Is studying in Hong Kong a good idea?

I live in the U.S and I am going to be a senior when school starts again. I already got ideas on which colleges I should apply to; one of them is Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). I’ve read that it’s one of the best schools in the world to study Computer Science (Which I want to study). I’ve also heard that many people on this site say that their time at HKUST was great. I really want to study at HKUST because of the reasons mentioned above, the tuition is a lot cheaper, and I believe (as an international student to them) that I am good enough to be accepted.

However, my concern is whether or not I will be able to find a job once I graduate from HKUST. Some friends and my parents told me that unless I want to live in Hong Kong, I will have a hard time finding a job elsewhere (specifically, the U.S) because other countries won’t recognize degrees from HKUST well. And even if I did want to live in Hong Kong, my parents told me that I will have tough competition with all the other Asians who live there. Can anyone explain more on this and tell me whether this is true or not?

Along with this thought in mind, my mother (who is ironically Chinese) told me various reasons not to study in Hong Kong in the first place: visa issues, air pollution, small living spaces, language barriers (even though they teach English and the fact that a lot of international students study here), and being considered a “non-native”(?). Are these issues really something that I have to constantly deal with? Are there other issues that I have to deal with if I choose to study at HKUST?

HKUST is very recognized in Asia, and Asia is more than just China and Japan: there’s Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc, all places that you could potentially find work in after graduating. I will point out though that there is a supposed premium for Western schools in Asia. It may not be very easy to reintegrate into the American economy with a degree from HKUST, although I would imagine that for computer people experience and ability to do well matters more (i.e your portfolio?). I mean, if I were you, I’d just look for comprehensive computer science programs in the US and Canada. Going all the way to HKUST isn’t really worth it to be honest when you have so many amazing options where you are.

I don’t know anything about HKUST so will leave it to others to comment. I do know that as a recent college graduate, my D lived and worked in HK for a year and just returned to the US in April. She loved her time in HK and would return to live there if the opportunity arose. The language barrier is certainly not an issue as a good majority of the people there spoke at least some English. There are definitely areas outside the tourist areas and business section where people do not speak any English but she found that everyone was very helpful and even more so when they saw that she was making an effort to speak Cantonese. She came back being able to converse in Cantonese enough to easily get by. She made herself converse only in Cantonese with several vendors that she dealt with regularly in an effort to become more fluent. Westerners are somewhat “put on a pedestal” and if anything, she found she got preferential treatment. She did observe quite a bit of prejudice, but it was generally directed at those visitors from mainland China, who are sometimes considered at the bottom of the chain. She traveled extensively throughout Asia while there and had no Visa issues, and also none for the year she was in HK. As long as you are registered as a student you should have no problems although I’m not sure you would be allowed to have a job while you are on a student Visa. The pollution there can be somewhat of a concern but it is certainly nothing like China. There were days where she could tell that the pollution level was high and avoided outdoor exercise, but in general it was not a problem. Living spaces can be small and I don’t know anything about the “dorming situation” at the school. Definitely something to check out.

All in all, from the standpoint of living in HK, our D had an amazing experience and loved it there. It is beautiful and there is a lot to do there. Transportation is amazing- when we visited we were so impressed with how clean public transportation is and how easy it is to get around. There are people from a wide variety of countries and my D met a lot of interesting people from all over the world. Still, it would be quite a different college experience than attending in the US, so make sure that is what you want. Another option would be to go to school here and do a semester abroad program there or go work there after graduating.