Finding the way to the right overseas college

Simon Marcus Gower, Executive Principal, High/Scope Indonesia School, Jakarta

The world of education, by its very nature, has to be a world of change. A world that changes in response to the needs of people in terms of the education they need and the qualifications that will allow them to make progress in the world beyond their educational experiences in an institutional setting.

One of the ways in which education has changed significantly is that it has become much more of a competitive business venture.

Increasingly educational institutes from all around the globe compete with each other for students. Certainly, there are still those colleges and universities that exist with their hallowed halls of learning and their ivory towers of academia and so are able to remain above and aloof to such "market forces" but more and more colleges and universities around the world are obliged to literally market themselves to potential students from all around the world.

This naturally means that students must be increasingly savvy to marketing ploys and wise to what they require and how well colleges and universities can really meet their needs. There is now quite literally a circuit for representatives to travel to different parts of the globe -- attending exhibitions and fairs, making special (and sometimes rather openly commercial) presentations and even doing direct visits to high schools -- all in a quite powerful attempt to secure enrollments.

This can create a quite dizzying array of information. From glossy brochures and leaflets to slick video presentations that may present testimonials from existing or former students, the abundance of information can, quite literally, be overwhelming. Into this overwhelming arena must step a prospective student who, it is quite likely, will not be entirely sure of what he or she is really looking for and to whom much information may either remain hidden or difficult to ascertain.

The abundance of information out there is matched by the number of education institutes that are out there ready and willing to receive students from practically any country in the world. For example, in the United States of America alone there are more than 3,000 colleges and universities that may be chosen from. All of this can present quite a heated and stressful predicament to prospective students, but in heated times and anywhere where stress is a factor some perspective on what is out there is beneficial. Along with this "outward" perspective, it is important to exercise a healthy degree of introspection.

Knowing one's own needs and being able assess one's self will make the task of gathering information, (and cutting through all the mountains of information that may be gathered), easier and more effective; and hopefully more successful in finding the right college or university. We do seem to live in a world in which people like to think in terms of "bests" and so quite often lists of "best colleges and universities" can be found or league tables of "top universities" may be read; but any such lists or league tables should be matched with one's own needs and indeed capacities. What the lists or league tables claim to be good for people generally may not be best for you.

Among the key considerations a prospective student should keep in mind when considering the puzzle of which colleges or universities to apply to are quite obvious things like admissions policies and academic matters. Of course, matters of admission have to be a consideration; no matter how well suited a student thinks an institute may be to his or her needs the institute may think otherwise and so being aware of the entry requirements is a pre-requisite. But alongside that matters of academics are also very important to be considered. The faculties or fields of learning that a student wishes to enter need to be carefully considered.

For example, a student who wishes to study law may find a college that has excellent facilities, is wonderfully located and has comprehensive and up-to-date resources but that same college may not have visiting lecturers of a suitable caliber. Visiting lecturers, who are practitioners in their field, can be a hugely advantageous learning experience for students.

Likewise, access to or direct contact with professors may be a consideration. Obviously beneficial guidance and experiences can be gained by having access to or working with professors in one's field of study but some colleges may have their professors sequestered away in research departments whilst others may not even have any professors to offer as support to learning.

Clearly, then, it is necessary to not only consider the material and built facilities that an educational institute has to offer but to also carefully consider the human resources that it has. This points us in the direction of the social aspects of attending college or university. It is probably one of the most noted features of this level of learning that one is entering into a new and often distinctly memorable stage in one's social life and this should be thought of when thinking of the right place for your studies.

For some people the priority may be very much focused to study hard and secure that degree at the end of the years of study and deal with whatever social or geographical conditions arise. For these people a relatively remote and small town-based university might be an appropriate option. Some people may prefer a more active social life as part of their study life and so big city settings may prove more supportive.

Other people still may wish to combine their hobby interests with their study interests. For example, some students have made their choices based on the academic profile of the college they wish to attend along with their wishes for athletics facilities. Similarly, recently a student chose a British university because he has had a lifelong love of British culture in all its forms.

Ultimately, there are quite huge numbers of variables that can go into and influence the choice of one's university or college. But a key and critical variable is self-knowledge. Who are you? What do you want to study? What do you want to do in life? Where do you want to be? What are your capabilities -- both potentially intellectually and financially? Knowledge of one's self will help cut through the jungle of information out there.

Being wise and aware of one's self is key and being wise to others will help. Educational institutes want you to enroll and are marketing themselves accordingly. Sales jargon will be used that should be interpreted for what it is and even mindless language will be used -- such as "the hottest college for this year" -- that should be just swept aside. In short, choosing a college or university can be a challenging and useful learning exercise in critical thinking. -- The views expressed above are personal.