5 Ways International Students Can Explain College Choices to Parents
Choosing the list of colleges where you want to apply certainly can affect your future -- especially when you're heading overseas. For this reason, your parents are likely to be worried and concerned about the choices you are about to make.
In an effort to help prospective international students explain to their parents about why their choices would benefit them the most and make them happy, here are five topics about U.S. colleges that you and your parents can discuss to come to an agreement about the schools where you'll apply -- and ultimately, attend.
Learn ways to [research U.S. colleges from overseas.]
1. It is a good investment for my future: Going to a U.S college is expensive, and you want that to pay off in the long run. Whether your choice schools are near big cities, in-demand jobs or are known for producing successful businesspeople, lawyers or doctors, you will need to show your parents that going to that U.S. college will secure you a stable living in the future.
2. It is somewhere I will be happy: You may like a big state university where school spirit is part of the equation, or you may want to go to a small liberal arts school where people know each other by name and say "Hi" to you whenever they see on on campus. Your parents want to know that you'll be emotionally fulfilled while being away from them for the next four years.
Here are [four ways studying in the U.S. challenges students.]
3. It is where I would grow as a person : It is many parents' wish that their children learn something from a different culture and become a more open-minded and mature person after attending college. The college you choose will have the opportunity to foster this kind of mental growth.
Choosing a school where you would be immersed in daily interactions with different people, in my opinion is better than going to a place where you might spend the whole day sitting in front of the computer, becoming alienated from the outside world.
Get [five key facts about U.S. academic culture.]
4. It is where I would be physically comfortable: If you don't like the cold, going to a college in upstate New York or in Maine is likely off your list. If you like eating well, you may want to go online and research the cafeteria of the place you're choose to apply to, and let your parents know what you've found.
After all, not only do your parents want you to be happy, they also want a place where you'll be healthy and in the best condition to absorb a large amount of knowledge in the next four years.
5. It matches our family budget: This is perhaps the most critical issue for a huge proportion of parents of international students. All of the previous discussion points may mean nothing if you have not had a careful discussion with your parents about their financial situation.
Some parents who aspire to send their sons and daughters overseas may not have to worry as much about money issues, but students still need to research costs and have a deliberate discussion with them to make sure that everything will go smoothly in the process.
Danh Pham, from Vietnam, is a sophomore and a member of the Liberal Arts Honors Program at Providence College, where he majors in economics and political science.
