Teens mull studying abroad

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As the start of the academic year approaches, teenagers are eagerly collecting information on schools, colleges and universities at the Education Expo 2004 held in the Central Business District on Saturday.

Organized by the Pelita Harapan School in Sentul, the expo is held in conjunction with the school's 10th anniversary.

To make the event memorable, the school is also holding a number of competitions, including fencing, singing, and drawing. There is also an exhibition of paintings by students.

But, for many teenagers the most exciting feature of the two- day expo is the booth providing information on international colleges.

"Gosh, look at the tuition fee. It's so expensive," Valerie, a 17-year-old high school student, said to her friend.

She was standing in front of the Edmonds Community College booth, looking at the list of college rates.

"I really hope that I can study abroad, you know, because I think it's easier to get a job and a high salary when you have a foreign diploma," the petite girl told The Jakarta Post.

Cynthia, who visited the expo with her friend Valerie, shared the same opinion, saying that "curriculums abroad are better than the ones taught here. When you graduate with a foreign diploma you're well-prepared for real life," she claimed.

More and more teenagers are considering studying abroad. This was evident at the expo, as few teenagers were interested in the booths of local universities.

Budi, a 16-year-old student was standing in front of the booth for the Budi Luhur University in Jakarta.

"I'm just looking around. I don't know if I want to go to this university. I just want to see what it has to offer, and how much the tuition fees are," he told the Post.

For Dinda, 17, who came to find out about applying for an Australian university, studying abroad would open her mind and give her the chance to see things that, "she didn't have access to here."