daughter studying - a few questions

**Dutchie** · 05-08-2009, 08:06 AM

I would like to ask a couple of questions please.
Because I know from experience that at least one person on this forum will have answers I thought that I could ask here.

Most folks on here know that we are a bi-lingual family.
My daughter is more English-language orientated than the rest of my kids.
She started college this year and has done very well so far. It is a English language bachelor degree in International Business and Management with Spanish as an extra language (she already did 4 years of French and German in high school as well as her IB).

I have noticed in the last few weeks that her enthusiasm for most things is waning and I asked her what was wrong?
(These kinds of moments with my kids almost all happen in the car when we are driving somewhere - that's when they open up and talk - today was the same.)

She said that she thinks that she has been born in the wrong country since everything in her says that she needs to study and live in an English language environment. (She has travelled a lot in the UK and, the way things are looking, we will be taking her to New York in August for a vacation.)

Also the degree that she is following just doesn't seem to be her 'thing', she said.
(In Holland they have to choose the direction of the degree and then the school or both together in the last year of high school. For example, here they can apply -in the last year of high school - for med. school or law school. I understand that in the US, the system is different.)

She has said before that criminology, law or teaching may be her 'thing' but she isn't sure yet.

Now I have secretly been looking on line for US schools/colleges but the costs are prohibitive for International students.
I have also looked in the UK for the same but she seems to be looking to the US for inspiration.
Will you please share your thoughts with me regarding the college system in the US? How does it actually work?

Here as I said earlier, kids can apply directly to a law school but in the US you have to have a bachelor degree to get in. Aren't there any schools that take law students directly?

Do you maybe have links for me/my daughter to have a look at?
Thank for any trouble taken.

**lotsadebt** · 05-08-2009, 08:30 AM

Here Law schools require a bachelor's degree first. Law school is post-graduate work. Before admission you have to sit for the LSAT, Law School Admission Test. Scores base where you are accepted. This is just a BRIEF version of the process.

Many schools here have an International Experience Year. I attended a Jesuit run college in West Virginia and we had International Students from Japan/South America/Africa for a year.

**Rebookie** · 05-08-2009, 08:33 AM

Send her to the US! I love my country.. I also sounds like college here in the us might be less restrictive!!! You don't have to pick a degree until you are ready too! that wat she can explore her true self... Most colleges are international student friendly. Good luck and doo what you feel right for your baby!

**warramra** · 05-08-2009, 08:35 AM

The college/university system is probably much different. Most high school graduates do declare a major when entering college and will choose a college based upon that major, but more than half end up switching majors before they finish. Master degrees and Professional degrees (Medicine, Vet school, Law, etc.) are all done after a bachelor degree is earned, and most often at a different school. Once someone earns a bachelor degree they can then take one of the various entrance tests for the different graduate degree options and decide if and where they will go for graduate school. Most times majors do not matter; a person with a degree in 17th Century European history can try for Medical school and a Nuclear Engineer can go to Law School.

I believe that US young adults are asked to choose their futures too quickly with out a lot of life experiences. I was wondering do the Dutch have a custom similar to the UK where some do a year or two of travel/volunteer work before college. My step-sister did this even though it isn't the custom here, but she went from very unfocused, barely graduated high school to knowing what she wanted and making dean's list every semester, and later very successful & HAPPY in her chosen career.

**JustMegan79** · 05-08-2009, 10:01 AM

Here in the US we have Associates Degrees (2 year degree at a community college), then a Bachelors Degree (4 year). You can start a Bachelors without having an associates, but you cannot start a Masters without having a Bachelors. It is like steps. You also may change your major at any given time. However, if you do, you may have to stay in school much longer to obtain the neccesary classes for your chosen program. You cannot just start going to law school. You cannot just start going to Med school. If you want to be a doctor, just like another poster said about being a lawyer, you must get your bachelors, then take the MCAT exams to see if you can even GET INTO med school. Then you apply to med schools. Its very expensive for Americans, I cannot imagine the cost for International Students. In addition, law or medicine are very long programs, costly and time intensive. Which is why not everyone is a doctor or a lawyer. As for criminology, a Bachelors can be obtained in that (my mother has this) and then a Masters, doctorate even later on.

The trend I see here with our economy is that employers are now requiring Masters for jobs previously requiring only bachelors. It is simply because they can, because our unemployment is so high right now. I saw a job in the paper yesterday requiring a Masters in social work for a part time postion paying $11 an hour. Now, that may not be the norm, but right now in the US the employers have the upper hand, because everyone needs a job.

I would encourage you to research what school she may be interested in to complete her bachelors, and then going to their website or calling the admissions office to get all the info you need regarding International students and just a basic run down of how the US system works. (and also ask about tuition!) Another thing, here in the US you cannot simply choose a school. You must apply and then they will decide if they will accept you, which is why students out of high school (and adult students also) often apply to multiple colleges because of the admissions criteria.

I wish your daughter luck in her quest, as I myself am currently stuck and cannot decide what my calling is. And I am almost 30! It is good that she has discovered this about herself now, rather than later.

Keep us updated!

**Cricketlegs** · 05-08-2009, 10:19 AM

My Emily changed her major...three times is it and is transfering from one college to another and she is a jr or 3rd year(she took one semester off to help with depression and to get off antidepression meds)so now she will have to go to jr college to get her GPA back up for one semester in order to get back into University to finish up a YEAR behind.

But on the up side she is off those stupid medicines, and is learning to deal with her issues and she is only 3 hours away instead of 8. That was half the problem, she was too far from home.

make sure your dd understands just how FAR away she will be and I hope you can deal with that too. It can be rough esp when they are sick or upset and you can't get to them or vice versa.

**guest002** · 05-08-2009, 11:19 AM

I changed my major 3 times as well, lol. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance with a minor in Management. Just to give you an idea.

My university isn't a large one, but we have had a large international student population. I graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. The main 3 degrees are nursing, education, and business. http://www.selu.edu/

When I attended SLU they were the fastest growing university in the USA and had just past UNLV to gain that title.

My main advice would be to start emailing/calling and seeing if a university you are interested in has an international student recruiting department.

Just to give you an idea from my alma mater:

https://www.selu.edu/future_students.../int_students/
http://www.selu.edu/admin/misa/
http://www.selu.edu/admin/misa/support_services/

**CaddoRose** · 05-08-2009, 09:13 PM

I agree with PaulaPAFW about Southeastern Louisiana. I grew up in Baton rouge, just near there and it is a great school. My husband and I both work at Texas A&M University Commerce which is a small school as well with about 8000 students. It is affiliated with the big Texas A&M, without the big price tag.I would say to look for smaller schools like these that can offer her a good education without the huge price tag. Every state in America has smaller schools and I would say to avoid the big cities/states that have higher costs of living in general.

On a side note, the town near me called Sulphur Springs Texas, has a large population of people from the Netherlands who are dairy farmers. I met several over the years and they come here because the land is so good for cows and it has a nice somewhat slow lifestyle here.

web.tamu-commerce.edu
tamu-commerce.edu/international

Since I'm new here, it doesn't want to let me list the correct URL's of the school. The tamu-commerce link should have www before it.

**Siebrie** · 05-11-2009, 09:01 AM

Hi Dutchie,

Your daughter (or you) should visit the Student Advisor at the University / Faculty she's visiting now, because there are many exchange programmes. Some are sponsored through the EU (Erasmus), some by the Netherlands, some require straight A grades (I think it's called Socrates). Most are for 1 year only, but that's at least 1 year taken care of.

It may even be worthwhile to see which subjects she will choose. I heard of a Dutch student who took a course on Calvin in the US and got paid a half-year's board for writing a thesis on that subject.

**Dutchie** · 05-11-2009, 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by Siebrie

Hi Dutchie,

Your daughter (or you) should visit the Student Advisor at the University / Faculty she's visiting now, because there are many exchange programmes. Some are sponsored through the EU (Erasmus), some by the Netherlands, some require straight A grades (I think it's called Socrates). Most are for 1 year only, but that's at least 1 year taken care of.

It may even be worthwhile to see which subjects she will choose. I heard of a Dutch student who took a course on Calvin in the US and got paid a half-year's board for writing a thesis on that subject.

Thanks Siebrie,
I've printed out your reply and will give it to her.

**suki** · 05-11-2009, 09:26 AM

Hey, Dutchie! Our college education system has been explained fairly well above.

My daughters are in accelerated programs at a private college. I found that private colleges offer more financial assistance and have better scholarships than the public schools... and the tuition is usually the same regardless of home address (no out of state fees, but I haven't checked international fees). My girls will finish their bachelor's degrees in 3 years + 2 summers. My youngest is studying pre-law and is in a 3+3 program at the school (3 years for bachelor and 3 years for law school) which is also accelerated by one year. It seems a lot of the private schools have these programs available.

Maybe she should take a year off and see what she wants to do? She could come stay with me for a while, though my rural life may be a bit too slow for her! She's always welcome here!

**suki** · 05-11-2009, 09:36 AM

Here's some info from my girls' school:

https://www.stephens.edu/academics/abroad/programs/
https://www.stephens.edu/admission/a...onal/index.php

**Siebrie** · 07-09-2009, 07:18 AM

This was published in the Times Online today. It describes the transfer from a British point of view, but it just might give you some helpful ideas.

**katy** · 07-09-2009, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by warramra

I believe that US young adults are asked to choose their futures too quickly with out a lot of life experiences. I was wondering do the Dutch have a custom similar to the UK where some do a year or two of travel/volunteer work before college. My step-sister did this even though it isn't the custom here, but she went from very unfocused, barely graduated high school to knowing what she wanted and making dean's list every semester, and later very successful & HAPPY in her chosen career.

I agree that a 'year out' can be an amazing experience, and that if your [aimed at the OP] daughter isn't entirely sure on what she wants to do yet, this could be a great way forward. I don't know anything about US schools (sorry! I'm in the UK) but as you mentioned, costs can really be prohibitive, and although I understand you can change your major in US schools it's probably better for her to have a good idea of what she wants to study. I took a year out between school and university (just finished my first year of University now) and it was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. I did a placement relevant to my degree, and it confirmed what I wanted to study - as well as paying me my first ever proper salary, which I'm sure everyone on this forum will appreciate is a really good way to save for independance

(I also met my now-boyfriend while working, so, yay.)

Your daughter could use the year out to be in an English-speaking Environment and see if that's really what she wants, and at the same time explore some of her options career-wise! My little sister wants to be a teacher (young children) and is considering working as an au-pair in the States for a year to see if she can hack it! I'm not sure what other opportunities are out there for people from abroad in English speaking countries, but it's definitely worth a look as an alternative to jumping straight back into Education.

**Dutchie** · 07-09-2009, 11:57 AM

Thank you so much everyone for your replies. I got such a lot of
helpful info.
We have had a long talk (yes another one) and our daughter has said that she will continue with her degree.

She has done extremely well this first year.
In her third year, she has the chance of going (almost cost-free) to either the US or the UK for a study time of 6 months at a university there. She will be starting to look into this in Sept. since the choice of uni has to be more or less settled by Dec.
In her fourth year she also has the chance to do this for three months.

So it looks as if she will be getting the best of both worlds - doing her degree here but still studying for a while in either the US or UK.