PARENT’s GUIDE

Studying abroad is challenging for students and their parents too, as this process is rewarding terrifying as well as challenging. Our parent's guide for a parent like you will help you in the toughest time. As a parent of 17 years old child, the question may arise like Should I send my child to study abroad? Why not? You should send your child if you are financially strong.

 

Why you should send your child abroad?

• Your child will have a good experience of a lifetime, he/she will learn about himself/herself.
• He/she will discover a new culture, acquire international experience, learn crucial life skills apart from educational prosperity.
• With a global mindset, he/she can succeed in a competitive world.
• He/she will gain the confidence to communicate and interact with people of different culture and in other countries

Now, your inner thought that is “I want to send my child abroad for education” is supported by logic. As a parent, you have a significant right to choose the best career option according to his/her skills and area of interest.

 

What is your role as a parent?

 

As a parent, it can be tense to send your young child alone to a foreign land. But you need to support, motivate, and encourage them for their future. Parents need to understand their child’s state of mind, career choice. Distance is part of the abroad studies dream of your child.

 

There are certain points that student’s parent can keep with themselves and can be perfect parent’s guide for those parents:

 

• Active decision-making:

1. Discuss the goal and ambition of your child.
2. Ask him, why he wants to study abroad? Whether his decision is career-oriented or not?
3. Help him to pick the best-suitable career path for him.

 

You can advise him regarding various career options, university, location. You can tell him how he/she can cope up with cultural, environmental, biological change during the study. Finally, you can decide the country and university in which your child will receive his/her graduation/post-graduation degree.

 

• Extensive research

As a parent, you need to do extensive research regarding:

1. Colleges, universities, environmental, cultural aspects of a different country.
2. Analyse the cost of living, transportation charges and other costs because you don’t want a hollow bank account at the end.
3. Do’s and don’ts of the new destination.
4. Local and international students’ rights.
5. Trustworthy travel agent or counsellor or education consultancy. As they are expert in this field. (click here) – insert Eduselor link

 

• Be prepared for obstacles

 

You should understand the perquisite aspect of living abroad. Ask family, friends, teachers or counsellor or any person who has experienced foreign land about their experience, any good or bad.  You can make a proper list of questions regarding overseas study before reaching them. Now, accordingly, guide your child in the journey.

 

• Seek professional counselling

 

This parent’s guide for parents will assist you to an extent but you can seek the help of Eduslor’s professional counsellor for any question.

 

• Make a Specific plan

1. Decide college, university, country.
2. How you will meet the financial requirements?
3. Make a plan regarding, how you will manage overseas living expenses, travel insurance, life insurance, health insurance, flight tickets expenses?

 

Once decided, you can move ahead for a further journey. Wait, that’s all? Of course, No, this parent’s guide will inform you regarding other things too. These are:

 

1. Be prepared for lengthy paperwork

If you want to avoid stressful complication be prepared to organise lots of document for:

1. Visa application form,
2. Overseas flight tickets,
3. Insurance forms,
4. Admission to university.

A single misplaced document or forgotten form can lead to the cancellation of the form. It is advised to make a checklist of the necessary paperwork and a separate list of documents with requirements. For example, the name of documents that needs to go in your child’s baggage on the day of departure.

 

2. Plan health check-up and decide the insurance policy

 

Make sure that your child is fit, fine and healthy before departure. A medical check-up will ensure this so that no surprise medical problems emerge during the trip.

 

If your child takes any medication, make sure that he/she carries enough medicine to last his/her trip. Be prepared for an emergency and provide a small medical-kit to your child, prescription of previous medications, if any.

 

Insurance coverage is also important for your child’s studies. You should also know what kind of insurance coverage your child has while studying abroad. Many insurance programs include medical insurance which covers accidents and injuries, while some programs include travel insurance as well.  You must know what’s covered and what isn’t, before your child leaves.

 

3. Do not rely totally on phone

Parent and child need to decide the communication channel before departure. You need to consider things like different time zone, roaming policy and international calling plans. You may interact with their child through free apps like Skype, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. These apps allow you to message and call your child whenever he has an Internet connection.

 

4. Plan a surprise visit

Once your child gets settled on foreign land, plan a surprise visit. It is possible that he/she don’t have time to make a call. So, keep yourself calm as much as possible.

 

Conclusion

 

Congratulations!! You took the bravest step for your child’s future. Now, try not to take stress about various things.

 

Keep yourself positive about various things after his/her departure, update yourself regarding policy change, political change, environmental change of that country. You have to do everything, from advising courses to deciding country and university; from deciding insurance policy to flight ticket to setting up proper communication channels; from health check-up to documentation.

 

It is not a relaxing process but letting go will make this experience more pleasant for everyone involved. With a little forethought and preparation, sending your child for educational purposes can be a positive experience for both student and parent.