FAQs
Fees
Local Living Expenses
Health Insurance
TA Workshops
Medical Requirements
Funding and On Campus Jobs
Utensils & Food Stuff
Clothing
Kitchen
I-94
Driving License
Transcripts
Miscelleneous
FEES:
Details as per 2006-2007 estimates:-
Note: The amount menctioned in here is taken from the previous billing statements of the existing students. Therefore the current fee structure may vary.
$5,705 for Fall semester (which includes Health Insurance & a $100 Intl. fees)
$5,994 for Spring semester (which includes Health Insurance for Spring and Summer semesters & a $100 Intl fees)
As per the University and ISO's requirements you are not required to take any courses in summer. This implies that the university expects you to pay the Health Insurance for Summer semester in Spring semester itself. The initial fees has to be brought in the form of a Demand Draft payable to "Mississippi State University". So get the draft for about $5750 (for Fall semester). Any balance after the fee is paid, will be deposited back in to the student's account for use in forthcoming semesters. If you choose to deposit the money to your personal bank account then the Accounts dept. will issue a check in your favor and you can deposit the check in to your savings account.
We would advise students coming from India to get $5750 DD in favor of Mississippi State University towards Tution fee for fall semester and about $2500 towards living. The $2500 amount can be in terms of Cash, Travelers Check or DD or a combination of any of the above drawn in students name
LOCAL LIVING EXPENSES :
The local expense to stay at College Station Place (2 miles away from MSU Campus) comes to around $450 a month. It includes electricity, phone, water, rent, groceries etc. When you move in for the first time you will have security deposits for each of the above:-
Electricity - $150 (Refundable $125)
Water - $75 (Refundable $ 65)
Phone - $48 (Non refundable)
Housing - $100 (Refundable)
Settling-in expenses - $100 (Sleeping bag, Laundry Basket and other personal accessories)
The Average monthly expenses for every apartment are listed below. All the roommates will share this amount. The approx. monthly expense to be incurred is $400-$450.
Rent - $600
Electricity - $110
Water - $ 25
Phone - $ 40
Groceries - $350
The apartments are equipped with A/C-Heater, Dish Washer, Refrigerator and fully carpeted floors except kitchen. Kitchen has lot of cabinets and has a complete cooking range with grill.
HEALTH INSURANCE:
MSU has its own Longest Student Health Center, which offers basic medical facilities to all students and faculty. Also, Student Health Insurance is offered by University, whose charges are about $1200 per anum.
Effect from fall 2006, all students studying at MSU are covered with university's Insurance by default.
TA WORKSHOP :
Offered only during Fall semesters. Please make sure you register for the workshop as soon as you arrive at MSU.
Click here to view TA workshop dates.
All International students who wish to become a Teaching Assistant (TA) have to attend the TA workshop. The TA workshop does not guarantee a Teaching Assistantship in any manner. This will only make you eligible for a TA position in any department. The TA workshop is split in to two segments :
1) International TA workshop and 2) General TA workshop.
(International students have to attend both the segments)
1. International TA workshop:
The International TA workshop is where your Spoken English and basic teaching skills will be tested. Over the period of 5 days all the international students will be thoroughly grilled to adapt to the American Education system, culture and student behaviors. You will be trained to speak in American accent. It will not be a formal training, but you will be taught a few examples wherein you will be exposed to how the words are differently pronounced in American English. You will learn on which syllable to stress and which not to during the workshop. Also during the course you will be asked to take the stage (meaning in front of the class), where you have to read from a paragraph printed on a sheet. This will later improvise into a topic of your choice on which u have to speak for 3 mins without any paper in hand preferably. For the final presentation you will have to speak on a topic of your choice for 5 mins. You will be allowed to use Overhead Projector. So if you already have some slides, which could be used, for your presentation, don't forget to bring them. Please make sure you register for the workshop as soon as you arrive at MSU. The seats offered are limited.
2. General Workshop:
Workshop is a 2-day workshop for all graduate students (Internationals and Americans). All students aspiring to become TA's or students already TA's but who have not cleared the workshop prior to receiving their TA's will attend the General TA workshop. American students who fall under the above category will also attend the workshop.
The General TA workshop will involve the same exercise but this time you will get to meet students who have been TA's for a long time to share their experiences and also answer any queries you have. That will be the plan of action for the first day. And the second day will involve the same style of presentation as in your International TA workshop, but people from the Engineering Fraternity will judge you. So the content of your presentation is important. In the earlier workshop the style of teaching, audibility of voice and clarity in speech and pronunciation was given more importance.
MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS:
1. MMR Vaccinations : The university requires an international student to take MMR vaccine. MMR is a vaccine given for prevention of Measles and Rubella.
For elaborate information, visit the below URL :-
http://www.health.msstate.edu/general/admission.php
The Immunization forms are available at:
http://www.health.msstate.edu/dept/health/forms/mmrform.pdf
The MMR form needs to be certified by the doctor who has administered the two doses of MMR vaccine to you. The two doses of vaccine have to be taken between a 30-day period. So please ensure you take the dosage in time. Otherwise you will have to take them here at $75 per dose i.e. $150 for two doses.
2. Che `1st X-Rays :
All International Students are required to report to the Student Health Center at Mississippi State University for a chest x-ray. This x-ray is a screen for tuberculosis. Please do not bring X-rays from India/other places as they are not accepted. Only MSU X-ray is accepted. The fee for the chest X-Ray is $60.
FUNDING & ON CAMPUS JOBS :
Funding is the top-most priority of any International student. It is advisable that you start interacting with your professor from India. That does not guarantee an assistantship, but atleast your chances are better as the prof already knows you and your interests. Assistantship in Electrical Engineering is difficult. Most of the times, you may have to wait for a semester to allow the profs to review your performance. Your academic records will earn you assistantship. Funding scene in other departments is subject to projects and respective professors. There is also the option of Graduate Assistantship. Please tone your web-development skills as this is the most common kind of GA. Knowledge of ASP, PHP, HTML, web-development tools (Frontpage, Dreamweaver, Flash), etc will be very helpful. TAs in other departments are possible, but obviously their students are given the first preference.
Please note that on-campus jobs will only help you support your local living expenses. The money you save (if any) will probably be used in any trips you make within the USA or other personal expenses. The jobs offered within the campus are all paid at the minimum rate of $5.15/hour. As per Immigration laws, an international student cannot work for more than 20hrs. There are a variety of jobs available on campus. Like working in the cafeteria, lab assistant, clerical work, administrative work, etc. You should tone up your web designing skills or any of your programming skills, because there are chances you might run into several web designing jobs or some kind of programming jobs on-campus. In most of the cases you can get assistantship from the on-campus jobs, if the professor is overly impressed with your work, ofcourse subjected to the scope of the position you are working on. The secret to getting an on-campus job or finding an assistantship is to be at the right place at the right time.
If people coming from India co-ordinate among yourselves you can plan on distributing the utensils and food stuffs you bring from India if you plan to be future roommates.
As you all must know, steel utensils are expensive in US and also masalas difficult to find in places like Starkville, Mississippi. We don't have any Indian Restaurants or Grocery Store in Starkville. The nearest store is about 3 hrs drive from campus. So we would recommend all of you to get your required amount.
CLOTHING :
Formals: One suit, ties (1/2), shirts and trousers (number of your choice). You do get good trousers and Jeans in US for a good price, not very expensive.
Casuals: Jeans (number of your choice, but at least 4 is recommended), T-shirts & sweats (6+), flannel shirts (2+), shorts (for outdoor, indoor, sports use) (number of your choice). (Shorts are expensive here in US)
Footwear: Sneakers, formal shoes, leather chappals/ sandals/ loafers, bathroom slippers.
Undergarments: About 14 sets of undergarments and socks-preferably cotton (10 pairs).
Miscellaneous: Towel (1+), napkins (optional), leather belts (2+), a good jacket (pref. leather), handkerchiefs (6+), traditional Indian dresses (1+).
Winter wear: Sweaters (medium quality, at most 2), muffler/ scarf, woolen cap(monkey cap).
Linen: Bed sheets (double bed size, 2), pillow covers (big, 2), shawl/ light blanket (for spring/ summer use). You will all be purchasing a comforter or sleeping bag so don't worry too much about blanket.
Wind cheater, umbrella if possible.
Things you better buy in US: Winter jacket, winter gloves, caps, track-suits, good sweaters (they're cheap), comforter, thermal underwear (if required).
Note: Indian clothes (especially cottons) have a tendency to shrink when washed in a washing machine here, so please be careful with sizes.
KITCHEN:
Utensils: Non-stick pan (1/2), non-stick tava, pressure cooker (for 3 people)(get spare gaskets and safety valves), spoons, forks, GOOD knives, cups, glasses (2 each), a melamine (microwaveable) set consisting of plates, soup-bowls and regular bowls (2 each).
Foodstuffs: Condiments and spices (small quantities of standard masaalas, saambar and curry powders),turmeric powder, chilli powder, some sweets for your friends (i.e. us) stranded in this fat-free land. Please pack everything to be leak-proof.
PLEASE LABEL ALL THE MASALAS WITH "PROCESSED FOOD" TO AVOID ANY TROUBLE.
I-94 :
I-94 is a very important document and it has to be in your possession all through your stay in the US. If you lose your I-94 then you will not be able to get your Social Security Number (SSN). A student without SSN cannot work on campus or be funded or get any credit cards. SSN is for identification purposes and it will show up your complete records if a government official checks on it. Make sure the officials staple the I-94 with your passport because that way it is safe.
DRIVING LICENSE :
International Driving Permit (IDP) along with your domestic (Indian) driver's licence & birth certificate is an added advantage for obtaining a driver's license here. If you have your IDP along with your domestic (Indian) driving licence & birth certificate, all that you have to do is, take an online test. The test costs $20. On clearing the test, you will get the US license valid across all places in US. But, if you do not have the IDP, you have to go through the lengthy process (not tough though!) of applying for a learners license, driving test and also have to take a computer based test.
NOTE: Please be advised that "Birth Certificate" is a must to obtain a driver's licence.
TRANSCRIPTS :
Degree certificates are not required during the first semester of classes at MSU. But they should be produced by the beginning of second semester. With special permission from the Office of Graduate Studies you can put off that too. Especially for students from Mumbai University for whom results come out very late, the students can be exempted from producing the final semester mark sheets during admission and also the degree certificate can be submitted probably within a year of admission to MSU. Please get in touch with Office of Graduate Studies with your personal cases in this regard. Their decision however will be the final one.
MISCELLANEOUS
Toilette: Toothbrush, toothpaste, tongue-cleaners (if using), soap, a complete shaving kit (all in a toiletry bag)(though you'll soon want to try the 'phirang' stuff, your home kit is good to carry around in travel). You can buy shampoo, talcum powder etc later.
Study Materials & Stationary: Engineering Math (Kreyszig), books related to your field, relevant class notes, a good ANSI C / C++ programming book (preferably with a function reference), your calculator (but you'll soon want to buy some fancy stuff here), microtip pencils + refills (2), good pens (2), eraser, stapler & staples, Indian calendar, drawing accessories (if required), backpack. (Most of the stationary is optional. You can also buy it
here, but books are very expensive in US). (This list was made for engineers, basically in general you should get as many relevant text/ reference books as possible).
Medicines: Medicines with prescriptions for standard minor ailments like fever, cold, cough, stomachache, indigestion, vomiting etc. Also personal medication (if any) and medical history papers. Antiseptic cream, Relaxyl etc. Spare spectacles/ contact lenses. Get a complete medical checkup done before getting here. Glasses are very expensive in the US.
Other: Needles & thread, buttons, photos of deities (if religious-minded), family photos, umbrella (optional), music cassettes, 'Indian' ethnic stuff (gifts/ personal use), Indian postage (to send letters home with someone) etc. An up-to-date address book of all your acquaintances/ friends/ relatives in the USA - Canada region.