i am a US citizen currenty studying abroad

Applying to College
1

i am a US citizen currenty studying abroad. I plan to move to virginia (to live with my aunt and uncle) after i complete my O-levels in june 2016.

My questions are:

  1. will i become in-state when i apply? (my parents have never lived in virginia but have in other states)
  2. will it be possible for me to join 12th grade ( O-levels are completed at age 16)
  3. what are my chances of being admitted given the fact that i have lived in the US for 12 years and bangladesh for 4 years.
    4.can i be considered in-state for states i have been born in and/or have lived in with my parents for a reasonably long period of time.
    THANKS IN ADVANCE :slight_smile:
2

I can’t answer all components of your question, but I do know that you are only considered in-state if you are residing in the state for at least a year (sometimes more) at that time you are graduating high school. So if you complete high school in Virginia, you should be in-state for VA. But check their specific rules–I know in California you have to reside here at least a year before you’re in-state. Having lived somewhere in the past doesn’t count.

Whether you’ll be permitted to jump to 12th grade will depend on the state/county/school district. If you’re going to be 16, you’d be a much better fit as a junior, and that would also probably be better for you getting residency/taking AP classes/studying for the SAT, etc. etc. However, it would be best to contact the school district you’d be living in to see what their procedure is. It will likely depend on how your credits transfer.

Your chances of being admitted to US colleges are just as good as anyone else, as long as you are a competitive applicant with good grades/scores, etc. You can use living abroad to your advantage in that you’ll be able to write some interesting essays.

Hopefully others can more specifically answer some of your questions.

3

1 - No
2- Maybe. Check the HS.
3- It’s irrelevant where you’ve lived. You can apply like many others.
4- highly doubtful. You would have to check each school in each state to find out. For almost all you are considered in-state where your parents live. Some require you to graduate from HS there. Some require living there a certain number of years.

4

If you can, join 11th over 12th if you are 16 for that intake and the same age as other juniors, then you have 2 yrs for solid residency establishment. You could then get 2 yrs of APs, get a good SAT/ACT and be treated like all residents. State residency requirements are spelled out on the school websites in question. You need to establish residency to qualify.

5

i will becoming 17 when i join HS

6

http://www.schev.edu/students/vadomicile.asp

From this link it says:

So basically as long as your one of your parents is a resident before you attend university, you would automatically get residency status.

In other words one of your parents would have to move to Virginia, get a place, get a driver’s lic, file taxes, etc.

So the answer to 1 is yes

For number 2 I would not recommend jumping grades. If anything try to get placed in the lowest grade possible. This will give you max time to work on ECs and take AP courses.

3 good depending on your US & foreign grades.

4 is the same as 1.

7
  1. As far as I know, either you or your "claimant" (the person who will be claiming residency for you) would need to have lived in Virginia for at least a year before you could receive in-state tuition. Therefore, if your aunt and uncle have lived there for that amount of time or longer, I would have them be your "claimants" so that you can do that. If they haven't, then I guess you're out of luck. But I would double-check that just in case.
  2. I really don't know how to answer this question because this is the first time I've ever heard of or seen the term "O-levels." So I would recommend contacting the school that you'd like to attend directly and asking them about this.
  3. If you're talking about college, then where you've lived doesn't really affect the likelihood of you being admitted anywhere. What matters are your stats (primarily your GPA and your SAT or ACT scores), your extracurriculars, your letters of recommendation, and your essays. However, it seems like you could also be asking about the likelihood of you being admitted into a U.S. high school. Again, where you've lived should have no effect on that, but your stats probably will. On the other hand, your extracurriculars may not matter, you may not be asked to submit letters of recommendation or essays, and you may or may not have to pass an entrance exam. But all of that depends on where you want to go, and since you didn't specify that, that's something that you'd have to figure out on your own.
  4. It's possible that you could be considered in-state for the state that you were born in. However, you probably won't be considered in-state for a state that you weren't born in and haven't lived in for the past 12 months - unless your parents or some other relative(s) of yours have. Like I said before, that's something that you'd want to double-check.

It’s my pleasure! Good luck getting into the school(s) of your choice! :slight_smile:

8

Unless you can provide documentation that all of your education outside the US has been in schools where English is the only medium of instruction, when you arrive here the school that you will be attending will probably give you some English placement tests in order to determine whether or not you should be enrolled in English classes for language learners. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If your instruction has not been in English for the past few years, you probably have some catching up to do on Academic English.

The school will also evaluate your previous academic records to determine which academic courses you need to take in order to graduate from that high school. In most states, provided you enroll before your 18th birthday, the public high schools are obligated to allow you to remain in school until you have either fulfilled that school district’s graduation requirements, or until the end of the school year in which you turn 21. Again, graduating a year or two later than you originally planned isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It would give you time to collect better letters of recommendation, take classes that would help you be admitted to the college of your choice, etc.

Coming here as a minor and living with family members can be tricky. Your parents and your aunt and uncle need to find out if there needs to be a formal guardianship arrangement in place. If so, a court-ordered guardianship would be best. If done correctly, that would make you independent of your parents for financial aid purposes, and would be more likely to allow you to establish in-state residence in VA on your own. Check the websites of the public universities in VA for information in-state residency.

9

Am i considered in-state if i can prove that i have lived in virginia 12 months prior to attending the first day of college?

10

Can’t answer the instate thing, but I can speak to O-levels/US HS. My situation was a bit different (and over 20 years ago):

I attended a US HS for 9th and 10th grade. At end of 10th grade (I was 15), Dad was transferred to England. I tested into and enrolled in an English grammar school as a 5th year—the year you take O levels. I had some catch up work to do but took 7 and passed them all.

During that year, even though I was only 16, I sent some feelers out to a variety of US colleges to find out what I needed to attend. All but one said I needed either completed A levels (2 more years of study), or a diploma from a US HS. UNC-Chapel Hill indicated they considered passed O levels the equivalent of a HS diploma and I was welcome to apply at that point.

As I didn’t want to go early, and I also did not want an extra year of study with A levels, I transferred to a US HS as a senior in grade 12. I took the SAT as early as possible that fall along with 2 subject tests and applied to colleges on schedule with my peers.

In my opinion, anyone who has taken O levels and passed them has a level of knowledge at least equivalent to an AP course. I would say you could go into 12th grade no problem. I found the hardest transition to be Math (going back and forth from one system to another) because things are taught in a different order; I thought I could do Calc as a senior as I would have if I had stayed in the US, but the one year in the English system left me without a detailed enough knowledge of trig so I had to step back. Not a big deal for me as I was not going to pursue math or science anyway, but you may want to/have to test into a math course and it may not be as advanced as you think it should be. Summer classes can help with that too.

I will assume you have been doing ECs at your current school so do not quite see why you would need to be a junior or enter the lowest grade possible for EC purposes.

The wild card is going to be whether the administration at your Virginia school has knowledge of O levels and what they mean.

You could also, as I did, check with some colleges you are interested in to see how they handle this issue.

11

naveed99 -

You need to check with each of the public colleges and universities in Virginia to find out what their residency policies are. In some states, if you attend high school there for a certain number of years, and graduate from high school there, you automatically are considered in-state.

Normally, the residency of a student who is not considered independent for financial aid purposes depends on where his or her parents live. However, in some cases (especially with community colleges) it is possible for students in that category to establish residency on their own.

12

“Am i considered in-state if i can prove that i have lived in virginia 12 months prior to attending the first day of college?”

“can i be considered in-state for states i have been born in and/or have lived in with my parents for a reasonably long period of time.”

No. Residency is basically about where you pay taxes. You have to have be a current taxpayer there.

Virginia is very used to out of state students trying to game the residency system. Read the rest of the link that bomeer gave you, and accept that those are the rules. As you are under 24, the residency of your legal guardian(s) is the criteria that counts. If your aunt and uncle are your legal guardians (see here for how they could be come so: http://www.ehow.com/how_10038856_obtain-guardianship-virginia.html) then you can be considered a resident. Happymomof1 is right that it will be important for somebody to have legal guardianship no matter what: even getting medical care will be a problem as long as you are under 18.

“what are my chances of being admitted given the fact that i have lived in the US for 12 years and bangladesh for 4 years.”

Admitted to what? to secondary school? 100%. To a college? depends completely on the college and your qualifications. To 12th grade? anything is possible, but as other posters have pointed out, it would not be likely to be the best plan.

O-levels are given at the end of the equivalent of 10th grade, so you would be in essence skipping a year - and note that bearpanther is mistaken that O-levels are AP level (at least, not as they are now).

Also, having moved teenagers from another country to the US in the last 5 years, there are few other points that might be helpful:

=> schools: as you are taking O levels, you must be in a private school, and therefore are probably studying in English (with maybe one class in Bengali / other languages?), which may keep you from having to take the proficiency test that momof1 mentions. However, whether you apply to a private secondary school or go to the local public school you will be given placement tests in math and any languages you have studied.

=> bearpanther is right that math is a particularly difficult subject for transferring- our kids have transferred in and out of various school systems (Europe/SA/NA) and math was always the hardest adjustment (closely followed by foreign languages). It’s not that one place or system is harder or easier than another, it’s that the elements are taught in different orders, so one week you are ahead (because you have done that concept) and the next you are suddenly lost (because the material includes a unit you haven’t done yet). Very frustrating, but you can get through it.

=> If you are coming to Northern Virginia the public school system may have some familiarity with O levels, but even there you will have to do a lot of the matching up of qualifications for course placement. If you are going anywhere else in Virginia, it will be even more work (unless there is a Bangladeshi community locally).

=> When you look at what courses you sign up for get some advice on what the colleges you want to apply to are likely to want to see on your transcript.

13

Ok, things may have changed in 25 years, but when I took O levels my classmates were mostly older than me at 16, and those that finished A levels were a solid 18. The ones I met in college who had done A levels started freshman year as 19 year olds.

I went to a top HS for 9th and 10th, and took top classes while there; the O level curriculum was head and shoulders above anything I learned in the US in terms of detail and depth of study. We can quibble about AP—maybe honors, then? And according to wikipedia my thought of it being more than 10th grade is not too far off:

" However, in the United Kingdom, the high school diploma is considered to be at the level of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), which is awarded at Year 11. " (otherwise known as the year O levels are taken)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Certificate_of_Education

The second year of A levels is year 13; we do 12. Why should naveed, who technically has the equivalent of a HS diploma in the English system, and who will be 17 when coming to Virginia, start as a junior as long as his grades are good and O levels have been passed?

14

@bearpanther - If naveed is in the VA public system, he will need to meet the the state’s current graduation requirements including the latest revision of the SOL exams. I don’t follow VA public education, so I don’t know the details. Fulfilling any course requirements that aren’t covered in previous education (US history and US government are almost certainly to be on that list, but there are likely to be others as well), getting through the SOL exams, applying to college, taking the ACT/SAT/TOEFL, and bringing English proficiency levels fully up to college entrance standards can be very difficult. Taking an extra year (or more) to get through all of that won’t necessarily ruin naveed’s life, and may open up more opportunities over the longer term.

Right now my advice would be for naveed to get here as soon as possible (even before the O exams if necessary) and get that court date to arrange a formal court-ordered legal guardianship. The money paid out for any legal fees will be worth it because naveed will have legal guardians in the case of a true emergency, will qualify for in-state rates at the VA colleges and universities, and will become independent for financial aid purposes.

On the other hand, if naveed can identify affordable colleges and universities that would guarantee admission with only the O levels, then it could make sense to just go straight off to college.

15

Yes, agreed that he will have difficulty re US History/Govt/citizenship courses unless he can take them senior year. In fact, History (British) was one O level I could not take (along with Physics) because I had no background in either and could not possibly catch up. I had fortunately taken US History as a sophomore.

Any exams required by the state for graduation may be difficult in some courses whether he comes in as a junior or senior.

Two years here, or taking A levels abroad, may be the best option in the end.

So yes–check on what VA schools require. And if you don’t want to put in the 2 years, feel around for colleges that accept O levels.

Here are a couple I found through google (I know nothing personally about any of these schools or whether they suit your needs):

http://www.metropolitan.edu/international/faqs.php

–Also need SAT or ACT

https://ou.monmouthcollege.edu/admissions/apply/international/information-for-international-students.aspx

–Need 5 O levels with a C or better; taking GED strengthens app

16

“Two years here, or taking A levels abroad, may be the best option in the end.”

I think that’s the key piece. If the OP stayed in Bangladesh s/he would have 2 years before university anyway.

“technically has the equivalent of a HS diploma in the English system”

O levels (which are now GCSEs in the UK- only a small number of Commonwealth countries still use O levels) are not ‘the equivalent’ of a high school diploma- the expectation is that there are 2 years of schooling left before university. It’s just that the standard of knowledge level in the average US HS diploma is considered to be roughly comparable to GCSE standard, which is why US students applying to UK universities need APs / SATIIs to show that they have achieved A level knowledge levels. If you were applying now from the UK the US universities would accept your AS results (the middle year between GCSE / O levels and A level)

Also, I know that the years are counted differently- but I also know that my D1, who was the same age as her classmates in her US secondary school is still the same age as her classmates in her UK university- the OP should be right on track.

17

From a practical point of view, very few American colleges admit students with just O’levels, and none of them would consider the student for scholarship (or just don’t award FA). GCSE’s only get to the begining of precalculus if students take Math core+ advanced; the “regular” math curriculum is Algebra2. So a student would still need to take precalculus at a minimum, and could possibly want to take Calculus too. Top colleges would expect 8-10 GCSE’s, plus 3 A-Levels (with 4-6 AS).
in any case, for the best chances, OP needs A’Levels.
Currently, students with GCSE’s (Year 11= 10th grade - Year 1= Kindergarten) are admitted to the 11th grade. In order to build a better portfolio for college admissions, some choose to start again in 10th grade, taking classes for graduation requirements that they may not have and advancing with their other subjects (there’s no requirement that one needs to be in 11th grade to take precalculus, plenty of students, especially in NoVa, take it in 10th grade, so OP would not be “repeating” anything.) That would give enough time also to prepare for the PSAT and score well, work on American Literature in preparation for AP Lang then AP Lit, etc.
Note that A’levels are often necessary for admission, but then can provide some advanced standing (typically, 1 ALevel = 2 APs, so A’Levels tend to give the equivalent of 6 first-year classes).
In this case, if the OP’s relative were his/her “claimant”, then OP would be considered “instate”.

18

i really want to enter 12th grade bearpanther.let me tell u what subjects im sitting for and u tell me if i am ok. O-levels: maths B, F P maths , bio,chem, physics,economics,ict, english language B. Dont you think i can finish US History/Govt/citizenship courses in one year whats do hard about them, you just have to study, right ? thanks in advance :slight_smile:

19

BTW i want to study engineering

20

@naveed99 - None of us can tell you which classes you will need to take at your school in the US, or how they will fit into your schedule. The guidance office there will decide that for you. You need to email them and ask if they can give you a preliminary evaluation.

You can check the VA requirements here, but you also need to know that some school districts might have additional requirements: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/graduation/