Study abroad: three for and four against

The idea of teaching your own children abroad in prestigious educational institutions has gained popularity several decades ago and has not lost its relevance and attractiveness ever since. Agreeing that our educational system is one of the best in the world, many parents dream of arranging a child after school in a foreign university or academy, almost falling into a mystical delight from beautiful words: "Harvard", "Cambridge" or "Sorbonne ". In a sense, these words can easily be written with a small letter, since in Russian they acquired a nominal value of an elite, accessible not for all education. In principle, it is rather difficult to counter this, because the listed educational institutions are respected in many countries and are considered the best almost all over the world. On the other hand, there are not so many opportunities to entertain a simple layman, therefore, when speaking about education abroad, they often mean less well-known and simpler foreign institutions of higher education, the names of which say little to most parents. In the context of our essay, this is the second type of educational institution - the usual average European and American universities. So, what should parents think about before submitting their child's documents for admission to a foreign university.

When deciding on the place of study, first of all, it is necessary to take into account the psychological factors: the child's character store and the relationship in the family. So, some children after school in the 16-17 years are fully formed personalities that have their own, often different from the parental opinion. Their independence, commitment and self-confidence cause a certain isolation from their parents, who also prefer not to bother children with their care, realizing that they have grown up. This option can be considered optimal for traveling abroad for study: yesterday's schoolboy will not be greatly bored in the house, quickly mastered and will find many advantages in the new situation. It is quite another matter if a child is emotionally attached to parents and the environment around him and does not like to leave home for a long time. For him, long studies abroad can be a psychological test, which can easily be avoided by enrolling in a university in your city. Thus, psychological moments can play a positive and negative role in long-term departure for study.

An important aspect is the quality of education in certain universities and their specialization, which ideally should coincide with the school, as well as with the intentions and aspirations of the student. Teaching in foreign universities is usually conducted according to its specific program, designed primarily for students of this country. This, on the one hand, means that the university program can be a logical continuation of the foreign school curriculum. On the other hand, it is reasonable that teaching in a foreign educational institution is conducted with the expectation that the graduates possess exactly the skills necessary for successful managerial and production activities in this particular country. Thus, it is necessary to take into account the further plans of the parents and the student himself regarding the place of his future employment. If the parents abroad have no plans to work abroad, then it is better to acquire an education in some Moscow higher educational institution. So, from the place of planned professional activity, education should be selected: in other words, where studied - there it is better and work.

One of the most weighty arguments in favor of overseas education is the high linguistic level of graduates in English or another foreign language - after all it teaches all subjects. Let's try to look at this from the other side: let's say, all lectures are read in a foreign language, and around the natural language environment - all this undoubtedly contributes to the effective learning of English. However, it should be borne in mind that the majority of visitors to study abroad know the foreign language much worse than their fellow students from a given country, which often affects their academic performance: they do not understand most of the lectures that they are being taught. Thus, even diligent pupils only a few courses later will be able to "pull up" their English so that it does not affect the study of other subjects, perhaps important for his future specialization. True, fluency in a foreign language also gives huge advantages: for example, even if you can not get a job, you can always organize your own translation agency or give private lessons as a tutor.

Whatever you say, and practically every positive moment of studying abroad can be taken into account taking into account specific features of a person and circumstances. However, one can say with almost complete certainty: studying abroad is almost always more expensive, - so is the "game of candles" worth then? This, as well as everything else, everyone decides for himself.