Mic1

Hi again guys, thanks for all the answers on my health insurance/kids braces questions.

Forgive me if i'm asking some questions whose answers might seem obvious to you long standing expats. I'm just trying to make sure i'm making this jump with as much prior knowledge as i can so that nothing smacks me in the face out of the blue. It's just that, at the moment i'm getting so many conflicting opinions it's causing me to over think every aspect of this move which isn't doing me any good. Not from you guys i hasten to add, you're all very much straight shooters.

You could argue that i'm getting anxious a few years too early around both my daughters' college/uni costs (10 and 12) but for peace of mind, i'm trying to gain an idea as to what sort of costs i'll be looking at in 6-8 years time. My girls are doing quite well but would never be Harvard material (not this this type of institution would ever be an option) but i'm just looking for some opinions.

The first question if you don't mind sharing, is how have you approached this, weighing up cost against what chance you want(ed) to give your kids? Of course, this question would arise regardless of where you are in the world. The biggest question for me is what sort of costs should i be expecting for 4 years tuition, whether living on or off campus? I have a couple of friends who have kids of my age with 529's, one projects to have over a $1m by the time 18 arrives, the other, about $35,000!!!! Then i have other EXPAT buddies who are doing okay in the USA but are adamant they will send their kids back to the UK because of the more condensed course time involved and the lower costs.

Without having a crystal ball, my assumption would be that we'd be looking at a college in Southern California, public obviously. I have to assume most kids live on campus or rent close by so factoring in board is probably sensible at this stage. I understand that the state can subsidize to a degree depending on income but i am lucky, our yearly income would easily begin with a 2 by then, if not sooner so from what i've read, in California, this tops out at $130k. This might seem a lot but having looked at the cost of living in this region over and over again, it isn't.

I know what i've read on Google but i'm just looking for some stark info from people who have been there, done that............... type feedback.

Also, i'll be on an 01 and from what i can see, an O2 visa holder is treated as an out of state student regardless so whatever happens, a green card or change of status needs to happen before then as costs will sky rocket even more!!

Thanks in advance,

Mic

robin1234

Bearing in mind you’re looking several years ahead, and you don’t know what educational path your children will want to take after graduating high school, I’d say there are just too many variables here.

I’d always assumed that a high proportion of college students in Southern California commute from home, so rent or board & lodging wouldn’t be a factor in that case. A quick search seems to indicate that is indeed the case ...

I live in New York, which has a huge & good quality State university, but California is really world-beating in the public options. Top tier is University of California, some of the universities of which are among the finest universities in the world. Then there’s California State University, which is also well-regarded. Then there are various county and community-type colleges.

But you shouldn’t automatically dismiss private (non-state) institutions. Many in California are very highly regarded and not necessarily more expensive than the public colleges, what with financial aid etc. But, who knows where we will be with tuition & financial aid in five or six years? It’s anybody’s guess.

Mic1

Thanks Robin, super helpful.

You are completely right, having now looked, it seems that only around 13% of students live on campus, or this is what one site tells me. So, that makes a massive difference to cost obviously. I will dig deeper but any other experiences would be very welcome.

lizzyq

We had to deal with this both as O visa holders and LPRs. If you are on an O-1 your spouse and kids will be O-3 (not O-2) and yes will almost certainly be treated as foreign students with commensurately higher tuition fees and sometimes payment up front and proof of ability to pay for board and lodging for the year. This is why our elder son at that point went back to the UK for uni. By showing his O-3 visa with an end date he was able to argue successfully with the powers that be (Swansea Uni and Student Loans Company) that he was still "normally resident" in the UK and was treated as a UK resident student. Our younger son was an LPR when he applied and so could not use this argument, rather than going locally to Penn State ($18K in state, $35K out of state tuition per year) he went out of state to New Mexico Tech ($8K in state, $23K out of state) but had a scholarship giving him in state tuition rates. He also stuffed his last two years of high school with AP classes and took the exams at $95 per each which enabled him to bypass quite a lot of the gen ed and first year maths courses and packed his 4 years of US college into 3, graduating last month in Civil Eng. In the end his debts are lower than his elder brother's.

TL,DR, yes the UK may be cheaper but shop around different states (their living costs may also be much more reasonable than So Cal) and start the academic preparation as soon as your kids hit US high school.

christmasoompa

We’ve been looking in to uni costs in the US and there are a surprising amount of scholarships and grants available for international students. Most of the unis we’ve looked at have offered pretty generous means tested programs. I know you said Harvard wouldn’t be an option, but they have a website specifically for UK applicants which is really useful, including info on their financial aid just to give you an idea - Harvard UK Admissions » Financial Aid

I assume if you’re heading to California on an O-1 you’ll be on a fairly hefty salary, but the upper limit is often higher than I’d expect. Every uni we’ve looked at has a similar page, so worth digging in to their websites for more info.

HTH.

Mic1

Thanks Lizzy, my mistake, yes it's 03.

My CPA bought this to light about being classed as foreign students, this is one of the biggest drivers to convert that to perm residency asap so i have more of an idea where we are. The more i look into this, the more i think we should have just bitten the bullet with an L1, our immigration attorney painted too much of a rosy picture with the O1 especially with the fact that my other half can't work.

At the risk of sounding out of touch, what are AP classes, they are outside tutor classes i guess? It sounds like he did really well with his years at college. Excellent, well done.

Thanks again

Mic1

Thanks Chris,

That is really interesting re Harvard. As i mentioned, it wouldn't be my girls' thing but nevertheless, that seems extremely fair. How far down the line are you with applying?

scrubbedexpat091

One way to save some substantial money in many cases in California is to take the general education aka first 2 years at community college, and then transfer to the university for the final 2 years, the degree at the end will be from the same university whether you do all 4 at the university or only the last last 2. (assuming bachelors degree and not going for something like medical doctor) but community colleges are a fraction of the cost for the same basic general education.

Everyone I know who lives in So. California has lived at home with parents and went to school locally to save $$.

Mic1

Hi again Lizzy,

I think it was you that kindly commented a while ago that even though you were on an O3 yourself and not able to work, you were still able to file joint taxes?

Is that the case?

Thanks

Noorah101

Tax return "married filing jointly" has nothing to do with whether the O3 holder works or not.

Rene

tht

Yes it’s based on being married. You will likely also need a SSN or ITIN for spouse / dependents. One of the biggest tax benefits here… often results in it being cheaper for parent to stay home bs getting a Nanny. It cost us more for the wife to go back to work than stay at home, but we had to pay the extra for a nanny so she could work.

Mic1

Hi Jsmith,
I have learned more from these few posts than 10 zoom meetings with CPA's, immigration attorneys and business advisors. Thank you for your input, putting them through community is something i had never heard of before.
And your comment on going to school locally, it does seem to be more the norm than i thought it would be.
Thanks again

Mic1

Thanks Norah. This question was thrown up by someone i know who used to live in the states who was on an O1 and wife on O3 and said it prevented him filling jointly. He came back about 10 years ago so has it changed since then or is he just mistaken?

Mic1

Thanks TNT, yes, i can see how this would be the case with child care costs being astronomical.
Tell me then, is there ever a reason for a couple not to file jointly if one half of the couple doesn't work?

christmasoompa

Uni or visa?

The former we’re not, daughter starts A levels in Sept so we’ll start looking seriously at unis next year.

The latter Covid has thrown a spanner in the works (just like yourself), we were supposed to be moving next month, but as we can’t move eldest mid A levels it looks like we’ll be delaying things until after them. She’s looking at uni abroad though anyway, so at least we may be in the same country…..although probably not the same state!