Going to Uni in England with Oz qualifications.

[Ali B]

How easy would it be for our daughter to get into a uni course in England with Victorian VCE qualifications if we decide to move back? Does she have any chance of being seen as UK applicant? Or would she be considered as an overseas student? (We all have dual nationality in our family)

 

has anyone been through this?

[blossom]

I believe it goes on residency in the years leading up to course start. So it's likely to be international fees.

[Diane]

Pretty sure you have to have been living in the UK for three years prior to the University entrance or you get treated as International student.

[Ali B]

Thanks guys. Thought that might be the case...

[Ali B]

What about the validity of Oz qualifications alongside A Levels?

[ramot]

How easy would it be for our daughter to get into a uni course in England with Victorian VCE qualifications if we decide to move back? Does she have any chance of being seen as UK applicant? Or would she be considered as an overseas student? (We all have dual nationality in our family)

 

has anyone been through this?

 

Hi Ali, replying because was an expat for many years and UK born children who had not stayed behind to study had difficulty, and had to pay, mad I know, even service families faced this. As theoretically they had to have had the previous 3 years prior to uni in UK otherwise had to pay International fees. Don't know if it has changed. Most went to International schools and studied either international GCSE's/A levels or the other International thing can't remember the name. Both qualified them for uni.

some people sent their children back for A level study of 2 years and never seemed to have a problem after even though only 2 years there.

all you can do is approach UK Universities direct and ask them.

[Katie22]

Ali - I'm going through this dilemma myself. My daughter finishes school next year and I'm planning on moving back then. There is the rule that you have to have been resident for 3 years before the course commences even if you're a British citizen and born in Britain too. However, I made an enquiry to the British Council and they answered back saying the university has the ultimate decision when they do a fee assessment but are obviously guided by government legislation.

 

My daughter's now looking into the possibility of going to university in Europe. In the Netherlands they actually teach a lot of courses in English and their fees are a lot cheaper. However, I'm not sure if the same thing applies to having been resident in Europe for 3 years to be eligible for European national fees. But saying that, their international fees are a lot more affordable.

 

i remember we went on to one english university website and it actually converted the schooling qualifications giving you an idea of what ATAR you need for each course.

 

It is a frustrating rule and that is the biggest hurdle we face with returning back to live in England.

[Ali B]

That's very interesting Katie. I also know German Unis don't charge fees at all but don't believe many courses are in English plus they too may take a different line for EU citizens like us who have not lived in EU ... Needs a bit more research about EU unis and international status.

[Diane]

I think I have read that you can get European citizenship by living and working in a European country for something really minimal like three months... perhaps your daughter could take a gap year and work in Europe? Would also give her a chance to check out some of the European unis.

[Quoll]

Here is Sheffield's equivalence for example but if you check out the Uni you aspire to, you should get a Yr12 equivalence. As they are expecting students to be international students and pay the full fees I suspect the cut offs are quite a bit lower than they would be for competitive entry https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/international/countries/australasia/australia/entry

[Katie22]

My daughter would really love to go to uni in France but they have a law there that teaching must be done in French so you've obviously got to be fairly fluent to survive but they are starting to do a few postgraduate English taught courses - realizing that they can attract some disillusioned Brits who don't want to pay the high fees english universities charge. However, she's now discovered that the Netherlands have lots of uni degrees taught in English, most Dutch are bilingual so you can survive initially arriving there without speaking a word of Dutch and they have lots of international students to integrate with. Am sure there are a few other European countries where the courses are free but I suppose you obviously need to look at the reality of living in that country, isolation, language etc but massive life experience and once you've lived in Australia, Europe is a small place!

 

She's just really adamant that she doesn't want to go to uni here so we're both determined to try every avenue we can!

[Katie22]

I think I have read that you can get European citizenship by living and working in a European country for something really minimal like three months... perhaps your daughter could take a gap year and work in Europe? Would also give her a chance to check out some of the European unis.

So presuming that living in England for that required amount of time would fit that criteria too. Could be a plan!

[Diane]

So presuming that living in England for that required amount of time would fit that criteria too. Could be a plan!

 

I don't think citizenship of the country is what matters in the UK - it's residency. I don't know if European Unis have the same residency requirements though - worth checking. Don't know how the Scotland independence vote will affect things like Scottish Unis either - aren't they fee-free?

[Katie22]

I don't think citizenship of the country is what matters in the UK - it's residency. I don't know if European Unis have the same residency requirements though - worth checking. Don't know how the Scotland independence vote will affect things like Scottish Unis either - aren't they fee-free?

I think the Scottish Unis charge high fees for the English but not other Europeans! And they are very very cheap for the Scots. Not sure what might happen if they get independence though. I did read an article saying that they then might not legally be able to charge higher fees to English students. All very confusing!

[jac2011]

Ali, can I just say that we spent some time in Holland and it is a remarkable country. Of course, Amsterdam is the first thing you think of which is a shame with its associations but once you explore the country and meet the locals it is breath taking. If it was warmer, I would be living there myself. If your daughter studies there she will love it. We stayed along the coast near Rotterdam and its a short, cheap ferry across from the east coast.

[caramac]

There is no general guide to parity for qualifications. Each uni will have a guide on their websites to give you an idea (although some you would need to contact directly).

We looked at European unis for our two older girls, but none run the courses they wanted to take in English, just in the home languages, but it's definitely worth investigating. Maybe look at Ireland too. I'm not too familiar with their requirements, but they are different from the UK

 

These two websites might be useful for you.

 

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Fees--finance/Home-or-Overseas-fees/England-Higher-Education/#3:-EU-nationals,-and%C2%A0family

 

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk

[Eera]

Posted this stuff before elsewhere but will repeat; the guidelines state that the potential student must have been resident in the UK for the three years prior to starting for reasons other than education, so sending kids to boarding school doesn't circumvent this if you are resident overseas.

 

We did, ultimately as the university have the final say; I would never have considered a Forces child as an overseas resident if the parents had been posted away from the UK for example. With the OP's return you could take the approach that if you were on a temporary visa because your work needed you there and you were never intending to move away and would love it if that child could be considered Home status thanks. If you were on a permanent visa that just didn't work out we'd regard that as being tough luck, saying that I don't ever recall having to have someone prove their visa cancellation to me.

 

The Student Loans Company will be less forgiving; you in all likelihood will not be eligible for one.

 

There actually is a standard guide for qualification equivalency, the British Council have a book which we used to refer to when an overseas applicant, it's huge and quite specific down to the actual college or university in some cases (US qualifications, for example are not on par with UK ones unless issued from particular institutions). I have no idea whether this can be found online, never looked for it and can't remember what it's called, but the university will have access to it so can convert qualifications over easily.

[Ali B]

Thanks Quoll I'll check it out. My old uni (Keele) had great Science faculty too, maybe I could pull a few strings!