Most American students finance their education through a combination of family savings, loans, grants, and employment. International students may not have all these options available, but this article provides suggestions on where they can find information on financial assistance.

Attending a college or university in the United States is very expensive. A year at a prominent four-year university can cost almost $50,000, and this does not include the extra costs of housing, transportation, and other living expenses. There are, of course, less expensive options at colleges that also offer an excellent education. Most four-year colleges cost at least $10,000 per year, and many more are in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. For families in the United States, paying for the education of their children has become a major expense. Many families begin saving money from the time their children are born, and some states offer incentive plans for savings programs.

As expensive as the tuition is, it should be noted that this hardly covers all the cost of providing an education. Buildings, equipment, and salary costs are increasingly expensive, with advanced technology adding tremendous costs for laboratories and other specialized facilities. Universities and colleges constantly seek support from foundations, corporations, and industry, as well as from local, state, or federal government.

Still, for prospective students, the costs can be daunting. Students may have jobs in secondary school or college to help earn money for college tuition or other expenses, such as books, transportation, and housing. Colleges help students find work either on campus or in the nearby community to offset the costs. Community colleges are successful, in part, because they allow working adults to take classes during the evening or on weekends or to otherwise combine full- or part-time school with full- or part-time employment. Since World War II, an important benefit to military service has been the tuition support provided through the GI Bill, a law that provided financial assistance to allow American soldiers (known as GIs) a gateway to higher education that otherwise would not have been possible for many of these military veterans.

In addition to family funds and savings, there are two main types of funding for college: loans and grants. Loans are borrowed money that must be paid back, with interest, although the interest rates for student loans are lower than for some other types of loans. The early years of many workers' careers are spent trying to pay back student loans. Grants, including scholarships, are gifts of money that do not have to be paid back, but students often must fulfill certain obligations, such as maintaining a certain grade point average or demonstrating family need, in order to qualify. Scholarships are funds that are earned or competed for, and they may be based on the student's academic, athletic, or civic performance, or on some other condition that has been met by the student or family. Identifying and accessing these funds can be confusing, and even discouraging, for families when they encounter the application forms. Colleges, secondary schools, and other organizations have offices to help students learn about funding resources.

How much more daunting, then, must this process be for students from other countries who want to study in the United States. Many other countries provide an education at little or no cost to the student, or they have costs far below those in the United States. What options are available for international students who want to attend a college in the United States, but who did not start saving for college from the time they started elementary school?

The September 2005 eJournal USA: "See You in the USA" [http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/0905/ijpe/ijpe0905.htm], about travel to the United States, addresses many student issues, especially focusing on visa questions. Nancy W. Keteku, regional educational advising coordinator for Africa, working for the Department of State in Accra, Ghana, wrote "U.S. Higher Education, the Financial Side." We recommend that article and, indeed, the entire journal. Following are some highlights from her article:

Interested in attending college in the United States? You may have noticed that the cost of an American education is higher than what you would pay in countries where the government centrally controls the educational system. We hope you have also noticed, however, that an American education gives you a tremendous return on investment, making it an excellent value for the money.

Here are some ways of managing the cost of your U.S. education:

• EducationUSA centers are backed by the U.S. Department of State and serve as your official source of information. Locate the EducationUSA center nearest you by going to http://www.educationUSA.state.gov/centers.htm.

• Two publications you'll want to look for at your EducationUSA Advising Center are The College Board International Student Handbook and Peterson's Applying to Colleges and Universities in the United States.

• Resources available through the U.S. government: Most U.S. government programs target graduate students. They are administered through the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section (PAS) or the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in accordance with bilateral agreements.

• Scholarship agencies: Beware! Fraudulent agencies abound. As a rule of thumb, any so-called scholarship agency that demands a fee in exchange for information should be treated extremely cautiously, no matter how impressive the literature or convincing the guarantees.