>>Financial aids

Types of Assistance
Merit based assistance is awarded in many forms, from tuition waivers, various types of assistantships, to fellowships. The most common are listed here :

1. Tuition Waiver : This means that the student does not have to pay the tuition fees at the university. However, general fees (for the use of university facilities like the library, computers, and sports and health services) usually have to be borne by the student. A tuition waiver is frequently awarded in conjunction with a scholarship or teaching/research assistantship.
2. Assistantship : Most students who receive assistance do so in the form of an assistantship, i.e. is usually a cash stipend, sufficient for their living expenses, and/or tuition waiver, in return for which they have to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week which normally consists of teaching or other activities. Teaching assistantships are more likely to be in universities, which have large undergraduate classes whereas research assistantships tend to be more common in those fields and universities in which considerable research is going on. Information brochures of most universities give this information.

Who Should Apply?
Students will have a greater chance of getting financial aid if they :

1. Show evidence of a high level of academic achievement
2. Achieve high Standardized Examination scores (GMAT, TOEFL etc.)
3. Specialize in a field or have a research interest which parallels that of the department and faculty or private funding source (which increases opportunities for research assistantships and grants)
4. Have outstanding letter of recommendation and an impressive statement of purpose.

Very few international students get any kind of assistantships and most people get it after reaching there. So you have to arrange for funds for the first few semesters, at least till the time you can arrange something there.