College Abroad
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College Abroad
May 2011
My child, a junior in the IB school at BHS, wants to go study abroad
for college. We have been looking online and like some schools in
Europe, but there is only so much you can find online. The BHS
counselors, though great, are not very helpful in this field.
Does anybody have experience with sending their kid to college abroad
and can share some pointers where to turn? Is the IB program helpful
at all, since (if) the kids earn the diploma, it will be on the end of
the senior year? Or can someone recommend a college counselor/coach who
is familiar with schools abroad?
confused IB mom
We may be pursuing a British or Scottish University for our youngest
daughter. It is easy to apply through the ucas system -- there is a
common entry form. You apply as a foreign student. There has to be
a teacher's recommendation, which you will see. They want to see AP
courses. A UK degree is often viewed as a higher standard than a US
degree. You can transfer back course credits to a US institution.
UK fees are rising. The English ones have already gone up, the
Scottish and Welsh may follow. The English universities require
that you declare a major. The Scottish system may be more open
about majors. You graduate in three years from an English
University. I believe British schools like American students as
they earn more in fees for foreign students. This is all I know
currently. Good luck, Judith
judith
To go to college abroad there are one of two ways. Either your
student applies and is accepted to a foreign college and then you
aquire the appropriate travel documents or the student attends a US
school that has an existing exchange program and goes abroad for a
specified amount of time, usually a semester or year.
There are other ways to study abroad, but all are shorter duration
(several weeks or a few months as opposed to a a full four years).
My organization and I work primarily with high school students going
abroad. We do have a Work and Travel program for high school
graduates as well as teach or volunteer abroad as well.
Here is the State Dept. link to their Bureau of Educational &
Cultural Affairs dept, I think that is an excellent place to start.
http://exchanges.state.gov/ I hope that helps.
Candace
You've received some good advice about applying to foreign
universities. One more thought: See if you can't meet and/or e-mail
with parents whose children have gone to foreign universities,
especially as freshmen. Even a mature 18-year-old is very young--too
young, in my opinion, to be quite that far from home. I speak from
experience, and I now believe that it's better for them to have at
least two years of university experience closer to home before trying
their wings abroad. (Not to mention the expense of visiting foreign
universities, international-student tuition, flying them back and
forth, etc.!) Best wishes to you and your family.
mel
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