Education foundation touts US schools

Taipei Times: Based on your experience with quite a large number of Taiwanese students trying to find study opportunities in the US, what are some issues they often encounter?

Patrick Fong (方廷淳): Generally speaking, lack of a thorough study plan is one of the problems we've noticed among students who are interested in studying abroad in the States. Without proper layout of a well-planned study guide in the first place, we find that students often lose the main reason for why they are where they are ... soon after they arrive [in the] US at their respective schools. Without the guidance of a concrete study plan, it's often too easy that a playful attitude soon takes over and as a result, pressure on them starts to mount as they begin to experience difficulties in their daily life. They may struggle in classes as well as adjusting poorly to their surroundings due to living, language and cultural differences.

Though we stay in frequent contact with students who are interested in studying abroad, a lack of autonomy is another common issue we've noticed among these students ... Students often find themselves following decisions of others rather than making up their own minds on decisions that matter to them. For instances, we would see cases where students would choose a certain course because they see their peers do so and not because it is a course that really applies to them. And again, lack of autonomy is often derived from the aforementioned lack of a concrete study plan. For without a thorough study plan, these students are not well-prepared to make decisions with confidence.

TT: Aside from what we've discussed, are there any issues that Taiwanese students usually come across when they first engage in the process of applying to American universities?

Ted Wang (王誌全): How to find a school that matches their study plan well, as well as how to present themselves on paper when applying to schools in the US, are two issues that Taiwanese students often face when they first express their interest in studying abroad in the US.

Academic performance is not the only thing American universities look at. They also look at a student's talents, extra-curricular activities, leadership experiences and community services involvement. So all those are things that Taiwanese students who wish to study abroad need to understand. They therefore need to learn how to present themselves on paper to show their best side when competing in a pool of other prospective students.

Last but not the least is the issue of their ability to communicate in English. In some cases we find students lack English proficiency, the ability to express themselves well, particularly in terms of speaking and listening.

TT: Noting these issues you've just mentioned, what recommendations would you offer to Taiwanese students who are interested and are planning to study abroad?

Fong: One thing we strongly recommend students to do is: their homework! Meaning to do research on what their targeting schools are and what programs these schools offer -- before they make their final decision on which schools they wish to apply to. Only through good research can students make sure that they will land up in schools where they are really happy and can get the most out of what they intend to study.

One thing that oftentimes concerns us is the over-reliance on school rankings that Taiwanese students have when they search for a school. Personally, I really don't think that such pressure is needed so to fulfill one's vanity. I once had a student come to me saying that he wanted to apply to Carnegie Melon because it is a high-ranking university. I then asked him what he wanted to study and he said "Art Management." If thorough research is done, instead of relying on school rankings, the student would have learned that Carnegie Melon was not a good match for him; for Carnegie Melon is a school that specializes in natural sciences and not in liberal arts.