United World Colleges -- which one?

<p>My son, american. is interviewing for the UWC. he has to list the schools in the order of preference and he is really having a difficult time -- he likes something about each one of them.</p>

<p>How can you tell which school would be the best to go to? his passion is world religions and he is interested in international relations.</p>

<p>he is more a humanities person.</p>

<p>any suggestions? any uwc schools that are not as good as others or any of them offer a better experience?</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>I go the UWC in India, and humanities is definitely our strength. its one of the most liberal uwc's and being in india, there's going to be a lot of opportunity to learn about different religions ! I absolutely love it here.</p>

<p>wonderwoman -- thanks for responding!</p>

<p>My son thinks that the UWC in India would be his first choice. He has a passion for studying world religions (all of them). The travel and projects in India look very inviting. </p>

<p>How are the academics and teachers? How hard would it be to learn Hindi? Do you interact with the community much or is the school pretty isolated? What do kids do on the weekends? What are the kids like -- super competitive or cooperative, friendly team players?</p>

<p>Anything you don't like about the UWC in India? </p>

<p>sorry for all the questions -- he is afraid of picking the wrong one. so far he is thinking India is his top choice, second choice is hong kong and maybe third choice is Wales (college of the atlantic).</p>

<p>thanks!!!!!</p>

<p>How about UWCSEA in Singapore? I graduated from there in 2005 and it was unforgettable. I would imagine that all UWCs offer similar opportunities in terms of academics, sports, travel and service activities. UWCSEA is a real heavy player in terms of service, and offers students various opportunities, both local and international. I think your son should decide based on fit, such as location, weather, local cultures etc.</p>

<p>agent_arthur -- thanks for adding your comments. He is also very interested in the UWC's in Hong Kong and Singapore. At this point, he just doesn't known enough to decide between them. He loves the UWC's mission and the program in general. Some of the things he is looking at are the second languages (none have his, which is Arabic), the opportunities for travel, the integration with the surrounding culture</p>

<p>I did have a question about the UWC in Singapore -- since it takes paying students in addition to the international students on scholarship, is there a issue for kids who don't have money? like --an elitist group, or does that not really show?</p>

<p>Not at all. Scholars fit in well with the general population, though the only qualm that your son might have is that there is a minor divide between the day students (paying students) and the boarders (paying students and scholars). This really can't be helped though because the boarders (students who live in the boarding house) spend a lot more time together, so naturally they're a closer bunch. It shouldn't be a cause for concern because there is a lot of mixing amongst students anyway. </p>

<p>As far as I know UWCSEA doesn't offer Arabic, but there are plenty of other languages available, both European and Asian. You could browse <a href="http://www.uwcsea.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.uwcsea.org&lt;/a> for more information. Travel opportunities are also available, especially in the junior year whereby all students partake in a so called Project Week. Project Week offers students opportunities to venture overseas to pursue different areas of interest, whether it be scaling Mount Kinabalu or building houses in Cambodia. </p>

<p>There is also plenty of integration with the surrounding culture. Singapore is a very diverse country as it resembles an Asian melting pot, so your son would have the exposure that few other UWCs could provide. Opportunities for integration include social work with local NGOs, sports competitions with local schools and many more. I'm sure your son would be able to find his niche.</p>

<p>thanks for the info -- any little bit helps! None of the schools offer Arabic (except as a self-study) but he would prefer to learn Hindi or Mandarin over a Western European language. </p>

<p>The opportunities for travel and to work with NGO's is what is attracting to him!</p>

<p>Good to know that the economic divide isn't an issue. How are the classes -- are they super hard, impossible to do well without 6 hours of homework a day -- or just regular hard. (stupid way to put it -- but I don't know how else to say it). He is a good student taking difficult classes and getting A's, but he is not a math/science focused person.</p>

<p>Did you attend as a day student or boarder?</p>

<p>UWCSEA has a sizable faculty dedicated to teaching Mandarin so your son might appreciate that. The classes are manageable with sound time management. From what I've heard on these boards, the full IB diploma is one of the most rigorous courses around, though UWCSEA makes it considerably easier for students because of the faculty's support. I'm sure your son would cope well academically. </p>

<p>I joined UWCSEA as a day student, but joined the boarding house in my senior year as my family moved overseas.</p>

<p>thanks! He is ready for the full IB program -- I just wasn't sure if some of the UWC's made it even harder!</p>

<p>Singapore sounds like a good choice. He has to rank all the UWC's in his order of preference and then the committee places him -- so he might not get his top picks. </p>

<p>Have you heard anything good or bad about the other UWC's? Right now, his top three choices are Singapore, Hong Kong and India and his next two choices are Italy and Wales.</p>