The Parent's Guide to University Study: Part One - First things first
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The Parent's Guide to University Study: Part One - First things first
As parents, the thought of sending your son or daughter or both off to a top university can be a daunting one. And, of course, the concerns that you might have will inevitably be very different from those that your offspring have in the forefront of their minds!
As parents, the thought of sending your son or daughter or both off to a top university can be a daunting one. And, of course, the concerns that you might have will inevitably be very different from those that your offspring have in the forefront of their minds! But the role that you play in the university application and admissions process is a very important one and your support and advice can be the difference between making a good or the very best choice of university possible.
For those that have been to university, either some time ago as an undergraduate or graduate student, or more recently as part of some form of professional development or a career break, the task of supporting a child through the university admission and application process is not an easy one. Broadly speaking, there are six issues that all parents should bear in mind when their child is considering a university education. These are:
• Choosing a university and an academic program
• Understanding the university application and admissions process
• Student life and university housing
• Student opportunities
• Student finance, university fees, loans and grants
• Careers and work
The first two issues will be discussed in the text following, the remaining four will be covered in depth in two separate articles.
With approaching 200 degree-awarding institutions in the UK, 4,000 in the USA, more than 40 in Australia and 2,000 across the European Union, choosing a university or college can be a complicated business, not least because universities are not all the same. University rankings can help define a shortlist to research further, remembering that the world’s top 200 universities will all be extremely competitive and encourage a high standard of admission. Top universities provide a great deal of information on useful criteria such as employment rates, the number of applicants per place, their position in world university rankings and the range of international links they possess. You should be familiar with all of these and more because they contribute to an impression of a university and it’s relative status in a particular country, region or on the global stage. Similarly, individual academic programs have different reputations – and not all excellent departments live in excellent universities. To help your child choose, make sure you’re familiar with the structure and content of a program, whether there are any particularly famous members of staff that teach undergraduates and, for the more vocationally orientated programs, whether there are links with industry or the relevant professions.
Universities and their programs also need to be recognised by the appropriate authority so that your child’s qualification will be valid. In the medical, legal and engineering fields this means that the bodies that govern the particular profession have to approve the content and delivery of each university and each program. Where there is no formal professional accreditation required because of the academic subject, a university should at least be governed by the local Ministry of Education or funding council. Without this there is a chance that a graduate would have difficulty having their qualification recognised either at home or abroad.
The university admissions process and the university application itself differ from country to country, and often from university to university within a single nation. It is essential that you are familiar with every aspect of the relevant process and university application from an early stage. Deadlines tend to very rigid, particularly in the top universities, where competition can be fierce and the most popular programs receive many more applications than there are places available. In the UK for example, university admissions are administered by a central body, UCAS (www.ucas.ac.uk) and have a structured system that dictated applicants should submit material at exactly the right time. In Australia and the USA, many universities operate centralised or common university application processes, though others will manage their own admissions. By knowing which university does what and being familiar with when material should be submitted, you can support your son or your daughter through the university admissions process and maximise their chances of admission.
One final piece of advice on these two broad issues: university rankings and reputation only go so far. Your son or daughter is an individual and as such will need to be supported in making an individual choice that is exactly right for them and them alone. What is a good choice of university for one may be a disastrous choice for another because of their personality, their academic ability, their ambitions or their interests. Selecting a university is not a “one size fits all” exercise.
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