Studying as an international student in Boston

Submitted by GroundbreakingPain7 t3_z7t4i5 in boston

Hello, I am a graduate from Morocco and looking to study a master's in accounting at Suffolk university in Boston. I have a 2.5 GPA which means i will not be qualified for any merit scholarships. But having a master's in accounting in the USA has been a dream of mine for sometime. I can pretty much afford the tuition, but after seeing the costs of living rate there in boston i'm pretty sure i'm gonna be eating dirt for lunch and dinner. I want to hear from you whether i will be able to ultimately make it there if i work day and night to support myself.

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BabyLegsOShanahan t1_iy7znme wrote

There have to be other accounting programs. Cheaper and in more affordable cities. Why suffer?

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ScarletOK t1_iy80f7n wrote

Go to a state university in the Midwest. Much cheaper tuition and cost of living, and in the end you will get the same degree. Also these big universities have very diverse populations and are usually in really pleasant towns or small cities where it's easy to make friends.

Look at Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska. Do NOT look at private schools. I lived in Boston before graduate school, but I went to the Midwest and got a great education, moved back here and have had a good career. I came out with minimal loans, long ago paid off.

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GroundbreakingPain7 OP t1_iy82pcq wrote

I have another offer from university of Dayton in Ohio for a master in Finance. in Dayton, i will have a better living standard but would it be worth it considering there a major opportunities for networking and employability in Boston ?

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jamesland7 t1_iy8469d wrote

Yes. Go to Dayton. If you really want to live in Boston, you can come here after you graduate. Rent is utterly insane here. Plus suffolk just isn’t a particularly good school

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GroundbreakingPain7 OP t1_iy84clc wrote

Understood, this is actually the hard truth i need to hear.

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Pinwurm t1_iy8irut wrote

I got a degree in accounting in a cheaper city, and moved to Boston after. It was the right move.

Dayton is... fine, but have you also considered something like.... UMass Amherst? It's under 2 hours drive/bus from Boston and the area is comparatively very affordable. Huge student population, many of whom have ties to Boston, so networking would be easier. As well, it wouldn't be unreasonable to take day-trips to Boston for job fairs, conferences... as well as fun & games.

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jamesland7 t1_iy84m33 wrote

I went to a different MAC school (Ball State) and felt it was a great school. Look for GA opportunities that might include tuition or housing

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mgzukowski t1_iy86hbf wrote

That's not how the system works. Once he graduates he has to leave the country within 60 days.

He can apply for an OBT but that's only a year. Odds are he won't be able to get an H-1B since it's not like we are hurting for accountants.

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jamesland7 t1_iy8bs12 wrote

Not up to me to try to guess what this person’s immigration status is.

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mgzukowski t1_iy9fj51 wrote

I think the key is that he is paying in full since F1 students can't pay with loans and he is coming from another country.

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LivingMemento t1_iy8qnpy wrote

Dayton is a distressed rust-belt city. As the former tire capital of the country I would be certain there are some great cultural treasures still available and Way underutilized. Their college basketball team is usually pretty decent.

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priyatequila t1_iy8iimu wrote

hey, I'm from Ohio if you have questions about it. UD is a great school!!

(feel free to dm me, just lmk in a comment reply so I know to check)

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ScarletOK t1_iy847av wrote

Yes it's a very good idea to do this. Read my other response.

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frankenplant t1_iy8463a wrote

Keep in mind that as an international student, you’re limited to part-time, on-campus work only.

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tarandab t1_iy9mj5m wrote

Are you hoping to work at a big 4 accounting firm in the US after you get your masters? If so, I’d look at schools that they recruit from, and do so as inexpensively as possible. You can apply to work at the Boston office after graduation (and while pay as entry level in the big 4 isn’t that great - you won’t break $100k in Boston in audit/tax to start, maybe between $65k-$70k, as you move up and gain experience it quickly gets better).

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