Studying in USA

[karthiga]

Hi,

I am in San Jose,US with H4 visa for past one year. Now i want to pursue my higher studies. I have done my B.Tech in Information Technology in India. Can anyone please help me in deciding whether i need to take F1 visa for doing my MS or can i continue in my H4 visa. When i asked this to my friend she told you can start with your H4 and then change to F1.

As i cannot afford more fees, is there any option for taking loans or getting scholarships and also which universities offer MS degree in an affordable price for me.

Please help me out in this.

[JoeF]

It is perfectly fine to study while on H4. You can not work on campus while on H4, but that leaves more time for studying. The "changing to F1" stuff could come in towards graduation, to allow working on OPT after graduation.

In California, you can get instate tuition at all public universities, such as the California State University system or the University of California system, if you are on H4 and have been in CA for the last year.

Avoid fake private institutions that "promise" cheap tuition, like ******* or ***. They will only cause you problems.

[deb1975]

If you are in San Jose, San Jose State University is your best choice. If you have lived in CA for 1 year, you should be eligible for in state tuition fee. If you go for F1 right away you will have to pay for International student fee which is way higher than in state tuition and in San Jose state there are not many on campus jobs so you will not be making enough to cover for your extra tuition. Change to F1 later when you are near completion so that you can avail OPT. Other state universities in the area will be Hayward and SF. But as Joe said stay away from fake universities, state universities are your best option.