<p>My USA citizen daughter currently in India is planning to do Undergraduate study in USA State (public) university after XII (IB Diploma/A Level).
I have following questions:
1. I understand that University will consider, the students academic performance in High School, SAT and/or ACT scores, essay, extracurricular activities and teacher recommendation letter for admission.</p>
<p>I have question regarding two options she has after X in her school in India.</p>
<p>Her school offers, International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and Cambridge British Advanced-Level (A-Level), for standard XI and XII.</p>
<p>Will University have any preferences (IB vs A-Level) for Undergraduate Admission?
2. We are US citizen living abroad. What category we need to apply for admission in the undergraduate university.
Should we need to apply as International Student or Domestic Student?
3. Most of the state university have one year resident requirement to qualify for in-state resident fee. I understand that initially we will have to pay Out-of-State fee. I have question regarding her tuition fee from second year onwards.
We are planning to move with her in the same state and we will complete one year residence requirement when she will go in the second year.</p>
<p>Will University consider State residency and qualify her for in-state tuition fee from the second year onwards?
4. Our preference is to get admission in the State (public) university for lower cost. In case we do not get admission in State (public) university, obviously we will take in the private university.
Is it possible to transfer Student from private university to state university in the Second year?
5. What are the pros and cons of taking admission in the Community College and transfer to State (public) university?</p>
<ol>
<li> My daughter is born and had education in USA till fifth grade. She continued post fifth grade education in English medium. I mean having English as the first language.
Does she need to take TOFEL?</li>
<li> She will have high school education (IB Diploma/A Level) outside USA.</li>
</ol>
<p>Do we have to submit her academic records for an evaluation?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>State universities recognize both IB and A-level and which one you choose won’t really make a difference. (You should note that most state public universities actually do not require any recommendation letters.)</p></li>
<li><p>As a US citizen, she would apply as one and not as an international. (At state universities, internationals cannot qualify for need based financial aid; a US citizen does).</p></li>
<li><p>Not sure of your current status on residency. I assume you lived in the US for some period and had residency in that state. Do you still pay state taxes in that state and maintain any residency there? If so, you (and she) could still be considered residents of that state and can apply accordingly. If not, then you are not currently considered a resident of any state and thus she would be treated as an out-of-state resident. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>As to qualifying for residency for in-state tution, the rules vary among the states so you have to check the particular rules. Usual presumption is that student is a resident of the same state as the parents. If you move to, work in, pay taxes in, a state for a year, then many will consider her a resident the second year. However, there may be some that are even better than that and you might be able to qualify by second semester and if you actually move and set up residency a few months before freshman year starts, you might even qualify by first semester. You just have to check the residency rules for in-state tuition of the particular state university you are considering.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Whether you can transfer from the public university to the private university to begin second year depends entirely on the rules of the private university. Most will take transfers after one year, but many of those may have some limitations (e.g., the engineering or business school of the college might only take transfers into third year). In other words the rules can differ not just among universities but even among the different colleges within a particular university. </p></li>
<li><p>Many go the community college route and then attempt to transfer. Downsides are that (a) you don’t get to form that “friend” base in college that freshman usually do which usually lasts throughout college and often throughout life; (b) you have no guarantee the four year college will accept you and many are rejected; (c) the classes at community colleges tend to be easier than what you get at college and some can face a disadvantage once they transfer and find themselves struggling.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The major benefit is obvious: it is a lot cheaper than going away to college; tuition is lower and the student lives at home. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Like other things noted above, whether she will need to take Toefl will depend on the particular university. As long as she is a US citizen, some will not require it. Others may not require it as long as she scores a certain score on the reading section of the SAT. If she has been attending an English speaking school, some will not require it. It just depends on college’s rules.</p>
<ol>
<li>All colleges will require, as part of the application process, a transcript of her high school record (or whatever the school is called that she is attending when applying). Usually you have to have the school submit the transcript with a verification from the school (you can’t just make a copy and send them). A college which accepts her will then also require another official transcript after she completes high school and before actually starting college</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Do carefully investigate each state’s (and sometimes each public institution’s) policy. In Maryland, your daughter would be in-state for the community colleges after your family had been here for three months [Montgomery</a> College Catalog](<a href=“http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Plain.aspx?id=2070]Montgomery”>http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Plain.aspx?id=2070) but the public universities here require 12 months. If your daughter begins as an out-of-state student, she will need to petition for a change of status when she does qualify for in-state rates. If for some reason you would need to move out of that state, there is the chance that she would lose her in-state status because of your move.</p></li>
<li><p>Enrolling at a community college and completing a program that is part of a formal articulation agreement with your in-state public university is one of the most cost effective ways to complete a degree. Here is a link about that topic from our local community college: [Counseling</a> & Advising | Transferring](<a href=“http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/tertiary1.aspx?urlid=67]Counseling”>http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/tertiary1.aspx?urlid=67)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In India, some of the best advice for maneuvering through the college search and college application process is to be had at your local office of EducationUSA. [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/India]EducationUSA”>India | EducationUSA) If the advisors there haven’t worked with a US citizen lately, their colleagues in another office will have.</p>
<p>Here at CC, you will find help for lots of your questions. In particular, you should take a look at the Financial Aid, Parents, and International Student Forums.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat, my kid will complete 12th grade high school from India and looking around for information for application process for undergrad in US (CA). She is US citizen, should she apply as international student or us resident. I file US taxes in CA, would she be eligible for instate tuition fee.
Appreciate if you could share your experience.</p>
<p>Would like to know if my child who is a US citizen by birth (born in CA) has to apply as an International Student? Neither of her parents are US citizens nor are we paying taxes in US currently.</p>
<p>A US citizen can apply as one and not as an international regardless of current residency (note you should check particular colleges’ applications because some colleges may have separate applications for what is known as an “international domestic” who is a US citizen residing abroad). However, she will not be able to qualify for lower in-state tuition that state public universities charge the residents of their states. She will be able to apply for need-based financial aid backed the government that US colleges provide to US Citizens and permanent residents based on need, which most colleges do not provide to internationals. </p>
<p>One issue may be proving proficiency in English via a TOEFL or similar exam if she has not been educated in English speaking schools. For that you likely need to check each college since many may not require such a test from a US citizen but some may.</p>
<p>Since she is an American citizen but isn’t in-state anywhere, the best alternative for you financially might be to investigate schools that meet 100% need (if you’d qualify for financial aid) or schools where she’d be in the top 25% (for financial and merit aid).</p>
<p>My kids are in the same boat. Our kids are CA born US citizens. We both parents are non US citizens and living with our kids in India and don’t. After 12th grade high school we want to send them to US for undergrad program. We (parents) don’t intend or cannot be in the USA and hence the kids will be by themselves. I understand that they aren’t getting the resident benefits during first year. Questions -
Would they be eligible for resident benefits after 1 year?
Is it mandatory for guardians/parents too to be residents?
Could we have our relative/friend living in that state as guardian and still get the benefits?
I checked Fafsa grant, but that isn’t much compared to the overall costs. What is the best route here for my kids.</p>
<p>For your relative to be the guardian for residency purposes, that person would need to be formally named legal guardian by the courts before the child turns 18. Most families aren’t interested in doing that, but you can check with your relatives and with the court system where they live.</p>
<p>The best way to afford college is to have very good grades and very good ACT/SAT scores. That will improve the likelihood of getting good money from the colleges and universities themselves. The students should also expect to work at a part-time job during the school year, and at full-time jobs during the summer. They should expect to live on the cheap, and they probably should expect to borrow some student loans.</p>
<p>For more ideas, you should read through some of the threads in the Financial Aid Forum.</p>
<p>thank you so much for your response! Another quick question. can the kids still get residency benefits if they move to us and study in community college (sa) for a year and then they become eligible for residency assuming they are 18 years and above and then they enroll into undergrad program, while the parents are living outside of the USA?</p>
<p>You will have to look at the residency requirements of each state. In CA it is very hard to get residency. I you come to the state to go to school they will likely never give it to you. Some other states aren’t as difficult. You can look this up online. For instance here is a link for UC system
<a href=“UC Legal - Office of the General Counsel | UCOP”>UC Legal - Office of the General Counsel | UCOP;
<p>1) We livedin Germany during my daughter’s junior/senior years and she did the IB program.</p>
<p>Re: IB vs A-levels…</p>
<p>US Colleges will give you credits for IB exam scores (Like AP scores). I have not seen any information on college websites about getting credit for A-levels. So you should ask.</p>
<p>BTW SUNY Binghamton is very generous with IB Credits and my daughter was able to graduate a year and a half early (her choice).</p>
<p>If you look at ibo.org you can look up colleges to see how they handle getting credits for IB scores.</p>
<p>2) You apply as a US Citizen/domestic student.</p>
<p>3) I agree with others…check on the state of interest. They are all different.</p>