Is it possible to study senior year of HS (12th grade) in US coming back as an American Expat?

Parents Forum
1

Hello,

I’m an American citizen currently in Asia. I’ve completed my junior year and I’m in senior year (12th grade) here where the academic year begins in February and ends in May the following year. I’m engulfed in a plethora of problems and one of them is finances. I’m unable to afford the high school fees that I’m currently attending with a huge merit scholarship and I’m in a risk of being stricken off the admission rolls despite my achievements. There are no schools to transfer here that I can afford or pay for. Work isn’t an option neither are loans as I’m a foreigner here. I currently live with my custodial parent and grandparent. I don’t know much about my non custodial parent.

I’m contemplating at the idea of moving back to US after 17 years (I’m 18 now) for pursuing and finishing 12th grade in America as I do have further plans of also pursuing undergrad there and can’t afford to let this year go as my only option here in Asia is to drop out this year and start next February. I don’t have anybody to live with in the US and I’ll be homeless and penniless. I don’t have a clear idea which state/city to go, but I’m considering Dallas/Houston/Galveston in Texas state as that was where I was born and last stayed 16 years back. Also the weather would be warmer given that I’m used to living in 105°F+ temperatures.

What are my options and will the schools there accept me for senior year of high school? I read that public schools are free to enroll and attend in US so I’m banking on that. I believe the academic year starts in August this year. I’m willing to do anything and go to any extent to complete my senior year of high school successfully. I’m also willing to earn by working for long hours sonewhere after school. Probably multiple jobs. I just don’t know where I’ll live, I’ll be homeless but I’ll try to reach out to various agencies and organizations for that, hoping. What are my options in US and how to start? I have non-US school transcripts since beginning of my formal education till junior year.

2

Ok - Wait. Stop. Breathe.

Living as a homeless teenager while trying to go to high school in an attempt to get into college in America sounds like a REALLY REALLY dangerous plan.

You first need to go to your current school and ask for help. You have one year left. You need to find a way to bridge the gap between your scholarship and your expenses.

If you cannot afford that…you most likely will not be able to afford college in the US.

If you share what country you in perhaps you will get more specific advice.

3

@CValle,

No, no I’m not doing it as an attempt to get into colleges. Getting into colleges is s different story. I’m examining this idea because I’m having financial troubles with my current high school abroad.

4

This is going to be difficult, but you already know that. But based on your current situation as chronicled in past threads, it may also be healthier for you.
Texas is a good pick: very large, lots of jobs.
Pick an area where rent is the cheapest.
I don’t know if there are such things as young men’s residences for poor, working orphans.
Under age 18 the state can help you but you’d have to contact Social services as a minor to explain that your mother is ill and back in (Pakistan, Thailand…) and your father has been MIA, so you’re alone.
If under 18, I doubt you can enroll in school without a social worker.
If you’re 18, you should be able to enroll yourself into a school and yes public high schools are free in the us, although not all have the same quality. You must attend the school nearest where you live and often the cheaper rents are near lower quality schools. So you’ll have to find a balance between affordability and academic quality.
You’ll need transcripts in English including IGCSE’s and upper level classes, designating honors when relevant. You can always * asterisk classes that’d be AP equivalent, too. Always provide the scale if it’s not obvious, as well as the percentage in school and nationally who get the score.
If you have ACT, SAT scores it’ll help too.
Indeed you run the risk of being automatically placed in the lower level classes. (I’ve seen that happen more times than I can count.)
You want to make sure you’re in a most rigorous curriculum and that can only be achieved if you have proof of past achievement and can explain your schedule in honors and AP terms.
You’ll also have to make sure that they understand that while you’re an unaccompanied minor, you ARE a citizen. Have photocopies of your passport with you at all times. (and the passport in a safe place).

5

@MYOS1634, thanks very much for providing detailed info. I’m not proficient with the education system in US, so how should I go about enrolling in school? Can I go and enroll myself in whichever school I like or is it different? Also, can I enroll online at any school on a particular city’s ISD website and also contact the counselor over emails? Also, can I just start attending school immediately after I land or do I need to first find a place to live, etc.? I can’t afford to rent. I’ll be a homeless student. I’m a major now.
Could you please provide me an estimate of the amount I need to have in order to afford hidden costs of public schools, if any, the books, etc.?

6

Books are provided free of charge.youd have to buy notebooks’ and pens but you could bring them with you since they’re likely MUCH cheaper in your current country.

You’d have to arrive before school starts and find a social worker. You wouldn’t be sleeping on the street as the social worker would find you a shelter but it’d be very uncomfortable. You’d have to study in the school library then public library till it closes so you’d likely need to live within walking distance to a school& library. A used bike may help, especially since you’ll be going to work.
Bus passes cost money so walking distance would matter.

Your school depends on your address.
Each school has a dedicated homeless/displaced point person but I don’t know more.

7

There is an issue how the US high school would treat your prior record, whether they’d accept previous grades or only give credit for taking them. Or not, if, for any reason, they don’t sync with the US courses. You’d need cooperation from the present school. You may not even get into the first high schools you try. They may not assign you to rigorous classes. All this can make it problematic to then get into a college with the aid you need.

Do you even have the documents required to gain entry to the US? If no passport, you may not have one in hand by August. Also, high schools require you to enroll, show an address in their district, etc. You don’t just show up, find a school (who knows where, ) then look for living.

Some kids can get sponsorship via, say, a church that supports kids. Late to look for and initiate this. Often, when we hear of kids on their own attending hs, they are at least somewhat familiar with a locality. I would never suggest a kid, even an expat, come so alone and unfamiliar. You have no idea what communities would support you, be safe, what to avoid, much less how to navigate the steps to getting into a hs. Chances are, you can’t rent housing, with insufficient funds. Different homeless shelters may not have space or may be treacherous, especially for a green kid (unaware, no understanding at all.) Or not near a suitable hs. Are you even 18? Even if you got a social worker, not necessarily a quick thing, they could move you to a different school district, starting the enrollment process all over again, setting you back academically.

Texas may be large, but the economy is such that you may not find a job, especially if you’re not familiar with local customs. You won’t just be penniless, you’ll be from another culture, learning to adapt.

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Wouldn’t a minor (under 18) become ward of the state and be placed in a foster home until he turns 18? OP would need an US passport to get into the country. As a minor traveling by himself, the passport agent would most likely ask him various questions.

I would do some research first and CC may not be the right place.

9

Not just by getting off a plane, somewhere in Texas, somehow getting into the city.

Even if he (I hope OP is male,) identifies a social support office, you wait your turn, maybe start with an emergency foster placement, if under 18, if one is available. (The older a kid is, the harder to find willing foster.) You can be moved several times, with no notice.

And if he turns 18, it generally ends. If he’s already 18, “support” may be them giving a list of shelters, you get to them on your own, you wait for doors to open later in the day. There may not be space. You start a over, sleep where? And your belongings? You don’t usually leave them at the shelter.

This is fraught with pitfalls.

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@oldfort, @lookingforward, I’m a major now, 18. I do have a valid adult US passport and SSN and other docs.

11

Are you religious? If so, I’d start by contacting a larger place of worship such as a church to see if they could help you out with a place to live (host parents) or similar. Pick somewhere in or near a larger city and you might be able to get a job as a translator with your language knowledge.

Hop online and take a practice SAT - come back giving us your (honest) score. It will take around 3-4 hours. That will give folks an idea of your foundational level academically. It’s entirely possible you could skip senior year and go for community college as a start. Community colleges aren’t free, but they do tend to be inexpensive enough that one can work to pay for them or get basic student loans since you’re still an American citizen and 18 years old. From there you can transfer into a college. If your score is relatively high, there might be other options from some places that aren’t so concerned if you’ve finished high school with your unique situation, but you need to prove academic foundation first.

You said your parents can’t pay for the school you’re at now. Can they contribute anything or are you 100% on your own leaving home. (If the latter, how are you affording to fly here?)

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@Creekland, I’ve already taken the official SAT and scored full 1600/1600. Also SAT Math II, Physics and Chemistry, all 800/800. Have maintained perfect GPA in school and continously been Valedictorian. I’m also 100% on my own leaving. I’ll try raising the money to fly back, contribute some from my pocket money, sell off some items. You mentioned there are some places that wouldn’t be so concerned if about my HS, can you please me tell what/which ones are those?

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@GuessME5 Assuming you can prove your test scores, start emailing some colleges (admissions officers) and see what they say about your unique situation. Pick some each of those that meet need and offer terrific merit scholarships. It won’t be for starting this fall, but you might be able to line something up for next fall even without completing a senior year. Top colleges are super competitive, so there’s certainly no guarantee (try anyway with your situation), but drop down a little bit and you’d likely find a school very interested.

What major would you be looking at? Do you care what area of the country you would go to for college? What are your career goals?

There’s still the question of how you’re getting to the US and whether your folks can pay anything toward college or not… You aren’t likely to get need-based aid just upon your say so and you wouldn’t be considered independent just because you choose to leave your family at 18. If your parents could pay, but won’t, then you need to look at merit scholarships only.

14

You have a passport. You have hopes.
You do not have a plan.

What if your val and perfect scores status still lands you in a hs where, despite your foreign school record, they set you back in math or don’t allow AP. Stories like this all the time, on CC. They are not obliged to give you the courses you want.

15

“Wouldn’t a minor (under 18) become ward of the state and be placed in a foster home until he turns 18?”

Yes a minor would be a ward of the state, how the state child protective services handles housing is very dependent on local resources, though. Both of the states I’ve volunteered with have a huge shortage of qualified foster homes so most foster children are placed in a “group homes” which is a euphemism for small orphanage. As another poster mentioned, placements often aren’t permanent, so a foster child could be shuffled around to multiple housing placements in the space of a year - not a good or stable situation, especially since little consideration will be given to which school district the housing placement is in.

I think @Creekland 's recommendation to find a sponsoring/mentoring church group is a much smarter way to approach this than assuming child protective services will help.

I also agree with the others who have pointed out how dangerous this could be, especially for a minor with little knowledge of US laws or local areas. Many Americans are blind to it, but human trafficking is very much alive and well - for boys as well as girls.

16

It is already July, school starts in TX next month. This is not enough time to plan well. IMO, your best bet is to work with your current school since you are already started your academic year. Can you take the money you would use for airfare and put that towards your tuition at your current school? With your grades and scores my advice would be focusing on college in the US, not coming for HS. The common application for colleges open August 1.

17

OP is 18 apparently but has NOT completed high school. High schools (even public high schools) may charge fees - if students don’t pay, they’re out of luck.

I agree they for the valedictorian they may be willing to make an effort though, so it’d be important to contact them fest and see if they can sort it out for you.

The risk of being placed in remedial classes in the US is real because some high schools assume all kids from abroad had subpar or dislocated educations. Most GCs know nothing about foreign school systems and grading scales (which is normal). In addition, international kids may not have anyone to advocate for them.

Going through a church is indeed one of the best possibilities. @GuessME5 shouldn’t just hop on a plane and hope he’ll figure it out on the fly. Such a plan should be planned well.

However, based on previous threads, op’s father is MIA somewhere in the US (and abusive before that), his mother suffers from a mental illness and doesn’t work, he’s depending entirely on his grandmother who’s housing him and his mother. And now he may not be able to graduate high school. So, going to a free public high school in the US may be an opportunity if op can find a structure to figure it out.
(@guessMe5: “I’ll be homeless” is NOT a plan btw).

18

Checking for clarity…you can’t afford your school costs in India…but you think you CAN afford living costs, and possibly school tuition here in the US?

And the plane ticket to get here?

Where is THAT money going to come from? If you find it…use it to finish school where you are.

Your plan is very flawed financially. In addition, it’s not going to help you get more financial aid once you do apply for college. You are already a U.S. citizen, and your applications will be reviewed as such.

I’m not clear what you hope to gain.

19

Using this and their self reported scores, I stand by my thoughts to go ahead and contact admissions offices of colleges rather than trying to complete high school first. Technically, if high school were required, the OP could home school that year and give themselves a transcript satisfying the box checking part. Academic foundation-wise, they are ready to start college.

There are plenty of people out there willing to give kids with a true story a break if they find out about it and can substantiate their story. I’d be checking with admissions at top “very generous” schools, schools in the 30-50 range, schools on the Colleges That Change Lives list, and full merit schools like U Alabama (if they are still full merit with similar scores - if not - check with schools that are).

Needing 4 years of English, Math, Science, etc, is a box checking deal for students coming from traditional backgrounds. They aren’t written in stone needs if one can draw attention and explain why their application differs.

It doesn’t hurt to send e-mails out - with attachments to substantiate scores, etc. The worst the OP can hear back is “no” and they only need one “yes.” As a PP mentioned, application season is soon to gear up for the following year. If boxes need checking, there are homeschool options that can be accomplished anywhere in the world.

20

I was just going to sit down and write exactly what @momofsenior1 suggests above. Yes - use the money for your airfare towards finishing your school, and then aim for coming to college. With the stats you have and being a US citizen, you could perhaps qualify for a full ride - although no guarantees.

Your stats (assuming they are official scores) will likely get you into the honors college at NJIT. It’s in the NYC metro area, and they give free housing in the honors dorm. Being a US citizen will help you. You will still have to fill out FAFSA. You have received a lot of in depth advice here, and I think getting your ducks in a row (especially the FAFSA details) so that you can apply for college in the US is your best bet. You can PM me if you want to know more about NJIT.

Have you spoken with the school officials about your situation? BTW, I read in one of your other threads that you are in India - so I am unsure how your school fees could be so much more than airfare to the US, especially since you have been getting scholarships. You also have access to taking SAT’s and SAT II’s - not something that one would have ready access to in India unless they are in a reasonably higher end school. Maybe I am not seeing the full picture - because some of the details are not adding up…