Is 15 years old too young to send overseas for studies?

[sleepy]

In my opinion, 15 years is too young. A lot of things still 一知半解.

[verykiasu2010]

15 y/o okay lah…I also contemplating …, not 15, but 16, after O level

[rosemummy]

verykiasu2010:

15 y/o okay lah......I also contemplating ....., not 15, but 16, after O level

Best time to do so is after O level. Can go straight to college / university in US or after 1 year in a foundation programme in Australia. Compared to going after A levels, the child will be 1 to 2 years ahead in Australia, and about 2 years ahead in US.

Oh yes, I just remembered 1 of my friend's daughter went straight to university in NZ after completing her O levels. She applied using her prelims and started before the release of her O level results. If I remember correctly, she was doing Business in Univeristy of Auckland, probably the best university in NZ.

[kaka]

I wont send my kids oversea to study at 15 yr, staying together as a family is more important to me at their formative age. I believe that they can survive in Sin even f they take poly or ITE route, whatever the system and their ability takes them. When they are older and more mature, through pte institutions, they can still proceed with their aspiration if they want to.

[lovejoypeacce]

Thanks moms for your valuable comments. I will be going to Auckland tomorrow to see the schools as well as talk to the international deans there.


As parents, there are a lot of issues we need to consider and all your comments are what we have thought of ourselves too…just need to weigh the pros and cons and what we think is best for her…

thanks!

[kaka]

All the best!!

[toddles]

Yup i think it’s too young… I know of kids who were sent to boarding school at 13 and they really had a rough time. I think 15 for most kids is still too young to be so far away from home. I would say at least 18 or 19…

[bigsnoopy]

Depends on the maturity of the child. My DH was sent overseas when he was 15. He stayed there for 2 years and fail all subjects before returning to S’pore to start all over again.

[gt1122]

my friends sent their kid to UK when they were 12… boarding school… they turn out ok

[2ppaamm]

I will not leave my child unattended at 15 years old, boy or girl. I am also not willing to give up my rights to bring her up in exchange for an education. Why, because I got scared by my room-mate when I was a postgrad student in US.


This room-mate was about 21 years old from Taiwan. Parents left her there with some relatives since she was 14. Regular kid with good results. Problem is, she will stick all sorts of stickers on the door to remind me not to enter almost every day, while she made out with different men in the room (including one black professor twice her age). I had to look for alternatives to study. Often left out in the cold. She was studying PhD in Literature and we were in one of the top US universities.

You can also imagine how it feels when you wake up seeing a man on the floor next to you! And all these were against the rules, because we were in the dorm!

When her parents visited, she was an angel! She’d bring them around, speak in her polished Taiwanese, and everything else you hope your child would grow up to be.

After that experience, I vowed never to send my kids overseas alone. I tag along no matter what.

Not all kids turn out like that. But one experience is enough to scare me. Don’t want to take chances.