Recently my colleague in the blogging workshop Ilya wrote an article about when it's worth leaving for those who are going to study abroad. It just so happened that I've been planning to write an article on this same topic for the third year, but my hands never got to it. But now there's no way out.
I'll say right away that my opinion has changed significantly over these 5 years, so the article will be more about my train of thought rather than a ready solution. At the end I'll also tell you what I think about those parents who send children to finish studying in 9th grade.
My story is non-standard - I graduated from RUDN University in Moscow and came to Czech Republic with a bachelor's degree in linguistics, the most useful profession in the world.
Of course, from the very first day in Czech Republic I asked myself - is it good that I came here at 23 or bad? The answer most often was that I reassured myself - well done, lived in Moscow too, and already have a diploma for sure. But in reality it's not quite so.
First, I'll name the reasons why I personally didn't leave after school. The reason is simple - in 2008 it was unrealistic to find truthful information about studying abroad. Now you can come to my blog and learn everything down to the smallest details, but then 100% of the market for studying abroad was occupied by shady private companies. To make it clearer for you, several times a week people write to me with a simple, it would seem, question - will my son definitely be admitted there-and-there?
That's the same question I asked 10 years ago, asking disaster consultants. And you know what the answer always was? "You'll never get into a state university, come and enroll through us in a private one". Such things.
Echoes of this are heard today - people come to my blog who don't even think about enrolling in top Czech universities - they directly ask about studying at Bumfuck Chelyabinsk University in some God-forsaken Czech village, because they're 100% sure they can't handle Charles University.
But the article isn't about that, so let's return to the question. I studied in Czech courses in a group of masters, i.e. older people. There were maximum 10% of us like that from the whole course, and in those times I made a clear conclusion - going after school is dangerous. Why? Children came at an age when they weren't ready for independent life.
Russian mentality at 17 years old won't allow you to learn to save, do homework, set aside 2 hours a day for reading and preparing for university. Yesterday's Russian schoolchild doesn't know how to build relationships with surrounding people and instead of adequate company more often finds adventures on their ass. And of course, it's hard to cope with primary bodily urges in a country with such alcohol availability.
And already during courses I made a clear conclusion - if I'd come here at 17, I would have done the same. My conclusion straight from 2013 - you can't leave parents until you finish university. I made this conclusion because I judged by schoolchildren who came with me - many of them were extremely sad (but credit must be given - I got fat to 83 kg, so maybe it's not for me to judge).
And so, a couple of years passed, and I thought more and more often - is everything really that bad? It turned out no. Now I'll explain why.
I entered a good university where I saw good Russian students. I saw how much easier an 18-year-old Russian-speaking student finds common language with peers than we do (and if you're a female student, you don't even need to try).
And I understood one thing - yes, by coming at 23 you increase the chance of success. However, success doesn't depend on age, but on readiness to lead an independent life.
The conclusion is simple - if the child googles themselves, figured out about courses themselves, solves their problems themselves and knows how to handle finances - they'll be good here at 16 and 26. And if the child is an idiot, they'll leave here with nothing at 30.
Conclusion
Come right after school. This has a whole range of advantages:
- You'll save money. 5000 euros for Czech courses will cost 3 times more in rubles in a few years, your salaries won't increase, and you won't live till pension
- Yesterday's schoolchild's brain will learn a new language and adopt the culture times faster. I work a lot so my brain doesn't rebel when I'm learning something new, but I'm wildly jealous when people younger than me grasp everything times faster
- You can enter university and find yourself a Czech girlfriend or boyfriend - this will increase chances to love the country times over. Give me back my 18 years
- Even if the child shits themselves - you'll find out earlier that they need help. Realizing you're worthless at 25 is sad
Who should come after bachelor's?
Poor souls who are saving for studies themselves. And those who are sure that education in Russia in their specialty isn't 28 years behind world standards, as is customary at home
Is it worth coming during school, after 9th grade?
God forbid. Moving is the most stressful event in my life and this stress is long-term. You're legally obliged to protect the child from stress until they're 18. Then let them go to all 4 corners.
