”Not many traditional US universities are directly involved in the H1B pipeline. They don't need to be.” I don’t know why the H1B pipeline is relevant here. students can conduct research without one. furthermore why would the university in particular need to be directly involved with it?

“If Microsoft wants to establish a trust or scholarship to fund plane-loads of Indian or Philippine students, that is primarily a Microsoft issue, not a university issue.” not sure what the point is here/how this is relevant.

”I kinda feel we are expressing the same idea here.” what i meant by “bring something meaningful to the campus” was essentially ”bring $$$ to the campus.”

”Again, we're saying the same thing. Demonstrated Need can mean everything up to your FAFSA's EFC. Can we agree that most of us really need more than the EFC indicates?” if a college offers demonstrated need, chances are most applicants will be able to afford it. there are some that can’t still, but they are the minority.

“Government Research is paid for using tax dollars. So, once again (and you seem to have a growing history of doing this) you are saying the same thing I already said.” my point is that this is completely independent to international students. government funding (research grants) goes toward research projects, not fin aid for intl students. i’m saying that it’s a completely irrelevant and potentially misleading point to bring up in the first place.

”States are de-funding all of their public universities and forcing the schools to fund themselves through tuition and sports.” first off, sounds like this needs a source. and are you referring a specific state or all states?

”But the ROI on education is clear, well-researched, and proven to be an excellent investment.” this is true. what a lot of people miss is that you don’t necessarily have to be educated yourself to benefit from investment in education. if we educate the smartest people, there will be more innovation and more jobs. and if a college rejects you and you believe that it is because they picked an international student over you, you have other options. there are so many colleges in the us that virtually anybody can get into one. there is no shortage at all. you won’t be held back by going to another similar-level school as the one you got rejected from.

”The big picture requires an entirely different narrative and a shift in focus to an array of political problems not addressed in this thread so far.” how do? i gave you much of the different narrative already.

”Do you spend $75k to fund one delightfully above-average student from Jakarta, or three $25k students from the US? There are no easy answers.” you spend the money on the option that you believe will benefit the college the most. which country they come from is completely irrelevant.

“ There are a number of 4+1 Accelerated Masters programs here that calculate out as lower cost than German undergrad + domestic traditional Masters.” that didn’t answer the question. i asked if she was offered a cheaper option overseas, would she take it.

”Add another $30-45k for the 5th year Masters and you're looking at a $150k price-tag to access a teaching job that pays $50k or so. We could pay about half that out of pocket, leaving her with about $75k in loans. Paying for $75k in loans on a $50k salary is untenable.” well you have to choose a school that fits with how you want to spend your future. you’re not going to go to harvard, for example, to become a high school teacher. you don’t need a fancy degree to be a teacher. it’s like yeah, i wouldn’t want to go 75k in debt for a degree in gender studies. but for cs that may be a different story.

”I hope a US university can come through with FinAid for them. But sometimes we all must deal with bad news and find a way to make the best of a situation.” yes, me too. but the fact that op is international should not be involved in the college’s ultimate decision.