Any parent would love their child to achieve specific goals at each stage of development. Some parents wish their children to excel in contests, study abroad, or attend a top university. However, some parents just want their child to live her interests and aspirations, which is enough to make her a “hero” in parents’ eyes. You know what? A child can still be a “hero” in all these above concepts provided when accompanied and supported appropriately by parents on the path.
College Compass recently hosted the event “From Zero to Hero: Accompanying your child to the Top 1 U.S. University” for our families to get more beneficial advice from actual experience from our success case. Mr. Tran Xuan Ngoc’s family was there, as was Mr. Tony Ngo, President and Co-Founder of Everest Education and College Compass Senior Counselor. Mr. Ngoc is not only a successful businessman but also the father of two boys, An Tran and Jimmy Tran, who have attended prestigious universities, Princeton and New York University.
Mr. Tony Ngo, Chairman and Co-founder of Everest Education
M.B.A., Harvard University
M.S. Industrial Engineering, Stanford University
B.A. Economics, Stanford University
Mr. Tran Xuan Ngoc, CEO of Nam Long Group An Trần & Jimmy Trần’s father
Management Accelerated Programme (MAP), General Management, INSEAD
B.A. Mechanical Engineering, University of Technology of Ho Chi Minh City
This article will summarize 5 key events Mr. Tran Xuan Ngoc’s family learned during his child’s journey in choosing majors and schools, as well as the moment he read his son’s essays and knew they had been admitted into their desired schools.
5 Key Milestones That Turn Into Valuable Lessons When Parents Encourage Their Child to Study Abroad!
1. “Parents play a critical role in assisting your children in discovering their own strengths and shortcomings, as well as in creating settings that allow them to maximize their skills while minimizing their deficiencies.”
How do you teach your children to be disciplined?
Many families are likewise concerned about this. Mr. Ngoc believes that parents should learn about their children’s personalities and assist them in enjoying studying. We can’t help but force our will on the child at the same time. As a result, whether or not your children develop discipline is determined by their awareness. So, what is the role of parents in children’s disciplinary instruction? “When your children are young, in primary and secondary schools, play a critical role in assisting your children in discovering their own strengths and shortcomings, as well as in creating settings that allow them to maximize their skills while minimizing their deficiencies. There is significant coordination between parents and children because this cannot be done only by the parents.”
2. “Our point of view is on how to work together to build a solid foundation. It needs the cooperation of the school, the instructors, and, in the case of my children, the Everest team to construct that launchpad. After that, it’s up to them how far they want to go.”
How do my children decide to apply to the Ivy League independently?
In the context of Mr. Ngoc’s family, the children were not forced to do anything. “Our point of view is on how to work together to build the solid launchpad,” Mr. Ngoc explained.
In the studying abroad scenario, a destination will still be helpful. Mr. Ngoc’s family also informed An and Jimmy that getting into a top 50 university was a success. When choosing a school, it’s essential to balance a variety of criteria, such as talents, goals, and hobbies. And the search for a dream school, in particular, and study abroad, in general, is not a journey for parents and children to be alone. You may get more ideas, guidance, and proper direction from schools, instructors, and even a study abroad orientation program like College Compass.
3. “Parents have very little direct influence on children’s choice of major. Parents only listen and make suggestions, and Everest is a great friend.”
Should you assist children in choosing a major, or should you let them do it independently?
Choosing a major is a critical and life-changing decision for most students. As a result, many parents still “help their children choose a career” due to their desire to see their children succeed and the relevant experience. Which is better for them: helping in choosing a major or allowing them to choose their own?
“Neither my wife nor I advise our child (Jimmy) to pursue this field of study. Due to his schoolwork, I’ve seen that he’s strong in science topics, good at and interested. That is why he established a direction in engineering. Then he whittled it down,” Mr. Ngoc explained.
“Jimmy isn’t the same as An. An began by exploring the vast field of artificial intelligence (AI). Then he examined and evaluated a few different subjects, such as neuroscience. Then he found that data science also assisted AI. It took 1 year of college for An to pursue data science. He transferred from Boston University to New York University for this reason. Back when he applied to university in high school, he just wanted to study science courses; nevertheless, he discovered that he needed to go deeper into AI in his first year. As for Jimmy, he chose to pursue aeronautical engineering after seeing how much he enjoyed it in grades 9-10.
Parents have very little direct influence on a child’s choice of major. Parents only listen and make suggestions, and Everest is a great friend.
In terms of the approach, there should be a more systematic direction from grade 9 onwards, whereas grade 9 and lower is for An and Jimmy to explore on their own.”
4. “If only you could find me mentors like Jimmy’s mom.”
An and Jimmy’s journey
“When An applied for university, he didn’t have College Compass as a consulting program. Then he wanted to change his major; we hoped we could help but didn’t know whether the field suited him. I met Tony and Everest to advise An, tell him about his possibilities, and tell An more about his degree and interests.
He was shaped and determined to study data science in his second year. It took An longer than Jimmy to follow such a career, but An was overjoyed when he decided. New York is a bustling city, and the learning environment is tailored to his personality. So An will improve a lot not only academically but also in life skills. This is An’s final year, and he is concentrating on preparing to apply for a job. Hope that he can find one that fits him.
“Why don’t you find me mentors like Jimmy’s,” An once said. An only attended extracurricular classes at first because there was no College Compass then.
Now that he’s arrived in Princeton, he’s still quite delighted, but he tells me that there’s a lot of pressure, which necessitates more significant effort. He feels ok, and this is a good start,” Mr. Ngoc said at the event.”
Everest hopes that parents and students have understood the need for timely orientation when preparing for studying abroad through An and Jimmy’s fascinating journey. When your children know what they need and receive timely support, the studying abroad process will become much more manageable.
5. “How to create an environment that encourages children to study effectively, as well as how parents may assist their children in identifying their abilities.” It’s not that easy; it’s tough.”
Special things that Mr. Ngoc has done for An and Jimmy
An and Jimmy’s family has had to relocate from Vietnam, Thailand, and Dubai to fulfill employment for the last 20 years, as you may not know. Their psychology and personalities are partly influenced by continual mobility and environmental change. Mr. Ngoc recognizes this and has made every effort to provide his children with the “perfect” environment to grow and develop. This setting “requires a process for us to explore and learn together; the most essential thing is that An and Jimmy agree to it so that they feel confident.”
—
In short, when parents show encouragement and support and listen to their children at the right time, the process of studying abroad becomes much more manageable. From then, parents can seek appropriate support options for their children to boost their confidence and support them in achieving their goals.
College Compass is pleased with Jimmy and An Tran’s successes and delighted to have accompanied them on their growth path.
Let College Compass accompany your family to make a dream come true! Many families have benefited from the College Compass program while their children have planned to study abroad. We emphasize the authentic technique, which entails supporting students in improving their strengths and skills while accompanying them through every milestone, such as choosing majors, schools, extracurricular activities and essays.
College Compass is a college admission consulting program by Everest Education. We offer strategic solutions to help aspiring high school students (Grades 9-12) and gap year students get into the best universities and colleges in the world.
Our program is led by experienced admissions counselors/coaches who graduated from top US universities (Harvard, Stanford, MIT, UPenn…) and thoroughly understand the US education system. Our students have been accepted to many top universities globally, including Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Duke, Williams, Amherst…
We offer you a personalized pathway and strategies, including school selection, standardized testing, extracurricular activity guidance, essay writing, scholarship applications, etc. No matter which phase you are in, we offer a tailored package to your age, preferences and study goals to help you achieve your dreams.
