I'm here on an L2 visa (ie trailing spouse, here temporarily not allowed to work). does anyone know, if I go to college here, do I have to change my visa status? Where should I go for information about this? I'm currently applying for a college place.
Jenny,
No you don't have to change your visa status, you are just ineligible to do any paid work here. If you want to do a course where you have to do any work you may want to think about changing your visa status. My 13 year-old is on an L2 and at Middle school here.
However, you may have a shock when you find out how much the fees are! Once you have been resident for a year the fees will be the same as an ordinary US citizen, otherwise you will have to pay the international student fees. Course fees are far higher than the UK, which is why so many American students apply for scholarships or try out for sports teams to get their college fees reduced. Even local State colleges as opposed to the private ones are not that cheap! I'm trying to decide whether or not to do a degree course but unless we apply for Green Cards it might not be worth it in case we have to leave the States.
I went to a High School information evening a couple of weeks ago to find out about courses for my daughter (who is at boarding school). Vassar charges $35k per year for tuition fees, that's before books, transport, clothes etc. Even a local uni (Drew) charges $20k per year. I think I'll be sending my daughter to a British college instead!
My son asked the other day if we had started up a college fund for him....
(Jenny - let's meet up just after Christmas, I'm off to England next week and a million things to do before I go, but it would be nice to see your family). eek
Jenny,
I don't know what kind of course you're wanting to do - but if all else fails, you might be eligible to 'audit' a course or two in a local college. There is a college in my town and I discovered that they allow residents of the town to do this at only $25 a course. You basically only sit in on lectures, don't get coursework graded, etc. In my case I thought I'd quite like to take Art History there. This concession to residents is not advertised at all - just thought others might have similar arrangements with their local colleges? Might be worth checking?
Dawn, the cost of college here is scary, but friends who've been through it quote this formula;
* Give them a third.
* Let them borrow a third (they get great rates on loans and you can always help pay it back later).
* Tell them they have to earn a third! Most kids find some form of job while they're at college.
It helped me to look at it in those terms smile
Jan
Dawn, you said that after living here for a year, I would pay the resident's rate, as opposed to the overseas student rate, are you sure that applies to people who are here temporarily, who don't have a permanent visa? The course I'm looking at is parttime, and not too costly.
Love to meet up in the New Year, We're also going back to England for Christmas.
You can now complete or start Open University courses in the US. You can find more details at
http://www.open.edu. Being a British expat, you probably know the advantages of an OU course and they should be recognised in the US.
Regards
Nigel