University costs for expats/international?

[EvaCH]

We are British expats living in Australia, and DD wants to apply to university in the UK (she wants to read philosophy which isn't really done in Aus), however we are not sure we can afford international costs - we could afford the fees for the course (15000gbp) but she's looking at Oxbridge which has an added 7000 approx college fee, Edinburgh, or St Andrews which is around 17000 for a course, and none of this is including living costs which I would think would be a minimum of 10000.

Obviously this depends on whether she actually gets in, but how did any international people manage to afford the fees? Should we get a loan? There seems to be limited financial assistance for international student - should we tell her she can't apply?
Don't want her to be accepted and then have to tell her we can't afford it!

Just being a British citizen is not enough to guarantee Domestic fee status.

Being a British citizen that has lived in the EU for the past three years is enough to guarantee Home status when it comes to fees.

It should also be enough to get the student loan for both fees and maintenance.

Why should living in the eu make a difference? It's not like taxes you pay in an eu country contribute to higher education. We live in the USA, own a house in the UK, visit every year, pay tax on rental income there. Looks like we are less likely to be domestic status than a uk student in the eu who doesn't own property or pay tax in the UK....?

Living in the EU makes a difference because EU citizens have the right to roam within the EU.

I'll try to find the exact clause.

EU member states are not allowed to discriminate against the citizens of other member states, so state-run universities in the UK can't charge students from other EU countries higher fees. By the same token, universities in other EU countries must charge UK students the same fees as their own home students.

EU students in the UK can get a student loan through the UK system to pay for fees. They can't, however, get a maintenance loan. The same arrangements apply in reverse.

Some details here europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/education/university/fees-and-financial-help/index_en.htm

Thanks, that's interesting. Funny though that there is a right to roam, no discrimination etc but no fiscal union. Vague memories of my economics lecturers wondering how similar situations would work 20 years ago.....

If you think you can find that amount of money you may as well apply to Ivy League in USA where they have comprehensive financial aid packages.

Overseas student tuition fees where I work are £9k/annum, I think. Funny enough, I was speaking to someone last night who as a foreign student did a degree at our Uni in PPE (she seems to have a decent job after it).

Trout, is that £9k/annum for EU students?

Checking this site www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/university-tuition-fees/reddin-survey-of-university-tuition-fees/ almost all universities charge UK/EU students one annual fee (usually £9k, although £1,820 in Scotland) and non-EU overseas students higher fees, often varying depending on the nature of the course - 13k-14k for a classroom course is pretty common.

Why does this forum not have an edit function? The note about Scotland should read £,820 for Scottish and EU students, £9k for rest of UK students.

Sorry, I'm an eejit, didn't engage brain properly at all!!

Yes we charge £14-15k for non-EU,too. (That's not even for an RG degree.) The Chinese flood in at that price, though.

Ivy League is about $40k pa tuition fees.... And as non us citizens we don't get financial aid.....

My kids are US citizens so what help would any form of US govt give for them to go to Ivy League?

OP won't exactly get living-costs loans to send her kid to Oxbridge, either.

hmmm... just looking into it for US citizens. All the Stafford loans combined wouldn't pay even one yr of tuition at some Ivy League. And the other loan offers may be just loansharks private company deals.

Does Switzerland count as EU? I mean I know it's not but there are other agreements in place. Hopeful or potentially skint.

My dad is American of all things and he said that us colleges include more in the fees, so more like boarding school I suppose, whereas British ones focus on the fees and then fend for yourself. If my dd attracts overseas in the UK she might as well go to an American college. Sobering thoughts.

We are migrants rather than expats.

If you want tuition plus boarding fees, it's nearer $55 - $60k pa at the top end, Google tuition fees only. Trout, look at FSA (federal student aid I think), you can fill out a forecaster. Students in the USA can also get scholarships, apparently golf scholarships for females are not always filled due to lack of suitable candidates.... Might be time to introduce mine to the local club

YeOldeTrout, if your DCs are US citizens they are eligible for institutional financial aid from individual universities (essentially a tuition and room and board waiver) as well as Stafford and the other govt guaranteed loan (can't remember the name) and the Pell Grant, plus possible work study (a campus job that you have to go out and get for yourself in competition with other applicants) plus individual outside scholarships that may be restricted to citizens.

Institutional financial aid varies according to institution and is means tested, but depending on income a student could get a completely free education. The upper income limit for most institutions is $150k afaik. The best universities offer need blind admission and promise to find a way for you to afford to attend if admitted. However, even at that, most parents and students end up taking out loans.

If any of your DCs is a young man, he will have to register for the draft before he will be eligible for govt aid.

To apply for all forms of aid you need to fill out a FAFSA in late December/ early January. Some private universities also require the CSA Profile to be filled out. Some universities both state and private require further income verification but this is usually after the FAFSA and CSA Profile have been processed.

If you are worried about loan sharks or dodgy loans, contact the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. They may supply a list of reputable lenders for private loans. Many main street banks offer education loans.

The 'cost of attendance' is the figure to look at in US university prospectuses. This is the all inclusive figure -- tuition, room and board, estimated cost of books and materials, health insurance, and sundry other costs.

[Trinity College Dublin (and all other Irish universities) requires three years of residence in Ireland to qualify for Irish student fees. There are scholarships that can help out.]

in days of yore, I was stationed overseas as a serving member of the British military, applied to a UK university and they argued until they were blue in the face that as I hadn't been ordinarily resident in the UK for the preceding three years, I was an international student.

Sooooo, Auntie Betty sends me o'seas, UK pay, UK taxes, I have no choice where I go, and you are going to charge me as an international? I went to the Ombudsman who eventually ruled in my favour, but these things are not entirely cut and dried tbh. It depends which jobsworth you run into in the registry. (And I can say that, as a post-secondary registrar lol).

As migrants now, none of the squiddlies are going to UK universities unless they move back and live with grandma first. But ex-pats are pretty much stuffed whichever way they go, tbh. Most people here have been paying into savings funds for college since the moment of conception. So arriving wide eyed with fully formed humans leaves you with a mega-sized 'how the fuck to pay' conundrum. It works for pensions as well . Arriving over half way through your working life and realizing you now need to more than double contributions in order to catch up is a- entertaining, and b - impossible.

I wouldn't mind if I was on a life of Riley mega-bucks contract, but sadly that's not the case. Just a regular immigrant on a minimum wage, working for a not-for-profit. Sigh.

Dd1 is looking for a university currently. Not only do I not understand the application or education system, I am utterly baffled by the funding process.

AvaCrowder, I'm not sure of the situation re. Switzerland from this UKCISA page www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Fees--finance/Home-or-Overseas-fees/England-Higher-Education/

Might it be an idea to contact UKCISA and check?

Does Switzerland count as EU?

For these purposes it does. Somewhere within the 2000 Bilateral Agreements with the EU, there is something that means that Brits resident in Switzerland will be treated as "Settled" in the UK, even without the three years.

madwomanbackintheattic I am glad that you won your case with the Ombudsman. Also, such a case clarifies it for everyone else.

Thanks Patty and RandomFriend

As near as I can tell, We have too high income for DC to get a Pell grant or any of the low interest rate American loans.

Never mind the carbon emissions and wallet drain for airfares I'd rather not pay.

And there's no chance on the planet DC would get into Ivy League ! I didn't get in so must be true

There are 'public ivies' Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, and some small but excellent liberal arts schools that are not well known Williams, Swarthmore, Colby, Haverford, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury, Amherst. Davidson, Bates, William and Mary, Washington and Lee, Claremont McKenna, Reed, Colorado College... Plus if any of them are DDs, there are some traditional women's colleges such as Barnard, Smith, Bryn Mawr and Wellesley that are excellent