Parting with our kids is perhaps one of the most bittersweet moments in a parent’s life, but if there was ever a good reason to say goodbye to your child then the pursuit of education is probably it. After all the advantages that come from studying in the best universities in the world cannot be over emphasised.
Sending a child to study overseas is no small matter though, requiring a lot of preparation on both you and your child’s part.
As a parent you need to ensure that you are prepared to face all the financial obligations that come with studying abroad. You need to budget enough money not only for tuition fees and books, but also for living expenses, medical emergencies, and the possibility of an extended stay. The last thing you want is for your child’s education to be cut short just a year before graduation just because you ran out of money to finance his/her education.
You also need to help prepare your child academically, emotionally, and socially. While most parents overly focus on the academics part, the truth is that it is perhaps the easiest adjustment since your child will not be admitted to a school if assessment reveals that the education they have received so far is not up to par. So in this regard, you can at least have a quantitative way of measuring whether your child is ready to study overseas or not. However, when it comes to a child’s emotional and social readiness, the scenario often gets murky. In fact, in many cases where a child “fails” in their pursuit of higher education overseas, the real reason is not their inability to cope with academic requirements but their lack of emotional and social readiness. You somehow need to find a way to make school feel familiar, even if their new school environment will be thousands of miles away.
So what can you do to make sure that your child is more equipped emotionally and socially before leaving?
Perhaps the most significant thing that can be done is to enrol them in English classes so that they can brush up on their language skills. What you should realize is that while passing English language exams with flying colors is key to getting accepted in prestigious universities, their language skills have an even greater impact in their ability to adjust socially since the language barrier will become a non-issue. It will help them make friends more easily and allow them to get the emotional support they need to finish their studies with flying colors.
“Joy is an English language and exam prep tutor from Thailand. She works mainly with students in Bangkok who are seeking to improve their English while studying for the GED exam (เรียน GED) and pass the IELTS exams (เรียน IELTS)”
Originally posted on June 28, 2013 @ 12:44 am
