Students must be careful in choosing school abroad
Students must be careful in choosing school abroad
JAKARTA (JP): At least a year of extensive and intensive preparation and personal research is absolutely necessary before prospective students leave Indonesia to study abroad, educational advisers say.
"Students should be well-prepared before leaving to study in the United States...I have met some Indonesians who end up enrolling in a university just because it is the only one which hasn't closed its admission deadline," said Ardythe Huber- Fenwick from the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF) at a seminar providing information on U.S., Australian, New Zealand and Singaporean higher education institutions yesterday.
Kay Ikranegara from the International Education Foundation also gave useful tips for prospective students.
"Start out with a good basis in English and apply for computer courses, because statistics is needed in almost all fields of study. And increase your reading speed," she advised.
Most important of all, she added, is knowing the appropriate field of study and making the right choice. "Take time and do it carefully," she said.
Both counselors said that many students did not choose carefully -- and later regretted their choice -- because they did not want to go to too much trouble and, as a result, let someone else choose for them.
While prospective undergraduate students may make their choice of university according to its location, graduate students should put more emphasis on the university's excellence in a specific field of study, she said.
"Don't choose a university just because it is famous. Less- famous institutions may have stronger, more specialized areas of concentration which should be an important consideration," she said.
Peggy Slamet from the British Council's Education Counseling Service said that unlike U.S. and Australian universities, institutions in the United Kingdom concentrated more on promoting their graduate studies.
"The post graduate studies in the U.K. are relatively shorter and many can be completed in one year," she said.
Slamet considered that climate and environmental differences were the things which Indonesians found most difficult to adapt to.
"However, the typical stereotype of conservative, cold Britons also prevents Indonesians from socializing with them. Actually, they're not that bad," Slamet said.
Denis Browne, Deputy Principal of New Zealand's Paraparaumu College, said it was important to "mix" students of various backgrounds.
"We want a mix of students... This way they are educated not only academically but socially and culturally as well," he said, adding that for this purpose homestays were considered the most suitable form of accommodation.
Tuition fees together with living expenses range between 10,000 and 23,000 pounds sterling per year in the U.K., US$12,000 and $25,000 per year in the U.S., and are about A$ 23,000 per year in Australia and at least NZ$ 8,000 per year in New Zealand, depending on the location of the university and the field of study. (pwn)