First of all, thank you for the neatly presented and very nicely detailed reply.
I must say I've just got my feet wet in the whole GRE/MS thing and so I hope you understand that I don't know all the aspects of this exam. In the sense, when you say aided, I understand I can have TA/RA, but I'm not too clear whether getting aid means I have to not spend any money (or maybe a small part of my money) or does it mean working on campus? This is a very naive newbie question. I'm sorry for that.
1) As far as I understand, RA/TA is something one does to supplement his expenses, and to some extent the fees. This has to be checked with the professors before applying to any university. Please could you shed some light here
?
2) Aid, would be something similar to the RA/TA or is it something like a scholarship? I understand not all universities provide aid, but won't all students flock the ones who do, so what are the factors when a university selects you for aid?
3) How do my acads affect my chances of getting aid (broadly assuming I score good in GRE)?
4) How much money of my own (my parent's, I've got none) will I finally spending apart from the Exam fees, school application fees, visa, plane ticket etc., if I do get aid ? Will I have to take a smaller loan in case I do get aid?
5) W.r.t point 4, how much aid does a univ normally give to a student?
6) Do good univs offer aid, or only the less known and low rated univs offer aid?
Could I get some answers on these newbie questions..? Thank you for helping out a student in trouble (and confusion)! I have a lot many questions running through my head but I'll just go slowly wih the whole thing. Why I'm so eager to know is because I dont want to hold on to these dreams and just realise finally that even if I am academically eligible, I may not be financially capable to fulfil my dreams of doin MS. IN case I find out I'm ineligible, I will just start working towards some other course (read CAT).
Thank you once again.