The countryside in Vietnam presents many economic and financial challenges for the talented, driven, and motivated students to study in the United States (or any other foreign country) due to affordability. Although in 2016, 21,403 students from Vietnam studied in the United States, making it the 6th leading country of origin, and 67.2% of those study at the undergraduate level, I would postulate that the majority of those students do not come from the countryside.

In recent years, the asset and economic growth of the Vietnam countryside has added to the ability of families to be able to afford to send their children to undergraduate programs in the United States, but for many families, they still need to find programs and plans which are affordable. Therefore, we have come up with a structured 5-year plan, which includes the English learning component, for a Vietnamese countryside student to obtain a United States bachelor’s degree in 5 years.

There are many ways to get an undergraduate degree in the US, but we wanted to find the most affordable plan. From speaking with many international schools in Vietnam, such as British International School, Australian International School, American International School, and Canadian International School, the average cost of tuition per annum for a student starting in primary school to high school is between $9,000 USD – $15,000 USD. Half of the families have more than sufficient monies to pay for the tuition, but the other half (most likely families from the countryside) are pouring all or most of their incomes into supporting one student to study at an international school to give them a brighter future. Even at this rate, there is still an affordable plan for a student to attend and succeed at an US undergraduate program.

Here is the proven plan after graduation of high school in Vietnam (with or without attending an international high school in Vietnam):

• First year out, online distance education at a community college studying just intensive English for one whole year at a cost of around $9,000 USD for tuition.
• Second year out, begin college-level courses for general education in Vietnam through the online community college program, thus tuition cost is another $9,000 USD (based on California’s standard estimated tuition cost of $300 USD per unit and 30 units per year).
• Third year out, move to the US and study in-person at the community college to finish general education courses before transfer to 4-year university. Tuition cost is another $9,000 USD and added living costs of an average of $9,000 USD per year if living with a family member subsidizing the other $9,000 USD, thus total of $18,000 USD for the third year out.
• Fourth year out, transfer to a 4-year state university and pay tuition of around $27,000 USD for out-of-state tuition and an additional $9,000 USD for living expenses, for a total of $36,000 USD for this year.
• Finally, same plan for fifth year out for an additional $36,000 USD for graduation with a US bachelor’s degree in 5 years (including studies in Vietnam).
• Total for US bachelor’s degree is $108,000 USD spread over 5 years, which amounts to roughly $21,600 USD per year.

How will the countryside Vietnamese student afford this?

Initially, the family would need to save up $18,000 USD for the first two years out to pay for tuition while student is still living in Vietnam, but need to invest in good internet service and then go to the city to take proctored examinations. For the third to fifth years out, the student would be living in the US and can apply to do work-study at the minimum wage amount (California is around $9 per hour, subject to law changes) and a maximum of 20 hours per week. Thus total income per week would be $180 USD times 4 weeks equals $640 USD per month. The family in Vietnam would subsidize the remaining $1,000 USD per month needed to live and study in the US. For an additional total family investment of $36,000 USD for third to fifth years out.

With this affordable plan more Vietnamese students from the countryside will be able to get a US bachelor’s degree.