Jump to content

Menu

Going to school far away?


easypeasy
 Share

Recommended Posts

Please Do Not Quote

 

What steps, questions, thoughts, suggestions, websites would you have for a music student and parents if the student is considering going to school abroad? Do you visit once to check it out, once for auditions? 

Our kids are better-traveled than we, thanks to the kindness of jet-setting friends of theirs who love taking them along on trips. So dd has “been” places, but not the city/country she’s considering. 

She’s a senior- taking a gap year next year which is when she’ll be doing her applications and music auditions  

Her new music teacher has a lot of connections and friends in the business and he suggested a school and teacher she’s never considered before (he suggested it to her as a great option to consider if she was considering going abroad... which she wasn’t... but, after a brief research, she’s now very interested). I’m really not sure where to start. I did read about the country and its student visa policy so feel somewhat knowledgeable about that... and we have a general idea of the actual costs of things.

The school is in a safe, large city... but she does not speak the language. But a majority of the students would also speak English (because: Europe, lol!). I think she’d need to begin learning it now - because surely they’ll have some sort of “basic minimum test” like we do here for English? First thing to check on I guess!? She can speak/understand French and Spanish passably... but should brush up on those because the other language isn’t gonna be easy to pick up at home.

 Online reading indicates that local students in this country take a while to warm up to incoming international students (but since she’s a music major, I’m thinking that is a little different than accounting or something?).

Any suggestions would be oh so helpful! This wasn’t even on our radar until last week and now I don’t know where is the Logical Step One. If it comes to fruition, it would be a glorious opportunity for her! But I’m worried she’ll be lonely (she makes friends easily usually... but this would be so radically different).

Lots of ppl who play her instrument get their UGs abroad (because many/most of them are from those countries! lol), and then come to the US for their graduate degrees, so I don’t think that should cause any problems for her.

 

 

Edited by easypeasy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congratulations!

I've not had a music major go off internationally, but my music major went to school 3000+ miles from home, so probably some of what we learned applies.  

Before they go, you need to figure out:

Money - do they need a bank account there? Credit Card for emergencies? How will they get cash for things?

Local Transportation - taxis can be expensive and add up quick.  How will they get from where they live to stores?  Is there public transportation?  How does it work - cash or a card or something else?

Medical - figure out the arrangements for medical care.  Any prescriptions that need to be handled?  Vitamins or supplements?

Clothes - music majors often need performance clothes, so factor that into what they need to bring in their luggage.  Not to mention all that music gear.... Oldest DD ended up traveling with 3 instruments and a single suitcase of clothes so that she could manage it all herself when her plane landed at the other end.  It took careful planning

And Congrats again!  This sounds like a wonderful adventure for her!

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you really need to look at the school she is considering. Depending on a selectivity, they most likely will have a live audition. Paris Conservatory requires B1 French proficiency from students. Some other countries may not require thisnif studies are in English. Check with the specific school. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's exciting!  Two of my kids have or are going to school internationally (but not for music).  You'll need to look carefully at requirements -- both language and visa.  BUT, it can be a wonderful experience.  My kids have not regretted it at all.

One dd went to undergraduate school in a Latin American country.  She did have to pass a fairly basic language test, both online (written) and in person (oral).  All classes were in that language and the teacher wasn't expected to cater to English-speaking students at all.  That said, the test was fairly easy, and because my dd was pretty fluent in Spanish already, the classes were fine.  The visa part was much more complicated.  We had to have her undergraduate paperwork -- like transcripts, descriptions of classes, grades, etc. --  officially translated into the language of that country, and the school even required our state's Secretary of State to approve of everything!  The consulate here had to get involved too.  It required a lot of legwork over a period of about 6 months.  But she got it all taken care of and did all four years there and loved the program.  It was very worth it!

My other dd is currently going to graduate school in France.  The program required her to take the highest French mastery test (C-2 I think?).  It was very stressful, and she took about 6 months to study.  (She was already fluent in French.)  She did have to go for an in-person interview during the application process.  In her situation, the visa was far easier to get.  

In both cases, the schools didn't help them with things like housing, figuring out health insurance while there, etc.  International students were really on their own trying to manage all of that.  (And it did become rather complicated at times!  Still, it always worked out.)

But, I've heard of other schools that really cater to international students and even teach the classes in English.  They'll help with housing, offer field trips to foreigners to get to know the area, etc.   That would make it a lot easier!

Either way, and even though there were quite a few hurdles, both my girls absolutely felt it was worth it.  Just be prepared for them meeting their spouses over there and what that entails...  Seriously!   My first dd met her spouse there (he's native of that country), but they did decide to settle here so that's nice.  ?  My other dd has likely met her future spouse there, and I have an idea that due to his job, they will probably end up making their home there.  (But it will be a fun place to visit!)

ETA:  I just reread your question to make sure I wasn't missing anything, and realized you asked specifically for music students.  Sorry about that!  Maybe my post will have some helpful info in it anyway.  Good luck!!

Edited by J-rap
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all very much! The information is so helpful! Another couple of schools are now on the list due to other connections, so it looks like she and I will be spending a considerable amount of our time over the next several months researching!

@J-rap  thank you - and your info was extremely helpful! I only specified "music student" in case there were additional audition-type things to take into consideration! 🙂

@Roadrunner The primary professor dd would be studying with will be in the US sometime within the next 6 months or so and I think they would meet up then and dd would audition. At least, that is my tentative understanding. We would send dd for a visit if that meet-and-greet went well and dd meshed with the professor.

@AK_Mom4  Ack! Bank account and medical! Yes. We need to find out about that.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My ds is half way around the world at university, and I miss him so much!!  He has a music scholarship at MIT.  He sent in a full music portfolio including music resume, letter of recommendation, and videoed performance meeting their requirements.  The scholarship was based on his audition during the first week of school.  

The main thing we had to sort out was insurance for his violin.  NZ insurance companies will not insure a violin that lives in another country.  

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/20/2018 at 1:42 PM, lewelma said:

My ds is half way around the world at university, and I miss him so much!!  He has a music scholarship at MIT.  He sent in a full music portfolio including music resume, letter of recommendation, and videoed performance meeting their requirements.  The scholarship was based on his audition during the first week of school.  

The main thing we had to sort out was insurance for his violin.  NZ insurance companies will not insure a violin that lives in another country.  

 

So, with the scholarship audition being during the first week of school, this means you didn't know a "final cost" of his school year until after his first week of school? That's very interesting to note!

And, insurance! Yes! Additional/out-of-country insurance for the instrument will probably be tricky. Adding that to the list. Thank you! 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...