Learning
YCIS student Yeo Rang (in in blue andgap friend ErikaBeijing Richards (far right) optedLee to be Asiashirt) for her yearin Hollywood
The Official Visit Checking out universities with your teen by Ellis Friedman
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Mapping It Out A desire to get a feel for the atmosphere of a school and its surroundings is the biggest reason to visit a university in person. Living in China can make visiting schools in other countries a cumbersome trek, but the process is perhaps even more important for students who have resided here for long periods – or indeed their entire lives. The timing of the visit is crucial. Generally, it’s best to start visiting
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schools about two years before the student is slated to start university. Last summer, Suzi Roberts took her son Jake Ou to visit universities in the UK, where both hold citizenship. Ou graduated from Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) this June and will start university in the fall. “Jake’s home has always been Beijing. He spent summers with family and friends in the UK, so his knowledge of the UK has been limited to the places we visit each year,” says Roberts. She and her son consulted The Times Good University Guide for course and university options to help narrow down schools. The pair embarked on a journey to universities in Edinburgh, Manchester, Bath, Exeter, and Bristol. The visits led Ou to realize that he did not want to attend a campus university like Bath or Exeter, but instead apply to a university in the city. Talia Jin, a 16-year-old student at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), also plans to get a feel for potential universities. This summer, she will visit a number of schools in the US. In the Boston area, Jin will look at schools like Smith College, Wellesley College, and Amherst College. On the west coast, she plans to visit Claremont McKenna College and Scripps College in California.
photo: courtesy of yeo rang lee
f there’s anything that will test you and your teen’s ability to plan ahead, it’s the university application process. Before those applications are even sent, the student needs to decide where to apply. A major influence on those application decisions is the in-person university visit. “I wanted to experience university life,” says Yeo Rang Lee, a Year 12 student at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing) who spent six weeks visiting the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). “I decided to visit in person, as this was the best way to truly get a feel for not only the university, but also the city that could by my home for four years.”