This week we have asked Mirjam, the mother of one of GradTrain's founders and the mother of 2 children that have studied abroad, to write a guest blog about the experiences of being a parent of children who wish to study abroad. We don't want to give too much away, but the blog you are about to read inspired us to write another blog (for next week) where we will provide a guide for parents who have children who are contemplating studying abroad and who are facing similar experiences as those just described below. Anyway, here is Mirjam's story: As a parent you do not have much of an influence over what or where your son or daughter will end up studying. But we told our children: “Do what you love to do and follow your passion.... But if you start something, continue and see it through to the end. Take your exams in time and try to do your best”. As a parent you are concerned that your son or daughter will go to a good university where he or she gets support and get to meet excellent mentors and professors. That was a concern for us from the start, but the concerns grew once we realized that our children were seeking an education from universities abroad and our questions were multiplied and harder to find answers to. In addition to not really understanding the international education systems, we were also concerned about the quality of life in the places that our children wanted to study. These were places we had never visited, places we did not know and places where we did not know anyone so we did not know how to familiarize ourselves with them and find answers to our questions. Nor did we know how to help our children in the application process that seemed much more complicated than the one we were familiar with at home.
Our son had friends at the University of Manchester who were telling him about the great student social life there. He had multiple choices of universities, but as parents it was hard to find out which would be the best option for him and the best study programs. After a lot of considerations our son went to the University of Manchester for four years. He had a great time, finished his exams and became an engineer. We were lucky and proud, it all worked out for the best, but I will always remember the uncomfortable feeling of not being able to inform ourselves well and help our son through the international application process.
If you have enjoyed this blog, and especially if you share similar feelings and experiences, why don’t you comment on this blog and tell us about it? What was the advice you gave your children and what were the obstacles you faced during your child’s international application process?
Gaining an international education is a good idea for various reasons. As
noted in our previous blog post, and as mentioned in a recent study
by the British Council, research has consistently shown that students who
undertake a period of overseas study are more likely to achieve higher grades,
gain relevant and timely employment and earn higher salaries. However,
prospective international students have to overcome a wide range of hurdles
before they reach their goal of getting accepted to a suitable university
program abroad.
Applying to a university program abroad is not easy
Indeed, applying to a university program abroad is a daunting task, that
requires not only good grades, but also skillful and strategic decision-making,
such as targeting schools and programs, preparing an effective application
package, planning course load, securing funding, preparing for arrival and
adjusting to a new culture and language. According to a recent study
there is a growing drive and ambition among UK and US students to study abroad.
However, only 24% of UK students in the study felt they had sufficient
information to make an informed decision about studying abroad, 30% felt they
had to work hard to find the information they needed and 24% felt they did not
have enough information to make an informed decision. Similarly, just 22% of US
students felt they had sufficient information to make an informed decision
about studying overseas. According to another study,
33% of international students studying in Canada reported that communicating
and receiving information about the institution they wished to apply to was a
problem or a major problem, 25% reported that getting course credits from their
home institution acknowledged was somewhat of a problem, 30% reported
difficulties in obtaining a study permit, and 20% had problems arranging an
interview with an immigration officer to obtain a study permit. Similar results
have been found in multiple studies. To sum it up, applying to universities abroad is similar to jumping of a cliff and hope for the best.
Educational agents: not the answer to the problem
Based on these disturbing statistics, there seems that at the moment there
are no services that can adequately help prospective international students and
their families in the international education process. It is becoming
increasingly common for prospective international students to get help from
professional agents when applying to universities abroad. These agents are
often paid by universities. However, students have reported difficulties using
agents, such as agents trying to steer the applicant away from schools that
have complex admissions requirements, charging exorbitant fees but providing
little more than advice, or pushing schools that the applicant was not happy
with. Universities on their hand have reported problems using agents. Forged
documentation is rife; one study
found that 20% of Australian student visa applications made via agents
include forged documents.Universities
also feel that agents often lack the knowledge of relevant higher education
programs, and often have language and cultural barriers. The outcome is often
that universities recruit international students that are not well prepared or
do not fit the school, and universities are often compelled to spend additional
resources to help international student graduate successfully. So while there may not be any current solutions, I encourage all of you
out there that have or are in the process of applying to universities abroad to
share your experiences by answering the following question: what was the best
advice you ever got in your international education process? And please share this post with your friends who also have international
education application experiences, maybe they also have a good advice to share. Together we can begin to solve the current problem of a lack of advisory
services for people seeking to get into a university program abroad.