@GuessME5 I’ll put out another suggestion - in addition to talking with the school official,s any possibility of getting a personal loan from classmate’s parents? It looks like the fees are around $6000 - that’s a lot, I know. But seeing that you are a very good student, you might be a “good risk”. Many of your classmates parents are most likely wealthy businesspeople - maybe some of them could point you to legitimate sources for loans (or not - the wealthy Indian crowd is a hodgepodge of people with varying degrees of altruism.) BTW, I am of Indian origin and have been in the US since I was a kid.
It’s too late to edit my post above.
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Planning to be homeless is a non-starter. In many US cities, it is illegal to sleep in public parks, airports, bus terminals , etc. You don’t want to start your new life with an arrest record. Plus the chances of being robbed, assaulted, etc are too high to risk it.
re post #41. I have to conjecture. Is it possible these wealthy parents would love to get rid of the class star so their own kids look better in the rankings???
OP- delaying your (re)entrance to the US when you have resources to live here will make an immense difference in your future trajectory. Your life in India sounds tolerable while attempting life here is not.
btw- there are tons of Indians with outstanding brains and the grades/test scores to prove it. There are also many US citizens in this country who are as smart as you are with equivalent credentials. You are no more special than they are. Please do not try to enter the US in a hole, it is hard enough to be at ground level to get a college education when you have no money for it. You are no more (or less) deserving than many others. Take what you can from India.
Absolutely agree with @wis75 .
Get your high school finished in India by whatever means you can - that is the general consensus of people here. You will have a better chance of getting a merit based scholarship if you cast a wide net and your records are complete.
Long time lurker…this post moved me to register. I have some knowledge that I hope might be useful in this scenario.
First off, I’m skeptical of the original poster’s scores, but if we assume you’re telling us the truth poster, here’s what I’d suggest/recommend and here are my questions…
First and foremost, you want to do everything you can to complete HS in India if at all possible.
*How did you do on your ICSE?
*Are you simultaneously studying for ISCs alongside another curriculum…IBDP? A levels? Something else?
If your performance is as good as you suggest, your school probably wants to keep you around for your ISC or IB/A levels performance. IMHO schools in India very much like to promo their ‘toppers!’ See if you can come to an agreement regarding tuition. See if your school can close the gap. If they can’t, or won’t, then FIRST I’d try to shop yourself to the other private schools in your area. I’m making assumptions based upon your reported school cost that you likely go to school in either Mumbai or Delhi (I can’t think of any schools in other cities that are as pricy as you’ve mentioned, and you’re not talking about being a boarder, so that takes the remaining schools out of the running…if I’m wrong disregard this piece). I’m hoping for your sake that you’re in IBDP, because I think it’ll be easier for you to get a scholarship as a year 12 student with high predicted scores to another school. After you’ve exhausted all options at your current school, then try to see if any other schools in your area, with the same kind of curriculum, are willing to enroll you with scholarship. Presumably if you go to the priciest option where you live (which is what you hinted at…so something like Ambani maybe?) the other options, with scholarship, are going to be more affordable. This may sound like strange advice for an American mindset, but in my experience (I am not Indian, but have worked in India and am familiar with the educational system there), the idea of enrolling a high performing student at year 12 who will presumably do well on exams and earn recognition/achievement for the school, is not an entirely crazy idea.
If you can’t get a scholarship to another school where you live, which is what I think you should do everything in your power to try first, here are some thoughts:
Contrary to what others have written, you may be able to take the GED through the EdUSA Center. I’m not sure where you live. There is an EdUSA Center in Delhi near the US Embassy, coordinated through the Fulbright Foundation (the building is actually the Fulbright Center). There is also one in Mumbai (Churchgate). There are other sites in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, through Fulbright or consular offices. Are you familiar with EdUSA? It is funded by the State Department and is designed to support foreign nationals on their way to studying in the USA on F- visas primarily…providing FREE college application resources, test prep, TOEFL/IELTS testing, etc. HOWEVER they can and do support US citizens/PRs as well. I believe the EdUSA center in Mumbai does AP testing on site, actually. I know they also can offer, depending on site, various tests in house as an official testing site. You *could pursue this route. I don’t think you necessarily NEED to, but if you’re going to be out of school while you’re applying to US college and universities, something to know/think about.
*If your goal is to study (college/university) in the USA, you hold an immense golden ticket in your hands: US citizenship. As a US citizen living abroad you may not have in-state residency for a public institution (or access to certain grants limited to residents of particular states), but you have the right and power to enter the US freely at your will, to enroll without having to get an F-1 visa, and to access federal financial aid, grants, and loans. There are thousands of very eager young people around the world who are desperate for access to those things. Jumping to Texas now, without a solid plan and financial backing/resources, won’t change this reality, but could make your journey infinitely more complicated. If your test scores are accurate, you should be able to gain admission and scholarship to SOME institution of higher learning in the US – and likely potentially even a “full ride,” depending on the institution. Even if you ultimately end up having to finish your HS experience at a radically different kind of school than the one you’re currently at…I truly think finishing out this year there may be your best bet for this path. There are a number of (relatively, to your current school fees) “low cost” secondary schools throughout India’s largest cities, some of which are affiliated with Catholic orders. Even if you end up at a school that does not offer a curriculum other than ISC. Just another thought.
I’ll talk with the Principal immediately and plan further accordingly and see what options I have.
Just saying, some colleges are less willing to accept a GED and may have an issue with an in-country equivalent. In some areas of the US, you don’t get to just take the GED at will, need to meet some requirements, sometimes, some waiting period after leaving school. It needs research.
I used to work in a homeless shelter.
The priorities for housing in our shelter were:
-parents with children,
single mothers,
Vets, and then
everyone else. This student, at age 18 would be considered “everyone else”.
Housing always ran out at the stage of parents with children. Waiting lists were minimum 6 months.
This “plan” to live as a homeless student is poorly thought.
The homeless tend to self medicate to deal with temperatures, physical and sexual abuse, mental illness, arrests for loitering and everything you don’t want to imagine.
Showing up in Texas with nothing, no-one, and no idea is really ridiculous and unwise. School starts in one month. He want’s to live on his own for a month? How will he feed himself? Maintain his rest?
I agree with everyone who advises that he speak to school personnel and ask about accommodations. There can’t just be one school in India that he can attend?
Has anyone actually agreed that the OP should come here to live homeless and try to attend high school? I think that’s been universally shot down as a really bad idea.
There are good plausible suggestions though. Glad to read the OP will be talking to their school.
Just FYI everyone:
“the local public school” is NOT an option in India. Virtually EVERYONE sends their kid to some type of private school - the quality of which varies hugely. Free public education is only for the poorest of the poor.
There IS a growing homeschooling community in India so if anyone can point him to online homeschooling options he may be able to find people to help/support him through that for one year.
There is also a system called “open schooling” or NIOS which is for “non-traditional students.” I don’t know much about it but it may be an option for him.
International private schools in my city for 11th-12th grade have tuition that runs from $12,000 a year to $24,000. However, some of them are trying to be more generous in scholarships so that they can show they are attempting to be more inclusive. Having his scholarship increased may be his best option. (My DD had a 100% scholarship to her international school.) If he has the scores he says he has, his eventual college placement may be good enough that the school can benefit from having him graduate from their HS. International schools are very competative and would love to have another big name school to add to their list of admissions for the year.
Might there be an online HS school that you can gain access to remotely?
Many of them are free of cost and subsidized by their particular state.
Here’s an example for Texas: https://tops.k12.com/
I do not know what you’d need to do to prove state residency to be eligible for the free tuition,
but perhaps there’s another for-pay online high school that would still be less expensive than your current private?
Here are some lists: https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/top/online-high-schools/
Please let us know the outcome of your conversation(s) with the administration of your current school.
Good luck.
I agree with the plans of (in order) 1) talking to your school 2) “shopping yourself” to rival private schools 3) homeschooling for A levels or Cambridge preU 4) virtual HS.
All should be pursued before you move to Texas or the Us.
Graduating HS should be your priority.
@GuessME5: Consider applying to the United World Colleges. If I recall correctly, they are free including room & board & have scholarships at prestigious US colleges for which only UWC grads are eligible. UWC enrolls 11th graders. These are two year schools located throughout the world.
Otherwise, if physically capable, you could consider joining a branch of the US Military for a few years.
Bard College at Simon’s Rock might be another option to consider.
moderatpr’s note
Closing thread as Op has started numerous threads and received numerous warnings about misrepresenting himself and his situation… OP has a non-custodial parent who lives in the US (Texas) and whose whereabouts he knows.