Rainbows, you are mistaken about degrees.
You don't do medicine as an undergrad, or law. For those qualifications you need the extra degree. You can choose to do a MBA if you wish but being equipped with 'just' a BA or BSc in business or finance won't hold you back in any way. You can do a masters in education if you decide during your undergrad degree when you are already on course to do something else that you wish to be a teacher. Or you could do a masters in a specialised area like school counselling or curriculum development. But you can equally do an undergrad degree in, for instance, elementary mathematics education.
DD1 has a bachelors degree in economics and has worked since graduating a month after turning 22, recently bought herself a condo. DD2 graduated earlier this summer with a degree in 'political economy' and works in a government department. Neither of them needs another degree. DS hopes to study medicine and will need further qualifications. One DD might go to law school eventually and one may do a masters in urban planning, but all of that is in the future and for the moment both are happily and gainfully employed.
Just that in the us the education stays generalised for much longer hence they do more years (typically to 25 whereas most uk leave at 21
This is simply not true.
In the US at high school especially they study fewer subjects each year, in more depth
This may be a typo, but in case it isn't, I want to correct it.
In a typical sequence for a student aiming to go to a selective university, you would do four years of science (one year each of biology, chemistry, physics and then an extra year at AP level of science/computer science), English, math, a modern foreign language or Greek/Latin, and humanities (history, psych, philosophy, government). You could also do subjects like economics, fine arts, music, some sort of engineering, etc.
Languages: four of my DCs did French in high school, loved it and have advanced really fast. They did Spanish in elementary school (RC private school) as that was all that was offered. One DC did Latin for three years, with one year of German. At university this DC was required to pass a foreign language with a certain degree of proficiency (science subject degree) and took up German again.
Melony6 Fri 08-Dec-17 03:04:10
Their degrees are less onerous hence many do masters in the us.
This is nonsense. I have experienced both Irish (Oxbridge style) and US systems - some of my DCs have already graduated from US universities, both private and public, and I graduated from one in Dublin. The universities my DCs attended are 'highly selective', very hard to get into, and very hard to get out of with a degree.
American graduates have sufficient coursework in many areas to make them very versatile graduates and future employees, or indeed employers. The early specialisation in the UK is a huge disadvantage.
OP, in your case, your older child would be in the last year of middle school at 13. It would be nice to get to know a group of friends before high school. Your 10 year old would be starting middle school, maybe in the last year of elementary school. Silicon Valley has a fairly large expat population, and is quite diverse in many ways. Many families are extremely motivated when it comes to education.
Schools in Silicon Valley are excellent. You will find all levels of aptitude catered for, many options in language study - no problem about having to drop German in favour of Spanish for instance. You may even find IB programmes at middle schools and high schools. You may find yourself gobsmacked at the quality of the facilities, all free (or costing whatever you pay in property taxes) if you choose a public school. Sports and extra curriculars are top notch. There would be endless opportunities for your children to develop their talents and follow their interests. The university of CA system is world class, and admission preference is given to CA applicants. If the DCs decide to apply, they might be eligible for financial aid or scholarships from whatever university they choose to apply to.
It might be worth looking up financial aid for the university of CA system. Each university would have its own site and regs. You could contact any university financial aid office to see if someone could give you some background knowledge, and some hint of what you can expect a few years down the road. If you end up going to CA, look out for advertised financial aid workshop events in your local high school. They usually have someone on staff who gives an overview, with a financial aid officer from a university to go through a detailed spiel. I went to one when my oldest DD was still in elementary school as I did not know anything about the application and fin aid process, and went again for a few years to glean more tips. I went to another just recently as DD4 is in her second last year of HS and some details change over time. Don't fret about details - you can ferret out information. Don't be afraid to contact institutions directly to arm yourself with the facts you need.