hdrummond15

I relocated to the USA about 6 years ago (Im now 18- in the US on an H1 visa) due to my Dad getting a temporary contract at Uni in Savannah GA (I went through high school here, dependent on him). This temporary contract has been renewed several times since we have been here.

We do not currently have a property in the UK, but we have made offers for a new one and are still looking. (We sold up before relocating).

My family moved to the USA, the rest of my relatives live in England. 1 of my brothers went to uni here and is now working in London(renting apartment). My other brother went to high school here, like me and went to Bath Uni 2 years ago and got classified as 'home fees.'

I now find myself applying to UK unis. I have completed 2-3 fee status questionnaires - Edinburgh uni made a conditional offer based on the fact that I will pay overseas fees (not good). It is a great uni though and my dad said he would pay if I am able to get a student loan in England. We are trying to figure out which info is best to leave out of the questionnaire and what should be emphasized. I have not received my fee status from other unis yet but we'll see how it plays out with Dundee, Nottingham and Sussex. Exeter Declined my App . I have the full intention of staying in the UK after this and my Mom will go back this summer with me. My father may stay and work here longer, he is trying to find work in th UK and has been for the past 2 years without too much luck.

We will, i think, very soon buy a house in England once the right one comes about - My parents check almost everyday. It is aggravating thinking of the UK as home and not being eligable for home fees or student loans- at least this seems to be the way its going so far, but I have only heard from one UNI. any advice or support would be much Appreciated. Thanks,
-Henry

Sally Redux

My understanding is that you have to be resident in the UK for the 3 years prior to the start of the course to get home fees. My son is in the same position as you. I also don't know about loans I'm afraid, I would be very interested to hear from anyone who knows about this, as I think the overseas fees have to be paid upfront.

Mummy in the foothills

You have to be resident 3years unless you can prove you were away on a temporary contract isn't it? H1 is temp isn't it? You need to re look at the rules and see. I'm sure someone on here will know more.
H1 I think you'd have to qualify on your own at age 21 or leave the country, and are you even eligible for US uni funding not being a green card holder or citizen?

hdrummond15

There has been a new dovelopment...

As you know i was classified as 'overseas' by edinburgh gave me an offer pending 1 AP(simpilar to A level) at grade 4/5 or higher. This is very manageable since I already had 1 AP at 4 and am taking 3 more this year.

Just heard back from Sussex Uni. They said nothing about classifying me as overseas (pretty sure they classified me as home fees) since they ask that all of the 3 APs I am taking be at 4+ and a GPA of 3.3+

Moral of the story = Edinburgh (the better Uni in gerneral and for my subject: Law) is willing to let me on the course with easier entry requirements because they want more money(overseas fees).

Ill post back periodically with the replys of Dundee and Nottingham.

Seems as though if you want to get in easy then you can pay more(overseas) but you have to work a lot harder if you want to pay home fees. Of course this would only apply to those who have left the country.

dunroving

I wouldn't assume anything, get it in writing before you make a decision.

As Mummy said, you may be able to establish home fees status based on evidence that the overseas posting was temporary (contract and H-1B status might help there).

Sally Redux

They have sold their house though. when we have discussed this before on BE, it sounded like some people had got home fees but do have a property there.

hdrummond15

Im pretty sure it is home fees since their entry requirements for a normal USA overseas applicant are:
"U.S High School Graduation Diploma as well as a college preparatory curriculum with a 3.1 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
You should have taken at least one of the following standardized tests:-
SAT I: student would require a score of 1200 in total across the three elements.
SAT II subject tests: students would require a score of 600.
AP: students would require a score of 3.
ACT: students would require a combined score of 26."

I wrote on my UCAS app that I already have an 1890 on the SAT 1 across the 3 elements + 4 in AP English Lang + 3 in AP USA. I also wrote I am taking Mathematics 1 and French SAT subject tests in Feb and that I am currently taking AP Environmental Science, AP psychology and AP European hist.

With all that in mind it would not make sense for them to make me the offer I am about to copy and paste unless It was due to me being classified as home fees. Also, Sussex never had me fill out a fee status questionnaire unlike all of the other Unis I applied to:
"Congratulations; University of Sussex has asked us to tell you that it is offering you a place for Law with Business, M1N1; starting in October 2011 at point of entry 1.
The conditions of the offer are:

This offer is subject to you obtaining

Pass High School Graduation Diploma with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 and pass your 3 remaining AP Tests with scores of 4 or better in each"


...Now you can compare that to Edinburgh's Offer (easier entry requirements but emphasis on 'overseas payment):

Congratulations; The University of Edinburgh has asked us to tell you that it is offering you a place for Law and Business Studies, MN11; starting in September 2011 at point of entry 1.
The conditions of the offer are:

This offer is subject to you obtaining

SAT Subject Mathematics 1 at 650 or above, and either one

further Advanced Placement at grade 4 -OR- one other SAT

Subject test at 650. This offer is made on the basis that

you are $Overseas& for fees purposes and is valid only on

this basis.


Conclusion: Edinburgh wIll let me on to their prestigious course fairly under-qualified, so to speak (B/C they classified me as overseas).

Sussex on the had has classified me as home fees and decided to consider AP's like A levels- their offer of BBBB(4 Grade 4 APs) probably matches(or similar to) the minimum requirements for a normal UK resident.

It is annoying but I should feel lucky to get any places, my friends back home in the UK have had a tough time.

Let me know if anyone has info on student loans etc.

killerhales

Have you got soft copies of the fee status questionnaires, and if so, could you please PM them to me? We are in a similar situation.

My understanding is that if you can demonstrate that your residence away from the UK is temporary then you may be classed as a home student. In one case I am aware of the individual had been away from the UK for 7 years, but his Dad was employed on an expat basis by a UK-based firm and had the contracts to demonstrate this.

Please be careful about being "economical with the truth". The unis want international students because they get more money and the place doesn't count towards the government limits (as I understand).

If your status has not been accurately determined because of "incomplete" information then it may be subject to change and this could have an impact on your offer down the track.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

dunroving

Yes, that's what I was trying to say but it seems the OP would rather get on campus before finding out the university realises its mistake.

OP: if you do a search for fees you will see other threads, many of which hopefully will make you a little more cautious about this offer that you "guess" is based on home fees. That's all I have to say on this topic. It's up to you whether you take advice that may not be to your liking or ignore it and (possibly) find out the hard way.

p.s. (again to the OP): I work at a university, and have a little experience in these matters.

hdrummond15

Thanks, ill be sure to check with the Uni of my fee status before replying etc.

Sue

Yes it important you do.

My son is going through the same thing at the moment. He has applied to 5 unis, only one so far asked us to complete a questionnaire to see what fee structure he would come under, and they have deemed him an International student. However that uni has yet to make a decision on his application.

He has had one offer so far (from a different uni to the above) and upon a follow up it seems that the uni concerned has also deemed him an international student. So be very careful and check fully about the fees expected of you.

JAJ

One wonders if there is a financial incentive for universities to classify students as "international" even if the law suggests they should be domestic?

dunroving

As cynical as I am about the system, I honestly don't think most universities would do this, other than by accident (admin staff being dense or not paying attention.)

However, I do think there is an incentive to accept international students (especially postgrads) from countries whose governments provide an assurance of paying fees, even when those students really may not be capable of passing.

Sally Redux

If you don't have a house there and haven't lived there for 6 years, I don't know on what basis you could be awarded home fees. I'd love to get them but I don't see it.

hdrummond15

This is true but hopefully at least one uni will classify me as home fees. My friends here in GA have a thing called the hope scholarship, in which residents get tuitions fees payed for by the state if they maintain B or above grades throughout highschool. I do not qualify for this b/c I am not a citizen (not that i wanted to apply in the US) and its looking as though I wont qualify for home fees in the UK -- the commute has caused me to not qualify for any type of tuition discount anywhere