Studying in United States

What a year costs

Published 2025-26 averages:

• Public four-year, out-of-state: USD 31,880, this is what internationals normally pay at public universities
• Private non-profit four-year: USD 45,000
• Public two-year (community college): USD 4,150 in-district, though internationals pay a higher non-resident rate

Including housing and food: USD 45,780 at a public out-of-state and USD 60,920 at a private.

There is no reliable national average for master's fees, programmes are priced individually. Roughly USD 20,000-45,000 a year at public flagships for non-residents, and USD 40,000-80,000+ at privates and for professional master's. Your I-20 will state the real figure.

One thing the averages hide: those are published prices. Institutional aid cuts the private figure substantially for domestic students; international undergraduates get far less of it and at most publics essentially none, so you are closer to sticker price than the averages suggest.

Living costs, excluding tuition and insurance:

• New York, Boston, Bay Area, LA, Seattle, DC: USD 2,200-3,200 a month
• Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, Philadelphia: USD 1,600-2,300
• Small college towns: USD 1,100-1,700, this is where the real saving is. A public university in a small town can cost half what the same degree costs on a coast once living is counted.

Proof of funds

There is no national dollar figure, and anyone quoting one is wrong. The mechanism:

Your SEVP-certified school calculates its own estimated cost of attendance for one academic year, tuition, living, books, insurance, plus an amount per dependant. You document funds covering that, and credibly show funding is available for the remaining years. Scholarships and assistantships are deducted. The school records it on your I-20. No I-20, no visa appointment.

At the interview the consular officer reviews the same evidence independently and can refuse even with a valid I-20 if the funding looks non-credible, recently deposited, or not genuinely the sponsor's.

The visa

F-1 for academic study; M-1 for vocational and technical schools, with much narrower work rights: no CPT at all.

• SEVIS I-901 fee: USD 350, paid before the interview, non-refundable
• DS-160 application fee: USD 185
• Visa integrity fee: USD 250. Created by legislation in July 2025, but as of 24 September 2026 it does not appear on the official State Department fee schedule, some consular posts charge it and others do not, and the promised refund mechanism has never been operationalised. Budget it and confirm with your post.

Interview waits, official, 17 September 2026: New Delhi 2 months, Mumbai 2.5 months, Beijing 5.5 months, Lagos / Seoul / London under two weeks. These move fast and new slots are released continuously, so re-checking daily genuinely works.

Separately, 221(g) administrative processing, heavily used for STEM, engineering and computing applicants: has no published timeline and routinely adds four to twelve weeks with no recourse.

Social media must be public. F-1 and M-1 applicants are subject to expanded online presence review, and applicants must set the privacy settings on all their profiles to public. Refusing, or having gaps, causes delay or refusal.

You may not enter more than 30 days before your programme start date.

Working while you study

• On campus: 20 hours a week in term, full time during official breaks. Multiple jobs allowed within the 20 hours. No separate permit: your DSO authorises it.
• CPT, off-campus work that is an integral part of your curriculum and directly related to your major. Normally requires one full academic year of prior enrolment. Authorised by your DSO, not USCIS, so it can be quick.

The CPT trap worth knowing: 12 months or more of full-time CPT at the same degree level destroys your eligibility for post-completion OPT at that level. Part-time CPT does not. Heavy CPT use also attracts scrutiny at OPT and H-1B stage.

Unauthorised work is a status violation and one of the most common ways students lose F-1 status.

After you graduate

OPT: 12 months of work authorisation per higher educational level, in your field of study, with a maximum 90 days of unemployment.

STEM OPT extension: a further 24 months, for 36 months total. Requires an approved STEM degree, an employer enrolled in E-Verify, a formal training plan on Form I-983, and at least 20 hours a week. Adds 60 more unemployment days.

Three things to know about the current position:

Duration of status was nearly abolished, and may be again. DHS published a final rule on 17 July 2026 capping F-1 admission at four years, requiring a USCIS extension application to continue, and cutting the departure grace period from 60 days to 30. On 14 September 2026, one day before it took effect, a federal judge granted a nationwide preliminary injunction. As of now duration of status remains in force and students need take no action, but the injunction is preliminary and can be appealed. Anyone planning multi-year study should assume it may return.

OPT itself is under formal review. DHS confirmed in a letter made public in February 2026 that it is re-evaluating whether the OPT framework serves US interests, noting that OPT exists by regulation rather than statute, meaning DHS believes it can amend or curtail it without Congress. No proposed rule yet. This is the biggest medium-term risk to the US proposition.

H-1B has been made drastically harder. A proclamation signed 18 September 2026 extends, to September 2027, the restriction barring entry of H-1B workers unless the petition was accompanied by a USD 100,000 payment. A separate proposed rule would add a USD 103,265 fee on cap-subject petitions. Whether changing status inside the US from OPT escapes this is not stated explicitly.

Language

Typical requirements, set per institution: TOEFL iBT 79-80 at less selective institutions, 90-100 at selective ones, 100+ at the most competitive; IELTS 6.0-6.5 minimum, 7.0-7.5 at competitive institutions; Duolingo typically 105-120. Waivers are common if your prior degree was taught in English.

TOEFL changed scale on 21 January 2026, iBT now reports 1-6 in half-point increments, aligned to CEFR, with a comparable 0-120 score also shown for a two-year transition. Expect programme pages still quoting "TOEFL 90" well into 2027; the dual report covers you.

When to apply

Undergraduate, Common Application opens 1 August. Early Decision and Early Action typically 1 November; Regular Decision 1-15 January at selective institutions, decisions late March, reply by 1 May. The University of California is different and strict, filing period 1 October to 30 November, no early action, no extensions.

Graduate, funded PhD and competitive master's close 1 December to 15 January, because funding decisions are made in that cycle. Applying later usually means applying without funding. Self-funded taught master's often run to March-June.

Allow nine to twelve months. You cannot book an interview until the school issues the I-20, which follows admission and financial documentation by two to six weeks; then add your post's interview wait and the possibility of 221(g). For an autumn start, hold the I-20 by April and interview by May or June.

What to watch out for

SEVP certification is a live risk, not a formality. Only SEVP-certified schools can issue an I-20, certification is renewed every two years, and ICE states schools are subject to review at any time and can have it withdrawn. If your school loses certification mid-programme you must transfer or leave. Verify your school on the SEVP-certified list before paying any deposit, and be especially careful with small private colleges, language schools and unaccredited institutions.

Health insurance is a real and underestimated cost. Almost all universities mandate their own plan and bill it automatically unless you obtain a waiver by proving comparable coverage, and waivers are frequently denied for foreign policies. UC Berkeley's plan for 2026-27 is USD 5,066 a year for undergraduates and USD 8,206 for graduate students. Add USD 2,000-8,500 a year to any budget, more with dependants. Even then, deductibles and out-of-network exposure sit on top.

Applying for aid can reduce your chance of admission. At some private universities international admission is need-aware: asking for money counts against you. Check each institution's specific international aid policy, and treat the sticker price as your planning number unless you have a written scholarship offer.

Never book non-refundable flights or housing before the visa is physically in your passport.

Where these numbers come from

Rules change here faster than anywhere else on this site, and several items above are actively in litigation or under review. Every figure carries the date we checked it. Check the official source before you rely on it, and confirm the USD 250 integrity fee with your own consulate.