grace andersen

I'm currently 15 years old living in Scotland. My parents plan to move before this summer, and I'm not sure how I will slot into the American school system, were moving to new jersey if that helps. I'll be finished my national 5s, and then I'll be in America. I've just finished my national 5 prelims, and got 6 A's and a B, so I'm on track for getting very good grades in my national 5's, but I don't know how this will convert to American school system. (I'll be the correct age for Junior year but not sure if I would be moved up or down or anything?) If anyone knows what the school system will be like I'd love some advice/help/information, thank you.

civilservant

Hi Grace,

Do you know what visa your parents are getting to move here? What are your plans for the future in terms of university?

The reason for asking is that depending on the visa, and if they will be able to get a Green Card or not, you many 'age out' of your visa at 21 and have to either get a visa in your own right or return to the UK. This, I hope, is something your parents have either already resolved or at least have a plan to resolve.

As to High School, this is largely down to the county in New Jersey that you will be living in, and indeed even which school district you are assigned too. I would be looking for the contact details of the county, and be contacting them direct. Which year you end up in, it is unlikely that a student of your caliber will find it too taking. American high schools can be excellent. They can also be quite ordinary.

Good luck!

mum 2 3

Hi, I'm in NJ and have twins who are 15 as sophomores and they are youngest in their grade. NJ has graduation requirements that need to be met, x number of years of science, english, social studies, gym etc.... They will need transcripts from your current school and hopefully will give you credit for what you have taken there. Usually the school is based on the address, so as soon as you know where you will be living contact the school district and they can see what you will need to graduate. You may need to take some classes over the summer so that you can fit it all in(my kids are doing an economics class that is fully online and is a requirement for NJ). If you have to move down a grade it is not a bad thing (so many people do it there are many kids in the grade below mine that are older than them, if I had my time over I would have moved mine). This will all be different if you are going to a private school or international school, if you plan on moving back for uni then maybe look at IB (international baccalaureate) schools.

grace andersen

My parents are getting green cards for just me and my mum, stepdad is American so my half-sisters are too, so they don't need them. The green cards were applied for last April, and should hopefully get through soon, but it's a long process so my stepdad has applied for a visa, I'm not sure which one. Since he's officially 'adopted' me I'll be able to get citizenship basically on arrival.

Owen778

Welcome, Grace.

So, moving anyone into US high school can get very complicated. We had some hassle just moving states. There are two issues:
1. Fulfilling the graduation requirements. You / your parents will need to find out what courses are required by the school or school district to graduate, and see what can be translated from the Scottish system. Some schools are understanding and will translate most of your previous education if you provide a basic syllabus, some it's a bureaucratic nightmare and they only accept courses where you have passed formal exams, and even then the courses need to closely correspond to their list. It can sometimes be a big problem and require taking courses to catch up, maybe over the summer.
2. There will be courses where you've already covered some of the material but not all of it, and you'll just have to sit through it.
3. You'll need to catch up on some requirements, like state history or American history.

Get hold of the graduation requirements, and talk to the school / district about it. Depending on them, your parents may need to do this not you.

jjmb

You can do it but you are wise to prepare in advance. I would read the posts by petitefrancaise who's daughter came over from France when she was 16. It will be hard and totally different from Scotland, but it's doable if you come at it with an open mind. The one thing you should consider is university. if you move over as a permanent resident (green card), you will have to pay international fees if you want to study in Scotland as you need to be resident in Scotland for 3 yrs before entering university. If you were on a visa that was not permanent, then you could argue the case that your move was temporary and not intended to be permanent. Good luck.

petitefrancaise

Hi Grace, what an opportunity you are getting!
In terms of schooling - the scottish system is very rigorous so you will be well prepared for entry to US high school. I don't think for one minute that you will be taken down a year....
The US school will look at your exam results/course curriculum and should give you credits (points) for what you have already done. The points are cumulative for US students for their high school studies and are used to give you your GPA score. Your GPA (grade point average) combined with your US Advanced Placement (AP) subject exams are what will gain you entry into US university and Scottish university should you choose to go that route.
I'm trying to remember the Scottish system though - you will do highers from next August? Is that one year or two? I can't remember.
Some things to consider:
Costs of university. It can be very expensive in the USA so compare what your costs will be compared to Scotland. If you stay on in Scotland to study highers then isn't Scottish university free? That would be worth considering - do you have a relative/friend you can stay with during term time? Just come to the USA for the holidays. 2 of my children did their undergrad studies outside of the USA and the youngest was only 17 when she did this all on her own during covid so I would think that you could certainly manage staying back in Scotland. It might well save you huge amounts of money. And remember - unless your parents are paying for your university costs then it will be YOU paying back the debt for years to come so think very carefully about that.

joto

We moved here when our DD was 16. She wanted nothing to do with the US education system. She stayed with her best friend's family until the end of the summer term, and then moved to Scotland to live with her grandparents for the last 2 years of school. She then went onto uni in England. All in all, that arrangement was successful for her. She did come over to see us in the holidays, both on her own, and with her grandparents.