petitefrancaise

From what you have written, your dad is being offered an "expat" deal and usually this would not include green card sponsorship and you would be expected to return to the UK for university education ( ie no cost to the company). Theymight well be paying for your housing and your high school (a private one) and an extra allowance to your dad for being on assignment. If they are doing this then the expectation is that you will not be thinking about permanently living in the USA and the expectation is that you will return to the UK for your university education.

In which case, my post about your high school is relevant.

RICH

Maybe I am old fashioned, but I would think that the Father has a better handle on the situation and would tell the kids what is happening, rather than letting them loose on the interwebs to be exposed to all kinds of speculation.

AdobePinon

Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I think it is good that Oscar is being proactive.

Shirtback

Agreed.

anotherlimey

I'm inclined to say stay in the UK, assuming his work assignment is temporary.

The costs of attending college here are ludicrous.

Also, if you see yourself working in the UK it would be easier to stay there for uni I would think.

kodokan

Lots of good stuff above, especially from PF laying out the various future scenarios.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, at least not explicitly, is that the US system is much more broad-based than the UK system, for far longer. Kids study all subjects through to age 18: a list of typical mandatory graduation subjects includes English, Maths, 2-3 science subjects, US and world history, PE, Health, a year or two of Fine Arts, and 2-3 years of a foreign language.

Once in college, the first two years are STILL general education and an undergrad student will be taking classes that look much like high school. Someone who will ultimately be a chemistry major will still be taking English composition and social studies classes for a couple of years; an English Lit major will spend the first year or two doing Calculus; all might still be doing a foreign language depending on the college.

From your current A levels, Oscar, this might be interesting to you. My 16 year old son has similar interests across wide subject fields, and (when talking to his same age cousin this summer) finds the idea of narrowing down constricting. This year (11th grade) he is studying English, Maths, Chemistry, Economics, European History and French; next year he will do English, Maths, Physics, US Government, French, and maybe something light for amusement, like psychology or an art course. He will almost certainly do a degree that has 'engineering' in the title, but he has a deep, personal interest in history that he can also take classes for, and is wondering if alongside his engineering major, he could do a dual major or a minor in something like economics or finance. This is all possible in the US undergrad model.

You would probably have to do two years of US high school - students aren't promoted to the next grade based on age, they're promoted based on completing a number of academic credits (usually 5 or 6, so to go to 12th grade you must have at least 15-18 credits towards a graduation requirement of 20-24, depending on how the school does things). But this isn't a huge deal as US classes are much more blurred across the grades; my 11th grader has classes including kids who are 10th or 12th graders, who also just happen to be scheduled to do the year-long Economics class this year. Two years of high school would give much more opportunity to take AP classes, which are somewhat comparable to A levels and can be traded for college credit (for example, the 'college level while in high school' AP Chemistry class my son is taking will mean that a university will give him th credit for one of those general education college science class without him having to take the class, which saves time and money).

Your older brother will be much trickier. He has, what, GCSEs and part of a BTEC? That doesn't equate to anything over here in the way that your GCSEs can be 'exchanged' for high school credit, as he's too old to go to high school and graduate with a HS diploma. He would be able to get into a community college anyway, as they take everyone and place them in classes based on initial placement tests in English and Maths. He could do a 2-year associates' degree (which might be more than 2 years if he needs some, say, remedial math classes), but this will largely consist of general education classes as I mentioned above; he will have to do classes in the Core Four of maths, English, social studies and science, regardless of what his personal interests are (maths is a set track, but there is scope for choice within the others - focus on biology to tick the science box, study a certain period of history or geographical location, do an English class on world myths and legends, etc).

The problem is what happens when he gets older. I'm guessing he'd be 20 when the family came over, which is very tight for aging out of the L visa before a green card could be issued. I'm pretty sure community college is still ok for transferring to a student visa, and then he'd be able to transfer onto a 4-year college and complete an undergrad degree... but, as a 19 year old with GCSEs and a bit of a BTEC, this isn't an academic path he's been following to date, and is it something he'd want, or (not knowing his academic background) is it something he could successfully accomplish? And then what? A student visa doesn't give him the right to remain the US to work.

The upshot is that it's really hard to move teens and young adults; to get them through an education system and then launched into working adulthood. If I were your parents, I wouldn't remotely be considering it without the promise of green cards the second my feet hit US soil as it would make it too hard to plan for where and how you would be going to college, or might leave you with a US high school diploma and degree, but no right to work here; once back in the UK, employers would struggle to understand your CV and experiences and you'd have no network or contacts from internships, etc, to tap into for jobs.

It would be educationally doable for you at your age, if you were flexible and resilient. You could get graduate high school and go to US college, and then even if/ when your parents moved back, you could with a green card choose to remain in the US as a working adult. I'm struggling, however, to find a successful path for your brother unless the timings would get him a green card before the age of 21, AND he wanted to take an academic degree-getting path. Moving back to the UK with a US degree would be awkward enough; moving back with an incomprehensible associates' degree would be almost impossible to explain away.

And whichever way it pans out, college is likely to be very complicated and expensive for your parents. Honestly, if taking this job is something necessary, I'd be very strongly considering that the best option is for your mother to remain in the UK for an extra year to see you two (especially your brother) through your courses and get your brother launched out of the home, and then bring you to the US for college if that was something that interested you.

petitefrancaise

I like that this young person is being proactive, it is his future at stake after all.
My last post was speculative which I hope was clear. The previous two were as factual as I could make them. I hope we have answered his first questions.
RICH, one of the great things about BE is that if anyone posts something inaccurate then it is quickly corrected by another poster. I am aware that not every forum is the same.

Pulaski

I agree, PF, and you can't keep a sixteen year old wrapped in cotton wool, after all, they are on the edge of adulthood.

Also, if my sixteen year old was engaged in debating education and the implications of a family move to another state or country, that would be the least of my concerns given the range of other unsavory, risky, dangerous and/or illegal things that they could be doing on the internet.

Oscar1605

Thank you again for your help everyone, i believe you all have gathered enough information for me and my family and i can not thank enough for that. It seems the best option for us will be to stay in the UK for now as :

1. I will be able to finish my A levels here i.e. get a full qualification which could the be translated into credits if we were to move
2.The same goes for my brother, he will be able to comlete his Btec meaning he will also have a completed qualification to then go to University.

This being said, my father might still be able to get the job while living in the UK but having to move to the US maybe once a month (costing less to the company) and we will be able to then move to the US once our curriculum have been followed and completed in 2018. I like to mention this only because, yes, i am very attracted and interested into going to University in the US which i believe are keen to receive students who have completed GCSEs along with a complete set of A levels.

Conclusion: we will not move to the US due to complications regarding our education but potentially move in 2018 if we decide it is best for us.

Thank you all again.

Noorah101

Keep in mind that in 2018 your older brother will have aged out and could no longer move to the USA on an L2. And you will be 18, facing the same issue he currently has.

Rene

kodokan

That seems a sensible way forward for you, and you've done a great job of analyzing all the information and possibilities you've been given - hat tip for that.

Entrance to a US university with A levels is a known process for most of them and your subject choices are decently reputable; maths and foreign languages are viewed as academically challenging subjects over here. Presumably you did at least one science at GCSE, to pad out your subject range a little in the minds of the admissions people.

Tuition-wise, you may be considered a foreign student for the first year, but if your parents became resident in the state of your university, you'd qualify for in-state tuition after 12 months (and possibly sooner; not quite sure how more complex residency situations play out. Assume a year of international fees worst case).

By 2018, will your brother be 21? If so, he won't be eligible for a dependent L visa; if he wanted to move with the family and study in the US, he'd have to get a student visa and would pay international fees throughout his course. I also don't know if a BTEC qualification has any standing for entry to US universities, in the way that A levels do.

(Edit: visa issue snap with Noorah!)

Oscar1605

Thank you, i think this might be the way to go.

To do with my brother's part, he will be 21 in 2019 but this might not matter as by this time i'm guessing there will bo no problem for him to stayin england on his own at University as at this age there usually is a separation beteween parents and child because of Uni etc...

So thank you again for remembering me that i'd be dificult for him to go to the US with the qualifications he has, whatever happens he'll be better off by staying. Me on the other hand, studying abroad is a dream but studying in Miami is a rather unthinkable dream of me. It'll be a pleasure.

Thanks again.

Dolewhippy

Just keep in mind that your parents would need to take up residence in Florida for one year prior to you starting university to qualify for in state tuition rates. If you've not looked into that aspect, the difference is eye watering. So, if you plan on coming over to study in 2018 I'd be saving like crazy.

Pulaski

What sort of saving do you think a sixteen year old could do that would even scratch the surface of out-of-state college tuition fees less than two years later?

Dolewhippy

My point exactly -- I think that is a huge barrier that the OP needs to be aware of.