Don't even know where to begin

I'm not sure if most of the people here know basically my life story by now but right now, going for my G.E.D. My teacher said I am progressing well and should be done by January.

I want to go to a community college here immediately after I have that G.E.D, since I can't really pass up the major amount of finical aid I'd be receiving, but I was talking to my boyfriend on Skype tonight and his mom randomly came in and asked me if I'd thought about coming over and doing college there.

I thought about that kind of thing a long time ago, when I was looking into any which way to be with him. I did a lot of research into UEA back in 2010 and a few other schools and such and they all basically told me the same thing, get your G.E.D then come back to us. But now that I'm taking classes and such, I want to know what I'm up against and what I should be researching. I would want to do a few years of school here, definitely.. (Also I want to be a speech pathologist if that is relevant in any way)

I know the community college I'd be going to has study abroad programs that are sponsored by New York State but they are small amounts of time. Say if I did want to study there for a year, would I have to wait until I was doing my last year of school or should I trash the idea considering it might not transfer back here to the states? Does anyone have any sites they can recommend I can look into? I don't even know what to type into google to look right now to check for myself which is kinda embarrassing. Hopefully someone can give me some good advice!

Ok, Mandyboo, finish the GED in NY. For sure. But, I think you know that.

Based upon my experience, and I am NOT saying it is a FACT, just based on my experience here, and knowing a lot of expats... People tend to do better, career wise, when they have a degree that COMES FROM HERE.

Now, I know people have had different experiences! But in general, from looking at the educated people I know here, people from all over the world, the UK seems to lean heavily toward UK education. This is just my personal experience!!! I know about 100 expats. Many have reported this as a problem. Many have had to take 'additional UK extension classes' here, even tho they have a degree that transfers. Some have not - it depends on the field.

Again, this is ONLY based on my experiences, and not any sort of official statistic or study.

Example: I went to Harvard, and then transferred to Smith. So, I graduated from Smith College, which is considered 'The Harvard of Women's Colleges' and most people here have never even heard of it. People who went to Oxford might know of it. But that is about it. And, they think it is a school for 16 to 18 year olds. Here, 'college' is NOT university. Here, 'college' is where you go to become a hairdresser. Here, college is where you go BEFORE you go to university, or to learn a trade. So, I have to constantly mention in my cover letters that Smith College IS a university.

And, my degree transfers here. It IS accepted here, officially. But, not socially, it seems. So, in a year and a half, no one seems to be interested in hiring me to work in my degree field. Why, when they can hire someone who went to a known UK school? Ya know?! And, it may NOT be this way with all degrees, so it is important to check if the degree from the USA in your chosen field WILL transfer here, both officially and... Socially.

Also, you will have to live here for 3 years (possible 5 years under the new rules, but I am not sure - Ksand 24, Geeta, or Historeen(sp?) would know! They are awesome and seem to know about everything!) before you get non-international student fees. So, moving here on a fiance or spouse visa will mean that you are going to pay a heck of a lot more for school if you do it before you meet that 3 year mark. Or, you will have to put off school for 3 years. So, that is something to keep in mind.

Also, in the USA, most people do not go from a GED directly into a 4 year college. They go from a GED into a 2 year college, and then do well, and transfer into a 4 year college.

I would suggest 1. Checking if the degree there will be accepted here. 2. Getting a few actual college credits under your belt in the USA, so that if you DO decide to get your degree here, you will have some university grades for them to look at when you apply to 4 year schools here. You will get into a much better school that way.

As for exchange programmes, I would totally go for that! Even if it is short. You will get a taste of what it is like to be here, make connections with a UK university, and get university credits! All in one!

Another good thing about going to school here is that the undergrad loans work differently. But, again, that would be once you are a resident... In the USA, 6 months after you graduate, job or no job, you need to start paying them back - you can defer but you will incur interest on many loans - but, here, it is income based. You pay nothing until you make a certain amount, AND, if after ten years you never make that amount, the loans are 'forgiven.' I'm not totally clear on how that works but that seems to be the gist.

Some majors have similar forgiveness programmes in the USA. Like... Teaching, I think? But, that is a masters programme. I don't know of any forgiveness programmes for undergrad. They may exist.

If you are in NY, and low income, you can go to CUNY for less money than the financial aid that is supplied, and there are a lot of scholarships! I don't know what the undergrad scholarships here are like.

I began my education in NYC, at a CUNY 2 year community college. I took out the full amount of loans available to me for the first semester. It covered my classes, my books, and my transportation, and left me a bit of spending money after that. I then applied for academic scholarships, after that first semester, and paid NOTHING from that point on. After being there for a few semesters, I applied to all of the top 4 year schools in the area, got accepted, and I got full academic scholarships to all of them. (Although I had to take out loans for my non-housing expenses, and some food related expenses, and my general living expenses - getting my hair done, travelling back to NYC for holidays, whatever. Harvard and Smith assigned way too much work for me to have a part time job during my semesters! So, I do have loans. I worked summer jobs. That helped a bit!)

There are jobs that are listed as something like 'needed careers' or something in the UK, and if you have a degree in those fields, you can get a work visa. I don't know if your chosen field is on that list. But there are several science related jobs on it. People with degrees from the USA whose field/major is on that list do very will career wise in the UK. So, they are the exception to the 'we like UK degrees' issue I seem to be coming up against here. Again, the 'we like UK degrees' is only based on my experience, and I am sure there are MANY exceptions, especially people who fall into the 'needed careers' visa list. I just don't know many of them, I guess...

All of the CUNY 2 year community colleges have exchange programmes in the UK, and they have scholarships for them! It used to be called 'The CUNY British Exchange Programme.' I did it. I did a summer semester at Oxford. It was ALL paid for by scholarships! If I remember correctly, one needed a certain GPA, a referral from a professor, an essay, and a certain number of completed credits to apply, and the credits equaled about 10 classes of 3 credits each. So, about 30 college credits. That is like... 2 full time semesters.

OK, I hope all this rambling of mine is of some help...

xoxoxoxoxoxoox,
L.

And, my degree transfers here. It IS accepted here, officially. But, not socially, it seems. So, in a year and a half, no one seems to be interested in hiring me to work in my degree field. Why, when they can hire someone who went to a known UK school? Ya know?! And, it may NOT be this way with all degrees, so it is important to check if the degree from the USA in your chosen field WILL transfer here, both officially and... Socially.

For what it's worth, I haven't encountered this at all. I haven't had my degree questioned professionally (granted, my school is a "university" so no need to explain the terminology...that said, "Bachelor of Science" generally clears that up anyway). And socially, I don't know that it's ever come up, to be honest (except with another expat that I know, and just in the context of comparing college experiences/life/etc as she went to school in TX).

I wouldn't rush to study in the UK just because you think you may get hired easier. For me, given the cost (especially with international fees), I would only consider studying here 1) on a short term basis (like the study abroad option you mentioned) or 2) long-term but ONLY if the UK school was the best available for whatever I wanted to study. Granted, I say this as someone already in the UK with no need for visas/reasons to get here. (That said, I purposely haven't considered school as I'm still not eligible for home fees, and even for a year-long program, international fees are too high for me to want to pay.)

The way I see it, you have various outcomes (if you pursue a full degree here rather than a temporary study abroad program):

1. Study in the US, taking on a (relatively) moderate amount of debt to do so. Pro: cheap/easy. Con: not in the UK with your SO, so you spend 3-4 years apart and then one of you moves and you're together forever and happy
2. Study in the US, taking on a (relatively) moderate amount of debt to do so. Pro: cheap/easy. Con: not in the UK with your SO, and your relationship ends (not dissing you or your relationship, but most relationships do end, so it's a possibility)
3. Study in the UK, taking on a huge amount of debt to do so. Pro: in the UK, so your relationship flourishes. Con: extremely expensive
4. Study in the UK, taking on a huge amount of debt to do so. Pro: in the UK, but your relationship ends anyway (see above). Con: extremely expensive.

Options 1 and 3 look the best, obviously, but bear in mind what impact the student loans will have on your finances/relationship. Stress can kill a relationship just as easily as anything else, and if you're both stressing out about paying off loans in 5+ years, having studied in the UK won't make that any easier.

Anyway, just food for thought. As far as the study abroad programs, if the funding is only available for a short amount of time you may be limited to that. Community colleges tend to cater towards the local environment (obviously), and (as LM said) most people tend to transfer to 4-year schools, so I can see why they wouldn't rush to plan/sponsor long-term study abroad programs. You could always transfer to a 4-year school as well, though, and most of them offer semester and/or year-long study abroad programs.

LOL! equestrianerd, I LOVE THAT PROS/CONS LIST!!!!

And, again, just to be clear, be sure your degree IS accepted over here for employment purposes, if you study in the USA. Not all of them are accepted. I think they need nurses here, and I think there are nursing degrees available in community colleges in CUNY schools in NY. I'm not sure how long it takes to complete an entry level nursing degree, of if they prefer a degree and a few years experience or not. Nursing is related to your chosen profession, so some of the nursing credits may transfer into that programme - You may want to look into it.

And, I just want to point out one more time that what I said about expats 'doing better' here with UK degrees is NOT a hard, statistical fact AT ALL - that is just based on my SMALL personal experience, and it is also very 'degree/major' dependent too! The people I have known who have had issues were people in Library Science, Teaching, and Law, as well as a few other careers. But, there are conversion courses available for those careers. Again, they are expensive for 'international students' so if you are not able to attend under 'home fees' you would have to pay a lot of money for them.

I have known some USA teachers who have come over to the UK and landed a job fairly easily - Some of it might be dependent upon location! One expat was in the middle of nowhere, in an area that really needed educated people, specifically for teaching positions, and no conversion course was required. She was on an island in Scotland.

Employers who have more qualified applicants applying for the advertised position can be more choosey, and they usually are more choosey.

There is a list on the UKBA website of careers that are granted work visas for the UK.
It might be worth taking a look at that.

I think this is one of those areas where it reeeeeeeeeeeaaaalllly depends on your speciality. Like EN, I've had no trouble with the fact that my BA came from an unknown (even in the US, although it rocks--Go Carleton College!) university--although getting my MA from Berkeley has helped a bit, even if people mispronounce it every once in awhile. What has mattered is that I have loads of relevant experience in my field and have (slowly) learned how to write a good UK CV and personal statement.
And teachers actually have it a bit easier now, as you can get qualified teacher status via your US qualification (with a few caveats).
I would also check into the sort of conversion course you may need. Even if you "do" need one, it might be short and much cheaper than doing the entire degree over here.

There is a list on the UKBA website of careers that are granted work visas for the UK.

It might be worth taking a look at that.

There is an element of risk with that though. What they are granting work visas for now might not be what they are granting work visas for when MandyBoo finishes her education.

LOL! equestrianerd, I LOVE THAT PROS/CONS LIST!!!!

Thanks, I'm all about lists. I've been known to create pro/con lists with weighting, and charts, and all sorts of fancy stuff. Generally, though, I still end up with a "gut feeling" that I go with (but the pro/con lists do help with steering me away from stuff I think I really want and would be really cool, but have a lot of cons when looked at it rationally).

</random tangent about my approach to lists>

PlainPearl that is a VERY good point.

Example: I went to Harvard, and then transferred to Smith. So, I graduated from Smith College, which is considered 'The Harvard of Women's Colleges' and most people here have never even heard of it. People who went to Oxford might know of it. But that is about it.

I wouldn't necessarily expect anyone to have heard of Smith, to be honest.

Here? No. They would most likely not have heard of Smith.
Not unless they went to Eton, or a top university, such as Oxford or Cambridge, or they work in academia.
In that case they are usually very familiar with all of the Seven Sisters.

I shoulda gone to Apex Tech. 

Not unless they went to Eton, or a top university, such as Oxford or Cambridge, or they work in academia.

That's what I meant, though. I wouldn't expect people at any university here to be aware of a small New England women's school in the US. Just my take on it, and I could be wrong. 

That's what I meant, though. I wouldn't expect people at any university here to be aware of a small New England women's school in the US. Just my take on it, and I could be wrong. 

I have to agree.  My husband is an academic and went to a university in the Pioneer Valley, and even when he was working at Oxford and SOAS, no one had really heard of his school, despite it being one of the best small liberal arts colleges in the US.

You wouldn't expect top UK universities to be aware of top the universities in America?

Are you kidding!?

Smith College was founded in 1871. Smith is one of the largest liberal arts schools for women in the country. It is a TOP university, very exclusive, and it is internationally recognised. Graduates of Smith, working in every academic genre, are published in academic formats all over the world, and in every language.

The list of well known graduates is astounding - Sylvia Plath went there, and then taught there. Barbara Bush went there. Nancy Reagan went there. Gloria Steinem went there. Betty Friedan went there. Julie Nixon Eisenhower went there. Those are just a few off the top of my head. Julia Child went there. I mean, I could provide a much more impressive list tailored of successful Smith graduates who have gone into the sciences, or politics, or art, but not off the op of my head.

The professors are world renowned. Ted Hughes taught there!  

Absolutely anyone, in any country, who has had a top tier education WILL have heard of Smith College.

The issue is that the *average* person, who hires people for average jobs in the UK, has not heard of Smith College.

The issue is NOT that Smith College is an 'unknown' university!!!

Sorry if I sound snotty. But, Smith College is VERY well known, and HIGHLY respected, in the right social circles.

 

I don't think anyone disagrees that Smith is a good school.  It's just that loads of people - academic and non-academic - in the UK are not aware of many colleges and universities in the US other than Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, and such.  

In particular, a school like Smith is not as well known simply because it is not a university - it does not offer graduate programs, and there are not graduate students/post-doctoral students who would interact at conferences and such so others in the field would not be as aware of it.

Smith offers graduate programmes.

I've never, ever, ever met ANYONE in academia who was unaware of Smith College.

And I've worked in universities in Egypt. They KNOW Smith College.

It is a research university, and the professors are ALL published, multiple times over, in ALL the BEST academic publications.