The 19-year-old runner joins fellow Hill City-University club members Andrew Whyte and Shauna Pali, who will also attend American universities from next month.
Greene has been given a four-year scholarship to the University of Florida and will continue the food science studies she started at the University of Otago.
''I'll be sad to leave Dunedin because it's been such a supportive place for my running,'' she said.
''But it is an opportunity I can't afford to miss.''
The scholarship is worth $60,000 a year, which is the fee for foreign students, and Greene's board, food and travel to athletics meetings in the United States will be worth an additional $24,000.
University of Florida middle-distance coach Paul Spangler has told Greene the college will fly her back for the New Zealand championships if it is necessary for her to qualify to represent New Zealand in major international events.
The financial cost was the trigger that forced Greene to turn to the United States.
''Every year my parents have had to come up with money to get me overseas for competition,'' Greene said. ''It is nice to be able to do that for them.''
Athletics New Zealand pays elite athletes $3000 to $4000 for winter development trips to Europe to gain international experience.
The rest of the cost has to be found by the athletes or their families.
Greene remains keen to represent New Zealand at Commonwealth Games, world championships and Olympic Games.
She has been injured since returning from the World University Games in Russia, and selection for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow looks unlikely.
Greene has a best time of 4min 18sec for the 1500m. The A qualifying standard for Glasgow is 4min 5sec and the B standard 4min 9sec.
''My first aim in America will be to run 4min 12sec,'' Greene said.
The prospects for Greene will be brighter for the world championships in 2015 and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
The coach who has had the most influence on Greene's career is Dunedin's Jim Baird.
He wants Green to keep in contact with him when she is in the United States.
''When Jim coached in Australia, a number of his athletes gained scholarships to United States universities and he never heard from them again.''
Greene said.
Greene started investigating her American college options because Athletics New Zealand wanted her to shift to Christchurch to be close to national distance coach, Maria Hassan.
''I tried to transfer my food science course from Otago to Canterbury University but it didn't work out,'' Greene said.
''A month ago me and my mum went to the States to look at different universities including Stony Brook (New York) and Michigan.''
She chose Florida because the weather was warmer and the athletics programme was more geared to her middle-distance specialties.
There will be strong internal competition for Greene in her specialist 800m and 1500m events at the college.
An American athlete who has run 4min 06sec for the 1500m went to the world championships this year.
An Austrian runs 4min 11sec and last year the college had an Australian steeplechaser who competed at the London Olympics.
Greene is positive about the prospects.
''I'm pretty excited to go. I'm looking forward to it.''
Greene intends to stay in the United States during her first long summer vacation starting in May.
Sister Jamie, who has represented the Otago Spirit rugby team, will be working in Wisconsin for three months.
The University of Florida has 50,000 students and the city of Gainesville is a university town with a population of 120,000.
There are 15 females and 15 males in Spangler's middle-distance squad.
''He believes in cross-training and does a lot of work in the gym, heavy weights for power and speed and aqua jogging in the pool,'' Greene said.
Greene hoped to race at the Athletics Otago meeting at the Caledonian Ground on Saturday but the meeting was cancelled because of the wintry weather.
Rebekah Greene
At a glance
Age: 19.
Education: St Hilda's Collegiate, University of Otago.
Coaches: Jim Baird (Dunedin), Maria Hassan (Christchurch), Paul Spangler (Florida).
New Zealand record: Nine national titles, New Zealand representative 2008-13.
International record: Gold medal 3km Pacific Schools Games (2008); second 3km Youth Olympics Sydney (2009); second world schools cross-country, Czech Republic (2010); world junior championships, Canada, final 1500m (2010); third 1500m Scottish senior women's championships (2011); World University Games Russia, seventh in heat 1500m (2013).
