When Singaporean-French student Claire Deplanck and her parents began researching potential universities abroad, they used all available resources — and did so from their home in the Philippines.
Not all prospective international students have the luxury of visiting university campuses abroad. They have visa issues to contend with, as well as time constraints and travel costs. But there are other ways to adequately assess a university without visiting.
Here are some options students should consider to evaluate a global university from afar.
1. Chat with school staff and current students in real time: A school’s website is a good place to start researching an institution, and many schools are working to bridge the distance for international students by offering more technology and social media to engage with them.
[Find out how global universities use digital tools to recruit international students.]
Margot Kilgour, assistant director for customer acquisition and engagement, international recruitment for RMIT University in Australia, says the university uses various means to communicate with prospective students. For example, Kilgour says the school answers prospective Chinese students’ questions via Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, where RMIT has 22,000 followers. Students typically ask questions about entry requirements, specific academic programs and living in Melbourne, she says.
Other universities, such as the University of Sheffield in the U.K., provide multiple scheduled opportunities for students to connect via live webchats with current international students, admissions and international office staff as well as faculty and staff from various programs and departments. Topics discussed range from university accommodation and visa advice to part-time work and careers. Transcripts of past chats are also available on the website.
In addition to faculty and students, graduates can be an invaluable resource. “I think what really helps you evaluate a university is speaking to alumni,” says Pakistani national Zaubash Shakir, who is studying international politics at Georgetown University Qatar.
Apart from learning about the school from her Georgetown alumnus brother, Shakir says she researched the campus and curriculum online and asked about core classes and living in Qatar during her Skype interview with a university representative.
She says the admissions team also organized several Google Hangout sessions where accepted students could connect with alumni and current students. Shakir says she liked this because it connected her with other incoming freshmen and allowed them to “share our experiences and worries about coming in as international students.”
[Learn about the four types of students who should consider international universities.]
2. Hire an independent educational consultant: For her international university search, Deplanck and her parents turned to independent educational consultant Jennifer Aquino of Atelier Education , w hich has locations in Singapore and Geneva. Aquino says she worked with Deplanck and her family via Skype for a year and a half, beginning in the student’s junior year of high school.
Aquino says she first helped Deplanck determine which factors were most important to her — such as flexibility to choose and change her major — and then suggested institutions that could be a fit. Although she doesn’t cap the time, Aquino says she typically spends 50 to 90 hours per student for her program, which lasts through the application process and costs $8,000.
Deplanck, who is currently in her first year at Bates College in the U.S., says, “The educational consultant guides you through the process, helps you assess the factors, helps with your anxieties and fears about this new experience, points you in the right direction, but ultimately it will be your decision to make and your experience to create.”
For students and their families looking to hire an educational consultant to explore studying overseas, experts advise they visit the websites for the Independent Educational Consultants Association and the Higher Education Consultants Association, both based in the U.S. These organizations have lists of independent educational consultants by region that students worldwide can access.
The IECA recommends families ask questions before hiring an independent educational consultant . They should evaluate factors ra nging from the consultant’s training and experience to the fee policy.
3. Meet university representatives in your region: Many universities, such as the University of Glasgow in Scotland, send staff members overseas to meet with prospective international students through school visits. Students can check the university’s website for dates and times that representatives are scheduled to visit their country.
Students can also meet with various global university representatives — admissions officers or faculty members — through college fairs worldwide. Brandon Grenier, president of Worldwide College Tours in Canada, says there are about 20 companies that currently organize hundreds of education fairs in various countries. These are often widely advertised through schools and social media.
[Discover how to make the most of college admissions fairs.]
Grenier said via email that students should come prepared with a list of questions for university representatives, such as, “Where do most of your international students come from? Is there extra support for international students either socially or financially?” Grenier says his organization provides interpreters at events to assist students.
Students can leave their contact information with universities they’re interested in, as schools typically follow up via email or by mailing information packets. Prospective applicants should also contact the admissions officials after the event, “especially if the university offers a program that the student is interested in, because when it’s time to apply, the admissions rep will remember you,” he said.
Deplanck, the Bates student, says she likes her U.S. college experience so far. She says without visiting a university campus, it’s crucial to do good research and talk to people who work or have studied at the school.
“Whether it be coaches, students or admissions staff, by getting in contact with them you really get a real sense of what the college is like,” says Deplanck.
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3 Ways to Evaluate a Global University Without Visiting originally appeared on usnews.com
