Studying in US - general life Q's

Ivrytwr3

Son MAY have the opportunity to study in the US for a year and i'm trying to think ahead.

Mobile phone - he currently has a line on my contract. Can i suspend that line for a year? (EE). His current phone does not have an eSIM, i may get him a phone for Xmas with an eSIM, but what's the best way to get connectivity?

Banking - he has a UK account, Revolut, Monzo etc. He gets a weekly allowance from us - should he be setting up a US bank account? Or we continue what we are doing and paying it into his UK account and he withdraws in the US via Revoult etc?

Just the first Q's that are jumping out at me, no doubt more Q's will follow 

Anyone studying in the US who can offer any advice or help?

Ta all!

elsien

Health insurance? 

Ivrytwr3

elsien said:

Health insurance? 

Yes big one in the US - but of course the Uni will provide the exact cover they need, at great cost

Brie

best to get a sim if/when he gets to the US.  then he should use that for local only and if he wants to talk to you use zoom or whatsapp.  don't use wifi calls as they are charged at standard foreign rates (expensive!!)  I got a sim going to Canada that was $25 (CAD) a month but there will be cheaper deals no doubt.

he should get a local bank account for local use, but maybe go for something with an international name - Chase maybe?  US is weird in being one of a few countries that doesn't use IBANs for accounts so transferring money may mean going through an intermediary bank which could add to the charges.  Hence needing to look for something international.  Be prepared to pay a monthly fee for anything to do with banking.  I used to get charged $1 to deposit money which astounded me but packaged accounts can be better (like packaged sims.....)

Be prepared to ship him essentials - might be decent tea, might be his favourite biscuits.  Even if something has the same name (i.e. Smarties) they are made differently so won't taste the same.  Some stuff in the US is wonderful (the biscuits (aka scones) at Red Lobster are amazing) and some stuff is dire.  Be prepared too for him to start talking funny and picking up US terms (i.e. movie not cinema etc).  

health insurance is essential as already mentioned.  

check if he'll be able to drive legally....every state will have different rules so it will depend on where he is.  Possibly he will be ok for 3 months or maybe 1 year at most and then need to take a local test.  Make sure he's aware of the rules of the road as they will also vary.  

AmyF

When we travel to the US, we tend to use a debit card (or credit card) with no foreign transaction fees to pay for most things as transferring money has a cost. Currently we are with Virgin, but I think first direct is another. A US account might be helpful, but for the most part we use our UK bank account while we are there.

Agree on getting a SIM there, I'm sure the uni will have advice. Same with setting up a bank account. My uni had a credit union on site and they were very student friendly (including international students).

GeordieinAotearoa

Depending on which UK bank he's with, they might not allow him to keep his current account when overseas. Barclays, for instance, now only deals with UK residents. I live overseas and they closed my current account recently for this reason. If he has Revolut hopefully that will cover him for most things, if the non-resident thing does affect him.

Spendless

Will be watching this thread with interest because my DD is in the same position. Only change 'may' to 'likely to' and for her it will be a term (semester) rather than a full year.

Do you know when it's likely to be? I'm sure for us we will have to pay double accommodation. That's because our DD will go and study abroad Aug-Dec. Then she'll need accommodation back where she studies from Jan onwards. We live too far for her to commute for the last 5-6 months but it would be risking it to see if we could find accommodation once she gets back, so we'll have to pay for her to have accommodation she won't use for the first 4 months! You might not be in that situation depending on where term dates fall but I thought I'd mention just in case. 

Ivrytwr3

Full year

Alabama or Texas

Visa, accommodation, meal plan, health insurance, flights - sounds like it's going to be expensive

silvercar

Spendless said:

Will be watching this thread with interest because my DD is in the same position. Only change 'may' to 'likely to' and for her it will be a term (semester) rather than a full year.

Do you know when it's likely to be? I'm sure for us we will have to pay double accommodation. That's because our DD will go and study abroad Aug-Dec. Then she'll need accommodation back where she studies from Jan onwards. We live too far for her to commute for the last 5-6 months but it would be risking it to see if we could find accommodation once she gets back, so we'll have to pay for her to have accommodation she won't use for the first 4 months! You might not be in that situation depending on where term dates fall but I thought I'd mention just in case. 

Some universities keep places in Halls for students that are going to be away part of the year. Otherwise you could “risk it” there are often students who drop out, even in private halls, and are keen to transfer their contracts on to others.

Spendless

silvercar said:

Spendless said:

Will be watching this thread with interest because my DD is in the same position. Only change 'may' to 'likely to' and for her it will be a term (semester) rather than a full year.

Do you know when it's likely to be? I'm sure for us we will have to pay double accommodation. That's because our DD will go and study abroad Aug-Dec. Then she'll need accommodation back where she studies from Jan onwards. We live too far for her to commute for the last 5-6 months but it would be risking it to see if we could find accommodation once she gets back, so we'll have to pay for her to have accommodation she won't use for the first 4 months! You might not be in that situation depending on where term dates fall but I thought I'd mention just in case. 

Some universities keep places in Halls for students that are going to be away part of the year. Otherwise you could “risk it” there are often students who drop out, even in private halls, and are keen to transfer their contracts on to others.

It's drama school rather than Uni (though she does a degree) because most are 'stand alone'  they don't have as many halls in the same way - usually just one connected one. I haven't seen that the drama schools halls (where she currently lives) offer a from Jan option but will double check - thank you.   

Spendless

Ivrytwr3 said:

Full year

Alabama or Texas

Visa, accommodation, meal plan, health insurance, flights - sounds like it's going to be expensive

Yes, I'm currently sorting out our finances to be able to support this. Here's the info from my thread  when I asked how funding works if you study abroad as part of your degree.

 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6475892/study-abroad-for-one-term-usa-funding#latest