Hi im in my early 20's. I left my liberal arts college a while ago and now im planning on returning to study physics or astronomy. I have traveled and lived in many places all over the world. I don't have a lot of money so i need to find a good school in the 6000 dollar range. I've been thinking about the university of cape town because it seems to have a good program and the exchange rates make it fairly cheap. I also like the idea of experiencing the world in yet another way.

 

Does anyone know if it would be more difficult to apply to a good US grad school with a degree from a south African school?

My school has a pretty good physics/astronomy program with a strong research program that works in conjunction with Brookhaven national lab.

 

It's a cheap state school, but has a pretty good research reputation. Also, there's lots of foreign grad students that seem to do well:

http://astro.sunysb.edu/astro/academics.html

Is it still a "cheap state school" when you're not from in-state?

it'll be a bit more expensive for non in-staters. But, the out of state tuition is not like what the UCs or Canadian schools charge.

 

Plus, if you establish residency, I'm pretty sure you'll be charged in-state tuition. Ultimately, I think the costs would generally be covered by the stipend (or grant) you get for your thesis work.

There are some well known people in the relativity group at Cape town; Bruce Bassett and George F. R. Ellis.

Hi im in my early 20's. I left my liberal arts college a while ago and now im planning on returning to study physics or astronomy. I have traveled and lived in many places all over the world. I don't have a lot of money so i need to find a good school in the 6000 dollar range. I've been thinking about the university of cape town because it seems to have a good program and the exchange rates make it fairly cheap. I also like the idea of experiencing the world in yet another way.

 

Does anyone know if it would be more difficult to apply to a good US grad school with a degree from a south African school?

 

If you don't have a lot of money, you might even be able to get scholarships, benefits from the U.S. governments, and more. I've met many international students who get free rides. After a while (maybe two years) the government might cut back some of the money they give out. But even having half of the tuition paid for free is nice. Or you could bum it. I've met some people who do that. I think America is becoming a little too socialist for vagrancy, though.