UK University / US College
 

Hello there all
Hoping someone can help, however I think that I may know the answer through my research. But maybe someone can pull the rabbit out of the hat !

In a nutshell:
Moved to NY from the UK 5 years ago
Dependent is a High School Junior, University/College application time approaching.
English citizenship / Irish citizenship application proceeding.

To qualify for UK universities as a National (and pay @ £9K per annum) you must have lived in the UK for the preceding 3 years leading up to application date. Otherwise you are classed as an International Student (and pay @ £20K per annum). It seems that UK universities adhere strictly to the government guidelines. And it seems that the same rules apply being an EU citizen too, you have had to live in the EU for the preceding 3 years.


We have managed to be in a situation where over 40 years of combined tax contributions count for nothing and have moved to the US without provision for out of state US colleges (ranging $40K - $70K). I'm aware of state,city and community colleges etc.

Is it possible to somehow be classified as a UK National and pay accordingly ?

If anyone has the magic work around/answer I would be very grateful indeed !!

Thanks...

Re: UK University / US College
 

In a word, no. We looked too, hard :-) Our eldest son was allowed to get UK rates, on the grounds that his parents made him emigrate ....that didn't apply to younger son, because he had a greencard.

THAT SAID, our younger son is off to school in the USA for considerably less than the combined 9000 quid a year + accommodation, food, books, travel etc he would pay in the UK. He's gone to a very good school, and was offered a full ride, so its entirely feasible. You're unlikely to get a free ride in underwater basket weaving, but if your offspring is looking for a professional degree, they could be in for a nice surprise. He had an Ivy League school making offers too.

Steve

Re: UK University / US College
 

Why not instate college in the USA?

Re: UK University / US College
 

True, but shop around. IN state in PA for Penn State is considerably MORE than the out of state rates for other schools !

Re: UK University / US College
 

Some of our members have found that UK unis will waive the international fee if the student is overseas on a temp visa. Once they become perm. residents or USCs...then they pay international fees.

Re: UK University / US College
 

Thank you Steve,

We are not at the stage of applications yet (!) but have visited some schools in different states. The particular subject matter that my dependent is interested in appears to depend on the actual college that you attend. Underwater basket weaving is a broad subject where it doesn't depend on what college is attended, but this particular subject does depend on what college ( wether Ivy League or not) is attended.

I'll look into the option of 'forced emigration' (!), I guess we'll just have to wait to see if any grants/scolarships (don't qualify for financial aid) are awarded. And as for a free ride, we can only cross our fingers and hope !

Interesting to find out that Scottish Universities charge EU members the same as Scottish nationals @£1800, however English/Welsh nationals pay @£9000 (not a political statement at all, just a surprising discovery)

Oh the joys of further education

Thanks again all

Re: UK University / US College
 

Hey Tom

Reason being that no CUNY or SUNY offers what my dependent wants to study. Otherwise it would have been significantly cheaper for sure.

Re: UK University / US College
 

Is it something that specializes from the beginning? Or could you do the first two years anywhere, then transfer in for the final two 'major' years? This is a popular way of saving a chunk of cash.

Re: UK University / US College
 

Have you evaluated why? It's no micky mouse degree?

If it's actually a competitive major you may find a surrounding state would offer instate tuition for the major.

Re: UK University / US College
 

OP may not realise it is a bit of a different system in the US, and that this option is available.

OP - American university students aren't expected to choose a specific program of study until well after they have already been accepted into a university and have taken classes.

In the US the first two years are called "general studies" in which a student is expected to take a wide range of courses across disciplines. Then the major area is chosen and specialist courses are chosen in for the last two years.

Some students are able to use AP courses to cancel out general studies ones, etc.

Even if a student is absolutely certain about what program they want to study - they are not allowed to "opt out" of general studies courses. Quite often the number of credits needed is mandated by state legislatures.

This is why a large number of American students take college courses at School X the first two years, and then transfer to School Y for their major courses. The degree you get at the end just says the name of the university you graduated from. Many also do the cheaper community college courses the first two years. This can be popular in states where the flagship in-state university is very highly regarded; many states have laws that say the state universities have to take X percentage of community college graduates from in-state. When you graduate the degree just says the university, no trace of the community college. General studies courses are largely the same everywhere and considered interchangeable.

But it's hard to transfer once you've already taken your specialist major courses - many places will make you re-take them (but not re-take the general studies ones).

Re: UK University / US College
 

If you're Irish citizens, have you considered university in Germany. They have loads of programs taught entirely in English and no tuition fees. The only problem is of course no loans for living expenses, but he could always get a part time job (and the bank of mum and dad could help as well of course!)

Otherwise take a look at CLEP exams, they can take a year , and more than 30 credits of tuition of General studies courses, off a US bachelor's degree by themselves. They're very widely accepted by Universities (in fact I don't think I've ever come across any that don't accept at least some), they cost about $100 each, for 3 credits, including the payment for the exam plus the proctor fee. Also as someone else suggested college challenge exams. US bachelor's degrees can easily be done in 2 years if you're motivated. If you're smart about it, US degrees are nowhere near as expensive as they first seem.

Re: UK University / US College
 

PootleK

Thank you very much for your info. I will certainly look into the CLEP exams, I have not come across them before and my dependent hasn't mentioned them. My dependent has/is taking AP's towards college but these have no obvious financial benefits. And Germany/Holland are also in the pot of potential options.
Amazing what info can be gathered from fellow ex-pats !!

Thank you very much

Re: UK University / US College
 

Re: UK University / US College
 

Hey there

This was my DC's observation too. Hence their reticence of studying in a country where English isn't the primary language (and DC's regret in not studying a modern language).

The loss of Home student fees is a tough pill to swallow for sure, we do not regret our decision in emigrating to the US. But regret letting this issue slip through the cracks, just always assumed that our combined tax contributions would count for something !

(And my two cents regarding US/UK education without starting a thread within a thread is that it is 'cool' to be a nerd here in the US, our DC's peers in Grammar School appeared to race from childhood to adulthood and skip being a kid)

Re: UK University / US College
 

At my son's new school, in civil engineering, the first year is a common core for all disciplines of engineer, and includes mainly maths, physics, chemistry and programming. They start to specialise in the second year.