Going for a Masters in the US - worth the risk?
Looking for honest opinions before I commit.
Quick background:
- Brazilian citizen, currently in Beirut visiting family (home is Brazil)
- Laid off from my DevOps/Platform Engineer role in April (~1 year experience)
- Savings: ~$35-36k
- Got accepted to MS Computer Science (AI concentration) at Westcliff in Dallas, currently waiting on the scholarship decision
The numbers:
- Tuition: ~$14k/year (~$28k total)
- Applied for scholarships up to $10k/year (still waiting to hear back)
- Living costs in Dallas: not 100% sure, but estimating around $1.5k/month
- Savings: $35-36k
My plan: Try to use Day 1 CPT for part-time work during studies, then leverage OPT + STEM OPT after graduating to land at FAANG or any company that sponsors H1B.
What's making me hesitate is that Westcliff isn't a well-known school, and I'm worried about how recruiters and employers actually view degrees from there. CV attached below for context (note: still shows my role as ongoing, was laid off in April).
Questions:
- How realistic is H1B sponsorship from a lower-ranked school in the current market?
- Can I realistically sustain myself on $35K + CPT + potential scholarship?
- Anyone gone the Westcliff route and actually landed at a real tech company?
- Any other thoughts or perspectives I should be considering?
Appreciate any honest takes, even brutal ones.