lisa67

In Texas you can get in state rates, even if you're not an LPR but I think you have to have lived in the State for at least 12 months.

Sally Redux

Yes I'm not sure about that one, that was my understanding for California too but it seems not true of all states.

Something which might be difficult for a student coming from the UK is that the first two years of the US degree are going to be general ed.

Jerseygirl

From a previous post the OP may be a USC...

AmerLisa

So did I and I passed the UK driving test (the first time) with only 3 minors.

meauxna

You got little kids to help you? No wonder you passed, have you seen them on those video game machines?

lonestargirl

I get in-state tuition as an employee of the hospital I study in (I'm a graduate student receiving a stipend). My EAD nearly didn't arrive in time for the start of term and there was loads of hassle over my tuition - they said I wasn't entitled to in-state because of my visa type (J2).

Kaffy Mintcake

I just looked up my university out of curiosity to see what the out-of-state tuition looked like. Boy, it's worth it to get that residency! For basic tuition it's a difference of about $14K/year. For out-of-state my school is estimated at about $45K/year (out the door, so including room, board, health insurance, books, etc.)

There's a helpful break-down of where this goes linked below, and hey, we were just ranked #2 in the country for undergraduate teaching by US News and World Report ... so you could do worse.

http://www.miami.muohio.edu/admissio...and-costs.html

Maggs

When my son came over in March 2004 he was on a K4, applied to an IL state college April 2004 and was admitted Fall 2004. We paid in state fees based on me and my husband having lived here for over a year and my son having lived in state for 5 months. Talk to the international registrar, that is who dealt with my son's application and ongoing paperwork until he became an LPR in 2005 and then it was the admissions dept.

On a different note, I have a daughter that was 21 when I came here to live in 2003. It was our hope that the immigration process would be quicker than expected but it never is. We waited over 6 years for a visa number to be available to her and by then she was almost 28 and had met a lovely man and decided that her life was with him in the UK. I miss her every day but this was the choice I made and I have to live with it. Like many people I found it hard to believe at first that the immigration system takes so long, but it does.

I understand how hard it will be to leave a child behind.

Maggie

jemima55

Dear Coldhand,
I have been through this situation. We currently have our son with us, studying in the USA. It has worked out well for him, but this is my experience.
I have not found any sources of funding so we are paying for it ourselves (ouch!). We applied for him to get an "in state tuition" grant, typically $3500. We had lived in state for two years, and were turned down.It`s a catch 22. He had to get an F1 visa in order to study in the US, which made him ineligible for state help as he is an international student.Your son, being younger, and on your visa, may be eligible. He lives at home with us as a "commuter student" as its cheaper than him living on campus. He can work but only on campus, 10 hours p.w. in term time and 20 hours in the vacation.He is at a small private Catholic university, but it seems good and offers a full range of courses. The other beauty of it is that it charges the same fees for home and overseas students. The moral there is to shop around for a uni as I understand fees vary a lot.
Your son may well get credits for A level work due to students starting uni at a younger age here. UK qualifications have to be converted to US by an accredited agency.
US degrees are very different from UK ones. First there is the length, 4 yrs versus 3 yrs.(My son will have done 3 here by the time he`s finished). He has also had to study a broad range of subjects,(each for a short time) before declaring a major.(Not a bad thing in my view, it gives a young person time to investigate a whole range of possibilities and get to know their strengths a bit better). Each course will run for a semester, about 12 weeks then you will have an exam. For each course you will get credits. When you collect enough credits you get your degree.
The cultural experience has proved very valuable. He is the only British student at his uni, apart from some who come over for just a term, but has made a wide variety of friends from all nations. Student life is very different as well. Because of the higher drinking age here it tends not to revolve around the pub.(I have no views on whether thats a good or bad thing, it`s just different!)
This is my experience, I will post if I think of anything else.It has worked out well for us so I definitely recommend it if you can sort out the logistics!

mwdake

And, keep in mind that the requirements for in state tuition rates may no just be based on the fact that you have lived in the state for 12 months.
If that were the case all out of state students would be eligible after the first year of school.

It is often based on living in the state for 12 months and satisfying the school that you are a resident of the state other than just for going to school.

I had to prove my residency when I moved from one state to another to live then decided to go to school. Because I had not yet resided in the state for 12 months I paid out of state tuition for 2 semesters. When my second year of school came around the school refused me in state status because they did not feel I met the residency requirements despite my owning a house, paying state taxes and having a state drivers license. I refused to pay for classes and complained to the university system as their rules seemed clear I qualified as a resident. I won in the end but not before the dean threatened to kick me out of school.

Obviously different states and different schools will be different.
I just wanted to point out that in state tuition is not always based on living in the state for an amount of time.