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University

USA

The best universities in the world, at the worst price in the world.

5/5
ingredients confirmed
Every ingredient this page asks for has a figure and a source.
Tuition
~$22–65k/yr
Out-of-state public through to private; before living costs
Living
~$1,800/mo
Single student, all in. Compared at country level, so capital cities and large metros run higher. The price level behind it prices the basket residents buy, and a foreign renter cannot reach the cheap end of local housing — poorer countries may still sit too low here.
Education
The global benchmark
Research impact 66th percentile globally — median of 276 ranked universities (CWTS Leiden Open Edition 2025). Research output, not teaching quality; it informs the band, it does not set the score.
Work after study
Practical training, then a lottery
Post-graduation work authorisation is time-limited and extendable for STEM fields; the main onward work visa is allocated by lottery, so the outcome is genuinely out of your hands
Safety
Low for a rich country
Ranks 134th of 163, far below every other high-income country here

More is being checked.

Where these figures came from

One row per ingredient. Open any of them for the source, how far we trust it, and when we last checked.

Tuition~$22–65k/yr

American tuition splits by sector, so the sample holds two large public universities and the private university that enrols the most international students. Arizona State publishes an international undergraduate base tuition of $19,531 a semester for 2026-2027, or $39,062 a year, with college fees of $679 to $1,774 on top. Purdue West Lafayette publishes a per-semester build for international undergraduates — $4,859 general service, $9,401 non-resident, $1,655 international — so $15,915 a semester, $31,830 a year, against $9,992 a year for Indiana residents. New York University publishes $68,576 in tuition and fees for a year in its College of Arts and Science. Recorded at the median of the three, $39,062 a year, which is Arizona State's own figure; the New York number is the highest and does not decide it. No conversion: all three publish in dollars.

Out-of-state public through to private; before living costs

Confidence
printed in the source
Last checked
2026-09
Living~$1,800/mo

Pathoff judgement directed by evidence, not computed from it: the country’s position comes from the World Bank household consumption price level for 2024 (1.000 of the United States, CC BY 4.0 — the ICP benchmark carried forward annually by the World Bank’s own method); the US reference budget is ours. See the Pathoff method, section 12.

Single student, all in. Compared at country level, so capital cities and large metros run higher. The price level behind it prices the basket residents buy, and a foreign renter cannot reach the cheap end of local housing — poorer countries may still sit too low here.

Confidence
made by us from the source
EducationThe global benchmark

Pathoff education rubric (the Pathoff method, section 9-1), degree band "Globally sought": Institutions are recruited from worldwide and the name alone moves a graduate to a third country.

Research impact 66th percentile globally — median of 276 ranked universities (CWTS Leiden Open Edition 2025). Research output, not teaching quality; it informs the band, it does not set the score.

Confidence
made by us from the source
Work after studyPractical training, then a lottery

Pathoff outcome rubric (the Pathoff method, section 10-2), degree outcome band "A route that needs an employer": Practical training on graduating is real and generous, but converting it into anything longer runs through an annual lottery, and permanent residence queues turn on country of birth.

Post-graduation work authorisation is time-limited and extendable for STEM fields; the main onward work visa is allocated by lottery, so the outcome is genuinely out of your hands

Confidence
made by us from the source
Rule
No change known to us
Last checked
Never against a source
SafetyLow for a rich country

Global Peace Index 2026: rank 134 of 163, score 2.535. Converted by the Pathoff GPI formula (GPI in lib/scoring.ts)

Ranks 134th of 163, far below every other high-income country here

Confidence
made by us from the source

What it is like here

Nothing else has this concentration of research money and hiring reach, and the score below is not a claim that the education is bad. It is a claim about what you pay and what happens next. Practical training after graduation is time-limited, and converting it into a longer-term work visa depends on an annual lottery you cannot plan around. Excellent education, expensive entry, uncertain exit.

How the process works

1

Standardised tests and applications

Requirements differ by institution; several want tests taken a year ahead.

⏱ 6–12 months
2

Prove you can pay the whole cost

The visa requires evidence of funds for the full programme, not just the first year.

Timing not confirmed
3

Visa interview

Wait times and refusal rates vary widely by consulate.

Timing not confirmed

Where students go

Boston / Bay Area
Densest research and hiring, highest living costs
Big Ten states
Large public universities, meaningfully cheaper than the coasts

Open any ingredient above to see where its figure came from, how far we trust it and when we last checked. Nothing here is a substitute for the official source. Last reviewed 2026-09-03.

Photograph of USA, licensed Pexels License, via Pexels.