What an MS abroad really costs: a way to add it up

Begin with tuition and compulsory fees, but for the whole length of the programme and not for the first year. Programmes differ in length, and some have extra charges for labs, activities or a project term. Take the figure from the university's own page on tuition and fees, not from a summary on a forum. Check whether the fee for international students is different from the fee quoted for local students, since it often is.

Next add the cost of living. Housing is usually the largest part, and it differs enormously between a big city and a small university town. Then food, local transport, a phone, books and equipment, winter clothing if you need it, and a margin for things you did not expect. Most universities publish an estimated cost of attendance for international students, and that is a better starting point than any blog. Treat it as a minimum, not a comfortable figure. If you plan to live more modestly, you should be able to say specifically how.

Add health insurance. In some countries it is compulsory for students and is charged as part of the fees or through a separate scheme. In others you must buy a policy yourself. Find out which applies, and what it covers, before you rely on it.

Add the costs before you arrive, which are easy to forget because they come one at a time. Test fees for any entrance or language tests, and for sending score reports to each university. Application fees, which multiply quickly if you apply to eight or ten universities. Fees for evaluating and sending transcripts. The visa application fee, and in some countries a health charge or a deposit. Your flight, and the first month's expenses and a deposit on housing before you have earned anything. Put them in a list and add them up. They are usually a bigger sum than students expect.

Now add the cost that is never on a university page: the income you give up. If you could have earned a salary in India for the length of the programme, that is part of what the degree costs you. It does not make the degree a bad idea, but it belongs in the comparison, especially if you are weighing an offer against study.

Then add the costs that arrive later, which are the ones that cause the most trouble. If you borrow, interest may accumulate while you study, and repayments may begin soon after the course ends, whether or not you have found work. The exchange rate may move between the day you plan and the day you pay. A programme may take an extra semester. Moving back to India has its own costs. Ask the bank in writing when repayment starts and whether interest accrues during the course, so the figure you plan with is the real one.

Now look at how the cost will be met. Savings and family contribution first, since they carry no interest. Then scholarships and fee waivers, which are competitive and usually decided with the admission offer. Teaching and research assistantships exist in some programmes and are limited. Education loans, which need their own careful reading of rate, security and when repayment starts. Part-time work during the course is allowed in many countries within limits on hours, but it is a supplement, not a way to pay tuition. Plan the finances so that the course is still possible if a scholarship you hoped for does not arrive.

Be careful with agents and consultants. Some give real help, and some are paid by universities for each student they send, which can shape what they recommend. Ask how the agent is paid and which universities they do not work with. Do not pay for a guarantee of admission or a visa, since nobody can honestly give one. You can apply directly to any university at no extra cost.

Finally, test the plan. Take the total and ask three questions. If you earned a realistic starting salary in the country you will study in, what would the monthly repayment feel like after rent and tax? If you returned to India after the degree and earned an Indian salary, could the family still manage the repayments? And what would happen if the rules on working after study became less generous than they are today? Visa and work rules in the main destinations have changed several times in recent years, so a plan that works only if they stay exactly as they are is fragile. Check the current rules on the official immigration site of each country, and treat time spent working abroad as a bonus, not as the basis of the budget.

If the plan still works after those tests, you can go ahead knowing what you are signing. If it only works on the best assumptions, that is useful to know too, and there is usually a cheaper or shorter route to a similar goal, such as a programme in a country with lower fees, a shorter course, or working first and applying later with some savings and a clearer purpose.