Hi everyone, welcome back.

Today, I wanted to talk to you about some main college types in the States but also wanted to mention a few cases that may be unique to the United States that someone coming from abroad may not have heard of. Most colleges or universities award 4-year degrees. Some people may graduate a semester or two early but let’s focus on the majority here.

4-year

1. Public universities (they usually have the word “State” or say “University of State X) in them, like Michigan State University, or the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

PROS: American citizens can get a better tuition deal if they go to the university in the same state that they live in. That is because public universities are primarily funded by the government through federal funding and often give a tuition discount to the taxpayers of that state.

CONS: This does not apply to international students or American students coming from other states.

Nonetheless, public universities can have other scholarships including private donations that you may qualify for. I know many international students that successfully completed their degrees in public universities and with good scholarships.

PROS: The most important takeaway though, is that public universities are typically easier to get into than private universities but then CONS: they offer less funding, so you might end up paying a significant amount of money.

2. Private universities are the next college type that we will be discussing today. They typically should not contain the name of the state in their name and are usually named after the person who founded the college. For example, Purdue University (private) was founded by John Purdue and is a university in the state of Indiana.

Now, enough with the names. Once you start exploring more schools, you will get a pretty good grasp of these two main college types.

Private universities still receive federal funding but also heavily rely on private donations. CONS: Private universities are harder to get into but PROS: tend to give out larger scholarships. Therefore do not get discouraged from applying to private universities. If you get in, there is a good chance that you get a big scholarship!

3. For your information, there are also liberal arts colleges. They tend to be private institutions but are very small. (Check out my video on why going to a small college is so great!)

For example, I did my undergraduate degree at Albion College, which is private just like the University of Notre Dame is. Albion is much smaller though and has a total of 1500 people counting students, faculty, and staff! The University of Notre Dame has over 8,000 students! Consider liberal arts colleges to be a subset of private institutions.

So the PROS and CONS are quite similar to those of private schools but if you want to hear more about the PROS then definitely watch that video!!!

4. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are a very unique but an important case in the United States. Let me give you a few examples: Howard University located in the District of Columbia and Morehouse College located in Atlanta, Georgia. There are more schools of course (around 100 in the USA), but these two are some of the most widely known. Howard graduated such notable people like Chadwick Boseman, Kamala Harris, and Anthony Anderson. Morehouse graduated Martin Luther King Jr., Spike Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson. I am sure these schools are very proud of their alumni.

PROS: If you strongly identify with the experience of a person of color, if you are looking for that connection, if you want the student body to represent your background, then this might be a very nice option for you.

These schools accept all nationalities and races and are some of the most diverse institutions in the United States!!!

Unfortunately, I do not know much about such schools and how well they are funded except for how they originated. Due to slavery, segregation and racism, Black people were not allowed to attend the same universities as White people did so these schools were founded primarily by African-Americans for African-Americans.

These universities remain mostly Black even now for several reasons. One is that minority students need academic support and such schools are better equipped to provide it. The Black community is still experiencing the tragic consequences of slavery which is an ongoing conversation in American politics.

Statistically, people of color are more likely to be of a lower socio-economic status in the United States and thus cannot afford better living conditions or schooling for their children. Therefore, people of color need equitable support in all areas of their lives, including education, including higher education. PROS: Historically Black Universities just might be able to do all of that.

PROS: Another reason is that these universities are proud to have so many people of color. They are able to change people’s lives by a way of addressing their unique educational needs that so many other schools fail at.

🙌 If you ever met a Black person in STEM at any point of your life, there is a 25% chance that they graduated from an HBCU.

You should definitely look more into this if you are already interested 😊 It is best that you hear more knowledgeable people than me talk about HBCUs. Here are a few links for you:

• Why Are Historically Black Colleges Important? | AJ+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t_5fgTMsqI

• The Value of HBCUs | Dr. Harry Williams | TEDxDover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX3MjA9u7NY

• HBCU graduates in STEM fields https://uncf.org/the-latest/the-impact-of-hbcus-on-diversity-in-stem-fields#:~:text=HBCUs

• Racial makeup of HBCUs https://www.equityinhighered.org/indicators/spotlight-on-minority-serving-institutions/undergraduate-enrollment-at-hbcus/#:~:text=Almost

2-year + 2 years if transferring

5. Community College (could be private or public)

Getting into a community college is easier than most universities. They are designed to provide affordable education and serve as a smooth transition into 4-year degree institutions.

For example, if you struggled academically in high school and your grades and test scores were not enough to get you to go to a fancier school or simply get a good scholarship now, you should consider going to a community college.

PROS: This is a great option for those students who would like to save some money. Great for those who would like to stay locally and commute from home. Great for those who want to also work part-time but also want to have some form of a post-secondary degree.

PROS: Community colleges design a curriculum with transferrable credits since this is what community colleges often do. They make sure their curriculum fits the requirements of most 4-year colleges where students might end up transferring. You may realize that 2 years of post-secondary schooling is enough for you and stop there or you can choose to transfer to a 4-year degree college and start of as a junior undergrad there.

______________________________________________________________________________________

An extra college type that I thought I would mention here is a 4-year degree institution.

6. Single-gender colleges

I would not recommend it unless that is your preference. I am including this here because during my college application search especially when attending college fairs, I ran into a lot of representatives of such universities. Some of them were outside the US. I remember someone from Jordan was trying to gauge my interest in such a school. I thought then and I think this way now, that CONS: such places tend to be very conservative with some very frustrating policies, like regular involvement in the catholic (or any other) church.

CONS: Single-gender colleges also tend to have very few people of color if located within the United States. Single-sex schools are also harder on the Queer community, so those people that are interested in having a non-heterosexual lifestyle or people that are transgender.

So even though people now call these schools single-gender colleges for political correctness, the schools themselves may still fail to identify their students by gender identity.

Here is a thing, you might get lucky and find a really supportive single-gender school. However, you would not know that until you actually go there. That is just not the risk I would want to take at a 4-year degree institution especially if you have to pay.

That is all I had for you for today. I hope you found this content useful.

Take good care 👋

Hi everyone, welcome back :) This March, my lab mates and I attended our first American Chemical Society Conference. Of course, I had to film a vlog while we were there since it was my first time at ACS and in San Diego, which is where the conference took place! Apart from the conference activities, I did a lot of walking and sightseeing in the downtown area, had some of the most fantastic food, and saw a lot of wildlife! Please enjoy, I am really proud of the way the video turned out ;P

📍Restaurants

• Coffee Bakery (breakfast)

• Al Cabron (dinner)

• Lou & Mickey's (drinks)

• Chiefy Cafe (breakfast)

• Gaslamp Fish House (dinner)

• Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (dessert)

• Thai Island (lunch)

• Pushkin Russian Restaurant (dinner)

• Shore Rider (dinner)

📍Sightseeing

• La Jolla Beach

• Birch Aquarium

• Little Italy

📍Shopping

• Seaport Village

There are still 10 months left this year. I need to have an emergency fund. I hope to save at least $100 per month so that in 10 months I will have $1000 saved up.

• Budgeting - pay yourself first ($50) with every paycheck, ($100 every month total)

I feel like the people who know me will turn on me if they find out how little I have in savings. Chase is definitely not giving me their student freedom flex credit card (for the 4th time!!! - that’s a story for another time!!!) But, hopefully, you will get immense value out of this video and hopefully, both you and I will eventually get better at managing our finances. I am definitely a work in progress 😃

This video is for me to hold myself accountable and also to fight the stigma of talking about money and especially when you do not have much to start with.

Garnet was definitely my priority as someone who is dealing with anxiety and who was recommended to have an ESA. My grad student salary is more than plenty to cover dog expenses. I specifically got myself a dog from a rescue shelter (paid $200 fee for her shots), made sure she was a mixed breed because those tend to have fewer health problems. She is unlikely to develop back pain throughout her life. I also have an active lifestyle so she gets plenty of exercise. I budgeted that I would only spend $1-1.5K a year on her including emergencies ($50/month on food, $40/month on tick and heartworm preventatives, $500/year on emergency and shots, which is about another $40/month on average). Garnet will never have to worry in her life.

Now how else am I spending my money? Rent (live with a roommate), food (walmart, aldi - video on best places to shop will be coming out in the future!). Dentist (long-term dental health will save me money in the future, 2-year plan), car (started to need one recently, gas is going up but so is uber and this is an investment, I also needed to learn how to drive because I live in America, 2-year plan). I should complete both of those (dental and car) by the time I graduate from ND and then my salary will get even larger and I should be able to save even more money then. I will graduate having a beautiful smile and a car that will not depreciate significantly so I will get my money back when I sell it.

Rent - I seem to have found the best option for myself which is a bit high because rich white Notre Dame boys are driving the living costs up but what can I do?! $640/month will be my cost in the next year + ~$70/month electric

Food - average to about $300/month including Garnet + groceries when I bake for others or go to parties.

Car needs upkeep. + cost of gas

Hi everyone, welcome back. Today, I wanted to talk to you about 5 different scenarios for you to study in the United States if you are already getting a Bachelor’s degree in your home country.

These are my suggestions. There are always exceptions to the rule. You can do anything so please take my advice with a grain of salt. It’s pretty good advice though ;) Let’s get into it!

1. You are in your first year of undergrad in your home country

It is probably fall or winter that you are thinking about this and it is already too late to apply to most schools for the second year. But...

There are some schools that have a rolling admission system, meaning they do not have a fixed application deadline but continue to admit students until they reach a certain quota. If you are confident in your abilities despite your current timeline, go ahead and apply. Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and resources because taking those tests is not cheap!

Keep in mind that you will have to apply as a transfer student and not as a freshman. Transfer students may qualify for the same or smaller scholarships as freshmen but usually will end up getting less money. That may not be the case for you but the general expectation is that transfer students are grouped separately from high school applicants and are given second priority. Schools with a rolling admission system also give out scholarships on a first come first serve basis, so be prepared that there might be significantly less money left by the time you apply.

Who should apply? Those who

• Have enough finances to afford the application process

• Have great English skills so that the application process goes quickly

• Can still afford to go to an American university in case they do not get all the financial aid they need

• Are relatively familiar with all application requirements beforehand

2. You are at the end of your first year or at the beginning of your second year of undergrad

You can still try to transfer so that you can attend a US institution for the remaining half of your undergrad degree. This is somewhat less stressful than option 1, since you will have the summer and fall to prepare for the application process and apply before December 31. You may qualify for great scholarships among transfer students since you will be on the same timeline as Americans transfers.

Who should apply? Those who

• Believe they can prepare an application in 6-8 months. This is doable

• Need a good scholarship to be able to afford a degree in the States

• Want to finish their degree in the US rather than get a diploma in their home country

3. Halfway through your undergrad degree

It is a bit late to transfer, in my opinion, because you will only get one year abroad. You should consider studying abroad for a semester or a year instead! That means you will get an official diploma from your home institution but also get a certificate of completing a portion of your coursework abroad.

A lot of universities have international partners and sister schools abroad. If possible, choose a country where you might see yourself working or living in the future and that does not have to be the United States! An employer from that country will be able to relate to your experience more if you received some form of education there.

The scholarships at your current institution should be able to cover the cost of studying abroad. All universities are different though so make sure to double-check this with the right university office.

If you are watching this and have not picked your undergraduate institution just yet, consider choosing the one that can offer you multiple semester abroad programs.

Who should apply? Those who

• Are very interested in studying abroad but do not want to go through the full college application process

• Are satisfied with the university and the degree they are receiving at their home school but still think that studying abroad will benefit them

• Do not have the money to afford a 4-year degree in the States but secured great scholarships at their current school

4. At the end of your bachelor’s degree

It is a bit late to think about a semester abroad program but... have you thought about whether you want to get a Master's degree? Are you interested in continuing your education? Does a 2 or a 3-year program sound appealing to you? Would you like to do that abroad? What if I told you that you can get a Master's degree in the United States for free? Yes, that is possible but you need to do really good research before you apply.

Use this time to first, finish your BA but also to research programs and universities that are very appealing to you. If you are super confident in your abilities, go ahead, aim high, and email faculty at those top-tier schools. If you are not so confident, still aim high but not too high. For example, the University of Notre Dame is not an Ivy League school but still ranks very high in the States.

I recommend searching universities based on the ranking of the program you are interested in rather than an overall ranking of that school. Even Ivy League universities (that should provide a wide range of degrees) specialize in very particular areas. For example, if you are interested in studying astronomy and astrophysics, you might get a better degree at Michigan State University and not Columbia University.

Watch my videos on how to secure financial aid and how to email a graduate school professor for the first time because

Hint: the best way to afford a Master's is by directly emailing faculty and verifying they have funding before you apply.

Who should apply? Anyone who

• Is interested in pursuing education further!

• Wants to study abroad!

• Likes the idea of a 2 or a 3-year commitment

• Needs funding to get a Master's degree abroad

5. At the end of your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree

Are you thinking about continuing your education after getting a Bachelor’s? Would you like to get a Ph.D.? Are you comfortable with the idea of spending 5 years in the States to complete one? By the way, you do not need a Master's degree to apply for Ph.D. programs in the United States! Are you interested in becoming a professor one day? Do you think your career can benefit from having a Doctorate over a Master's degree?

The good news is that there are plenty of Ph.D. programs in the States that come at no cost to the student. Similar to scenario 4, you will want to email lots of faculty to confirm there is funding for you. Most faculty have the funds to sponsor Ph.D. rather than Master's students. Faculty get more research out of you for a smaller financial commitment. They also do not need to replace you every 2 years but rather every 5 years. This is why Ph.D. students are funded more often than Master’s students!

Who should apply? Anyone who

• Thinks they need a Ph.D. to improve their career (anyone interested in STEM positions, executive positions, anyone who wants to be a research scientist or a professor)

• Has no personal funds to study in the States but really wants to expand their education and study outside of their home country

Well, that is it! I hope this was useful!

It is that time of the year when you are supposed to be filing taxes in the United States. Please check out my video where I will be walking you through how I filed my taxes for 2021. In this post, I will only be giving you an overview of the US tax system.

Disclaimer: I am not a tax specialist, not an accountant, not a lawyer, and I cannot give you professional advice. This post is simply about what I know and think is true about the United States tax system.

1. Your daily encounters

America's prices are unorthodox in terms of how they are displayed in comparison to Europe. All prices at American stores are written before tax. You will find out what the tax is at the time of purchase. Prices in restaurant menus are also before tax so you will know the full price only when you get the check. Taxes also vary by the state and city that you live in. Chicago tax is 10%, which is quite high (city life is expensive), New York City is about 9%, and taxes in South Bend are 7%.

Sometimes stores will ask for your zip code at the time of purchase. That means you will be paying taxes based on the address the card is registered to and not the city where you are making a purchase. For example, I can go shopping in Chicago but only pay the 7% South Bend tax since that is the address on my credit card. However, this is not such a common practice because stores located in Chicago have to pay Chicago taxes.

2. Tax filing

Most people will get money back if they file their taxes (submit paperwork to the Internal Revenue Service, IRS). That is because the government usually borrows more from people than what people actually owe the government every year. This all depends on how you set up your payment method (fill out a W-2 form) when you start working. This also applies to college students coming from abroad and working on a college campus.

For example, I set up my W-2 form such that any money I make gets taxed a bit more than necessary. That way, during tax filing, I get money back rather than have to worry about owing something to the IRS. In case you are late on your taxes, you will at least not be paying interest on the money you "owe". You might still be charged a late fee for not filing your taxes on time but that charge should be minimal.

Tax returns are, therefore, called tax returns. The government is returning the extra money they took from you in taxes. Sometimes, you end up owing the government money instead. That is possible and happened to me a few times. Based on how you set up your pay, you may have over or underpaid the US government in taxes. Filing taxes is your proof to the government that you are an honest and transparent citizen and that you have nothing to hide.

3. It is a headache

Filing taxes is a headache and that is for a reason. This is my opinion but I am sure a lot of people will agree with me. The US government wants to keep as much of that extra money you have given them and so they make it very unintuitive to do this correctly. That is why the US government is not rushing to have a tax reform. The complexity of filing taxes prevents a lot of people (especially those who have limited English proficiency) from filing them.

4. You are obligated to file taxes

Here is a tricky part. The US government requires that you file taxes. They just make it very difficult to do so. If at any point of your stay in the States it turns out that you did not file taxes for one of the previous years, you might have issues with the IRS. What kind of issues?

You will be penalized and owe money to the IRS. If you plan on reapplying for US visas but did not file taxes, you might be denied future entry to the United States. If you plan on immigrating to the US at any point in your life, you want to show "good moral character" in the form of filing taxes each year. If you are married to a US citizen but do not file your taxes, it raises questions about whether your marriage is legitimate. It can cause other problems in the future that you may not be able to prepare yourself for. Filing taxes and doing so properly is a very important part of your life in the United States.

Therefore, I wanted to make a tutorial on how I am filing my taxes for the previous, 2021 year. Please check out my video tutorial where I walk you through my filing process with Turbotax.

5. Turbotax vs Sprintax vs ...?

You may hear about different methods of filing taxes. Besides Turbotax, there is also Sprintax. You can also download blank forms from the IRS website but I would advise you against it. Universities get a discount on filing taxes via Sprintax and might encourage you to use that tool. When you graduate, however, you will no longer have the representation and support of your Alma Mater and you really do not need to pay someone to file your taxes correctly (unless you have some sophisticated income streams). I highly recommend using Turbotax. It keeps track of all your previous years’ filings and is free to use. Also, when I filed taxes via Sprintax, I made a mistake and had to correct it later on, which cost me money.

If your English comprehension is good enough that you can understand everything I have said so far, you can file taxes on your own, just like me. You can also ask someone at your university to help you out if you still remain unsure after watching this. I recommend that you contact the international student office and they will make sure to put you in touch with the right people.

This video is useful if

• you are an international student

• you are not making any money (still need to file taxes) or

• the money you are making comes from a single source in a form of a paycheck from your university or company

This video is not applicable if you invested in stocks, if you invested in cryptocurrency, if you own property, and if you have a business. This is not applicable if you own money in other countries. This is not applicable if you have businesses in other countries. I have 0 rubles in Russia, there is absolutely nothing for me to report.

If you have more complex financial assets than a single-source paycheck, please seek legal advice. Paying someone else to help you file taxes might actually save you more money than if you file taxes on your own.

To recap, these are the documents and information you would want to have handy when filing taxes in the United States

• • Exact dates of arrival to the States (how many days you were present in the country and how many days of the year you were outside the US)

  • All visa information (travel visas, student visas, work visas)

  • I-20 (for students)

  • Passport or other legal documents verifying your status in the United States. Probably a document you used to enter the US. For me, it is my Russian travel passport.

  • State ID if you have one (driver’s license, state ID, etc.)

  • Social security number

  • W-2 form (find online via your employer or see if you received a physical copy)

  • Any recent mail that you received related to your tax filings. For example, I got a form 1098-T. Make sure that the university or whoever is employing you has your updated address on record.

Good luck!

Hi everyone, welcome back. In today's post, I will be sharing with you how to compose a great first email to a graduate professor in the United States.

Before you apply to any graduate school, it is always a good idea to get in touch with someone first and find out whether they are accepting new students to their group and whether they have funding for you! This information is not something that is publicly available and navigating your first conversation can be tricky. I decided to make this post (and video!) to help you avoid a few mistakes that I or my friends did in the past. Hope you find it useful!

A few months ago, my friend from Russia was trying to get in touch with someone in the United States and I offered to check her writing. The email was good overall but needed tweaking. I realized that this could be a super helpful video and post for someone out there, so let’s dive into it!

Here is what my friend wrote👇

Dear Mrs. Green,

I am a graduate student of Foreign Languages and intercultural communication at the Moscow State University with GPA 4.8. I specialize in Foreign Area Studies and French. I consider Lehigh University as a place to get a PhD in 2022 and I am especially interested in Linguistics/ Women and Gender Studies/ Applied Linguistics & Discourse Studies/ Educational Studies/ Sociology. I kindly ask you to let me know if you are open for cooperation. I would very much appreciate if you could find time to discuss our further activity.

I attach my resume and an unverified translation of the transcript of my bachelor's degree. I hope that the above experiences, knowledge and skills will provide you with a comprehensive view of me as an applicant.

Sincerely yours,
Lily

Here is how I changed it 🙌

Hi Dr. Green,

I am Liliya, an international student from Russia. In 2019, I graduated with a BA in Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communications from Moscow State University with a 3.84/4.00 GPA. I specialize in Foreign Area Studies and French.

I am currently in the process of applying for Ph.D. programs for the year 2022. I identified the Women and Gender Studies program at Lehigh University as one of my top choices. I am particularly interested in your area of expertise and was hoping to discuss your research further as well as the prospect of us working together. I kindly ask that you please let me know whether you are looking for new students to join your research group and whether you have funding.

I am an outstanding applicant, a fast learner, and I am very driven to apply those skills in a graduate setting. I am including my resume and an unofficial version of my transcript here for your reference. Please let me know whether you have any questions or comments.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Liliya Chernysheva

[Attach the documents here]

Things to remember:

1. English and US grammar is different from your country’s grammar. Carefully follow my email rewrite and pay attention to commas, capital letters, etc.

2. There are cultural differences between the United States and other countries in terms of how official emails are sent. What you were taught in an English class on letter writing, like “Dear Mr/s X”, and “Faithfully yours” do not hold true at least in email writing. Try to use “Hi Dr. X” and “Sincerely, Liliya” instead.

3. Make sure your email is straight to the point and that there is sufficient spacing between paragraphs. Drop unnecessary adjectives because you are not writing a novel.

4. Be specific, curious, and show you did your research. Make it sound like you wrote a personalized email that was not copied and pasted from somewhere else.

5. Do not forget to attach translated documents and make sure to respond within 12 hours after hearing a response. Do not bombard the professor with follow-up emails if you do not hear back immediately. Follow up only a week later and if you do not hear back still, it is no big deal. You can still apply or email other faculty.

Good luck!

Hi everyone, welcome back. In today's post, I will be sharing with you the next steps you can take right now in order to prepare yourself for a financial aid application. In part 1, we discussed types of financial aid. In this post, we are going to establish multiple action items for you to work on in the near future.

Disclaimer: I cannot give you legal advice on the topic of financial aid. Everything I am sharing here is coming from my personal experience when I was applying to US colleges in 2014-2015.

1. Start filling out the CSS profile now

American citizens will be asked to fill out FAFSA. A CSS profile is a similar thing but for non-citizens. It will take you several weeks to gather all information from your parents and to fill out the form correctly. Try to find another person to look over your form. It saves your progress online so you do not need to complete it all at once.

A piece of advice here is that you do not want to lie about anything in your college application, especially not a CSS profile. There might be sections that you will not be able to answer. You can put "N/A" (not applicable) or "Do not know", which is better than coming up with a random answer. You want your documents to be bullet-proof and honest.

2. Contact the Office of Financial Aid

You might go on a college website and read about scholarships that are currently available. However, what I know now is that these websites may not have the most up-to-date information at the time of your search. How do you find out if the website info is sufficient?! Contact the Office of Financial Aid at the universities where you will be applying and ask just that!

3. Contact the Admissions Office

Email an admissions officer at the university of interest. They usually have a designated employee that accepts international students only. They may be aware of some scholarships that the Office of Financial Aid does not know about. They can also advocate for you if the need arises. Try to do this prior to or at the time of your application in December. However, it is definitely okay if you establish that email correspondence later on.

4. Contact department chairs

Email college department heads in your major of interest about merit-based scholarships. Make sure to go on the website first, so you come prepared. An example email could look like this:

Hi Dr. X,

I just found out that I got accepted to Albion College, class of 202X and I plan on attending! I am really interested in majoring in chemistry. I am an international student from Russia and trying to see whether I can get a good scholarship apart from the financial aid I already received. I looked up a list of scholarships for chemistry majors and saw that I may qualify for x, y, and z.

I had a couple of questions. Is it something I can apply for now and will I be able to do so annually? How soon can I be considered? How big are the awards?

Thank you so much for your help.

Sincerely,
Liliya Chernysheva

Typically, departmental awards range from $500-$1500 per semester or year and you usually qualify once. An extra $1,000 added to your tuition cannot possibly hurt especially if your country’s currency is significantly weaker than the dollar. Also, you might end up splitting this award with another student, which means you will both receive half of the original scholarship.

One thing to take away from this post is that your entire college application should work towards securing a good financial aid *package*. Filling out FAFSA or CSS forms is only a step towards it. A good solid step, a necessary one but not the final one. Your entire application should be coherent and go with the narrative of you needing financial aid. Your statement of purpose, your resume, volunteering experience, etc.

Good luck to you all!

The size of a financial aid package is usually a dealbreaker for many students, especially for students coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and determines whether they go to college or not. In this post, I will be sharing with you different types of financial aid that are available for international students. There is need-based and merit-based financial aid that you might already know about but there is also on-campus employment, departmental awards, and student loans. I wanted to cover all of those and also made a follow-up post expanding on the steps you should take moving forward. I hope you find this helpful!

1. Need-based

First, there is need-based financial aid. It is determined by the socioeconomic status of your family or rather your legal guardians. It is usually given out by the federal government so international students do not qualify but hold on! American citizens and other eligible residents need to fill out a form called FAFSA. I am NOT going to dive into that.

The good news is, a lot of colleges still give out need-based financial aid to non-citizens. A video and post will be coming out on this soon! International students can also fill out a form for that same purpose. It is called a CSS profile, which you can find on the CollegeBoard website (a website where you register to take SATs!). I had to fill out this form all by myself, which I will admit, was painful. Therefore, I will be covering how to properly fill out the CSS profile in a separate video and post!!! It is a lengthy but still a very important part of your application process. Probably gave me the most headache so let's hope this blog will make it a little bit easier for you :) Both FAFSA and CSS forms determine how much your family can pay for college.

Now, the sad news. Filling out this form does not guarantee that you will get a full-ride scholarship. I did get it and I was very fortunate. Most of the time, however, the aid you get will not cover 100% of your needs but can still cover a lot, up to 90% of your tuition!

It’s important to keep in mind that not every school gives out need-based scholarships to international students. However, every school gives out a different form of aid based on your academic achievement, also known as merit-based scholarships.

2. Merit-based

While need-based scholarships are determined by the amount of money your parents are making (or rather not making), merit-based is defined by everything else! Athletics, academics, volunteering, demographics (i.e. women in STEM), maybe you are a minority and there is a specific scholarship for that?! All of those count towards merit-based scholarships.

Let’s dive into this a little bit deeper especially because merit-based scholarships are often intertwined with your major.

• Majoring in art? There are specific scholarships for that but you will need an artist portfolio to compete. I know a student at Albion, who submitted her portfolio during the college application process (rather than after already attending Albion) and won a scholarship in the Art Department!

• Majoring in STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? In case you are a demographic minority (maybe you are a woman in STEM or maybe you are a person of color in STEM), you may qualify for an award. You will have to major in that STEM field in order to continue getting the scholarship.

• Are you an outstanding athlete and have official records to prove that? You may qualify for an athletic scholarship but that means that you will have to keep pursuing that sport while in college. American universities are also split into different athletic divisions and not every division can give out athletic scholarships. For example, Albion College is unable to give out athletic scholarships because it is a Division III school. Division I and II colleges, however, can give out athletic scholarships (go Notre Dame!).

• Are you a writer? Do you happen to write poetry or novels? Make sure your work is translated into English and see if you can compete for merit-based scholarships in the English Department. Again, you will have to major in English if you want to keep that scholarship.

The list goes on! Make sure that the colleges you are going to apply for have enough merit-based scholarships that you are competitive for!

There are also scholarships you can get for being an outstanding student in your major. This usually means you should already have a major officially selected. They are often awarded after your freshman year and onward. Descriptions for qualifications are typically on the college website. Otherwise, ask the department chair (head of the department) within your major about what you can qualify for.

3. On-campus jobs

Another way to get money while attending an American university is by getting an on-campus job. It is the only legal way for international students to make money, however, you cannot exceed 20 hrs/week during the semester and 40hrs/week during breaks.

Finding a job that pays you around $1,000 per semester is definitely doable. That is approximately 7-10 working hrs/week depending on the minimum wage for the state you are in. You should be able to earn that much while also performing well academically and getting good sleep. An extra $1K could be your pocket money or go towards your books (chemistry books are really expensive!) or could even be your plane ticket to go home. Definitely consider getting on-campus employment!

Now, if you go beyond 7 hrs/week and work a full 20 hrs/week, I am almost certain that some part of your life will be neglected. That means your academic performance may go down or you may become sleep deprived or both. You might have to set a limit on social activities you attend each week, which might also make you unhappy. Although I do not recommend it, most of my friends secured on-campus jobs where they worked for 20 hrs/week. They do not recommend it either but sometimes that was the only way for them to get additional money to pay for their college tuition. 20 hrs/week will get you about $3,000 a semester.

Types of on-campus jobs that are out there: student researcher, library clerk, a server or a cook at a cafeteria, working in an admissions office, giving campus tours, becoming a resident assistant, and a lot-lot more! There is definitely something out there for you! I will be making a separate video (and a post, of course ;) on this topic.

4. US Student loans

The final bullet point that I am going to talk about here is US student loans. There are federal loans and private loans. Federal loans have lower interest rates and are easier to secure. International students, however, do not qualify for federal loans and have to look at private companies instead. There is still another hiccup though. International students need a US citizen (with a good credit history) to act as a co-signer on that loan.

Even though international students can get US student loans, I personally do not recommend it. It is something you will have to pay right after you graduate and you need to make sure that the major you select is something you can get employed with easily. You need to have a solid plan to pay this back in a single year after graduation. The reason being, is you may not get a work visa offer after that one year! US student loans will add an enormous amount of stress to your life and should be taken very seriously.

Some of you may have come to the US prior to applying for colleges and maybe you developed a strong relationship with a family that was hosting you. A friend of mine had an American host family prior to going to college, so she was able to get a private loan with their help. I am bringing this up to show that it is possible. However, her mental health took a toll trying to manage her finances during college and after graduation. She was able to pay everything back and even got an 800+ credit score because she is a badass but oh my God, she was stressed! If you do not have a strong and trusting relationship with anyone in the States, then getting a private loan is, unfortunately, not something you can attain as a freshman starting in college. Nonetheless, you can develop that relationship with someone once you start college in the States. Unexpected circumstances can always happen so knowing you can get a student loan as a backup plan for your original funding option is definitely a good thing.

I hope this was helpful. I wish you the best of luck in securing the funding that you deserve!

In today's post, I will be sharing with you top 5 reasons why going to a small liberal arts college in the USA might be better for you! Growing up in Russia, I had this limiting belief that I needed to attend a large, well-known university in order to have any chance at life. That may or may not be true in Russia but that is definitely not the case in the United States! In fact, attending a small liberal arts college might be a better fit for you (like it was for me). Such colleges are a lot more intimate and have greater opportunities for students to succeed academically and in extra-curricular activities (and get paid for some of those too!). Let's break it down!

1. A small liberal arts college is already big enough! I went to a school with 500 students in it counting elementary and up till high school! My graduating class was 20ish people! Think about how big your school was and whether it ever felt overwhelming or maybe it was the right size for you? Albion College, which is where I did my undergrad, had 1,500 people, and that is already 3x larger than what I was used to. So yeah, small liberal arts colleges might just be the perfect size for you!

Also, bigger universities, like the University of Notre Dame, where I am currently doing my Ph.D., have around 8,000 people or even more. The largest university in the States is Arizona State University (ASU) with over 80,000 people! You will always be seeing strangers, you might feel quite overwhelmed even. Notre Dame feels big to me sometimes, and I have already been here for over 2 years! Just something to think about ;)

2. Small liberal arts colleges have a small student-to-faculty ratio. Small class sizes lead to more personal attention from faculty, which leads to a higher academic success rate. You will feel like a big fish in a small pond! Why go after a feeling of academic inadequacy at a larger and more competitive university if you can be happier at a smaller college? Small colleges cultivate a very supportive environment and encourage students to help each other. College is supposed to be fun and going to a smaller school might be the right way to do it.

Closer attention from faculty also means better letters of recommendation! That matters more than a school name. If all your professor can say about you is very little, then your school’s name does not matter. Professors at larger schools are usually just so busy doing research, teaching, asking for grant money, advising graduate students - the list goes on! So there is very little time that they can allocate to an undergrad. Also, please remember that you will not be the only one looking for those letters of rec!

3. Small liberal arts colleges provide more research opportunities and sooner. For instance, I started doing research my first semester and got paid to do that! I ended up working with a chemistry professor that I really admired. I also became a resident assistant (RA) my sophomore year. If I were to attend the University of Chicago (UChicago), for example, I would have been lucky to secure an RA position my junior year! At Albion, I was able to be an RA for 3 years (senior RA my last year), while at UChicago I might have not gotten it at all!

I would also like to add that most faculty at any college went to top universities. They just decided to settle down and work at a smaller school. Your faculty background and education will be the same no matter what school you go to and, therefore, your quality of research (especially as an undergrad) would be similar among most universities however big or small they may end up being.

4. Quality of education is better at smaller colleges at least for certain subjects. For example, at Albion, my intro chemistry courses were very difficult for me, the labs were demanding in terms of work and time to complete them. We almost always worked independently. At Notre Dame, on the other hand, I witnessed something different. I had to TA a lab, where students always worked together, labs were much simpler than what I was used to, and student comprehension of the material was not always impressive. Of course, many students did well! All I want to say is that larger schools do not equal better education. A small liberal arts college will prepare you academically just as well if not better.

5. It’s easier to secure a good financial aid package at a smaller college. Smaller schools, particularly those that very few people know about, have nice scholarships, especially for minority students. Many colleges try to diversify their student body and often do that by a way of offering scholarships to underrepresented students. Take advantage of that! I originally applied to really famous schools, also known as hidden ivies (amazing education just not officially Ivy League schools) and I also applied for large scholarships. Guess how many acceptance letters I received from those schools? None! None! I was so devastated and thought I was not going to the United States. Then I learned about Albion. Albion, on the other hand, had a full-ride scholarship for international students that I was actually competitive for! And guess what? I got it. At the end of the day, it should not matter what school you end up going to. What really matters is that you are going to study in the United States!

Please, forget about those rankings and follow my advice. Look up tiny little liberal arts colleges (the ones in Midwest seem to be a nice choice;) and apply there instead of Stanfords, Columbias and whatnots. I was not the most brilliant student in Russia but it did not mean I could not study abroad. If you come from the same place as me, try to aim for schools that will want you and will appreciate you. Do not stress too much over what will come next after your bachelor's degree. In fact, look at me if you are looking for a success story! I went to Albion and then applied for Ph.D. programs at some highly ranked schools and got accepted to every one of them. I got acceptance letters and full tuition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Notre Dame, University of Toronto, MIT, and a few others! My argument still holds - small liberal arts colleges are the way to go!

Good luck to you!

Hi everyone, welcome back :) This August, I visited Chicago and decided to film a vlog while I was there. My friends and I ended up staying at a friend’s place a little outside the Loop. We did a lot of sightseeing, tried some amazing food and just had a really nice time! This video was in the making for the last 4 months but it’s finally done and I can move on to create more content for you! Enjoy :)

📍Restaurants

• Nepal House (dinner)

• Eleven City Diner (breakfast & lunch)

• Vivi Bubble Tea (dessert)

• high-five ramen (dinner)

• Eat me milk me coffee & tea (dessert)

• Bridgeport Coffeehouse (breakfast)

• Thai Spoon & Sushi

• Martinez Supermercado

📍Sightseeing

• The Art Institute of Chicago

• Chicago Riverwalk

• Millennium Park

• Grand Park

• National Museum of Mexican Art

📍Shopping

• The Art Institute of Chicago (gift store)

• Pilsen Vintage

• very best vintage

• Knee Deep Vintage

Hi everyone, welcome to my channel. I am Liliya, originally from Russia. In 2015, I got accepted to a small liberal arts college in the United States on a full-tuition scholarship. I ended up going and my life changed for the better. I graduated at the top of my class in both chemistry and mathematics majors and now I am pursuing a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at the University of Notre Dame.

It has been almost 6 years now and I feel like I gained enough experience to share it on this channel. I really hope you find this information useful. I will be sharing about my professional and personal life, the steps I took to get here as a student, and everything in between. I plan on talking about such great topics as:

1. Applying to US institutions for bachelor's and grad school and how to find your best college fit

2. Campus life, best courses I ever took, selecting your major, on-campus jobs, and research

3. Travel in the US, pathways to US immigration, different US visas for work, travel, and life

4. Financial literacy, taxes, building an outstanding credit history

5. Healthy and delicious meals on a student budget

6. US Healthcare systems and my encounters with it, the good and the bad

7. Mental health and how to stay mentally strong, thoughts on feeling lonely

8. Independent living, owning a pet, owning a car, owning adult things!

9. Friendships, dating culture, social and political issues

10. Comic books, movies, and shows, my most favorite content to consume

11. Professional development, resume workshops, continuing to learn English as a second language

12. AND A LOT MORE!

Excited? Me too! Please subscribe and stay tuned for new videos. I plan on releasing at least one video each month. Until then, please take care 👋