Yes that’s what we saw too. Rather vague. We will find out more about UEA as the time gets closer.
Hoping to maybe get a trip over to the UK this summer if things are better.
How does health insurance work? (Are preexisting conditions an issue? Don’t want to create a tangent here but curious.) Are students automatically enrolled in NHS with student VISA?
@compmom, yes- there is an NHS fee that is part of the student visa process. Until Dec 31 2020 that also entitles you to the European Health Card (the reciprocal arrangement for medical care throughout the EU) but, alas, with Brexit that is ending. However, annual travel insurance plans are cheap and easy to get in the UK (once you have an address!).
FYI from a college website that explains it clearly:
*Tier 4 students
Those applying for a Tier 4 student visa and coming to the UK for 6 months or longer will be required to pay an immigration health surcharge as part of their visa application fee.
Students will be required to pay £300 per year for the duration the visa will be granted.
The immigration health surcharge will entitle Tier 4 students to access NHS care in the UK at no additional cost in the same way as a permanent UK resident. This includes at the Doctor’s surgery (known as General Practitioner or GP), a Healthcare Centre or in a hospital. You may need to pay for dental and optical treatment as well as medicine prescribed by the doctor and collected from a pharmacy. There are also exceptions for particularly expensive discretionary treatments.
If your visa application is not successful, you will automatically be refunded the immigration health surcharge (but not the visa application fee). The surcharge will not be partially refunded if you depart the UK earlier than the expiry of your visa. The surcharge is also not refunded if you do not use the NHS during your time in the UK.*
https://www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk/arriving/healthcare-uk
When my son received his Tier 4 visa, he also received his NHS number. He was then able to register as a patient with the GP surgery who serves as his college’s doctor before he arrived in Oxford. Since he’s still covered by my plan here in the US, we’ve arranged for all of his routine needs to be covered while he’s home between terms.
nvm
One of my kids was going to do a master’s i Europe but could not get coverage for type 1 diabetes. That means insulin, syringes, meter and strips, pump and supplies, continuous glucose monitor and supplies- very expensive. Travel insurances wouldn’t take her; actually one would take her for emergencies only. I am on Medicare so she cannot get coverage through mine. She ended up not being able to go.
Sounds like she should have applied in the UK- !!! Or maybe her meds and supplies wouldn’t be coverer there either. (It should be noted that health insurance for the Fulbright and other awards is also not sufficient for a kid like her either.)
Sorry for the tangent. I was curious and this may still be relevant for the future.
My understanding is that diabetes as well as other chronic conditions are all covered under NHS care for full time students, but this may be something to confirm with campus health services in advance. (As a general rule I don’t think public health systems usually disallow pre-existing conditions?)
There is this, which includes info for students as well as others moving to the UK:
https://jdrf.org.uk/information-support/living-with-type-1-diabetes/everyday-life/visiting-or-moving-to-the-uk-with-an-insulin-pump/
Wow, diabetes treated with medication qualifies for an exemption certificate which means no charge for Rx’s. Pretty amazing considering our experience here.
No mention of CGM’s but you have to show need for pump. It would take 3-4 months to get to a specialist. Students in UK for less than 6 months aren’t covered.
Great info, @SJ2727, thanks.
That, in a nutshell is the essence of the NHS: everybody gets everything essential covered. The question is what is ‘essential’. Is it life or death essential- or a quality of life difference? if a quality of life difference, how big of a difference is it?
If you have the means, you can buy insurance that ‘tops up’ what the NHS provides (private room vs ward of 4, no wait to see the specialist, etc.). But you never have to worry about being able to get (or afford) essential life services.
^ Yup. This is why people who migrate to the US from other countries (most of whom have some sort of universal public system, albeit some better than others) are so shocked by the US healthcare system.
What does differentiate the UK from some other countries is that not all allow international students to access the public healthcare system in the same way. (My home country requires international students to get private health insurance.)
I believe I have read that some UK unis would like US students to have private insurance on top of their access to the NHS. I will dig around and see if I can find where I saw that. Been reading through so many different uni websites.
Did a little digging and I’m not finding right off, so maybe I was confusing the £300 per year International Health Care Surcharge, which is pretty darn reasonable.
While I was digging I was delighted to find that UEA offer ALL USA undergrad students a scholarship worth £4000-£6000 annually and also have a £10000 one you can apply for. I have read posters on here saying there are not scholarships for US students attending UK universities and that may be true for some, but certainly not all.
Good to know @Sweetgum !
I think people use the shorthand of ‘there is no money’ because, while there are isolated scholarships, they are rarely ones that make a meaningful difference in whether going to the UK for undergrad is an affordable option.
My D studied abroad for a whole school year at Leeds Metropolitan University (it changed it’s name to Leeds Beckett University a couple of years ago) and she loved it. Leeds is a really fun city! Leeds Beckett (formerly Leeds Met) used to be a polytechnic and it is known for it’s programs in PR, event planning and stuff like that. There is also University of Leeds which is a Russell Group university and is hard to get into from what I’ve heard.
My co worker is from Ireland and went to Trinity and liked it. Granted she went there in the 70’s! Her niece lives in England and went to Birmingham City University. I don’t know what she studies and what she is doing now. My co worker just retired, and we have a plan to get together for lunch, so I’ll ask her then!
My D had a classmate in high school from the UK, they were living in the US for a couple of years due to her father’s job. When they returned to the UK, she went to Uni of Birmingham (Russell Group) and studied law. She’s now a lawyer (in the UK, they’re called Barristers. I think) and is living in Bristol. Her sister went to the University of Leicester and studied history and after graduation went to Jewelry making school and now has a jewelry line and sells stuff online. She made her older sister’s engagement and wedding rings! Both these girls liked their universities and they said they knew plenty of Americans studying abroad at their schools or going there for their full undergrad degrees.
Also my dental hygienist’s son got his Master’s at Essex. And a co worker of mine when I first started teaching got her PHD at Oxford and still lives and works in Oxford!
collegemom3717, re: “I think people use the shorthand of ‘there is no money’ because, while there are isolated scholarships, they are rarely ones that make a meaningful difference in whether going to the UK for undergrad is an affordable option”
You don’t think £4000 -£6000 to potentially £10000 a year would make a meaningful difference? In-state costs to go to college here in North Carolina (one of the best bargains in the US) start around $20,000 . A guaranteed £4000 scholarship at UAE would bring international fees down to around £13000 + living expenses (estimated at £15000 per their calculator) making it pretty competitive with US colleges.
@Sweetgum from what I’ve seen, posters asking about uni in the UK fall into two camps:
(1) full(ish) pay and considering private schools in the US: so money off is nice, but no biggie if not offered. Also they want the ‘top ranked’ UK unis which do not offer ££.
(2) students needing full tuition/ full ride offers, who would struggle to even fund the remaining ££ even if given the scholarship, and who might not be able to afford their in state flagship back home (depending on state).
I think you are a pretty unusual poster, also in considering universities in the UK that are not on the radar of most Americans. You’re right that maybe other posters need to expand their options a bit to find better deals.
Not going to disagree, @sweetgum!
However: 1) not that many UK unis offer an annual stipend of £4K (they tend to be one-offs of £ 500 here or £1000 there; and 2) you have to have evidence that you have all of the annual cost available before you can get the visa (so, give or take $36K in your example). The university might have you pay 2x / year but the visa people want to see it up front (the annual tuition + living expenses- although for unis outside London you only have to show that you have ~£9K in the bank for living expenses).
There are also other ways that the UK can make sense, starting with 3 years for most humanities degrees in England, v 4 in the US. And you can use FAFSA at most UK unis.
So, I am not saying that £4-6K isn’t a lot of money, or that it wouldn’t make a meaningful difference to our household. Just that, imo, for most people, £4K is not going to be the difference as to whether doing undergrad in the UK is affordable or not.
ps, yes, NC has some amazing, affordable options- I’m a big fan of how they are growing the third level system
edit to add- agree with @CollegeMamb0 on all points!
Re: “ps, yes, NC has some amazing, affordable options- I’m a big fan of how they are growing the third level system”
I would be happy if DD22 wanted to stay in-state, too, and things could change for sure if we can get through 2020 in one piece. Wondering what you mean by the “third level system”? I haven’t heard that term in use in NC.
Right now she is dead set on going to the UK. I am happy to do some research on it and take a little mini-vacation on the web while I do. It is also motivating her to do SAT prep and study hard so that’s a win too.