Strategical counseling before studying abroad

On 31st October, the University and Career Counseling (UCC) Department organized a webinar about the topic “Step into the world” with parents of 12th grade students in the form of group counseling.

At the beginning, information about learning plans of 12th grade students and updates from international and Vietnamese Universities and Colleges is given. The webinar focused on priority targets made by students and parents as well as their training strategies in order to achieve the goals. For example: Improving independence, preparing and refining application forms, Creating safety rules, Expanding social relationships. By fulfilling those requirements, parents and students can make the most suitable decisions. Those activities are not required to be done in chronological order. It is important that students and parents can work together to prepare and practice. Selecting school and major or preparing application forms can be difficult tasks without proper training and preparation before and during studying at higher education. By sharing and discussing difficulties and questions of parents before their children moving to Universities/Colleges or studying abroad, UCC has summarized some methods, with which parents are able to accompany their children in this crucial period.

Emotion recognition

According to several research, from High school to the age of 25, the time before graduating High School and University/College are the most stressful periods for students. In these moments, recognising children’s emotion can help them remain calm, arrange activities and create strategies. This can be executed with short conversations between students and parents at home or on phone at the right moment.
By recognizing students’ emotions, parents can help reduce the stress of their children. This kind of stress is normally caused when students at the age of 17-18, when they compare themselves with other people around them. In those circumstances, beside emotion recognition, parents should also help children realize that such comparisons are meaningless and identify suitable targets.

Let them do it.

Students’ confidence is easily affected if they have their parents do everything for them. It would be better if parents encourage them to do their tasks and come up with solutions by themselves, then discuss these ideas before giving advice or references. And at the final step, parents and children should come to a mutual agreement about possible solutions. By doing this, students can practice information processing and synthesizing skills. Beside that, they can learn some other fundamental skills such as healthcare and financial management..

Let them go

A common mindset of students at this stage of life is that they want to be more independent, gradually move away from parents and at the same time, the influence from friends becomes stronger. This is the exact moment and opportunity for them to form independent thinking and create an impression of maturity. It can be challenging for some parents to let their kids go, however, it is still worth taking into consideration. The faith in children’s capability of being independent and the understanding about the new environment are the fundamental elements.
Across the webinar, UCC would like to deliver a message to the parents:”12th grade is a period for students to carry out their plans and train themselves. The better they prepare, the more complete their experience at higher education in Vietnam or abroad”. It is also acknowledged that parents need more sources of information about International Diploma Programs of Universities/College in Vietnam.

*Group counseling is a counseling format in which a group of individuals sharing a mutual concern discuss together. Members use group interaction as a method to enhance self-awareness, learn about attitude and solutions from others, from which they can find the suitable answers to solve their problems.
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We are proud that Olympia is one of the first high schools in Vietnam to have University and Career Counseling (UCC). Our experts at UCC will support students in selecting suitable jobs and maximizing their potential.

UCC’s counseling program guarantees that every decision about the future is made by students. UCC, school and families will be companions and supporters, and students are always independent in making their own choices and decisions about their future.

Olympia school creates a long-term orientation program with the orientation skill framework from primary to high school with the suitable implementation for all ages.