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Should an international school kid go to the US or UK?

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  1. #1

    Should an international school kid go to the US or UK?

    Hi. I'm Cantonese, and I'm in my senior, last year in a British-system international school in HK right now.
    I've gotten acceptances to top UK unis already, and I'm waiting on my US unis to reply to me.

    Based on your personal, as well as anecdotal evidences, where do you think I would fit in better, in general? There seems to be much less Asians in the UK, and it's quite a culture shock to be the only Chinese in a sea of white people. In addition, the change in accent (I have an 'international', American accent) is certainly weird, as well as is the change in culture and the way of talking.

    I've heard some people be described as a 'UK' person, and some as a 'US' person, but I'm still not quite sure how that is determined.

    So where do you guys think I should go? Thanks.

    And please don't give me the 'you'll fit in anywhere you go if you make an effort'. You know as well as I do that most international school kids end up hanging out with only with other Asian kids in uni.

    Last edited by oinkoink; 06-01-2012 at 02:55 AM.
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  2. #2

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    British international school? They shouldn't have taughten you the word gotten!

    Anyway, to clarify one thing... the UK is not a 'sea of white'. Obviously this depends on the city but most of the UK is more diverse than Hong Kong. If your priority is to go somewhere multicultural, go for a big city. For a nucleus of Chinese people just head for the nearest casino!

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  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by oinkoink:

    You know as well as I do that most international school kids end up hanging out with only with other Asian kids in uni.
    I replied to your other (nearly identical) thread. And yes, I know the above is true... but are you saying you intend to do the same? If you didn't understand English it would be understandable, but I've never understood why English speaking Chinese students like to segregate themselves in this way.
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    As you've observed, the percentage of Asians at some universities (in UK and the US) can be very low. Asian kids seem to hang out with other Asian kids at university due to common interests, such as food, music, movies, leisurely pursuits, etc. After all, who's going to have condensed milk on toast with you? You'll find that the string section of any university orchestra to have a majority of Asians. If you play badminton, you'll find that most serious players will be Asian or European. Christian organizations on campus will have a sizable proportion of Asian, too. It takes energy and persistence to socialize outside of our comfort zones, but university is probably the best place to do this. Don't despair about the racial makeup of your friends - just go make good friends, as good friends are hard to find. Oh, and I met my HK-born, international schooled husband at university in the States (I'm an American-born ethnic Chinese) and we had lots of friends from a variety of cultures, but he was the one with whom I was having condensed milk on toast!

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    Any decent sized university in UK or the US will have a decent sized asian population; most of them will have some kind of Chinese club. I think your fears of "sea of white people" are a bit far-fetched and not based on reality.

    Pick the university based on its courses, reputation and your comfort level with them and stop worrying-la.

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    Quote Originally Posted by justjoe86:
    British international school? They shouldn't have taughten you the word gotten!
    And also the difference between "less" and "fewer".
    Liquorice, chingleutsch and M Khan like this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by oinkoink:
    Hi. I'm Cantonese, and I'm in my senior, last year in a British-system international school in HK right now.
    I've gotten acceptances to top UK unis already, and I'm waiting on my US unis to reply to me.

    Based on your personal, as well as anecdotal evidences, where do you think I would fit in better, in general? There seems to be much less Asians in the UK, and it's quite a culture shock to be the only Chinese in a sea of white people. In addition, the change in accent (I have an 'international', American accent) is certainly weird, as well as is the change in culture and the way of talking.

    I've heard some people be described as a 'UK' person, and some as a 'US' person, but I'm still not quite sure how that is determined.

    So where do you guys think I should go? Thanks.
    uk universities are largely multi cultural, your accent is fine, plenty of oversea chinese from hk ( as well as tw, my and cn) come to uk to study

  8. #8

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    Shouldn't you be basing your decision on which will provide you with the best education as opposed to which will potentially give you the better social life?


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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    Shouldn't you be basing your decision on which will provide you with the best education as opposed to which will potentially give you the better social life?

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by bryant.english:
    No sarcastic smiley on here. Sorry

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