Dilemma - your suggestions!

[tnadu]

My cousin has been living in France for more than 14 years with her daughter in the private school (english medium of instruction) . The kid is extremely bright and is a topper in the school and has excellent credentials. The kid is a junior now and so college application process is round the corner. The dilemma is :-

Top Public universities in France are practically free and are close by to home. But the language of instruction for the UG degrees is French. However the masters is typically in English and she intends to do her masters for sure. The kid is very fluent in French but has been totally used to the private schools with all international and overseas english speaking students. Transition might be an issue from the intl environment to local french speaking environment in university. Also the kid might feel under-challenged in these universities as the entry requirements are very less compared to the extra ordinary credentials that the kid has achieved. The other choices - US and UK are very expensive (money is not an issue and they can afford the high costs) but the kid has to be alone in the alien environment at the age of 17 and far away from home. The kid is not the outgoing / social/independent kind and so my cousin is more stressed on this account.

Are the high costs/stress justified? What would you do in her shoes? Such a simple question but the answer does not seem so straight forward.

Suggestions from the intelligent folks here is appreciated.

[okemos]

My cousin has been living in France for more than 14 years with her daughter in the private school (english medium of instruction) . The kid is extremely bright and is a topper in the school and has excellent credentials. The kid is a junior now and so college application process is round the corner. The dilemma is :-

Top Public universities in France are practically free and are close by to home. But the language of instruction for the UG degrees is French. However the masters is typically in English and she intends to do her masters for sure. The kid is very fluent in French but has been totally used to the private schools with all international and overseas english speaking students. Transition might be an issue from the intl environment to local french speaking environment in university. Also the kid might feel under-challenged in these universities as the entry requirements are very less compared to the extra ordinary credentials that the kid has achieved. The other choices - US and UK are very expensive (money is not an issue and they can afford the high costs) but the kid has to be alone in the alien environment at the age of 17 and far away from home. The kid is not the outgoing / social/independent kind and so my cousin is more stressed on this account.

Are the high costs/stress justified? What would you do in her shoes? Such a simple question but the answer does not seem so straight forward.

Suggestions from the intelligent folks here is appreciated.

As you mentioned in your post, there's no language barrier here. Medium of instruction is French and the kid is fluent in French. Only thing this kid might miss is "English" speaking classmates, am i right?? If that is the case why do you have to worry. Bright kid is bright no matter where they are.

Now if there is a language barrier, then its a different story. This kind of situation and stories are very common in India. Most of the students from South India (TN, KS, AP, Kerala) have their education in their local language until their higher secondary. These kids will hear English for the first time only when they step into college. Most of these bright kids do well in spite of having difficulty in adjusting to this new environment. Initially they struggle a lot but eventually they end up doing much better than convent educated kids.

In my opinion, i don't see any reason for your worry.

[tnadu]

Thanks okemos. Appreciate comments from others as well!

The worry is not about just English speaking classmates part. Such a bright kid with excellent credentials - will she be missing something out due to NOT studying in the TOP english speaking universities and by pursuing bachelors degree in the french speaking reasonably rated universities in the long run?

[rajradio]

while there hardly any hard evidence that going to top paying universities churn out better candidates. There is a lot of soft data that going to a top notch private unversity does create better connections, therefore opens more doors( I mean once you enter through the doors its all about how well you do), interact with some really smart people therefore drive yourself higher. all that of course if doesnt break the parents bank or make them bankrupt.

In the words of XEROX ceo, any positive outcome needs a lot of investment, in terms of money, time and resources..and in her words raising children them and educating them is no different.

( I loosely quoted that last paragraph, all posters are welcome to nitpick and sift through and (mis)quote me many days later)
RK

[okonomi]

My cousin has been living in France for more than 14 years with her daughter in the private school (english medium of instruction) . The kid is extremely bright ......
Top Public universities in France are practically free and are close by to home. But the language of instruction for the UG degrees is French. However the masters is typically in English and she intends to do her masters for sure. The kid is very fluent in French but has been totally used to the private......

I assume that your cousin is living in one of the larger metro areas. If it is Paris, then they need to visit the area close to Gare du Nord, where one could get "Idly and Dosa" served up in small restaurants with nice french speaking desis. They are children and grandchildren of desis from the french colonies, mostly from the old Pondicheri. Along the way... they had lost the art of making a good chutney or... for that matter... even a sambhar. Well... but they are assimilated, nevertheless. And near the big Montmartre Cathedral, the side street leading up to the church has Crepe Shops with desis serving up crepes. Another mark of assimilation ... no dosa... but crepes.
A bright child in France, private schooled in English (from above average well-to-do parents ?) International Schools, with French as a second language, would be more than ready to handle UG in French. For children growing up in a foreign culture ( even without the local language being taught in school as a second language), the local language acquisition would be such an easy thing. Many indian parents who live away from their home states know this by experience. Very soon their own ability with the local language is easily surpassed by the savvy of their kids.

[tnadu]

A bright child in France, private schooled in English (from above average well-to-do parents ?) International Schools, with French as a second language, would be more than ready to handle UG in French. For children growing up in a foreign culture ( even without the local language being taught in school as a second language), the local language acquisition would be such an easy thing. Many indian parents who live away from their home states know this by experience. Very soon their own ability with the local language is easily surpassed by the savvy of their kids.

Perfect synopsis of the situation! Coming back to the original question, is it a disservice to the kid's future? UG in french after intl school education. Parents are well to do and can afford top notch private universities fees in US and UK. But, the kid though very bright is shy/dependent on parents and does not excel in life skills yet. So, what is the right thing to do is the dilemma now - keep the kid at home and send to a local uni in an under-challenged UG environment (French public universities at practically no cost) followed by PG in English in the French universities (as PG courses are offered in English) OR send her to say Oxford or Harvard?
Assuming PG and Phd courses will be pursued will the local uni UG in a foreign language really impact negatively in any way??

while there hardly any hard evidence that going to top paying universities churn out better candidates. There is a lot of soft data that going to a top notch private unversity does create better connections, therefore opens more doors( I mean once you enter through the doors its all about how well you do), interact with some really smart people therefore drive yourself higher. all that of course if doesnt break the parents bank or make them bankrupt.

In the words of XEROX ceo, any positive outcome needs a lot of investment, in terms of money, time and resources..and in her words raising children them and educating them is no different.

( I loosely quoted that last paragraph, all posters are welcome to nitpick and sift through and (mis)quote me many days later)
RK

Absolutely correct. But some kids are better off at home till atleast UG is completed and hence the dilemma

[okonomi]

Perfect synopsis of the situation! Coming back to the original question, is it a disservice to the kid's future? UG in french after intl school education. Parents are well to do and can afford top notch private universities fees in US and UK. But, the kid though very bright is shy/dependent on parents and does not excel in life skills yet. So, what is the right thing to do is the dilemma now - keep the kid at home and send to a local uni in an under-challenged UG environment (French public universities at practically no cost) followed by PG in English in the French universities (as PG courses are offered in English) OR send her to say Oxford or Harvard?
Assuming PG and Phd courses will be pursued will the local uni UG in a foreign language really impact negatively in any way??......

There is stiff competition ( like getting into IITs in India) for getting into Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. Not a lah-di-dah education by any standards !! If this child is interested in professional education, such as medicine, engineering, teaching etc.. the competition to get into "free" french schools of high repute is very tough. If the child is already very good in English, a french "professional" education would give her so many advantages. She would easily access global knowledge in the subjects, without having to depend on translated texts that her classmates have to deal with.
If the child is interested in liberal education, then it would be a dream come true to study in Paris, if her parents already live there. A bilingual would have natural advantages in such a curriculum.
Children at 18 are not all equally adept at living away from home. Only parents, and the child herself, would know their preparedness. Looks like this would also be a filter to decide where she ends up going. For what it is worth, there is nothing wrong with Paris.
well.... except the rude waiters in all restaurants and cafes.

[tnadu]

Children at 18 are not all equally adept at living away from home. Only parents, and the child herself, would know their preparedness. Looks like this would also be a filter to decide where she ends up going. For what it is worth, there is nothing wrong with Paris.
.

I guess this generation is more unprepared than the previous one. Not sure - might vary from kid to kid. But overall I have the feeling that due to over protectiveness, kids not living in the home country, being driven by the parents to all the activities, lesser number of kids and so more focus by the parents, helicopter parenting etc, more kids are less independent to face the real world even when they are 18. The previous generation used to cope better - IMO - may be I am wrong!

[sumachechi]

Is it the parents who are worried that kid wont cope or kid anxious about leaving home? THere's a world of difference....
I feel the best thing for this kid would be to move out of protective sphere and got abroad for uni- that way would learn both academic and life skills which are both essential for future survival