Financial Aid
Financial aid is one of the most important considerations when one studies abroad. The University can support an international student/scholar through a variety of ways, such as: assistantship, scholarship, award, grant, loan, or on-campus employment. Comparing to that of American students, resources to support international students financially are limited and very competitive.
When applying for financial aid, you should keep in mind:
Academics
Depending on what program you are in, different instructors have different expectations on you. Some require lots of writings and/or presentations; some lots of experiments, individual researches, and/or lab hours. Unlike that in China, grades obtained in quizzes, papers, and presentations during a semester will be counted seriously into your final grade. Usually after the first semester, you will know much better how to meet the course requirements. Graduate students, for example, usually take two to three courses in a regular semester, which are usually in addition to their assistantships or part-time working hours. In summer school, there is very limited selection of courses. Undergraduates, however, need to take about five courses per semester in order to graduate in four/five years. Whether undergraduate or graduate student, almost everyone has to work part-time (usually 20 hours.) on/off campus. If you know that about eighty-five per cent of UNR students work either full-time or part-time; you won't be surprised to see that almost everyone walks across campus in a hurry. Here time is gold! To be able to set up your priorities is the key to a successful study!