Yes, I was referring to "formation continue". It is true that if you register of your own, you always get to "formation initiale". However, most sources on Internet state that "formation initiale" is only for persons that "have not studied or did not stop their studies in the last two years".
Both my pedagogical (from the university) counseler and the one from Pôle Emploi told me that I was not eligibile to "formation initiale", and that I could only continue studying in "formation continue", since I had already studied, and worked for more than two years. Many people told me the same.
Luckily, I did not listen to them, and still registered, successfully.
I think that many persons (including myself & many public education workers) have a poor understanding of this (admittedly unclear) part of the education code. From my understanding, everyone is eligible to "formation initiale", while some people in a specific situation are eligible to "formation continue", which has been misunderstood as meaning that people that are in this situation are also not eligible to "formation initiale".
I'd second this advice if budget is the main driver. To add on to what you said, if you're on an engineering track, your first two years are more or less the same wherever you go anyway. And as an added bonus, if you didn't do exceptionally well in high school, getting good grades at community college can make it easier to transfer into a more competitive state school for your third and fourth years.
Some have mentioned Germany. I haven't noticed Canada. I know both university systems, though not for electrical engineering specifically.
Germany is a solid choice. Far better conditions than in some neighbouring countries (cough cough France). Depending on the state (Bundesland), the fees can be very low to none. Again state-dependant, but in many cases foreign students must lock a yearly amount into a bank account and can only withdraw 1/12 or so each month. Quite rightly so: unless you're a monk, you'll need a bit more than they force you to lock up. Bachelor level is almost exclusively in German (exceptions may exist) and I suggest learning German: there are specific avenues granting university access and it's an investment of 6 months to 1 year at least. Living expenses are fairly low from my perspective.
Canada is a good choice because even if most foreign students pay _much_ more than Canadians or provincial residents, it's still several times cheaper than the equivalent in the US. What I've seen in Québec is of very high quality. Language (French or English) depends on the university. Linguistic questions aside, and here I speak specifically of Québec (other provinces may vary), you may be obliged to complete a series of pre-university college classes to bring your maths to level. The university generally offers these. Living expenses are probably a bit higher than Germany but still comparable.
Other things to consider, especially since we're talking about engineering: recognition and professional orders. Recognition: diplomas from countries known as diploma mills are like a stone around the neck whereas diplomas from others are generally well regarded. Professional orders: if engineering jobs in your target work country require membership in a professional order and your diploma is foreign, well, good luck with that -- in the best case, it can take months to join, in the worst case, they make you take corrective classes.
Finally, medium term. When you need a job. Canada vs Germany is a harder question. I changed careers and moved between the two so my perspective is skewed. I know that an EE diploma in Germany will definitely get you a good first job that will teach you a lot. The thing is, unless you're German, you're unlikely to want to stay there (some odd cultural issues, high taxes, relatively low salaries for talented people -- those are the general complaints of, let's say, North American and European foreigners). Canada has a relatively good labour market with better social protection than the southern neighbour. If you work in Canada, flexible people tend to fit in quickly (unless problems with the linguistic divide), but the taxes are also very high in some places, starting salaries are sad, and the brain drain to the US is unfortunately real. The winter in most parts is highly subjective.
The "practice of EE" and an actual EE education are not the same thing.
An example: this morning I was thinking of a model where I need to open and close a door when a sensor is activated. The simplest way would be for it to pivot on a horizontal axis like an old-school garage door. Now, given a certain weight of door, how do I calculate the amount of torque my motor/drive-train needs in order to open that door?
The average graduate with an EE degree should have no trouble getting the answer in a few minutes: it's basic physics and algebra (maybe calculus if you want precision). But the average person who learned EE from watching YouTube channels probably will have difficulty.
If you have good grades & scores, most (all?) state schools have full-rides. Ivies and stuff have full financial aid too if you qualify (family income etc).
I know for fact that there were students from African nations who attended not IITs, but the B-Schools(IIMs) and Med schools(JIPMER etc). PLease follow-up with the resp IITs by contacting the faculty directly. You might have to obtain the Indian equivalent of F1(US student visa) though.
Sorry, I don't remember anymore. It was a scholarship called WISE, but I'm unsure what type of work permit I got, etc. If I can hunt down my old passport I'll check
This is for a US based university.
Have not attended that many university's to be able to do an actual comparison, but here is the info for my alma mater. Additionally I studied CS, but I know they have a good EE program as well.
The school is California State University - Los Angeles (CSULA). It is an ABET accredited school.
If you are just looking at tuition it runs $6,744/ 2 semester year for California residents. Estimates for a non-resident living on campus run $35,638/ 2 semester year.
I completed my undergraduate degree from IIT Madras. It is not free, there is a tuition fee. I think the tuition fees for a foreign national would come around 4k to 5k USD. You can find eligibility criteria for foreign nationals over here[1].
1. https://www.iitm.ac.in/sites/default/files/uploads/adm._pro....
Another route for the U.S. is to try and get a scholarship. If you're a high school student and you test well, a high SAT or ACT score should get you a full ride to a school some where.
If I was doing it, the first thing I would do is look into CLEP (College Level Examination Program) tests. About $30 a Credit hour I believe. You can knock out 2 years of school with it. To be fair, some are not easy.
Like someone else mentioned look at community colleges. Different states have different nomenclature. But generally public College is the first step, then University to finish.
If you are thinking IT, I would recommend Western Governors. It is online, you pay per 6 months, and you can take as much as you can handle. In theory you could graduate in 6 months, but I doubt that is practical.
Tuition is absolutely free (regardless of immigration status, you don't even need to prove you are a resident), there are scholarships to cover transport, study materials, and so on and so forth.
The only thing you'd have to pay is for your own living costs. Work is unrestricted, so you could work to earn whatever money you need and, in fact, it is customary for students to work through college.
The down side is that the career is harsh: 5 hours of class (usually 5pm to 10pm) every day + homework + school projects + exams is the norm, for at least 6 years (which is how long it takes to earn the degree), most people actually finish in 7 or 8. And classes are only in Spanish.
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[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 61.6 ms ] threadBoth my pedagogical (from the university) counseler and the one from Pôle Emploi told me that I was not eligibile to "formation initiale", and that I could only continue studying in "formation continue", since I had already studied, and worked for more than two years. Many people told me the same.
Luckily, I did not listen to them, and still registered, successfully.
I think that many persons (including myself & many public education workers) have a poor understanding of this (admittedly unclear) part of the education code. From my understanding, everyone is eligible to "formation initiale", while some people in a specific situation are eligible to "formation continue", which has been misunderstood as meaning that people that are in this situation are also not eligible to "formation initiale".
French is one of the most difficult Western languages to master, so keep that in mind. Think a year of formal study.
Even for Germany, the visa office typically gives you a German language test that requires you to speak the language well.
If you're one of those people that thinks "I'll pick up a new language on the airplane", you're in for a rude awakening.
Any language. As long as it's English.
I... I guess?
Germany is a solid choice. Far better conditions than in some neighbouring countries (cough cough France). Depending on the state (Bundesland), the fees can be very low to none. Again state-dependant, but in many cases foreign students must lock a yearly amount into a bank account and can only withdraw 1/12 or so each month. Quite rightly so: unless you're a monk, you'll need a bit more than they force you to lock up. Bachelor level is almost exclusively in German (exceptions may exist) and I suggest learning German: there are specific avenues granting university access and it's an investment of 6 months to 1 year at least. Living expenses are fairly low from my perspective.
Canada is a good choice because even if most foreign students pay _much_ more than Canadians or provincial residents, it's still several times cheaper than the equivalent in the US. What I've seen in Québec is of very high quality. Language (French or English) depends on the university. Linguistic questions aside, and here I speak specifically of Québec (other provinces may vary), you may be obliged to complete a series of pre-university college classes to bring your maths to level. The university generally offers these. Living expenses are probably a bit higher than Germany but still comparable.
Other things to consider, especially since we're talking about engineering: recognition and professional orders. Recognition: diplomas from countries known as diploma mills are like a stone around the neck whereas diplomas from others are generally well regarded. Professional orders: if engineering jobs in your target work country require membership in a professional order and your diploma is foreign, well, good luck with that -- in the best case, it can take months to join, in the worst case, they make you take corrective classes.
Finally, medium term. When you need a job. Canada vs Germany is a harder question. I changed careers and moved between the two so my perspective is skewed. I know that an EE diploma in Germany will definitely get you a good first job that will teach you a lot. The thing is, unless you're German, you're unlikely to want to stay there (some odd cultural issues, high taxes, relatively low salaries for talented people -- those are the general complaints of, let's say, North American and European foreigners). Canada has a relatively good labour market with better social protection than the southern neighbour. If you work in Canada, flexible people tend to fit in quickly (unless problems with the linguistic divide), but the taxes are also very high in some places, starting salaries are sad, and the brain drain to the US is unfortunately real. The winter in most parts is highly subjective.
An example: this morning I was thinking of a model where I need to open and close a door when a sensor is activated. The simplest way would be for it to pivot on a horizontal axis like an old-school garage door. Now, given a certain weight of door, how do I calculate the amount of torque my motor/drive-train needs in order to open that door?
The average graduate with an EE degree should have no trouble getting the answer in a few minutes: it's basic physics and algebra (maybe calculus if you want precision). But the average person who learned EE from watching YouTube channels probably will have difficulty.
The school is California State University - Los Angeles (CSULA). It is an ABET accredited school.
If you are just looking at tuition it runs $6,744/ 2 semester year for California residents. Estimates for a non-resident living on campus run $35,638/ 2 semester year.
Here is a link to the Universities cost and financial aid page: http://www.calstatela.edu/financialaid/2018-2019-cost-attend...
Especially: https://www.teilzeitstudium.tu-darmstadt.de/media/dezernat_i...
If I was doing it, the first thing I would do is look into CLEP (College Level Examination Program) tests. About $30 a Credit hour I believe. You can knock out 2 years of school with it. To be fair, some are not easy.
Like someone else mentioned look at community colleges. Different states have different nomenclature. But generally public College is the first step, then University to finish.
If you are thinking IT, I would recommend Western Governors. It is online, you pay per 6 months, and you can take as much as you can handle. In theory you could graduate in 6 months, but I doubt that is practical.
Is that true for foreigners as well?
Tuition is absolutely free (regardless of immigration status, you don't even need to prove you are a resident), there are scholarships to cover transport, study materials, and so on and so forth.
The only thing you'd have to pay is for your own living costs. Work is unrestricted, so you could work to earn whatever money you need and, in fact, it is customary for students to work through college.
The down side is that the career is harsh: 5 hours of class (usually 5pm to 10pm) every day + homework + school projects + exams is the norm, for at least 6 years (which is how long it takes to earn the degree), most people actually finish in 7 or 8. And classes are only in Spanish.