Hoping you guys could give me some advice on going to College

Hi unimpressed astronaut,

From all the posts in this thread you put up the very first thing that strikes me is;

What exactly field of study do you want to go in?

When I applied I said that I would like to major in civil engineering, I have 5 GCSE C's here as well as a national diploma, I'll send these transcripts to the university this week like they requested.

Ksand my plan was to get accepted into the university before selling my house, do you think I should put it on the market as soon as I can? I have to give the tenants renting it at the moment 2 months notice, but the estate agents can put the house on the market meanwhile.

Yeah I've been to Montana before and have friends there and was maybe considering the University of Montana in Bozeman but I don't really like the climate and I'd rather study in a warmer place like Arizona or Nevada, possibly florida, but preferably Nevada. Also I emailed the University on sunday but I am a bit concerned as they haven't replied yet.


I might go out to the university, next month and I also need to open a US bank account, do you have to have your visa or be a citizen to do so?

Also I emailed the University on sunday but I am a bit concerned as they haven't replied yet.

Well, Nevada is 7 hours behind the UK... so it's only 3.55 a.m. on Tuesday there at the moment, which means you've only been waiting for a reply for 1 business day so far.

It may take them a few days to get to your email - UNLV has 28,000 students... which means they are probably in the middle of dealing with thousands of applications, funding and questions from potential and new students right now. If you haven't heard anything in a week or two then you might want to try emailing again (or calling).

I also need to open a US bank account, do you have to have your visa or be a citizen to do so?

You can't open a US bank account without a US Social Security Number (SSN)... and you can't get a SSN until you have a visa and are in the US - it can potentially take up to a few weeks to apply for and receive a SSN once you are there.

My US university assigned all international students with a temporary number, for university use only, and the bank on campus allowed students to open bank accounts using that temporary number until they had received their proper SSN - not all universities will do this though, as they all have their own ways of doing things.

You can't open a US bank account without a US Social Security Number (SSN)... and you can't get a SSN until you have a visa and are in the US - it can potentially take up to a few weeks to apply for and receive a SSN once you are there.

Sure you can. My dh opened a bank account in the us without an ssn last year. The bank had a special account type for foreigners and said it was frequently used.

I was thinking of flying to Vegas next month to check out the university as its only about a mile from the airport. I'll send another email to the college first to see if this is possible, or if maybe I can have a tour, thanks for the advice so far though, I appreciate it

When you say 'next year', do you mean Fall 2012 (i.e. 5 months time) or Fall 2013 (next year)? If you mean 2013, then you've got almost a year before you need to think about applying... if you mean 2012, then you've got about 3.5 months left to apply.

I just got an email back they said, I could defer until spring and that they'd send me my i-20 after october, this is good as it gives me a chance to sort out my house

Hi,

I was Electronic Engineering and the 'Civ Eng' dept was very highly regarded as being one of the top 5 I think it was in the world for this area of study. That brings me to the point that I think rather than choose a place because of climate, choose a university based on it's ability to give you the course you'd like to go for. To me, it still sounds as though you are in the very early stages of just 'thinking' about moving to the USA long term. I don't know enough about the US education system, but I'm almost fairly certain the US equivalent of GCSE's/education level at age 16, will not allow you entry to a university.

I'd also recommend you keep the property you have in your name rather than sell it off. As it's generating an income it's an investment, however I think you have a serious amount of due diligence and research to do way prior to you thinking about selling the property to fund what you current are at the thinking about stage. For instance, you may well indeed decide to sell the house, I'd then say look quite seriously into purchasing a US property at a much cheaper price and rent that out for some future financial stability/income? this way you get to still be a property owner and have enough left over which when carefully managed can really help with your living costs and expenses as well as your course fees etc. You'll need to look at the tax implications of this as well though.

Universities will do tours, I went on a few with some of my US cousins in the NYC area in the late 90's, all the parents that were there kept asking me about stuff I'd experienced at university in the UK (boy I REALLY had to hold my tongue there!) but overall you'd find the basics pretty much the same as a university here. Is it worth flying out there just to go on a university tour? I'd think not, there's plenty of information online nowadays, if you go as part of a wider ranging visit as previously mentioned then go for it.

I'm a 'little' out of touch with 'in demand' courses nowadays, but I do have some friends who are Surveyors and Architects as well as other jobs now within the 'Civil Engineering' banner and many are looking at emerging economies to consult there with the accelerated projects and infrastructure development going on. The USA has plenty of local talent in this respect - so just saying is Civ Eng. the 'right' choice for you?

I'm in Vegas next month, if you are around between the 19-23rd April, I'll show you around if you'd like! I'm also there on a working holiday and there's a massive car show I'm involved in as well then it's back to LA for a few days for more meetings etc.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I'm in Vegas next month, if you are around between the 19-23rd April, I'll show you around if you'd like! I'm also there on a working holiday and there's a massive car show I'm involved in as well then it's back to LA for a few days for more meetings etc.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

:O, well thanks for the offer man, I may also be going to Virginia as well to see a friend but its probably best if you private message me as I do want go vegas anyway to experience it