Finding the right fit

Language is a big obstacle for many students, often delaying their trip for many months. That hurdle passed, there are still the questions of how to get there, what to bring along and where to stay.

These are not tasks that many students relish doing alone, so it is not surprising that a small army of school and university representatives have sprung up to assist them. Some represent a wide variety of academic institutions while others are directly employed by a university abroad. Recently, the learning post visited one of each.

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“We offer a free advice and placement service to students who want to study in the UK,” explains Justin Moseley of Euro-Education Services located in the United Centre on Silom Road.

“It is genuinely free. In fact, we aren’t allowed to charge a fee by the universities that we represent, so we rely on commissions from the universities,” says Moseley who is the agency’s senior consultant and marketing manager.

“Students obviously want to be given good advice and we try to give impartial advice, but we obviously would like to direct students to the universities we represent. We represent some of the best universities in the UK and also some of the ones which don’t require such high standards. We also represent a lot of colleges and boarding schools.”

In Thailand, Moseley comments, ninety percent of his business is at the postgraduate level, particularly the master’s level. Nowadays, most Thai students do their undergraduate programmes locally.

In most cases, this is not a hindrance to gaining acceptance to a postgraduate programme in the UK. All the top Thai universities are quite well respected,” he asserts.

Given the demand for postgraduate education, Moseley says his agency has had to develop considerable expertise in that area. “I think this is where we can offer a lot. We have direct contact with the universities and I can actually email or telephone somebody and get an immediate response,” he says.

Consultation begins with the inquiry form, Moseley explains. “We then assess their needs, look at the GPA that they have and their existing English qualifications and then make recommendations.

“It up to us to find out what the students want. Obviously, there are different kinds of universities. Do they want to be on a campus? Do they want to be in a big city? Some want to be in London. That’s a typical request. What they don’t realise is that most London universities aren’t campus universities.”

Weather is a consideration for some students, Moseley says. Others have concerns about studying where there are other Thais. “We get completely opposite requests. Some students will say they don’t want to go anywhere where there are other Thai students. Others say they do.”

The service extends far beyond simply choosing a school. Moseley and his team can assist with virtually every step of the process. First comes the application. It is extremely important that students follow directions very carefully, he says, particularly in competitive fields.

“Where it says BLOCK CAPITALS, use block capitals. It might not matter when it’s not such a competitive course, but where it’s a place like Aston School of Business, that might be a reason for rejection.”

The personal statement is also a hang-up for students, he relates. “Obviously, academic qualifications are important, but a personal statement is also very important. It’s quite possible that this is the first time a Thai student coming from the Thai educational system would ever have had to produce something like that.

“Typically a Thai student will just talk about their family and their background and that’s not quite right. The personal statement should be about you and what things you enjoy doing, why do you want to study this particular subject and your future plans. That’s what it should be.”

Moseley cautions however, that while he will help edit personal statements, he won’t write them. “I will be quite brutal on that,” he says.

Moseley’s team is also very careful about which applications they send to universities. “We won’t send any application to universities that we don’t consider to be good enough.

“That’s one of the reasons the universities seem to like us in the UK because when they see an application coming in from us, they know it will be a pretty good one. It might be a borderline, of course. If, say, they require a GPA of 3.2 and it’s only 3.1 or only 3.0, but the rest of the application is pretty sound, I would send that,” he explains.

Helping students choose accommodations is also part of the package. “We’ve been to all the universities and we’ve actually seen the accommodations.”

Finally, there is the visa, a nerve-wracking obstacle for many students. “It is a bit of a harrowing experience – getting a visa. It’s always a bit worrying whatever country you’re applying to go to. So we will accompany applicants to the embassy,” Moseley says.

Euro-Education’s record in that regard is quite comforting, he says. “We’ve been operating for four years and we’ve had two people refused. In both of those situations, the people went against our advice and altered their visa application. So really, I think we can say we’ve got pretty much 100 percent success in getting visas.”

Certainly one of the most frustrating aspects of the qualification process for both students and agents is in the area of English.

“That is one of the biggest problems,” Moseley admits. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for us, particularly at the popular universities. Every year they’re upping their English language requirements. While one year ago, a particular student would have been able to get in, now they can’t.

“Typically a student’s English won’t be good enough, so they take an IELTS preparation or TOEFL to get their standard up,” Moseley relates. “It can be a long preparation especially if somebody were to come to us having an IELTS of 5 whereas most postgraduate entry requirements are 6.5.”

Leaving enough time is important, Moseley says. “Now it’s December 2003 and entry into the UK would be in September or October 2004, so there’s plenty of time to get a student up to speed. It depends on how intensive they want to be.”

Even in the case where a student’s English is very good, however, Moseley recommends at least a month of English preparation in England before he or she starts an academic programme.

For students currently in Thai universities who are thinking about going abroad for a postgraduate degree, Moseley recommends they begin getting serious about their English right away.

“Doing English is one thing, but you also need to practice as much as you can – reading good quality English books, the Bangkok Post every day, good quality English publications like Time, Newsweek,” Moseley suggests.

Most foreign universities that actively recruit students from Thailand are represented locally by agents. But the market has become big enough and important enough for several universities to set up their own representative offices.

Such is the case with the prestigious University of New South Wales (UNSW) of Sydney, Australia which has a large office suite in the U Chuliang Building on Rama IV road in Bangkok.

Country manager Vichuwan (Linda) Pringpuangkew sees a clear role for both agents and direct representatives. “If students are still window shopping and they are uncertain of where to go, then please go to an agent because they will give you all the information. But if the students have made up their minds and they have grades which are good enough, it’s much better to deal with our office direct.”

The advantage, she says, is a more knowledgeable and personalised service from people actually employed by the university itself.

“It’s a more boutique, customised service,” she says. “We never set a time limit here. I’ll spend hours with students and their parents, giving advice on university programmes, on expenses, where to live in Sydney – even how much to pay for a car.”

Having a direct channel to the university can also speed up the application process, Vichuwan says.

“Applying on your own, admissions officers can be slow to answer. We can get questions answered very quickly (by email and telephone). We have a one-day response time. My budget for the phone is enormous,” she says.

Of UNSW’s 40,000 students, 353 are currently Thai nationals. As is the case in the UK, the vast majority of the Thai students are at the postgraduate level, although Vichuwan says the number of undergraduates is increasingly nicely.

UNSW is one of Australia’s elite universities and as such, it is very selective. Generally speaking, students need not apply if they rank below the top 15 percent of their classes. At least a 3.0 GPA would be necessary for postgraduate admission, she says.

As for undergraduates in a popular field like commerce, they would need at least a 1440 Scholastic Aptitude Test score, an IELTS of 6.5 and a strong high school academic record.

Obviously international schools students would have a big advantage, particularly in English, and that is where Vichuwan spends much of her recruiting time. But she is also in regular touch with the Office of the Civil Service Commission which handles the Royal Thai Government scholarship students.

One option that Vichuwan suggests for academically qualified undergraduate students coming from the Thai system is the UNSW foundation year programme. This is a nine-month preparatory programme in which students study a full course load which is very similar to what they will experience in the three-year undergraduate programme.

The foundation year programme is widely misunderstood by parents, however, Vichuwan laments. “Most parents think foundation is repeating the last year of high school. It’s not. It’s a pathway into the university. It’s actually the equivalent of the American freshman year one. The students study general subjects like chemistry, physics, law, business and computer.”

It is particularly useful for Thai students, she advises, because the Australian system of education is so different from the Thai system. “If students go directly from a Thai system to an entirely Australian system, they often don’t cope very well.

“It’s like sending a student into a boxing ring without knowing how to box. In going to foundation, by the time your student boxes in a match, he’ll box well because he’s learned the techniques,” Vichuwan says.

There is much more to Vichuwan’s job as the UNSW country manager than recruiting students, however. She also looks after the university’s business interests in the country.

“This includes looking for business opportunities because we have a section at UNSW called international projects. Or if any Thai government office or any university wants to do a study tour, for example, that must pass this office. If the people in Sydney have any doubts, they will consult me right away.

UNSW also has collaboration programmes with local universities and Vichuwan often acts as a facilitator. She helps do feasibility assessments and she also assists visiting faculty from Sydney involved in the collaborations.