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Costs of Studying in America

Each and every year more UK students are looking to the U.S as an option as it is financially more attractive than staying in the UK. With most universities in England now charging £9,000 annually in tuition, it is logical that UK students are looking for affordable options abroad. The cost of tuition at U.S institutions does varies greatly. Some U.S institutions charge more than $30,000 in tuition each year while others cost as little as $5,000 without scholarship included. Many students are able to fund their undergraduate studies through scholarships from U.S universities and external funding bodies. In fact over 90% of student-athletes playing soccer out in America on a scholarship are paying less for university education than the equivalent costs in the UK. That being said, keep in mind if you are not a U.S citizen it will be difficult to obtain a student loan and you will also need to demonstrate access to funding for the first year of study in order to apply for a visa (financial affidavit). Many former PFA members are able to apply for annual funding usually to the amount of £1,250. Below you will find some other additional costs to consider. It is also worth mentioning over 80% of our student-athletes in America have jobs on campus to help contribute towards their overall costs. Because internationals wouldn’t have a work visa that would permit them to work off campus they typically get priority with on-campus job opportunities. Examples of jobs our student-athletes do at their schools are; working in the gym, cafeteria, library and helping their coaches. For more information about potential costs do in contact and if you want to know specific college and university costs, before scholarships are awarded, we encourage you to check out our University Database.

Additional Costs to Consider

The following are a list of costs that are not included within U.S Sports Scholarships’ service fee that may be worth consideration.  Please note, that not all will be applicable to you:

ITEM APPROXIMATE COSTS
Flights to the USA ~ £500 (per year)
The SAT Exam ~ £120 (one-off)
Student Visa (SEVIS and F1) ~ £400 (one-off)
Health Insurance ~ £500-£750 (per year)
NCAA or NAIA Eligibility ~ £120 (one-off)
Transcript Evaluation (not required by all schools) ~ £150 (one-off)
TOEFL *(for non-UK nationals) £150 (one-off)
Medical (not all schools will require this) ~£150
Admissions costs / housing costs ~£200
Tuition & Fees *(if on partial scholarship) £TBC

Additional Info

Full Scholarships

Many scholarship consultants talk freely about ‘full scholarships’ whereby a student-athlete’s costs for tuition, food and housing are all covered, but the reality is these types of scholarships are only awarded to student-athletes with the absolute highest levels of academic and athletic capabilities. Also as attractive as a full scholarship may sound it could be at a university that doesn’t match your criteria at all and in fact you could have a much more enjoyable experience at a school that you do have to contribute some cost towards.

Over 900 U.S universities offered international students’ scholarship awards of over $10,000 per year last year alone. Of these 900, 195 offered scholarships of $20K-$30K per year, 80 offered $30K-$40K, 105 offered $40K+ and 183 offered a ‘full ride’. About 10% of international undergraduate students report a university scholarship as their primary source of funding

Steps for funding U.S Study

Funding options include: Personal and family savings, scholarships from U.S universities, scholarships from external funding bodies and loans from a U.S or UK lender. Applying for funding often happens simultaneous to the admissions process.  U.S universities award funding on the basis of financial need and/or scholarships, as well as sports scholarships.

The availability of U.S-based loans for non-U.S citizens is limited. In almost all cases, U.S-based loan programmes require non-U.S citizens to have a creditworthy U.S citizen or permanent resident to act as a co-signer. However, UK citizens may apply for a personal loan from a UK bank and apply it toward U.S study. Please note, U.S citizens can apply for U.S government loans via the FAFSA website and may be eligible for loans from a private lender based in the U.S.

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