My DD is a freshman at a US school in VA and is trying to transfer to Univ of Edinburgh next fall. My concern is the requirement to prove you can afford it as I have read you need to prove you have all 4 yrs of tuition already in the bank. Is this true? That seems extreme. We have promises of help from a grandparent but it is a certain amount from her each year. Could she do a letter with a copy of her bank statement? I have a 529 plan but it only covers part of it & the rest is job income which is yearly, I don’t have it in advance. Could someone please explain this to me? Thank you!
Oxford had us prepare a financial declaration that showed enough funds to cover the first year that was supported with a 529 account statement. Nothing further beyond that. For the visa, the US is designated a low risk country so we didn’t need to provide any financial info to the Home Office. Visa processing by NY consulate was very efficient once we had the CAS info from Oxford. Will also need to visit a Homeland Security location for fingerprints and photos.
All we did on the Visa app was state that we had the funds. No proof needed. St. Andrews explained exactly what to say.
Visa requirement for Edi is proof of funds for one year tuition.
The Univeristy doesn’t set the requirements for the Visa, the UK government does.
Actually, (as the examples above demonstrate) both the government and the university set their own policies. The key take-away, @cloudysmom, is that you are getting bad info. Neither Edi nor the UK require proof of 4 years of funds from US citizens.
However, having read some of your other threads, unless your circumstances have changed a good bit- and your daughter has evolved a good bit- I would be a little concerned about her applying to Edinburgh.
First, she won’t be able to ‘transfer’- she will have to apply as a first year student, which means that college will take 5 years, not 4. Given your past financial concerns, are you ok with financing an extra year of university? Edinburgh has an exchange program with UofR, which could give her the international experience without extending her undergrad time.
Second, last year you expressed concern about how your daughter would handle being at a relatively non-campus urban setting, feeling that with her ADD she needed more structure. Edi is not only a non-campus urban setting, but it is a UK university. Students in the UK are meant to be much more independent, and are ‘minded’ much less than in the US. There is also much less emphasis on continuing assessment (such as graded homework, quizzes, etc.). Depending on the specific class, it is not uncommon for all of the grade for a class to come down to just a few graded elements- or even just the final exam. Between those two, it is possible for a student to go pretty far off the rails academically before anybody notices. The system requires a level of self discipline and structure that is different for many US students (UK students have been raised to be used to it). It might be that focusing on fewer, bigger things (rather than lots of short term things) suits your daughter - but you should both think it through before putting all your eggs (financial and otherwise) into a such a very different basket.
Thank you @HazeGrey @VickiSoCal @jupiter98 & @collegemom3717 Much appreciated!
To respond to you, @collegemom3717 yes you are right on all fronts, those were my posts and concerns and many remain the same now although a few changes (more on that in a sec). The MAIN reason I was asking all this was to gather enough info to give to DD so she will see on her own that is might NOT be the best choice. We can’t make that decision unless we get all the facts, right, so that is what I am doing here and the VISA thing I find very confusing.
She called UofE this morning and now we have a better understanding and we found links to the government evidence rules/requirements. It was confusing to read but UofE helped explain. They also said she might be able to be a transfer and go in as a 2nd yr, it depends upon her classes taken this year, most of which are in her major as she is double majoring and double minoring at UR, simply because of all her AP courses and she only needed 2 more course in each in order to get a minor, so she used that for her electives. She really only has classes for her major at UR so they seemed to feel she had a shot at a transfer. We won’t know of course until they decide and if they say no, so can we.
UofE actually works out cheaper for us than UR, not by a lot & w/ plane tickets closer to the same. She was there last summer & loved it but was set for UR & assumed she’d like it more than she does. I don’t think UE has a payment plan, although they might, so unless we could pay up front that might kill it too.
She has matured a LOT and come out of her shell. She really wants to live in a city and is interested in GWU in DC, which really has very little sense of campus. UofE actually has 5 student unions & more of a campus than I thought. She was also looking at Kings College London which really has no campus but it’s too $ & she likes Edinburgh better than London.
UR only allows study abroad or exchange student for 2 semesters. She wants to do more than that & get out of Richmond. She feels more isolated at UR from the rest of Richmond than she thought & the shuttles don’t run as often or to the place she thought they would. She is getting set to do study abroad next spring in Paris, same tuition as UR. That school doesn’t have dorms on campus but nearby. I do have my concerns but she has to learn to me more indep some time and she has comes leaps and bounds ahead of where I thought she would.
She is ultra organized, never missed class at UR and ended up with all A’s & 1 B+. I know it was an easier semester as it’s fall of her freshman yr, but she did not find it very challenging.
We were surprised to find UR just as you say UofE is, no real grades until report card! She only got a few things back in 2 of her classes, 1 paper and the rest classwork they did that day. so she learned how to check in w/ teachers and she did quite well. Your point is well taken and appreciated however and it would still be a concern but she handled it well at UR and would prepare herself for a hardler line at UofE.
Chances are this won’t happen but I promised her I would look into it for her and we would go over costs. No real aid from UofE so costs are easy to find. For the VISA you need to show total tuition & room/board for the year + 1,000lb per month as living expenses in the bank. If I show my 529 plan & deposit early the $ from her grandmother it will show enough. trouble is I will have less in my 529 if she has to apply for a VISA the other year and then the year after that so will need to try to save up more $.
Its all a stressful mess at the moment but I am still welcoming any and all suggestions or help with the VISA! thank you!
I see no reason she would not be a second year entry. My daughter was almost a second-year entry at St. Andrewd just with her IB program but decided she preferred to do 4 years as they gave her a little more depth and flexibility
£1000 per month living expenses include room and board. You can do 50/50 payments starting second year. She can also take unsubsidized FAFSA loans.
@cloudysmom I remember your journey so well from last year and being so excited for Richmond. Is your D unhappy at there?
We provided a bank letter to Oxford when we accepted the offer of admission and then we pre paid one full year of tuition. I believe there was a question on the Visa app about monies still owed and living expenses. We were prepared to share that, but they never asked for proof, nor did anyone in immigration ask for proof of funds. I do recall that one of their requirements was that the document you provide from your financial institution requires that the money has been in the account for I think a minimum of 30 days prior to the date of the letter.
I remember being stressed with the timing of the lab appointment and then having to wait for their approval to send in the visa app because summer was zooming by, but everything worked out.
The visa my son got this year for his four year program at Oxford (MMathCompSci) is good for all four years. We did not submit any bank statements to the Home Office to obtain it nor am I aware of any annual requirement to provide proof of funds on deposit to the Home Office or Oxford for future years fees for his visa to remain valid. Just the initial first year declaration I mentioned above. The visa process was very easy for us and we had no issues.
Thank you @VickiSoCal @jupiter98 @Kajon @HazeGrey I appreciate it!
@jupiter98 What do you mean 50/50 payments? Also I read on the government page, I think it’s called Home something? about needing to show full tuition and room and board AND fir Scottish schools that thousand a month for nine mos. I have to convert all those lbs to dollars and figure out total amount. And ok, FASFA I can still use but only unsubsidized loans, got to. No Pell Grants? Also my number key just froze so sorry for spelling it all out!
@wisteria100 Hi, I remember you as well! You went through my William & Mary hell with me, then the Richmond wait. Sigh, I am very sad she doesn’t like it more. She LOVED W&M but can’t muster near the same feeling for UR. She has tried, made more friends than ever but the concerns we had were proven true. It’s a small school, her high school was almost 4,000 kids. She feels she sees the same faces & the clubs are not well attended. She is also stuck on campus, the shuttle doesn’t go to the museum or places she wants to go. She has always loved cities & was WLed in the city schools she applied to, I think because she applied the last day & her math scores pulled her composite down. Anyway that was her hesitation before she applied & she feels even stronger about a city now.
She wants to study abroad a lot but can only do 2 sem at UR. She has always loved Scotland & was able to visit last summer & walked around UofE & loved it. She did very well in HS & has at UR. She’s a great student who loves learning & because of that, & her good grades, I am willing to work with her on this. I want her to be happy so I am open to her transferring but only if the $ works. She also has to be accepted, lol. Thanks for saying hello & asking about her. I hope you’re doing well!
50% in September and 50% in January, 50/50.
Direct Fafsa loans work, too.
@jupiter98 Thanks!