Studying overseas can be exciting and beneficial to students and their families. But the lack of clarity and good preparation is leaving families with many regrets:
– “I wish I was better prepared.
– “I wish someone had told me the truth.”
– “I wish I had researched.”
TIP #1: Get Clarity
Understanding your choice for one school over another is among the most important things you and your family will need to accomplish. The knowledge will go a long way to guiding your other decisions. And oh, don’t forget to give some time to thinking and narrowing down on ‘your why.
Remember, no matter how similar countries and schools appear, they have their own unique requirements worth investigating. Knowing the necessary requirements for admission, documents and process involved will give you, your child and the whole family a peace of mind.
TIP #2: Do Your Own Research
More and more, many parents and families are reaching out to educational consultants to handle the university search and admission processes for their children. There’s nothing wrong with that but it is in your family’s good interest to do your own research, so you will also know what’s going on.
Your educational consultant will not be there after your son or daughter gets admitted into university or college. On the other hand, you might have a contract with an educational consultant that will be with your child through out his or her university studies.
Whichever path you choose to follow, it is still important for parents, families, and students to have adequate understanding about the requirements and expectations from their chosen university or college.
for more information Watch the video 'Sending Your Child Overseas to Study? Get Clarity'
TIP #3: Get Children Involved
Sending children off to college/university is an exciting moment and a great achievement for families. In most instances, parents consciously or unconsciously absorb the whole responsibility of picking the course of study to finding and deciding on the school for their children.
Allow your children to get involved in the search and decision making. They will be the ones to attend and study so let them have a say. Parents and guardians should guide, support and help their children make appropriate decisions.
Benefits of Studying Overseas
1. Promote respect for culture and diversity: Being a global villager calls for being respectful to other people’s cultural uniqueness. Studying overseas helps you to explore worlds beyond your own and invites you to assess your beliefs and background.
It gives you the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures, engage in experiences that wouldn’t have been possible at home, and make life changing relationships.
2. Develop confidence and self-awareness: Studying overseas is a great opportunity to discover and develop yourself. When people are away from family and friends, they tend become more resourceful and the need to survive increases. Harvard Business Review
You learn to do and experience new things and in different ways thereby expanding your own knowledge and understanding. It is another way that students learn how to own their own learning.
3. Open doors of opportunities: More and more the world continues to become a little village. In the 21st there’s a greater possibility of meeting someone from your village or someone who has been there than it was 20 or more years ago.
As global movement impacts the labor market employees look for people who are culturally and diverse in thinking and reasoning.
Many people do not return home after their overseas studies due to several reasons. If you decide to return, “you will return to [your home country] with a new perspective on culture, language skills, a great education, … all of these are very attractive to future employers.” International Students
Bringing It together
There are many reasons why children struggle while away from home and parents regret sending their children overseas to study. These sorrowful stories can be avoided with careful planning.
Clarity and good preparation before sending children off to study overseas play an important role in their academics. In addition to academic success, it prepares them for future successes in the labor market and in their social and personal lives.
What if you could get clarity about school choice for your children; requirements to leave their home country and stay peacefully in a foreign country; and things to know ahead of time before making your final decision? Wouldn’t that give you and your family a peace of mind? Good news, it can be done.
Join our webinar “Preparing Children to Study Overseas and Succeed without a Chaperone to get clarity, insights, and know how to prepare well before sending your child(ren) off. Click HERE to register.
Also take advantage of our complimentary Education Consulting call.