My father had taken the 30 lakh loan and coming from middle class family, it was a big deal 😌

From the moment I landed in US, all I could think was ‘how to pay it back’. I could hardly eat in the beginning because even a sandwich seemed too expensive. I walked instead of taking a bus.

But ultimately what helped was this 👇

For those who are new here: I did my MS for free in UIUC and dropped out of MBA at NYU. I have worked on Wall Street and been mentoring study abroad aspirants in India, Asia, Middle East and US for more than a decade. Doing this for fun and positive energy 🤩

Today I want to tell you how I returned my education loan and studied for free in USA 👀

I had enrolled for MS in Computer Science at UIUC (Top 5 school) and the university was well funded. They took only 18 MS students this year which meant the competition for funding was low.

I took my resumes and visited the Profs relevant to my area of study (Networking) and asked them if they are looking for RA (research assistants) for their labs. Within a week, I had two RAship offers. One was 100% (20 hrs/week) and other was 50% (10 hrs/week).

The great thing about RAship is that not only you get your full tuition fee waived but also earn a monthly stipend. So, now instead of spending in dollars, I started earning in dollars!

My stipend covered my entire living expense and even left me some savings. So, I sent my loan check back with utter relief and pride - all this within 2 weeks! 🥹

And yes, I did eat well that night 😂

A lot of good universities in US can give you some sort of funding in MS programs (esp if it is thesis based). Before you write off your studying in US dreams, do check out the funding options. I can post more ideas on this, comment ‘FUNDING’ below if interested.

Hope this