Overseas Uni funds preparation
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@bbbay
Thanks for the video. Will view it to further my knowledge. -
One additional point, on the scholarship, you may wish to check if it is awarded for the full course of studies, regardless of grades or on an annual renewal basis subject to grades meeting certain criteria. Usually latter, so there will be pressure and depending on each family, may wish to have a plan B for worst case scenario.
Am aware of students who lose their scholarship mid-way but not close to find out more.
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@Coolkidsrock2
For parents with overseas students, were there times the child wants to give up and come back (Amidst loneliness/homesick/cultural differences) and how is this overcome? The child is after all 18 years old right so parents will definitely worry. -
@Imp75 said in Overseas Uni funds preparation:
@Coolkidsrock2
For parents with overseas students, were there times the child wants to give up and come back (Amidst loneliness/homesick/cultural differences) and how is this overcome? The child is after all 18 years old right so parents will definitely worry.
One of my cousins (this was many years ago) didn’t even finish her first year! Didn’t like the course, homesick… she wasn’t on scholarship, so at least they didn’t have to figure out those issues. She didn’t get into local uni, which was why her parents wanted her to go overseas, but she didn’t really want to go, but was persuaded. In those days, there was no easy communication with home (only expensive phone calls), so it may be less of an issue these days?I think you have to assess the child’s resilience, personality etc. By 18, you should have a fairly good idea if they will manage. Nothing is 100% sure, of course. It’s important to make sure the child is resilient - if they have been used to being looked after, and don’t really know how to solve problems, ask questions, push through difficult patches, etc, they may not be able to develop that kind of resilience in a hurry when faced with problems. It’s best to give them increasing levels of autonomy and forcing them to develop problem-solving and resilience before they reach 18 and want to go overseas. For those who are not able to, I think it’s better to advise then to stay in Singapore, and maybe go overseas later (for work, further degree, etc).
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@slmkhoo The “One of my cousins” story is mine! It’s a nuisance that we can’t go in an edit posts - can that be changed?
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@Imp75
Hello and congrats.Just curious, is Year 1 only language instruction and then four years of course work? If so and if the child can return without any financial penalties, there is one year to go try and see how she feels away from home. Worst case, you live abroad for a year and then enroll in the local university without having to worry about coursework transferring etc. Not much different from kids that take a gap year.
In contrast, if she’s fine away from home and likes the environment, I’m sure she’ll find a way to finish the next four years.
We’ll never know for sure but just wondering if there is some risk mitigation built in here? I’d roll the dice but that’s just me…
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@SG_KP1
Thx. Bingo that’s what we told her. If things don’t work out then just treat it like a gap year and come back local Uni. But this mommy here is v ambitious and asking her to skip the language foundation programme haha so straight away go to the uni taking degree in the local language (she’s N1 level so what’s the problem haha . This mommy simplified a lot of things.) -
@Imp75 said in Overseas Uni funds preparation:
@SG_KP1
Thx. Bingo that’s what we told her. If things don’t work out then just treat it like a gap year and come back local Uni. But this mommy here is v ambitious and asking her to skip the language foundation programme haha so straight away go to the uni taking degree in the local language (she’s N1 level so what’s the problem haha . This mommy simplified a lot of things.)If she’s going to give it a good shot, she probably shouldn’t skimp on that first year. It will help with the cultural adjustment and make subsequent years easier.
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DD was indeed homesick during her Canada stay,
(i) alone;
(ii) too small Asian community;
(iii) not staying in hostel which made it harder to make friends;
(iv) winter; and
(v) uni was in a town about 1 hour by train away from the city.Believed she was lonely and homesick lthough she did not said it and worry us. She made frequent day trips to the city on weekends to explore as well as to eat at Chinatown.
The train fares for the day trips were not exactly cheap but I did not stop her nor reference money/costs except to remind not to return too late. Short days in winter and not many people outdoors.
Am happy she was able to find it within herself to self-soothe.
The uni for her undergrad studies was about 3 hours by train from London. She was studying at home for around 2 years or so due to lockdowns during the pandemic, hence slightly older when she left.
Also did summer school in France “virtually” due to lockdowns.
Same, travelled frequently to London. Did not travel as much as would like as friends required visa so unable to travel as freely as they like.
She was happiest in London, hard-core city person. Lots to see and do. As the employment markets are deeper and more innovative, there more opportunities to try different things. Applicants from other countries do fly in for emplyment selection process so the competition was an eye-opener - 山外有山
There are other offers from equally reputable uni, but they are in uni towns which she will not enjoy as much and we would be less inclined to accept.
My lessons learnt and takeaway is personality of child and fit is important for an enjoyable experience and happy outcome.
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@Imp75
Understand, I guess like you say one year is only one year (even if it involved coursework that is lost).I don’t know the language proficiency tests for Japan (or more importantly, your kid’s ability). My general impression is that for many kids, even those with strong enough language abilities to go to college in a foreign language country, there is still usually some gap. I.e. kids can understand and survive, but writing at a university level isn’t easy.
On the other hand, there are plenty of foreign kids that go to the US or UK (or maybe even Singapore) with less than native level English skills, and they survive.
Sometimes the best time to learn how to swim is when your boat is sinking (so to speak). Hence, there are certainly merits to taking an approach where you just go straight into the coursework and figure out how to make it.
Anyways, congrats again. It’s good to have options and I’m sure whatever the child picks will work out.
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