American, Irish & German study experiences

McHenry speaking to visitors about studying in Ireland.

KAVITA Chandran, adviser at MACEE Education USA Advising Centre, who spoke about the basics of US higher education and work opportunities, said the good thing about the US system is it’s flexibility.

Don’t just look at rankings when deciding on where to study because different rankings look at different things, she said.

She said US varsities and colleges don’t discriminate against the different grading systems of feeder institutions that students come from - so long as the grading system can be adequately explained.

“Upon finishing school, students can either apply directly to the US varsities, complete a foundation programme first, do an American degree transfer programme or attend community college over there, ” she said, adding that there are some 8,000 Malaysians studying and working in the US, which was a sizeable number.

She said community colleges were a good way to save cost for those who want to do all four years of their tertiary education abroad.

The cost would be much less than what they would pay if they applied directly to a university.

“You can spend two years at a community college to earn an associates degree, before transferring to a university to get your bachelor’s degree.”

She urged parents to plan early as it would help reduce the cost of studying in the US.

“Figure out your budget and consider the location of the institution because the difference in accommodation vary greatly between cities and smaller towns.

“There are many international scholarships available but it’s very competitive. But the good news is that if you get a few scholarships, these are stackable.”

Students can also apply for loans or work on campus for up to 20 hours per week to help fund their studies. Education in Ireland regional manager (Asia) Elizabeth McHenry said medicine remains the most popular programme among Malaysians because of the quality of education Irish institutions provide.

The country is also known for its engineering programmes, she said.

“Students come to study psychology and law too and in the last five years, our business courses have started to get attention.”

This, she said, was because business students are given work exposure through internships.

To help fund their studies, foreign students are allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours a week during the term, and 40 hours outside the term.

She said that the Republic of Ireland is still part of the European Union so students would not be impacted by Brexit.

German Educare co-founder Jonathan Lau’s talk on ‘How to Study Your Bachelor’s Degree For Free in Germany’ attracted a large audience.

Having graduated from Germany himself, Lau noted that it is ranked as the most attractive study destination in the world by Study.Edu Country Ranking - an international annual analysis on institutions worldwide.

“Germany has over 370,000 international students. It has more than 400 higher learning institutions, which collectively offer more than 190,000 courses.

“There is no tuition fee for bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees in all states of Germany except for Baden-Württemberg, a state in southwest Germany bordering France and Switzerland, ” he said.

He added that students in Germany can gain working experience while they are studying as they are allowed to work up to 20 hours of part-time a week in the field related to their studies.