 for California residents. Many will not pay that full tuition thanks to financial aid. For out-of-state/international students, however, it jumps to $20,000, and international students typically can’t get financial aid.

21. Costs to attend university vary widely. Private universities charge more than public universities, and public universities charge more than community colleges. Public universities also typically have a heavily discounted rate for students from the same state. Unfortunately for you though they often charge international students extra and some private universities do as well.

    For a typical American if they go to a community college or an in state public school debts can be very manageable but they may choose not to for various reasons.

    To answer the main part of your question though the university that I attend charges about $50,000 per year for international students including tuition and housing and food.

22. College education prices vary wildly.

    Community colleges are the lowest in cost, but only some CC’s offer full bachelors degrees. Attending a community college, just for tuition and fees, is likely to cost you in the low tens of thousands to complete a program.

    State universities have variable pricing. State residents pay less than out of state or foreign students. Prices also vary wildly between states. Attending a prestigious school like UCLA or MIT will cost you a lot more than attending a more typical one like Purdue or U-Texas. If you’re smart and careful, it’s quite easy to get a bachelors degree for less than a hundred thousand dollars (even with housing costs). If aim for the top organizations… then you’ll pay more.

    Private colleges are even more expensive than that. The cheapest private colleges will have prices around that of the top state universities. But Ivy League private universities… if you’re attending one of these, your family is already rich enough that the price doesn’t matter.

23. for international students? yes. American students have more avenues for financial aid, in-state tuition reductions, and scholarship.

24. I went to a private university that came with a price tag of $40k/year. I subsidized the cost by being an RA (comped room and board) and scholarships. I am thankful to have left school debt free but many of my peers were stuck with $150k+ loans. So yes it can be very expensive to study in the USA but it doesn’t have to be.

25. It’s gonna vary wildly by city and by college. Some are far more expensive than others.

    If you have a few you’re interested in, it would be easier to answer this question. But generally your best bet would be to contact the admissions office of the colleges you’re interested in and they could give you a better idea what kind of assistance is available for international students and how much you could expect to pay.

26. There’s no cut and dry answer, there are a million variables

27. For out-of-state, you’d be paying the OOS price tag, so that’s a start. Take note of the cost of living in the area, too.

28. My college was $15,000 per grad school semester years ago, so I can only imagine how expensive it is now. I studied in Germany for about $350 per semester and then got a scholarship to attend university in the US. I don’t wanna be in debt in my 20s.

29. I paid sticker price for my university because I spent all of high school getting high. $40k a year, but luckily I worked full time and had parents willing to help me out. The thing I will never get over was how I moved off campus and got an apartment in a great neighborhood WITHOUT ROOMMATES and it was *cheaper* to pay rent for a year than to get a dorm and a meal plan