Going to College in the USA

[vitinho444]

Hello dear community.

I would like to finish my high school here in Portugal (Europe), i'm on the 12th grade (last year), and then move to the US to enter on one of many colleges / universities ( i still don't know the difference).

There are a lot of problems that i will face if i choose to go, and since most of this community is from the US, i would like to ask you for help about this subject.

1 - What state should i choose? Do i need to set my objectives to choose a state? Should i base my choice on the amount of money i have?

2 - How does the "education system" works, by this i mean the college / university system, like.. i go to state X and there are many choices of course, and then i just apply and i enter ? Can i enter by finishing my highschool on other country, and continent? Do i need to say my grades' average? (it's 12/20 till now)

3 - Should i go? It's a big step of course, but are there more cons than pros?

4 - If i enter some kind of college / university how many years does it take to get my basic graduation (im thinking taking the "master" degree too, how long would it take together?)

5 - If i finish the college, can i stay there working after graduation?

6 - If i don't stay, can i return to my country and the graduation is valid?

7 - When i choose my state, i would like to have in mind the life status, im not rich, bit i dont want to live the next 5 years in a motel or a hotel... What is the basic rent there?


For now i dont know any more questions.. But thank you for helping me, i would like to know the answer for this and i would like to know some more about "your" educational system, like the grades system and stuff. I would like to now if it will worth it...

PS: I forgot about the course. I was thinking on 3 courses, Game Dev, Programming or Eletronics (Robots and stuff).

Thank you a lot guys.

[Jackolantern]

Unfortunately, even though I have been in the college world for about 3 years now, my answers will be a lot of non-answers at the moment because I don't have much experience with international students. However, there is a silver lining I will explain at the end.

a. Before getting to the questions, I figured I would explain the US difference between college and university. A "college" includes all institutions of higher learning. Basically it includes ~1 year career schools, 2-year community colleges, and 4-year+ universities. However, a "university" is only the 4-year+ schools that offer at least 4-year bachelor degrees, and possibly Masters and PhDs.

1. Beyond the colleges that are in each state, the only real thing that state plays into is how expensive living there is. Obviously the 2 biggies are California and New York City. Both of those take considerably more money to survive than other states. But the trend is that higher costs of living start in the Northeast states (peaking in NYC), and it starts going down as you get out of the NE, gets the cheapest in the Southeast (particularly the deep south, such as the town around Mississippi State University where you can get a nice 2 or 3 bedroom apartment for $400 a month), fairly cheap through the whole central states (cost of living doesn't even climb up too high in the big cities of Texas), and then the cost starts to climb back up again as you get to the West Coast, peaking in California. Beyond that, choose based on a potential school in the state instead of the state itself.

2. I am actually not sure how this works for international students. I will see what I can find out.

3. I really don't know more about the education system in Portugal than what you have told me. I suggest to really look into it if you haven't already, talk to some people in the education industry, and make sure that the sad state of colleges there is accurate. You need to have a very good idea of what you are dealing with in your home country before making the big decision to come here.

4. A bachelor degree takes 4-years if you take a full load of classes, and then a masters program takes an additional 2-years and typically you must be accepted into the masters program. Although typically, provided your GPA is higher than 2.5 through your bachelor degree, you will be able to get into a masters program somewhere. Just keep in mind it may not be the same university you got your bachelor degree from. Since masters are more intensive, not every university can provide every masters program (you also hear them called "graduate programs").

5. I am not completely sure on this one either, since that is really an immigration issue. My understanding is if you get a degree here and want to stay, it is fairly easy.

6. I think so, but again, I am not sure since I am sure it varies by country. What I do know is that more people come to the USA to study and then return with their degrees than any other country, so I would have to assume it would be honored. However I have no clue at all what you would have to do once you got back to get it honored, if anything.

7. See #1. It can vary wildly. About the cheapest thing you can do is get a dorm room at a university. The rent is pretty much rock-bottom low and you can add it your education costs to try to pay it off with scholarships, student loans, grants, etc. However, it is pretty bare-minimum living. Most dorms have you sharing a single room with another person (so yes, you both sleep in the same room), with one shared bathroom per dorm floor. The next step-up would be a one-room apartment on campus or just off campus. These are also a step-up in cost, but at least you sleep by yourself, have a small kitchen and your own bathroom. That is where it starts to vary a lot by state. It could be as low as $300 a month in the deep southeast, to as much as $2500 or more a month in NYC.

b. Oh, and as far as the game dev vs. general programming degree issue, I would suggest going general programming provided you are a decent self-study (which I am assuming you are since you are here). A game dev degree limits you to only one field really, while a general programming degree can get you into the game industry (provided you study actual game design yourself) or anywhere else. You could also actually major in Computer Science, but than take some game dev courses as electives just for your own benefit. The other issue with game dev courses is that there really is no industry standard yet. You see programs vary almost completely from school-to-school.

What I was saying above about a silver lining in all the stuff I don't know (which were some of the more important questions) is that my mother-in-law was actually the international student adviser for a major SEC university and I can ask her if she has some links to the procedures, more information, etc.

[vitinho444]

Wow, thanks a lot!!
I learned so much from your reply.

Now that you talk about mississipi i think it's perfect.. from what i see on movies and tv shows, the south between US and Mexico is not that "good living".. so Mississipi is good in the center between miami and that mexico border.

I would love to know more if you can gather more info, one thing i got for certain is that i will follow general programming, like you said game dev makes me limited to jobs, and yes i already know by self learning from the internet, and i can do various things with every single language.

About the prices, i think 400$ for a 3bedroom apartment, its very good.. here with that price you get a apartment with a bedroom and a living room and a small kitchen..And all this with luck.

I dont say the colleges situation here is bad, its the opposite, they are very known in Europe. But i face some problems like the average.. i need like 14/20 to enter, and i have 12/20.. so i need to study a lot from now on to raise that... my problem and i dont know if im the only one is that for programming i have the willpower of a god to learn it all! Now for biology, physics and chemistry and some geology is not that way.. i dont like that, and i won't use that (except for physics, i might need that) in my future as a programmer...

I just dont get the bachelor and master there. Here, college it's divided in 3 sections.
1 - Basic Graduation : 3 years
2 - Master degree : 2 years i think
3 - PHD : 2-3 years i think

Is Bachelor the 1 and Master the 2?

[Jackolantern]

That sounds about right (about the degrees). You can get a bachelor degree here in 3 years if you really pile up the classes and attend every summer session, but most people don't do that because it is kind of an over-load.

Don't quote me on the prices on apartments there, as it was quite a while back that I saw them. However, it is definitely below the national average apartment price (which is around $600 for a 2 bedroom). Location and condition play a huge factor in price. If the apartment is in walking distance of a complete shopping area, it will be more expensive. Obviously being in the hood will make it much cheaper (and much more dangerous lol).

And don't worry about the Mexico border lol. I am decently close to it here in Texas (much closer than Mississippi), and there is very little issue. Right on the border (~5 miles from it) there are some issues with drug traffickers but that affects very few people here. The vast majority of even border states such as Texas are essentially unaffected.

[Jackolantern]

Also, here are some resources for international students for MSU (Mississippi State University). Read through the linked page, Google all of the forms it lists since you will probably need those for any university you go to here (of course for the one that says "MSU" in it, just Google I-20). Then check out the links on the right side of the page to get more info. I am sure you can find much more info on here than I could provide myself

[vitinho444]

Geez thanks a lot mate

But mississipi was just a idea.. i told my parents and they told me mississipi was not good.. I think if they allow me to go they prefer something more on the North.
About the rent, is not a big problem.. since i can just use some cash i have in my country in EUR that is worth more in dollars.. And i got a college fund too.

My biggest problems to go to US:

1 - Choose a state
2 - Afraid to ride plane (im just afraid that it falls down..)
3 - Stay there by myself (im just 16 )
4 - It's a complete new country, new cultures, new people, new language ( i feel like a 90/100 in writing, but my speech is not so good.. like a 70/100, needs more pratice)
5 - The transfer between countries

I would also like to ask you other thing, if i complete the bachelor (the basic college), do i get working offers? or do i need to do the master so they begin seeing me like a pro?
I say this because here in portugal on one of the best colleges even when you didnt finish the basic 3 years, there are already job offers.

Thanks a ton for your help man..

[Jackolantern]

Oh, I was only mentioning MSU because that is where my mother-in-law worked, so that is where I can find the info. It should basically be the same no matter what school you go to, but whatever school you do apply for should have similar pages of info.

1. This will take research, and lots of it
2. You are safer riding in an intercontinental flight than riding in a car to the grocery store. Like, 10x safer. Look up the actual stats if you like!
3. You won't be coming until you are 18, right?
4 & 5. Basically the same thing. This is the tough part, because no doubt coming to a new country will be a huge shock and will take a lot of perseverance to get used to. This is why I mentioned above really looking into the schools in your own country. However, if you do come here, I suggest going to a fairly large-sized university so that they will have an entire department for international students. They will have more resources to help you, too. You could maybe also see if any universities have a decent Brazilian student segment, since they would also speak Portuguese and could possibly help you. No idea how many Brazilians are here, though.

For the most part with Computer Science, a bachelors is sufficient. Most software development jobs only require a bachelors, so you will very likely get job offers. If you do want to stay and work in the US, try to go to a university that has internship opportunities with software companies. You typically have to ask about internship possibilities, though, and will likely have to speak to someone in the CS department about that. That way you would basically be starting a job at a software company while still in school, and would get school credit while learning the job (some internships are paid, but most are not since you are getting school credit). Although they claim it is just for "learning" and the plan is that you leave when the internship is over, in actuality many will hire you on the spot when the internship is over if you did a good job

[vitinho444]

I'm 16 right now.. If i complete 12th grade in the normal time, by July, i will have 17 and then in that summer i need to think if i will go to US.. i would make the 18th birthday there if i go. Other problem is.. going alone at this age is not that good.. and my parents got jobs here so they won't go with me..

[Jackolantern]

I would suggest going at 18, since that is when the US considers you an adult.