Funding for MS v/s PhD in the US

Funding for MS v/s PhD in the US:

1. It is relatively difficult to get funded during your MS in the US. Most PhD programs, on the other hand, are fully funded. If you enjoy research, consider going for PhD instead of MS.

2. Many departments don't require a prior Master’s degree for their PhD programs. Check with your dream departments to see if they directly take in BS/BE students. Yes, you will have to plan in advance and work hard towards being a competitive candidate to secure admission directly to a PhD program. If you like research, however, I say it is worth the effort. 

3. When I say most PhD programs are fully funded, here is what I mean: your tuition is paid by the University and you get a generous stipend to meet your living expenditures. This is because PhD is considered to be a "job". You are employed by the school to perform research for them. To be honest, the stipend you get here (in dollars) is often more than the salary many jobs in Pakistan offer.

4. Masters usually takes 1-2 years. Most Indian students pursue the MS route and often land up taking loans to pay their MS tuition fee. Since most are STEM majors, they are usually able to pay back the debt once they find a high-paying job in the US. A direct PhD after BS can be of 4-5 years. If you take no academic breaks, you could obtain a PhD by the age of 26. Most Chinese students follow the PhD route.

5. Finally, if you are serious about enrolling into your dream grad school with funding, start planning during the start of your undergrad. Talk to seniors; read blogs; visit universities' research/faculty websites. If you have a keen research aptitude, start looking for research opportunities around you. If you are more of an entrepreneur type, pursue projects that could benefit the society and are relevant to your grad program (a lot of incoming CS students develop all sorts of useful apps). Who knows, you may eventually turn down Stanford's admission offer because your start-up turned out to be more valuable :) In short, your profile does not have to be perfect to get into a good school; it has to be inspiring (and of course relevant to your grad program). The same is true about life.

All the best!