I have one question about Indians who come here on H1-B visas:

[hedgehog]

how much did they personally pay for their schooling? I have 4 children who are working on or have achieved degrees in engineering at a state university, and I am about $75,000 in debt for school loans to cover tuition, room and board.

[YOY]

1. At my Grad school there my wife and I rented an apartment next to several of my Indian collegues

Nice fellas but they really packed everyone who could fit in that apartment to save money on room and board. Must have been 6 guys in a 2 BR apartment. They paid full tuition as far as I know.

[hedgehog]

4. Did they pay the tuition out of their own pocket?

[YOY]

6. Possibly assistance by the Indian Gov.

Not too sure how much.

[matt819]

5. I think the OP was asking another question

Who paid for their education in India? Personally paid, what costs? Government paid?

[hedgehog]

8. I think we are developing a system in which American families can't afford to

educate their children, so we are filling our technical positions from abroad.

[sharp_stick]

11. I hadn't thought about it like that

but my nephew went to trade school (electrician) simply because his family couldn't afford the University costs. He would have made a good engineer.

Unless the cost/benefit changes I think we'll see more of this. It's getting to the point where an MD spends many years just trying to pay back the student loans they make.

It is outrageous what we pay for education in this country.

And then as another kick in the teeth schools, Like the University of Iowa, blow 40k to get that pig Karl Rove to puke up some nonsense on stage.

[hedgehog]

13. If the University of Iowa is anything like the University of Buffalo, that

40K came out of mandatory student activity fees!

[stray cat]

2. I think the top notch students get a free ride

However as befits capitalism - money can get a degree at private institutions.

[sharp_stick]

3. The Visa to come here for schooling are on F n ot H1

and they usually pay about 3 - 4 times local tuition IIRC.

On the other hand if you are asking what they pay in India for schooling that depends on the school. I think that "State" schools are free but the competition to get in is incredibly fierce because there are so few positions. I heard from a colleague that there are private schools that will allow you entry with lesser credentials if you have the money but I don't know how much it is.

I did one Graduate degree in Canada and I think that resident (from in Province) undergratuates were paying about $3,000/yr for tuition and room, board and books on top of that. Non-residents (out of province) were paying about 1.5x for tuition and Non-residents (out of country) were paying 2x for tuition. Room/board and books were similar to costs in the United States.

[hedgehog]

7. Again, the question isn't what tuition is charged, the question is who pays the bill.

Another question is this; why should India be paying to educate people who then emigrate to the US? Doesn't India need engineers, scientists and doctor more than we do?

[sharp_stick]

9. It's like this

in "state" schools the taxpayer pays the bill and in private schools the rich parents do.

As it's looking now, India is starting to use it's own engineers, from our outsourced jobs.

India is still in essence a third world country, no matter what politicians blabber on about being the worlds largest democracy.

I was there last year and no matter where I went there were people begging for food and change. I'd leave the hotel and be surrounded by begging kids. You couldn't pay me enough to live there, and I never left the "good" neighborhoods. The gap between rich and poor is absolutely astounding and disturbing. If I was an Indian and had a shot at moving to the United States or pretty much anywhere I'd jump on it.

India will need their scientists and engineers more than we do if/when they can ever get their financial and social houses in order. Perhaps if our dollar keeps tanking they'll outsource those jobs back here?

[Breeze54]

10. US scholarships for Indian PhD students

US scholarships for Indian PhD students

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/feb/26iycu.htm

February 26, 2008

What: The United States Education Foundation in India announces the 2009 International Fulbright Science and Technology Award for outstanding students for PhD at top US institutions in science, technology and engineering beginning August/September 2009.

Details of the award
~ The award is sponsored by the US Department of State
~ Approximately 40 awards will be offered world-wide
~ Grants will be funded for upto three years
~ After three years, US universities will cover the remaining expenses toward completion of a PhD
~ Two principal nominees from India will compete with candidates from all over the world for this fellowship.
~ Application deadline: May 11, 2008

Application details
Each applicant is required to submit an online application along with supporting documents. A complete application includes:

1. A clearly written research objective
2. A professional resume
3. Three letters of reference
4. Official (or scanned and attached to the online application) academic transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended, or sent to USEFI, New Delhi.
5. English language test scores (when available)
6. GRE General and GRE subject exam test scores (when available)

For further details on the programme and selection process visit www.fulbright-india.org

-------------------

University, College Funding - Scholarships & Assistantships

http://www.infozee.com/usa/financial-aid-university-funding.htm

It is important to understand that most universities offer financial assistance to international students based primarily on merit and rarely on need. The amount, and type of assistance offered varies, based on the university, department and level of study. Assistance of funds is more likely in Graduate studies and less in Undergraduate courses. Also funds are more likely to be available in fields like Engineering, Physical Sciences and Biological sciences, rather than in courses like Humanities, Social Sciences and Management.

* Undergraduate Aid (University Funding)
* Postgraduate Aid (University Funding)

[Xithras]

12. Many, possibly most, paid nothing.

I worked with a very nice woman from India for quite some time. She wasn't an H1B, but she wasn't a citizen either.

She explained that technical schooling in India is essentially free for anyone who passes a few tests demonstrating the aptitude for the schooling. India does this because they realize that college educated students earn more and pay more taxes than the uneducated. Paying for schooling is revenue positive overall for the government (most U.S. state schools, which are partially subsidized by the state governments, operate on the same principle).

There is another aspect to this that isn't discussed much in the west. While schooling is technically free, India is a fairly corrupt country and there is a very culturally ingrained sense of entitlement among many workers. When I asked her to clarify, she gave me these examples. Her dad was a shopkeeper and needed to have a second telephone line installed. The telephone company sent a guy out to fix it, but the repairman demanded a payoff (about $20 US, quite a bit of money in India back in the 1980's) before he'd install the line. He paid it. If he hadn't, the guy would have left. Complaining to the telephone company wouldn't have helped because asking for payouts isn't actually illegal there, and in complaining he would have found himself blacklisted...no other phone repair guys would have ever come out. The police operate under the same principles. If you have a crime problem in your neighborhood, the ONLY way to increase police patrols in your area is for residents to pool their money and pay off the local police. According to her, virtually EVERY public entity works this way. They HAVE to, because most of these institutions pay so poorly that the workers couldn't survive otherwise.

The same system exists in higher ed. While on the surface it's free, you'll end up paying bribes to the assessment test administrators, to the admissions officers, and to just about everyone else on up the chain. Even some faculty aren't above taking bribes for good grades (to their credit, it's uncommon for them to EXPECT bribes, but they almost never turn them down). Paying someone to get the results you want is simply part of that culture. As she explained, it's not even looked on as a negative thing to most Indian born people...it's simply how things are done. Still, the bribes do add up, and it can be prohibitively expensive for a poor rural Indian to go to college as a result.