Sending your children abroad for further studies
IN the current economic climate and with the commencement of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2015, there has been a general anecdotal murmuring on the ground that consumer spending has decreased significantly.
However, education is one of the sectors that most households would not compromise investing in.
Retired accountants Patricia and Steven sent their younger daughter Rebecca to the University of Glasgow in Scotland to complete her degree in dentistry after spending three years at the International Medical University (IMU).
Knowing that critical thinking and problem solving is not yet an integral part of the local syllabi, Patricia has always wanted her children to obtain an overseas qualification.
Their elder daughter Rachel pursued her undergraduate degree in psychology in Australia.
“We never thought of the UK. We were under the impression that the UK is expensive,” recalled Patricia on their decision to send Rachel to the University of Queensland in 2007.
Rebecca, on the other hand, had a less straightforward journey.
After being inspired to study dentistry when she got her braces done, she undertook A-Levels and graduated in July 2014.
IMU’s intake was scheduled to commence only in February the following year, so Patricia and her husband decided to send her to Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to get a head start.
In the meantime, Rebecca had already submitted her application to IMU and five other universities in Taiwan.
She received an offer from the National University of Kaohsiung but opted to continue at IMU instead.
After two and a half years at IMU, it was time for Rebecca to transfer to an overseas university.
“We’ve never wanted her to complete it locally, even though it would have saved us half a million ringgit,” said Patricia.
Among several universities globally, Rebecca narrowed down her choices to the UK and New Zealand.
IMU is a long-standing partner of the University of Glasgow and Rebecca would be part of the first batch of students for its dentistry course.
While this worried Patricia and Steven, on hindsight, they are pleased that she was accepted into the University of Glasgow.
On planning their finances, they withdrew savings from their EPF accounts to send both their daughters overseas.
“We must not fall sick and we can’t spend too much – we have to be very careful,” said Patricia.
She believed that a brighter future for their children made their efforts and sacrifices worth it.
To gain more insight into a UK education, visit the Study UK Malaysia exhibition November 2017 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Nov 18 (Saturday) and Nov 19 (Sunday).
The exhibition brings together over 70 colleges, universities and boarding schools from the UK to share information and advice on pursuing an education at their respective institutes.
Interested parents and prospective students can also attend any one of the 16 seminars for a more intimate look into specific subjects such as psychology, law, creative media and even scholarships.
Admission to Study UK Malaysia Exhibition November 2017 is free.
Pre-register online at https://my. edukexhibition.org/en.
■ For full details on exhibitors and seminars, download the free app “Study UK Exhibitions”, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.