教育王國

標題: Study in USA [打印本頁]

作者: Flying-Man 時間: 11-9-30 12:04 標題: Study in USA

Plan to send 2 kids to study in USA a few years later. One is now in P.4 and the other is in P.2. Parents are local Hongkong people, no green cards.

Anyone who has kid(s) studying in primary schools (not sure if the term is correct), middle high schools or high schools in USA? Please share your experiences.

Many thanks.

作者: smallmui 時間: 11-9-30 17:45

you will go with your kids or just left them for bording school. Bording school is very expensive.

作者: Flying-Man 時間: 11-9-30 19:26 標題: 回復 2# smallmui 的帖子

I do want to go with my kids and take care of them as what I'm doing in HK. My husband will stay and work in HK.

Any visa that I can apply for?

What's the most "money saving" way to study primary / middle / high schools there as overseas students?

Would it save any school fee if I have good friends (US citizens) or relatives (also US citizens) as guardians of my kids?

How expensive is a boarding school?

Welcome any advice. Many thanks.

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-1 09:27 標題: 回復 3# Flying-Man 的帖子

Why boarding schools while U can stay with your kids?

Which part of US U would like to go to?

My advice, go to places which can be reached by one direct flight from HKG, such as LAX, SFO, etc if U need to traval quite frequent between 2 places.

I am planning to send my kids to US and stay with them for a year or 2 as well. Things in US are not expensive comparing to those in HK and China, especially real estates. U may consider selling or renting out your property in HK and buy a townhouse in US in a nice neighbourhood for less than HK$4000/sq ft.

There are plenty of agencies out there and U may get preliminary info in their websites and talk to them to get more info.

http://www.myfindschools.net/en/americadetails2.php?nid=3

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-1 09:50

Just read about this. It may be an option. But I don't know any agency who does that. I abandoned my green card years ago.

美國投資移民的條件

1) 淨資產要求有100萬美元，願意投資50萬美元到區域中心（資金來源可由經商積累或來自贈予、繼承等合法方式）。區域中心有多種項目可供選擇投資。各個項目的投資前景誘人，有專業公司管理經營，五年後可取回投資額（根据項目運營情況返還投資額）。如果I-529申請未獲得通過，區域中心返還50萬投資額。

2) 對投資者沒有學歷、語言、工作經驗要求，不需參加投資管理。

3) 投資者及其配偶和未滿21周歲的子女可同時移民美國，同時獲得臨時綠卡， 2年到期前3個月申請轉成正式綠卡。可到美國任何地方居住、工作、學習和創業。

4) 申請時間大約1年左右

作者: Flying-Man 時間: 11-10-2 14:05 標題: 回復 4# acdad 的帖子

Why boarding schools while U can stay with your kids?

*** Going to boarding schools is an option if I can't go and stay with my kids, so just wanna know how expensive they are.

Which part of US U would like to go to?

My advice, go to places which can be reached by one direct flight from HKG, such as LAX, SFO, etc if U need to traval quite frequent between 2 places.

*** Picking a place where can be reached by one direct flight is a very good advice. I like LAX very much.

I am planning to send my kids to US and stay with them for a year or 2 as well. Things in US are not expensive comparing to those in HK and China, especially real estates. U may consider selling or renting out your property in HK and buy a townhouse in US in a nice neighbourhood for less than HK$4000/sq ft.

*** Thanks for the good advice. I hope I can (both financially & legitimately) stay with my kids there for a year or 2 as well. We're not millionaires, so "money" is a concern. It's very risky for us the whole family to give up everything in HK and go to live in a totally new place. My husband will be staying in HK taking care of his business to "earn" money to continue to support the kids' study.

*** To where are you planning to go? How old are your kids?

There are plenty of agencies out there and U may get preliminary info in their websites and talk to them to get more info.

http://www.myfindschools.net/en/americadetails2.php?nid=3

*** Thanks for the above website. I've started checking with agencies and gathering info about this. Just wanna know more and plan well ahead!

美國投資移民

*** This is an option as well. Will check further about this.

Why did you abandon your green card years ago? We, on the contrary, would like to apply for it desperately. What does having a green card really mean? Are there any differences between residency in the USA and the citizenship of the USA?

Sorry for so many queries. Would be much appreciated for your advice.

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-3 01:21

My girls are 10 and 14. We probably would stay in the SFO Bay area.

sending them to boarding schools was never an option to us  as we would like our  daughters to stay with us, at least  until they complete their secondary. For boys, it may be different. But if U are not financially ready to send both kids to boarding schools or cannot stay with the kids in US. U may also consider the exchange student program. One of my relative (family income should be less than Hk$20K/month) sent his daughter to US for high school  a few years ago via agency and the girl is now a U grad already. I believe the cost per year via this path may be less than tuition of some international schools in HK. The main  concern should  be the luck of getting a good home stay family.

For your reference, renting a townhouse with a 3 bedroom (real 1400 sq ft)  in  SFO Bay area (Palo Alto) should be appx  US$3000/month which I would say at least 2 times better than what U can get in HK. If U can live with a  smaller apartment, the cost would be less.

http://www.myfindschools.net/en/americadetails2.php?nid=3

As a matter of fact, I did talk to someone who works in the agency above a few times in the last few years. I recommend their service to my friends. I think it is less commercial and more student oriented.

If a child has a green card or citizenship, he can qualify to have free high school (public school)  education and pay as the local people (state residence) tuition fees in public  Universities after living 1 year in that state generally, such as CA. Foreign students pay much higher tuition in University.

US green card holders may live and work in US legitimately but  are required to live in US  for certain years before they can apply for  their  citizenship. However, both green card holders and citizens  need to pay US income taxes (one may apply for foreign income exemption ) and would be questioned every time when they re-enter US after visiting other countries. US immigration may take away your green card if they think U travel too much outside the country but citizenship is  permanent. US citizen may enter US anytime. For my case, my kids and my wife are US citizens, I did not want to lie in order to maintain my green card when I enter the US border every time. That's why I abandoned it and obtain  a 10 year visa instead.

PM me if U need more info.

[ 本帖最後由 acdad 於 11-10-3 01:32 編輯 ]

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-3 13:16 標題: 回復 1# Flying-Man 的帖子

Hi Flying-Man,

Check the below links. They should help.

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

http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/least_expensive_tuition/sort/1

http://www.ehow.com/list_6366859 ... r-requirements.html

[url=http://www.boardingschoolreview. ... lifornia/stateid/CA]http://www.boardingschoolreview. ... lifornia/stateid/CA[/url]

http://boardingschoolsusa.com/?s=14&t=0

http://www.privateschoolreview.c ... _schools/stateid/CA

[ 本帖最後由 acdad 於 11-10-3 13:32 編輯 ]

作者: smallmui 時間: 11-10-3 13:59

原帖由 acdad 於 11-10-3 01:21 發表
My girls are 10 and 14. We probably would stay in the SFO Bay area.

sending them to boarding schools was never an option to us as we would like our daughters to stay with us, at least until they c ...

Are you sure if a child live there over a year would be treated as a resident and pay residency tuition fee . My son is US citizen and stay there over 2 years, my brother claim his as dependent in tax return but the college still reject him as a resident and require him to pay non resident tution fee. I really don't understand and very upset about that.

作者: smallmui 時間: 11-10-3 17:32

Actually, I do have some regret not to send my sons to USA earlier at their age of high school. Because if we want our kids directly transfer from high school to U, SAT is count from middle to high school. My second son went there at his grade 11, he is gonna to be graduate next year at grade 12, 2 years is not enough points to earn SAT unless he is genius.

So, my ideas is if plan your kids to USA, it is probably in their grade 7.

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-3 22:01

Pls check if U can get the info U need from the below link. Anyway, I suggest U to seek professional help after checking with the school. There are plenty of lawyers in US helping people establishing residency status. U can save a lot of money in your sons education by doing that.

http://www.registrar.ucsb.edu/residenc.htm#overview

Two-Year Care and Control. Minor students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens may be eligible for resident classification if they have lived with and been under the continuous care and control of an adult or series of adults other than a parent for not less than two years (Note: "two years" is not defined as tax or calendar years under this provision). The adult or series of adults must have been responsible for care and control for the entire two-year period, and must qualify as California residents one year immediately prior to the residence determination date. Click here for more complete information

原帖由 smallmui 於 11-10-3 13:59 發表

Are you sure if a child live there over a year would be treated as a resident and pay residency tuition fee . My son is US citizen and stay there over 2 years, my brother claim his as dependent i ...

[ 本帖最後由 acdad 於 11-10-3 22:10 編輯 ]

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-3 22:25

I do think good family education and a close relationship with our kids is far more important than getting them into a famous U.

I have mentioned in this forum previously students can actually choose to enter community colleges and transfer to 4 years U later as an easier path. But anyway, different parents have different sets of values.

原帖由 smallmui 於 11-10-3 17:32 發表
Actually, I do have some regret not to send my sons to USA earlier at their age of high school. Because if we want our kids directly transfer from high school to U, SAT is count from middle to high sc ...

作者: smallmui 時間: 11-10-3 22:32 標題: 回復 2# acdad 的帖子

yes, i am now seeking a lawyer for help, it is true if my son get residence status, it save a lot of money for tuition .

I do hope my case can solve

Anyway, thanks for your information & advise

作者: fungsiufong 時間: 11-10-4 18:00 標題: 回復 4# smallmui 的帖子

Could you pls explain how to earn SAT from Mid to High School ?
I thought SAT is a test for all grade 12 students need to take in order to apply for USA Universities, is it correct ?
Pls adv.
Thanks.

作者: Flying-Man 時間: 11-10-4 23:28 標題: 回復 8# acdad 的帖子

acdad,

Thanks for all the links. Will check them out later.

Just curious about the health care service in the USA? As foreigners, what can / should I do if my kids are sick? Is it like HK where I can go to a nearby clinic to see a doctor and get 兩三日藥 for a few hundred HK dollars equivalent? Other than sickness, expenditures on all other things seem more foreseeable and controllable. Am I right?

作者: Flying-Man 時間: 11-10-4 23:32 標題: 回復 14# fungsiufong 的帖子

smallmui ,

I'd like to know how to earn SAT (points?) from Mid to High School as well. Please advise.

Thanks.

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-5 01:03 標題: 回復 15# Flying-Man 的帖子

I beleive various insurance providers do provide insurance plans for foreign students. I used to buy from Blue Cross myself many many years ago. Below is the link I can find which U can get a quote via the internet .

[url=wlmailhtml:{BD43863E-C707-4B6F-9F47-81DD7E5253BE}mid://00000139/!x-usc:http://www.internationalstudent. ... secure/premiums.php]http://www.internationalstudent.com/insurance/student-secure/premiums.php[/url]

[url=wlmailhtml:{BD43863E-C707-4B6F-9F47-81DD7E5253BE}mid://00000139/!x-usc:http://www.nriol.net/foreign-student-health-insurance/]http://www.nriol.net/foreign-student-health-insurance/[/url]

Yes, I don't think U need to worry about unexpected expeditures if the medical expense is covered. Clothing, grocery, rent, gas and even keeping a car is less than HK.

The only thing that I need to remind U is it is not easy to borrow money from US banks now as they need U to establish a credit history. So, if U want to lease or buy a car, rent an apartment, U better bring some cash there to facilitate such transactions. People in US are using debit cards, not credit cards.

Someone that I know had just bought a property in CA recently and rent it out to a Stanford graduate student with family, who was willing to pay 9 months rent in advance to my friend since he has no credit history.

如果講得極端Ｄ,妳三母子過去住好Ｄ,妳先生係香港甚至國內住平Ｄ,都有數圍ｏ架!

Good luck!

[ 本帖最後由 acdad 於 11-10-5 01:17 編輯 ]

作者: smallmui 時間: 11-10-5 14:34

Well, what i try to say is SAT is a test of english & math exam to qualify U requiement , the more time you are in USA study, the longer of skill of english you can learn, it is an adventage to your sons to get high SAT, my son is in grad 12 now, he went there to enter grade 11, he always said even how hard of him, he is not like a native speaker and cannot be able to earn good SAT, that is what I want to express , might be I cause you misunderstanding

sorry!

作者: smallmui 時間: 11-10-5 14:54

hi acad,

do you have any link for seeking legal professional in USA? Can you post it here

Thanks

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-5 21:41

Hi smallmui,

when we travel in US, U may find 2 popular Chinese newspapers in Chinese grocery stores. Try to find the area/state your son is staying in and check the classfied posts under professionals and U should be able to find the professional help U need as well as getting an idea of different things in the neighborhood. Good luck!:)

http://www.singtaousa.com/

http://www.worldjournal.com/

原帖由 smallmui 於 11-10-5 14:54 發表
hi acad,

do you have any link for seeking legal professional in USA? Can you post it here

Thanks

[ 本帖最後由 acdad 於 11-10-5 22:06 編輯 ]

作者: acdad 時間: 11-10-5 22:23

BTW, families in USA normally get medicine from drug stores directly with and without a doctor's prescription. For flu, cold and coughing, they would normally just buy off-the-shelf medicine. Some health plans do cover medicine expense as well.

原帖由 Flying-Man 於 11-10-4 23:28 發表
acdad,

Thanks for all the links. Will check them out later.

Just curious about the health care service in the USA? As foreigners, what can / should I do if my kids are sick? Is it like HK where I ca ...

作者: fungsiufong 時間: 11-10-7 17:49 標題: 回復 4# smallmui 的帖子

Thanks for your explaination about SAT.
How about Maths and other Science subjects, are HK students ahead of USA local students ?

作者: Flying-Man 時間: 11-10-8 09:38 標題: 回復 21# acdad 的帖子

acdad,

Thanks for your advice on getting medicine from drug stores.

作者: smallmui 時間: 11-10-8 11:19 標題: 回復 2# fungsiufong 的帖子

my son first went to US in grade 11, he was assigned to take math AP class, the teacher said math standard among the Hk student is higher than the US student . but i don't know if other sicence is the same .

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-4-30 15:18

Saw this topic just now. I have the same plan of sending my kids to high school in US in 1 or 2 years and would like to hear your experience.

acdad, you stated that you planned to send your girls to schools in the Bay Area. Have you started the process, such as looking for a house, looking for schools, etc? You mentioned rental houses in Palo Alto were not expensive. I did some search and found quite the contrary. Maybe I looked the wrong place? Where do you find rental home listings? Do you plan to send your girls to private or public schools? I heard that the quality of public schools in California had deteriorated quite badly over these few years, and that it's getting ridiculously hard for CA residents to get into UC. Is it true?

My first choice has been the Bay Area for my kids but now I am having second thoughts. Seattle might be a consideration now. Any comments on this?

作者: acdad 時間: 12-5-1 10:23

Hi mugtaitai,

CA resident tuition
- Firstly, I must correct some info I wrote about qualifying to pay CA resident tuition. I found out later it is not that easy now to qualify for paying  resident tuition even if U  are US citizen and have stayed over 1 year in CA. U also need to meet other requirements as well. But anyway , I guess some people may be able to get around that.

Rent
-Yes, I mentioned about the living cost in CA is not high and cost of renting a 3 bedroom townhouse is about US$3k /month. The buying cost for a town house in a nice neighbothood is about HK$4000/square foot.  U can’t even get that in Tuen Mun or Fairview Park  now. So, it is a lot of less than what is being charged  in HK in a good neighborhood.  That’s  from my personal experience.  In  Bay area, there is a popular  real estate  agency “Coldwell Banker” , U may find listing of houses, townhouses  and apartments in their websites. There are other websites for renting real estates, such as http://www.rent.com

TAG/UC/Community Colleges
- I never started the process of looking for high schools but did try to visit campuses  of 2 community colleges , Foothill and De Anza last summer, which names are oftenly heard in HK via various education agencies. Foothill campus was beautiful but not De Anza’s . However,  I was told by  various local people that De Anza was actually better in acadamic and has  good transfer records for their students. But later, I met a friend who sent both his children to Foothill and were successfully transferred to UC Davis and UC Berkely. And also based on what is written in  the TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee Program) https://uctag.universityofcalifornia.edu/ , transferring to UC are not that difficult. Pls note only Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz are in this program, UCLA and Berkely are not .  Well I think the budget cut would mean bigger classes and less classes to be chosen in UC, and internatonal students and out of state students would be more welcome.

Private schools
-Since U mentioned about private schools, I recently attended a seminar in HK and knew that private schools like Stanford accepted very few transfers from community colleges. But I was also told by a very smart young  banker that works in Wells Fargo that he was transferred to USC  (a private school) from  De Anza. So, I guess it depends on what kind of private schools one would like to apply for.

Seattle
- I actually visited a friend in Seattle last summer as well and took a walk in the Washington State University neighborhood, not good and plenty bums around. Besides, it does not have direct flights to HK. So,  it is out.

So, good luck!

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-1 21:11

Thanks acdad. Those are very good information that you have given.

I wasn't aware of this TAG program so never thought of the option of going to a community college for 2 years and then transfer to university. Is this what you plan to do for your girls? My original game plan is to send the kids to US for high school so they have a better chance of getting into a decent university directly. I am having hesitation now as I heard that public high schools in California is deteriorating in quality big time because of the budget cut. Community college might be a solution. I will look into it.

At this point I think I will still keep the high school option open as this gives the boys more choices for universities. That way they are not limited to the universities in the same states but all over the country, public and private. The problem is that I will have to find a really good neighborhood in a good school district, in which houses are usually very expensive. I casually looked at houses for sale in Palo Alto 2 years ago. Average price is about US$1000/sf. Nicer neighborhood such as Old Palo Alto is even more expensive.

I won't consider Seattle city. Not nice as you mentioned. The east side (Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond) is much nicer. Bellevue school district is good. UW is good too. Weather is not good however. And as you said, there's no direct flight back to Hong Kong, although this is not a major consideration.

作者: acdad 時間: 12-5-2 12:24

回復 mugtaitai 的帖子

Hi mugtaitai,

We used to study in NYC many years ago and people around us also have that CC transfer experience, so studying first 2 years in CC and then transfering to a  4 year U, then 2 years master degree in any major  is an acceptable path to us. However, I would like my girl to take the IBDP and SAT first  and see how far she can go before making that decision. So, the CC path is considered as  PLAN B now. Long way to go, no need to rush anything.

BTW, for students taking DSE,  since CC admission reqt is just  high school graduates OR 18 years old ,  the CC path can always be considered as PLAN B, just in case.

Regarding the real estates prices in Palo Alto and other parts of Bay area, houses, town houses and apartments  are all priced differently. Townhouses cost HK$4000/square foot is very acceptabe to me. It is very much like those setting in Palm Springs 加州花園  but less remote and with nicer outlook. I have a relative who bought a townhouse in nice neighborhood in  Mountainview http://403mountainlaurelcourt.com/  and then rent it out to a Stanford graduate couple with a baby at US$3000/month . It is 1.3 miles (5 minutes drive) to downtown Mountainview (I think it is safe and convenient to hang out there) and 7 miles from Stanford. U may take a look of the link to see if that kind of townhouses is acceptable to your family as well. The neighborhood and maintainance there was good too. I have checked out other houses and  townhouses in Palo Alto and Mountainview last summer, I beleive that may be  a good choice if your kids do not have to study in  high schools located in Palo Alto district.

Old Palo Alto is defintely the neighborhood with highest price and you would not want to go to East Palo Alto. Not all districts or zip codes in palo Alto are good either, I guess U already knew that. We can share more info if U need.

Cheers!

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-2 14:36

Hi acdad,

I agree with you. The CC path can always be Plan B (or even Plan C), and in fact that's what I will do. I think for now, I will still pursue the high school in US then university plan. If I don't find a good high school that I am comfortable to send my son, I'll let him take the IBDP and SAT in Hong Kong and see how he does just like what you are planning to do. If he doesn't get into a good university he can go to a community college for 2 years and then to univ.

I looked at houses in Palo Alto only because there's this plan to send the kids to high school there. Palo Alto school district is among the best in the Bay Area. If they are not going to high school there, I can stay anywhere in the Bay Area. San Mateo, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and San Jose are all nice places to live. By the way, I search houses on this site: http://www.mlslistings.com/ There aren't very many townhouses like the one in Mountain View you mentioned. Those would actually be perfect for us. I looked at a similar development in Palo Alto 2 years ago: http://www.1siliconvalley.com/ne ... ll-homes-palo-alto/ but they were bigger and thus more expensive. I will spend the summer with the kids in the Bay Area again this year, and will check out more schools and houses. Appreciate all the information you have shared here, and would be grateful if you could continue to share anything with regards to schools and houses.

作者: 真矢 時間: 12-5-2 15:52

My son is 14 he's currently studies in the USA for 3 years already since Grade 7 (HK F.1), I have no regret at all to send him aboard, in this three years he has totally transformed to another person, very mature, not a 港孩 anymore.
I recently learnt from my friend who lives in the US that a lot of people from mainland China send their kids to public schools, as long as you're living in that school area the school his to accept you, and they don't care if you're citizen or green card. That's why a lot of Mainland China people rent or buy a house near the top ranked school and send the kids to school without paying any school fee.

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-2 18:03

Hi 真矢,

Does your son go to a boarding school or are you with him in US? Which state is your son in now?

I also heard the same when I was looking at houses in Palo Alto 2 years ago. This is why I am getting a bit hesitated to send my son to public high schools in the Bay Area (sorry to say that. Don't mean to be discriminating but I think you get my point). I looked at the public high school ranking for 2011 published by the Washington Post http://apps.washingtonpost.com/h ... 2011/list/national/ and US News http://education.usnews.rankings ... gs/gold-medal-list. They have different ranking criteria and may not be agreeable to everyone but it's an indicator. Schools in Bellevue school district in Washington State rank quite high in both lists. I am seriously considering this place.

acdad, is there a particular reason why you choose the Bay Area? Is it because of UC?

作者: 真矢 時間: 12-5-2 19:02

mugtaitai 發表於 12-5-2 18:03
Hi 真矢,

Does your son go to a boarding school or are you with him in US? Which state is your son i ...

My son is in a 7 days boarding school in Boston, he comes back to HKG 3 times a year and I go to US 2 times a year, and we Skype almost every day and he's actually fully occupied every day, so I don't need to give up my job and family in Hong Kong to study with him.
There're many ways to rank the school, you have to visit the school yourself to find out which school is suitable for your kids. If you really want to rank the school you have to look into the SAT score, graduation rate and percentage to college. Washington State is a good place among all cities in the West Coast for study; and California has more distraction. There're a lot more choices in New England area for boarding school.

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-2 19:34

My son is very reluctant to go to boarding schools. I don't want to push him too hard so this option is out unless he changes his mind. There's pros and cons for both boarding schools and public high schools. I'll let him choose his own way.

I initially planned to stay in the Bay Area hoping that it'd be easier for my son to get into UC as a California resident. It might not be true any more. I may have to adjust my plan, and so I am trying to hear advice/experience/information from other parents before making any move

作者: acdad 時間: 12-5-2 20:41

回復 mugtaitai 的帖子

Hi mugtaitai

The main reason why we pick the bay area because UC is quite a large and established system. We beleive there is certain flexibility in transfer and broad selection within the UC system. Besides, we have residence, business set up and family friends there, the convenience of direct flights between HK/SFO is also a plus. Like most parents, we prefer to place our kids in a safe and familiar environment , even if we would like them to be indepenent some how

BTW, starting a social network all over again is quite exhausted.

My friend in Seattle actually lives in Cougar Mountain at Belleuve, which is considered as a good neighborhood. Whether it is Palo Alto or Belleuve, I guess the ethnic groups live there contribute a lot to the standing of the high schools there. And I beleive they do a lot more than just regular school hours. I was told that atmosphere inside some popular high schools in the area is highly competitive. So I guess, for whatever reasons we tried to avoid nuturing our kids in famous LS in HK years ago, we may apply the same reasons not to place our kids in similar environment in US either.

BTW, we will also spend some time in bay area ths summer but the kids would not have enough time to join any sport camps there this year. :cry:

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-2 21:55

Hi acdad,

How old are your girls? Are they close in age? My 2 boys are 14 and 8 now, which this big gap in age creates a problem on schooling plan. If we do take the older one to US for high school, the younger one will have no choice but to come along. That would pretty much take away his opportunity to study Chinese (although many schools in US offer Chinese program but it's hardly the same as learning Chinese in HK) from P4 onward. With China playing a bigger and bigger role in world economy, not knowing Chinese could be a major disadvantage for his future career. We are still debating on this.

I heard some schools, particularly one in Cupertino, was quite hectic in terms of academic curriculum. Gunn High in Palo Alto is similar but those in Belleveue are still far from this Asian influence. In fact there was concern from parents in Bellevue that school were too easy so the Bellevue School District established an International School as a special school within the district. This school has more vigorous curriculum, and is becoming more and more popular. The waiting list there is long as I heard. It's funny that international schools in HK are seen to be less pushy in works while it's the other way round in US.

So you already have a residence set up in the Bay Area? That really saves a lot of headache. We'll spend the whole summer there this year. I signed the younger one up for some sport and science camps. The older one will be doing some volunteer work. It's gonna be awesome fun

作者: acdad 時間: 12-5-2 23:43

回復 mugtaitai 的帖子

Hi mugtaitai,

Mine are 14 and 10, similar concerns as yours, especially in Chinese. We normally stay in Milpitas when we are in the bay area. Don't U think things are actually cheaper in US, especially those in Costco and outlets?

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-3 14:31

Hi acdad,

So will you move back to the States for good when your girls are ready to go to schools there?

Yes I do think a lot of things are cheaper in US. It's a different life style. People go shopping when there's sale. They do all the house work and maintenance on their own. They tend to eat out less. We are very used to this life style so there's no problem moving back. The only big item that worries me is medical. My husband's job nature and experience is very local so it's unlikely that he can find anything similar in US. We'll have to live on our savings so medical will be entirely on our own. I've been casually exploring options on health insurance and it can easily cost over U$2000/month for our family of 4 with affordable annual deductible and co-pay. It's going to be quite a burden...

作者: acdad 時間: 12-5-3 19:32

回復 mugtaitai 的帖子

Hi mugtaitai,

We probably would not move back to US for good. A few months a year is good enough.

I guess it is easier for your family to make a decsion as your elder kid is a boy, who should learn to be independent at age 17 anyway, the younger one is too young to quit Chinese and leave HK, etc.

Anyway, I just tried to plug in my family age info in the insurance website http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ and get instant quotes for a family of 4. May be you should check as well.

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-3 21:04

Hi acdad,

Thanks for the website. It's very useful. I'll look into it.

If the older boy decides to go to high school there I will have to go with him. He's too young to take care of himself and a house at 16. A compromised solution will be to stay with him for 2 year and move back with the younger one after the older one goes to college/university. There will be some disconnect for the younger one but shouldn't be too hard to pick up at his age

作者: avbee 時間: 12-5-6 17:16

prepare SAT is very important

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-6 17:29

indeed, I will get him some pass papers and have start looking at them to at least have an idea of how the exam is

作者: bugsmummy 時間: 12-5-7 00:32

回復 mugtaitai 的帖子

Hi mugtaita

It's very hard for my kid to prepare for the SAT and his internal school homework/ exam at the same time.

Do you have this problem? Thanks

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-8 08:36

Hi bugsmummy,

My son hasn't started any SAT preparation yet but from what I have observed, he doesn't have very heavy workload at school. He has a lot of free time everyday after his finishes his homework so I am guessing (and hoping) it won't be too much of a problem preparing for the SAT

作者: avbee 時間: 12-5-8 12:46

luckily your son

don't have heavy workload......my daughter has extremely heavy workload every day monday to sunday

作者: kkbbkk 時間: 12-5-8 15:19

My kid's experience was:
1) SAT is equally important as School GPA and it is difficult for HK students from local schools to obtain high marks unless you go to the US from at least Grade 10 or earlier.
2) There is advantage to be a US citizen in applying for University
- you are entitled to need-blind financial aids. whereas overseas students are qualified almost only for merit-based financial aids.
3) Some famous universities (at least MIT definitely) do not accept overseas students to apply for ED (early decision). That means, the first round of admission are restricted to US citizen. The college counsellor will advise foreign students to apply for more universities as they all know that for the same calibre, US students will have higher chance to be accepted. (Diveristy is a factor but may not that important unless you are ethnic minorities, ie. those from African, Thailand, Vietnam. HK and Mainlanders are of no advantages at all.

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-8 16:51

Thanks kkbbkk. Those are very good insights.

My son currently goes to an international school in HK so he's basically ok with English, although may not be as native as Americans.

I didn't realize US citizens have advantage over international students even for private universities. I thought only state universities needed to give priority to local residents. What about US citizens applying from overseas? Do they also get the priority?

作者: emily_520825 時間: 12-5-8 16:53

I had my son studied in the US for high school at North Broward Florida and the other daughter at Taxes high school call "The village". Since you can only study private high school in US if you are not citizen so the tuition fee is higher than local. Taxes expenses seem cheaper than Florida. But they studied few years ago so not sure if the tuition is the same now. Here is the agent that sent them both to high school for your reference

http://www.litzusa.com/GBK/progr ... Id=421&MenuID=6

Good luck!

作者: kkbbkk 時間: 12-5-14 21:24

Dear Mugtaitai,

I think (not sure) universities will treat on-shore and off-shore US citizens equally.

作者: mugtaitai 時間: 12-5-15 19:20

Thanks kkbbkk. That's good to know

作者: cambo 時間: 13-4-27 13:14

Thanks a lot.

作者: Obiepapa 時間: 13-4-29 16:37 標題: 引用：Plan+to+send+2+kids+to+study+in+USA+a+fe

原帖由 Flying-Man 於 11-09-30 發表
Plan to send 2 kids to study in USA a few years later. One is now in P.4 and the other is in P.2. Pa ...

Public schools are free in New Jersey and some other states for sure. If you don't want to pay tuition, you can choose public schools but quality varies.

作者: hellohihi123 時間: 13-6-22 11:33

回復 Flying-Man 的帖子

Medical is a very expensive in US, we usually never go see a doctor unless its really serious sickness. If you got cold or flu, just go to drugstore and buy non prescription medicine.I recommend you get health insurance for yourself and your kids, as you are not US citizen, you are not eligible for government's medicare. but health insurance are very pricing and they dont cover a lot.
If you are in area that a lot of Chinese, some doctor will charge a cheaper fee if you go see them in a clinic with n insurance, but probably need local friends to refer as they don't advertise to say they take cash with no insurance

作者: Dauntlessff 時間: 13-6-26 05:18

提示: 作者被禁止或刪除內容自動屏蔽

作者: song 時間: 14-4-24 12:58

This site is excellent. My girls will study in LA soon. I am looking for good high shcools now. Do you have any idea which cities in LA couty have good high shcools?
I would like to have more insurance info. shouls you guys have it.

THanks!

歡迎光臨教育王國 (/)