Financing Your Education
		Calculating Costs
			The costs for studying in the United States vary from school to school.  This is also true for room and board.  Other states have higher cost of living while some have lower cost of living (usually in the midwest areas). Tuition Tuition, as mentioned above vary from school to school.  You must, when choosing your school, consider whether the school is private or public or whether it is located in the rural or urban areas--it makes a big difference. The standard tuition fee costs range from $5,000 (NT165,000)to $25,000 (NT825,000) per year.  Housing Housing is the second largest (if not the highest) component of your education cost.   This varies depending on the school and the location.  For instance, if you decide to attend school in New York or California, you can expect to pay more money because these specific states have high-cost of living. You can expect (at a minimum) to pay between $3,000 (NT99,000) and $8,000 (NT264,000) per year.  If you decide to live off-campus, you can expect to pay a monthly rent of $300 (NT9,900) per month plus utilities (elecric, water, telephone, etc.).  If you live off campus, you also have to worry about your transportation costs.  Probably the most economical choice for students who do not have too much money to spend is to live on campus with a roommate.  Single rooms are also more costly compare to double occupancy.  Miscellaneous Fees In addition to tuition and housing, most universities charge what they call "miscellaneous fees" such as student activity fees, lab fees, etc. Books and Supplies Books are usually not very cheap at the university level.  Some courses requires more than one textbook.  A typical science book may cause you between $50 and $100.  You can lower the cost by buying used books from the school bookstore or from previous students.  Most student post the books they want to sell on bulletin boards--I suggest you look there first prior to buying them at the university bookstore.  Another way to save money on text books is to sell them after you are finished with them.  You can get up to 1/2 back if you refrain from writing on them. Medical Insurance The cost of healthcare in the United States is much higher compare to the Health Care cost in Taiwan.  A visit to the doctor could cost you up to $100.  Many schools require international students to purchase medical insurance in case of sudden illness or accident.  This medical insurance is to protect students from extremely high medical bills. Personal Expenses These expenses include clothing, entertainment, telephone bills, etc.  This varies depending on where you live and your personal lifestyle.  For instance, if you are the kind of person who likes to party every weekend, you may need more money than the student who's happy reading books borrowed from the library under a tree.
					Financial Aids & Scholarships
				Sadly, there is very little financial aids available for international students from the United States.  The best place to check is probably your home country.  Banks now offer low interest loans for students aspiring to study abroad.  Other places to look at are the universities in the US--some schools offers scholarships for students attending specific universities in Taiwan.  However, these scholarships are usually limited to graduate students.  Furthermore, these types of scholarships are very competitive.  A student is often required to have excellent grades. You may also visit the following links that offers financial aids to international students: International Student Loan Program Foreign Fulbright Graduate Student Program IEFA University of Hawaii East-West Center