Is it a Good Option to Study in Universities and Colleges in USA during Recession? How to Decide?

This article is aimed at Indian students who are living with Dilemma of choosing between Higher Education in USA or India .

No doubt US Economy is melting down but does that mean Value Edition that Top US Universities and Colleges offer is over? Well the answer is simple, NO. It’s a common sense that there is no link between US Economy and quality Education offered by the US universities for bachelors, masters, and MBA.

One may ask but what is the point in going for higher education in US universities, if they can’t get a job in US after completion of their course? How they will repay for the loan?

No doubt repayment would be difficult. But not necessarily for those who are planning to study in USA but definitely for those who are completing their bachelors or post graduation from universities, colleges or b-schools in USA in 2009. Students who will go for undergraduation or graduation in 2009 will complete their course in 2012-2013 and 2011 respectively.

So certainly the US economy is not going to be same after 2 years and definitely not after 4 years. Don’t believe me? Then can you please answer me this:

• Did you expect in 2008 that the recession will affect the world economy to this extent?
• How many times it happened that after undergoing recession the economy didn’t recover for next 2-3 years?

Having said that it’s reasonable assumption that US universities and colleges is the best option to go for higher education. It still remains the favorite destination for majority of the Indian students. Infact, students are taking recession as an opportunity to gain on academics.

How to Fund Your Higher Education?

Due to economic downturn several US universities have cut down on scholarships and fellowships. However, there are still some corporate entities who offer scholarship for graduation or under graduation based on merit or your economic background. So here are few things that you should do:

o   Do Google search to make a list of different scholarships offered by

      corporates or any international organization or websites that are in to
      Study Abroad?

§  Few Example:

1.      Scholarship Offered by Reliance Industries for Admission to Stanford Universities (It covers everything but the competition is high. I will try to arrange the link for the same).

2.      Scholarship offered by LearnHub.com. (They have some unique criteria of writing Essays which is judged by their counselors.
For more info: Study Abroad Scholarship

I’m not saying this will completely solve financial problem for everyone but it would bring relief atleast some of the study abroad aspirants.

So now if you think that studying in USA is certainly not a bad option then here is the checklist that you should be ready with?

• What are the Top Universities, Colleges and B-schools in USA? (Finding this shouldn’t be a problem.)
• US university deadlines
• Sample SOPs, sample essays
• Recommendation letter
• Financial resources (This is the most critical part. It has become even more important due to recession. Lets look at different options) 

Well you may have many questions. Questions running through the students mind usually range from should I do Engineering in USA, Should I do Masters in computer science from top universities and colleges in USA? What about medical universities in USA? How to apply to best medical universities in USA? What if I’m not able to repay my loan? Is there way to get to know US universities rankings? How can I get scholarship for studying in USA?  and many more…

I hope this article answered atleast some of them.

Article Contributed by Saumil Shrivasrava, who is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and currently an enterpreneur. Saumil is also authoring a Novel titled “When IITian met Bitsian”

Related Articles

• Recession and MBA in International Business.

None Found