angeldeborah

Hi all, I was intending to spend summer in the US with the kids and return in September so my daughter can finish her GCSE course (she'll be in y11 starting from Sept). However, I've been reading the rules for LPR's staying for over 180 days and I don't want to take the risk! We still have to sell the house etc so we definitely have to come back after summer but we aren't so sure about staying for GCSE's (plan to move as soon as she's done in June and get the school to email results!) We were thinking of going again for Christmas and new year which is about 2-3 weeks before school starts again but apparently it's recommended to stay a few months at a time so we're not sure if staying for less than a month will help. So what do you guys recommend? Is it a good idea to let her finish her GCSE's or not?

Pulaski

There are variuous "permitted" reasons for an LPR to be out of the US for an extended period, and education is one of those reasons. You and your daughter should apply for a reentry permit to regularize your planned stay outside the US while being LPRs.

While you could debate the value of GCSEs in the US, if your daughter abandons her GCSE studies she won't be able to easily slot into the US education system, at least not without stepping back a year or two, and so she would arrive in the US with "nothing", effectively a high school drop out. I would strongly recommend that if at all possible she complete her high school/ secondary education, i.e. through to A levels, before moving permanently to the US, as the US education system operates on the last four years of high school being an integrated 4 year program, not 2 years + 2 years, so she won't be easily able to pick up studies equivalent to A levels because the US doesn't have anything equivalent to A levels.

Maybe someone else with experience of an "international baccelaurate" program in the US can advise on whther that might be a viable option for your daughter if she arrives in the US with recently completed GCSEs.

angeldeborah

Hi! I've already asked about whether my child will be behind if she complete's GCSE's! The forum was called "Moving with teenage kids in 2023". I believe that the UK's curriculum is more tougher (correct me if I'm wrong) and if anything she may have to catch up with some history classes and that's about it. I can bring her reports and get them converted into high school credits. I'm just wondering whether she should complete GCSE's and join as a junior or whether we should just move as soon as the house is sold etc (hopefully by the end of the year?).

Pulaski

The UK's curriculum is arguably tougher, though some might disagree, but it is definitely different, so slotting in and cathching up may not be as easy as you seem to think.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

petitefrancaise

Couple of factors:
depends on where you think she will end up going to University;
whether you want her ( or she wants) to naturalize as a USC.

She could stay in the USA and get cracking on APs ready for uni either in the UK or USA. Bear in mind that she will need to be assessed and given credits for her work to date - this affects her GPA. From what I've seen with my own family and my clients' families the first year is a bit of a slog doing catch up on courses that she may not have done and has to do to graduate. I would talk to the school counsellor about this before making a final decision

She could stay in the USA and go to a school that does the IB curriculum. Right now, she would be pre-IB and would be fine. She could probably do a few AP exams as well since the curricula mostly match up.Then after next summer going into 11th Grade she would do the 2 year IB diploma and this would enable her to go to Uni either in the USA or UK.

She could finish her GCSEs in the UK and come back for 11th/12th grade and the IB diploma. I would definitely advise getting re-entry permits to avoid issues, although you would probably be ok if you came back to the USA at Christmas/Easter breaks. I wouldn't go back to the UK to finish GCSEs and then come back just to do APs. I think there may not be enough match up in the curricula and the school would have to agree that her previous coursework allowed her to skip the required courses to get to AP level.

angeldeborah

Thank goodness you replied to my thread! Someone recommended one of your threads to help but I couldn't find it. She's okay with not returning to the UK for university so I think she'll be staying in the states. I believe she will naturalise later on in the future and I would like her to as well (by the way my youngest already has citizenship and will be a freshman when we move so she's not a concern right now!). I have been in touch with family welcome centres in NY and I'm hoping they can locate her to a school that offers the IB as private schools are not something I am keen on and. I don't think I get to choose what school she gets to go to either, I think it's depending on what schools near us have space. Based on what you've told me, I'm thinking of doing the second option and come again for Christmas for maybe nearly a month. Also based on your experience, were your children (or child) struggling to keep up with the US education system or were they fine after catching up on courses they needed to take in order to graduate on time? Thank you!

petitefrancaise

you can find all the IB schools here https://www.ibo.org/programmes/find-an-ib-school/
In Austin,the 3 school districts all offer IB diploma in at least 1 of the high schools and if you aren't in the boundary for that particular high school then you can do an in-district transfer for the IB program from 9th Grade.

My eldest was 16 when we moved here and she went straight into 11th grade and the IB diploma. She had a full course load and also had to take some mandatory classes, 2 of which she did during the following summer at a local community college. She didn't find the work particularly hard, there was just a lot of it.

petitefrancaise

I was having a look at the OP's other thread which I decided not to comment on at the time.
I recommend the IB programme because it is based on the British system and is an easier switch to make and should you decide to move countries again ( many of my clients are here for 2 years and then move) it's relatively easy to have some continuity.
So, saying that, I really object when certain people go on about the quality of US education. I guess these are the same people who go on about the A levels getting easier? What i see are hard working kids with parents who do their best to put them in great schools and that usually pays off with the kids getting to great universities all around the world. My own children all did the IB diploma and some AP exams and have been to US, Canada, Dutch and UK universities and at no point did they feel that their Texas education was lacking. They also worked a great deal harder at school than I or their father ever did.

If you move to a tiny town in a poor state, then yes, I think your kids may not have the best education but honestly most of us on this forum are living in prosperous states with good choices.
I don't always totally agree with the rankings but greatschools.org is pretty much spot on for my area and is a good place to start looking for a school.

angeldeborah

Okay, once I register my children with the district we move to then I'll try get her into an IB school.
Thank you. We're either moving to New Jersey or New York, preferably not in a small town in those states so I hope she'll get a good school. Thanks again for your advice.

Nutmegger

In an expensive state, like NJ, you may find that the "small town" has a far better educational system (and budget!) than the bigger cities, because the property taxes of wealthier homes located in the better neighborhoods fund the schools. When you say NY, you may be thinking of somewhere like Westchester County, just outside the city, where the same logic prevails. I would suggest checking for recommended school systems, rather than towns, first. Unless you go private, your address will mandate the school attended.

Jerseygirl

My daughter didn’t go to the following NJ school, but it has a good reputation. It is also is a great place to live, very safe. NYC is approx 45 mins by car, also trains run from nearby towns.

https://www.wmmhs.org

robtuck

If not entering an IB school, I would certainly advise that your child complete the GCSE's first given they have done a year already. That year, with no exams behind them, will be much tougher to translate to the USA GPA and credit system. While they are studying, make sure you get copies of every Syllabus for the courses they are completing - these will be important if you need to argue on credits for subjects like Calculus. As an example, the UK GCSE will be for all Maths, it's a bit tougher for the USA Counsellors to work out what that means in their world of individual subjects.

Given you will be LPR, if your child wants to remain in NY to attend College, it will be worth doing some research now on whether they will determine them to be In State or Out of State for tuition purposes. That can make a huge financial difference.

angeldeborah

Thank you. We're going to look into school districts that offer the IB and make a decision as to where to move based on them. Looking on ranking websites, a lot of IB (and better) schools are located in places a bit out of the city. Only problem is my daughter wants to go to a diverse school as she doesn't want to feel alienated.

angeldeborah

Had a look at this too and it looks like a friendly community and offers a good education. Will definitely show to my daughter and see what she thinks! Thank you.

Ah, I see. I think we'll stay for her GCSE"s then and return to the states for Christmas etc so it doesn't look like we've abandoned our LPR status then leave right after they're done. Thank you for the advice about college. I will ask her which ones she is interested in and look into fees etc. Thank you for your advice.

PetrifiedExPat

Tougher but makes candidates a lot more competitive. Others though aim for ~50k salaries so dropping out of high school would be fine in that case ROFL