Question about tuition fee waiving

[ampurr]

I’m an international student studying in a US institution and will get an undergrad degree from a US institution. Last year I saw that two of the seniors who got into graduate schools got teaching assistantships and got their tuition fee waived. I’m just wondering if the tuition fee waive thing will be the case for me as well since I’m an international student? Or is this a specific to the school thing I should ask them directly?

[TakeruK]

Typically yes, most Physics (and related fields) PhD programs that fully fund their students will also include a tuition waiver. Each school's application page usually has info about funding and will let you know. Don't worry, you should not have to pay the extremely high tuition costs at many schools.

HOWEVER, you might have heard a lot of news lately about the "Tax Cut and Jobs Act", which is a proposed law change that will make you have to pay tax on any tuition waivers you receive. If tuition levels don't change and the law is passed, it could mean that all grad students will have to pay very high taxes due to the high amount of tuition. This is a proposed law change and the Act could change before it actually becomes law. So nothing is certain yet but I would definitely try to keep up to date on the news.