I hope to be applying for a student visa later this year, and I am trying to do some planning. I will likely be applying for an undergrad program starting this autumn. I will have enough in cash funds to cover the living expenses requirement, but I am trying to get an idea of how to cover the tuition. The universities I'm considering so far range from £11,500 - £16,500 per year in tuition fees. I don't see any major issues with me getting a US Stafford loan for the annual max of $12,500 (approx £7,700), but as an independent undergrad student I will not be eligible for Plus loans, and I am also not counting on being eligible for grants.
It looks like some of the universities have scholarships for international students, but that seems to be a small portion of the tuition fees, and I would guess that not every international student qualifies. As far as I see, my options are:
a) build up more savings to be able to cover the difference for each year – but I'm afraid that is not a realistic option.
b) search for scholarships and apply individually for every scholarship I can find. I've noticed the international student scholarships offered through some of the universities have deadlines around 30 April for the courses beginning this autumn, and I would imagine there are similar deadlines to other private scholarships. If so, then I really need to get the ball rolling since you have to be accepted into the uni before I could apply for the scholarships. I just find the idea of the scholarship process to be daunting, as I would need to come up with £3,800 - £8,800 per year from them. I do understand that scholarships are obviously a great avenue anyway since you don't have to pay them back, but I am concerned about the viability of counting on them.
c) Private loans - I've done some searches online and they seem difficult to find/obtain in recent years but I'm not certain if that's true. Has anyone else gone the route of private loans? If so, how does that generally work, and would you recommend it? Are there deferral options on private loans (ex: if I were out of work)?
I imagine that many of you who are there on a student visa have faced this issue, as the annual Stafford loan limits do not cover tuition fees for even some of the most universities (the “cheapest” I have looked at is £9,100 per year, but they do not have a FAFSA code
). So how have some of you been able to bridge this gap? I am hoping that when I actually apply for financial aid and go through the process it might not be as difficult as I am imagining. But I would love any suggestions or comments that you guys have.
