Karen in CO Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 My ds has applied to and been accepted at three colleges. He wasn't terribly excited about the school - other than the fact he would be living on campus and he had friends going there. Yesterday while he was in Japanese, he sent m a text message with the URL of a school saying "I want to there!!!!!!" He came home ecstatic. There had been a representative from the college in his Japanese class. He is talking about getting a job working as an English tutor and majoring in Asian studies. He knew the cost, deadlines, and all about scholarships they offered. I am happy that he is finally excited about a college. His plan is to stay home - yes, he said stay home - for another semester to finish Japanese 4 with his current professor, then transfer over next spring. It would give him enough college credits to be eligible for a good scholarship even though the cost is within what we were had already put aside. He wants to actually get a job next semester to save money for living and travel expenses. The big problem is that it is in Tokyo. Tokyo is so far away. Does anyone have any experience with their kids going to American universities in foreign countries? The school is excited about is Temple University. Anyone have experience with this school? What kinds of things should I look out for or be concerned with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Hi Karen.. I am a lurker on this board, since my kids are nowhere near highschool age. I attended the American University in Cairo; I am sure my parents had a major cow when I broke that little news item to them, lol. It was a life-changing experience, and not just because I met my dh there ;) You should, of course, look into the school specifically, but my general experience has been that American schools overseas are decent. We have a number of them here (American University in Dubai, George Mason Univ), and in general they have comparable programs to what you find in the States, and the facilities are good. Sometimes the scope of what you can study there is limited; at the moment most of the foreign schools here are focused on business courses. I would recommend that you investigate fully the financial aspects. I took graduate courses at AUC, and there was some paperwork and agreements to be made with the lovely folks at the Student Loan organizations in the States regarding my loans from Bachelor studies. There are some things where you are treated as simply a student in an American school, and some things where you are treated as "outside the system", kwim? You might want to be crystal clear on all that, regarding credits, degrees, transferring, money, etc. etc. But about the physical going there and all, after checking online for student experiences and all, I wouldn't be as concerned. Said very cavalierly since my oldest is only 10, lol.. If you have more questions I'm happy to try and help! Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I can't give you detailed specifics about Temple University in Japan, other than the fact that it has been a program with steady growth. If your son is considering university in Japan, he should also look at Sophia University in Tokyo for a comparison. I was acquainted with a number of international students who studied at Sophia during the time we lived in Tokyo. Obviously studying abroad for a full four years is a different situation from a semester or year exchange, so there are, as Kate said, financial and other issues to consider. If you think your son is ready socially, or will be by that time, Tokyo is an exciting city to be in, and relatively safe, for students who are very keen on Japanese language and culture. We loved our 11 years in Tokyo, though we were there as business ex-pats, not students, so it was a different sort of situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Katia Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 My ds just came home from a semester of college in Japan in late Dec. He left in early August, so was there for the whole semester. He absolutely LOVED it and wished he had the funds to stay for yet another semester. While he loves Japanese anime, he didn't really know any of the Japanese language when he left, but studied it there and in one semester learned quite a bit. He was at the Kansai Gaidai University's Study Abroad program which majors in Asian Studies. He was very busy, worked hard, and had SO much fun and good experiences. We would recommend to anyone that had an interest to "go for it". All of his credits transferred back to his college here in the states. He is graduating in May. Some good things I can tell you that helped "me" in letting him go: the crime rate is very, very low in Japan. When you lose something; they will go to great lengths to return it to you (ask me how I know,lol!) and this is a common occurrence, and he was just an IM or Skipe away. I actually "talked" more to him when he was in Japan than when he was at college here in the states. What a terrific opportunity your ds has! Research it some more and be enthusiastic with him. Japan is a wonderful place to be and study. Edit: I am adding a link to my ds' blog when he was in Japan. As you can see, writing is VERY difficult for him (quite the struggle) and he only managed to blog his first week there and then he got so busy he just ran out of time. So....there isn't a lot here, but it would be of interest to your ds, I'm sure :-) http://www.acornscity.com/blog/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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