Hello! I’m an American citizen raised abroad who has only returned to the US. Honestly, the A-Level system is the one to which I had grown accustomed, and I always wished to do university in the UK; but despite feeling more British than American, I’m not a British national and thus lack access to UK bursaries and subsidised loans.
Upon researching a bit, I’ve found that as an overseas student, I’d pay ~£20,000 (~$27,000). This could only be paid for with US loans, since foreign universities are ineligible for Federal grants. Understandably, there are very few British programmes aimed at foreigners.
So, does anyone know of US scholarships that could be used internationally? My Google searches mostly lead to study abroad programmes, not full degrees abroad.
Anyway, I don’t expect to have my entire degree financed; I just wish for a bit of relief, especially considering living costs in Southeast England (where I’d probably be studying) aren’t the lowest.
What year are you?
What classes were you taking and which will you take this year?
If you started ALevels, any chance you can finish them?
Is there a way for you to return to the UK and work/live with people so that you can re establish residency?
Unfortunately there are only £1-2,000 bursaries, and they’re games and far between - that’s it. Federal loans can be applied to some uk universities but that means $5,500 so if your parents don’t have the money and can’t at from income you can’t afford to go back.
What’s your parents’ incomes? Because 25k is a common cost for most us public universities at the in-state discount. If your parents make under a certain amount and you have exceptional stats you may get need based financial aid at top private universities (“meet need colleges” - there are about 80 out of the 3,700 in the us). If your stats don’t allow you to aim for these or your parents have an income of 200k+ then you need merit aid, which is mostly based on test scores.
In American terms, I’m finishing my junior year, having moved here in time for 10th grade. I’ve done all the history AP courses, Comp, Environmental Science and French; for my senior year, I’ll do US Government, Comparative Government, English Lit, French Lit and Macro. I have no interest in doing my A-Levels, since (a) I wouldn’t be able to finish on time and (b) find myself doing rather well with my APs.
Currently, I don’t hold any visa that would allow me to live in the UK. I’ve lived there on-and-off throughout my life, but never enough to acquire ILR. I am, however, a South African citizen through my mother and could eventually settle in the UK on the Ancestry visa. But to be charged home fees, I’d have to settle in the UK and live there for three years, which is obviously impractical. I’d rather just pay my fees!
Yeah, the small bursaries are the only ones I’ve seen; larger ones seem to be for post-graduate students. Now, are you sure about the $5,500 limit? I thought one could borrow up to $20,000 per annum.
My parents earn enough to pay for the fees, but I’d prefer to put forth as much as possible. They’re still paying for my brother’s degree, and since they’ve basically decided to stay in America for good, next year will see the purchase of a house and all the related expenses. I don’t want to worry them too much for now. To be honest, the most important thing would be to secure funding for the first year; they’ll have more liberty to help me for the other two.
It pains me to bump my own thread, but if anyone has information on scholarships for international students in other countries, you’d do me a massive favour by commenting. If the UK weren’t an option, I’d be open to universities in Canada, Australia and the Continent.
@Lohengrin
You aren’t getting a ton of responses because frankly…there are not a lot of scholarships in the U.S. that fund college studies in other countries.
What are your stats? GPA and ACT or SAT score? You could be eligible for merit aid at some colleges here if those are sufficiently high enough.
You are an American citizen, so your scholarship considerations from colleges here would be as a citizen.
Yes, it’s 5.5k for freshman year. It’s 27k for all four years - if you make satisfactory academic progress you can borrow 6.5k for Sophomore year, and if you make satisfactory academic progress you can borrow 7.5k each of Junior and senior year.
You may need to consider colleges in the US
Are you sure you aren’t eligible for “home” fees in the UK? What type of visa are you on? From your post, I’m assuming your parents are working in the UK. Do they have “indefinite leave”? Financial aid, as well as bursaries and student loans, are not based on citizenship but on your residency status (and that of your parents).
That said, if you were only in the UK for the purpose of attending school, then you will be classified as an overseas student. In that case, you’d be well advised to look at US universities. Many UK students go to the US for university and your A-levels will be excellent preparation.
One final comment: you can use US federal student loans to attend British universities if you are a US citizen. Your UK university can advise you. They money will be sent directly to the university.