An article in the Guardian recently asked, “Why aren’t Chinese students at UK universities getting top degrees?” A recent study of undergraduate students found that compared to 52% of students from outside the European Union who scored a 2:1 or higher (2:1 is the second highest degree you can achieve under the British undergraduate degree classification), only 42% of students from China did. And this is compared to an overall 68% of students who achieved a 2:1 or higher.

Why is this? Zhiqi Wang and Ian Crawford — authors of a study that compared the average marks and final degree classification of just over 100 British and Chinese accounting and finance first-degree students who enrolled in 2008 — cites two factors:

First, Chinese students fail to adapt their approaches to learning and so their performance declines in the later years of a degree when the complexity of the work increases. And, second, while the UK and Chinese education systems are not that different, the strong focus in China on study and achieving qualifications means many young people enrol in higher education due to pressure from family or the jobs market rather than their own motivation.

There’s no question that studying overseas is difficult. This is why we believe adjustment is so important and why we wrote a guide to help parents and students understand what to expect of the overseas study experience. Whether socially or academically, knowing what others will expect of you will be crucial to helping you perform better, if not well. As Cristina Iannelli, professor of education and social stratification at the University of Edinburgh, observes “we accept all these students but we don’t know much about them. "I see some of them struggling because they really don’t know before coming here exactly what is expected of them."

Find out more here.

This blog first appeared in Prep Beijing on December 4 and was written by Alicia Lui.

Alicia Lui is a co-founder at Prep Beijing!, a coaching company focusing on core soft skills such as effective communication, social and emotional skills, etiquette, critical thinking and leadership skills. Prior to founding Prep Beijing! She has worked in management consulting and in banking. She holds and MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor’s from University of Chicago

Photo courtesy of wikimedia commons.

Being creative or innovative has become a skill or attribute that many schools, teachers, employers, parents and students aspire to have. In a world where many of our livelihoods are increasingly based on innovation and creation, we’re seeing worldwide discussions among educators and thought-leaders on how to enhance students’ creativity and build more creativity into the classroom and at home.

What does it mean to be creative or innovative? Oxford Dictionaries describes creative as “Relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.” But does being creative always result in the generation of new ideas? And is it always related to the arts, design, music and writing? I consider it to be much more than that. To me, being creative means being able to solve problems in new ways, which means being able to change your perspective from time to time. It means being able to identify problems and be open to explore new ways of approaching them. It means being able to take chances and not be afraid of making mistakes, requiring a need to overcome doubt and fear. It means being curious and asking questions, even if they’re silly. It means having a desire to learn and find inspiration even in mundane places. It means breaking from routine sometimes and being able to deal with new and unexpected situations. To me, it’s a way of seeing the world and trying to understand what goes on around us.

Daniel Goleman, renowned author of Emotional Intelligence shares in a post titled “The Active Ingredients of Innovation” the necessary pieces to be innovative:

• Expertise in one’s field, whether it’s art, mathematics, marketing or so on
• Ability to learn new things in an area
• Creative thinking, which includes “the ability to take new perspectives on problems, the ability to look at things in a way that other people aren’t looking at them, to go out on a limb, and to take risks in some way”
• Working hard, as you need to be able to persevere, even under difficult situations.

If these are what’s needed to be innovative or creative, how can you instill such qualities in your child?

In a previous post titled “Choosing Meaningful Enrichment and Extra-Curricular Activities,” I argued for choosing fewer, but meaningful activities so children have time to build in-depth skill, interest and knowledge in these activities with focused attention. I believe this is a crucial step in helping children achieve expertise in whatever they are passionate about. Moreover, it’s much easier to encourage perseverance and hard work if children enjoy what they are doing. Goleman’s previous research has shown people are most creative when they are primarily motivated by passion (interest, enjoyment, satisfaction and challenge of the work itself) rather than external goals, motivators or pressures such as money.

Find out more here.

This post first appeared on March 21, 2014 on Prep Beijing.

Alicia Lui is a co-founder at Prep Beijing!, a coaching company focusing on core soft skills such as effective communication, social and emotional skills, etiquette, critical thinking and leadership skills. Prior to founding Prep Beijing! She has worked in management consulting and in banking. She holds and MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor’s from University of Chicago.

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Middle of March signifies a time when hopeful parents and students receive notifications of their acceptance to boarding school. Acceptance in hand, parents and students can start finalizing their enrollment decisions and then prepare for boarding school life. At this point, parents and students should be certain that boarding school is the right choice; after all, before submitting any application, they should have done thorough research and held an honest discussion to reach this major life decision.

In seriously evaluating boarding school as an option, parents and child will have visited prospective schools and gained a clear understanding of the school and boarding house values. A great deal of time would have been spent discussing all aspects of boarding school life: from the new environment to understanding what it offers and what it doesn’t offer, to how different it would be from living at home and the inevitable challenges that will be faced but also ways to overcome them. This, is an ideal situation.

Sometimes, the decision to attend boarding school isn’t mutual. I’ve come across situations where parents have suggested boarding school but the child, fearful of hurting their feelings, will not admit they don’t want to attend boarding school. Having been a boarder myself, I have personally witnessed that students who want to attend boarding school are the ones who fare better. Those who felt forced to attend boarding school seemed to struggle with constant homesickness or found small problems difficult to manage. They were anxious, sometimes depressed to the point of not eating. They kept to themselves, slept a lot or constantly called home. They missed out on countless opportunities to meet new friends and enjoy new activities.

Truthfully, not every child is suited for boarding school. It requires careful consideration. For many parents and children, the idea of boarding school is intriguing: independence, access to better facilities, opportunity to strengthen social skills, a stronger college preparatory curriculum among plenty of other reasons. However, frequently neither party are prepared for the difficulties that will be faced. Boarding school provides many exciting and wonderful experiences, but it’s not always smooth sailing.

With this said, here are several questions parents can start asking themselves as they consider whether or not their child is ready for boarding school.

1. Does my child make friends easily? Residential life at boarding school tends to be quite social. With so many dorm mates around, it’s no surprise. Some might even complain that residential life is too social, with less room for privacy and personal space than living at home. Children who adjust better to a new school and residential life seem to be those who are apt at making new friends, understand that having friends is important and are at ease surrounded by people all the time. Rather than wait for others to befriend them, they are unafraid to approach their peers and strike up a conversation.

2. Is my child content socializing with people from different cultures and backgrounds? Many boarding schools will have students who come from all over the world. Sometimes children prefer to socialize with those who they feel most comfortable with — that is, those who they feel more in common with. However this can limit their opportunity to challenge themselves and learn something different.  Children who take interest in others and are more willing to learn about and from them are more likely to flourish at boarding school.

3. Is my child an effective communicator? At boarding school your child will have to communicate with friends and faculty, as well as yourself from a distance. It is necessary for thriving in classrooms where active discussion is encouraged. It is necessary for residential life where your child will live in a close-knit community. If your child has a habit of expressing personal feelings and emotions and is unafraid of communicating thoughts and ideas openly, it will help tremendously at boarding school. Boarders who are less willing to open oneself to others tend to be those who feel a little more out of place in the dorm.

4. Is my child willing to learn to take care of himself or herself? No one is expecting your child to be able to immediately take care of himself or herself at boarding school, but at least he or she must be willing to learn and to deal with daily chores such as keeping the room clean, laundry, staying healthy, maintaining personal hygiene and sufficient rest, as well as shopping for daily necessities, and managing personal expenses and budget. Being able to stay organized such as staying on top of academic work and extra-curricular activities is a necessary skill as well.

5. Is my child resilient? Life at boarding school can be challenging; it can be stressful. In between a lack of personal space, being far away from home, friendship management, time management and having to take care of oneself, there is plenty of room for making mistakes and feeling overwhelmed and bogged down by daily life. Children who are able to bounce back and remain positive tend to be those who are likelier to thrive at boarding school. Children who are resilient have shown to be more willing to try new activities and to be able to learn from mistakes made along the way.

Read more here.

This post first appeared in Prep Beijing on March 11, 2014.

Alicia Lui is a co-founder at Prep Beijing!, a coaching company focusing on core soft skills such as effective communication, social and emotional skills, etiquette, critical thinking and leadership skills. Prior to founding Prep Beijing! She has worked in management consulting and in banking. She holds and MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor’s from University of Chicago

Photo courtesy of wikimedia commons.

While being placed on the waitlist is not an ideal outcome, they do and will happen for some of us. Receiving this notice doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world and your chances of being accepted to that particular school is impossible. The good news is, if you’re on the waitlist you’re still in the game. The truth is, this can be turned into an acceptance, provided you stay engaged with the admissions officer. However, having said this, it’s helpful to be realistic and understand that it may not be an easy process.

Below we offer some suggestions to help you potentially get off the waitlist:

1) Among the schools that you have been accepted to, you need to decide which you would enroll in. You may have already previously prioritized your choices, but it does not hurt to re-evaluate those decisions. In the few months between the application deadline and acceptance notifications, you may have obtained new information that can change your mind.

2) Decide if the school you’ve been waitlisted for is one that you do want to attend. If the school did eventually accept you, will you enroll? Go through the list of reasons why you like this particular school and see if those reasons are still valid. You may have been waitlisted for your dream school, but keep in mind that you may be a better fit at a school that did send you a full acceptance.

3) If you do decide to pursue the waitlist make sure to immediately contact the admissions officer you have previously been in touch with, first to thank them for keeping you on the waitlist (hey, at least you’re not outright rejected!), secondly to confirm you are still interested in the school and thirdly to ask where you stand on the waitlist (this works better if it’s a smaller school or private school) and how many they typically accept from the waitlist. If you are absolutely sure you would enroll should they accept you, make sure they know; do not lie however, it is poor etiquette to falsify your absolute interest. The earlier you indicate your interest to be taken off the waitlist, the higher your chances may be. If the admissions officer is not the one who wrote your waitlist letter, do a Google search on this person and send them a reply too. Be specific when indicating your interest.

Find more information here

This post first appeared on February 17, 2014 on Prep Beijing and written by Alicia Lui.

Alicia Lui is a co-founder at Prep Beijing!, a coaching company focusing on core soft skills such as effective communication, social and emotional skills, etiquette, critical thinking and leadership skills. Prior to founding Prep Beijing! She has worked in management consulting and in banking. She holds and MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor’s from University of Chicago.

Photo courtesy of fruitnet (flickr)

Many of you are aware that enrichment and extra-curricular activities are crucial to a child’s development, but did you realize participating in too many can be more harmful rather than beneficial? While such activities provide an environment for learning outside of the classroom and are a great way to make new friends and to pass free time, too many activities can cause burnout and fatigue. Not to mention, participating in too many activities can sometimes make it more difficult to nurture a child’s true passions.

It is frequently said such activities are equally important, if not more, than classroom learning because they foster communication, confidence, creativity, social skills, collaboration skills and time management — many skills that cannot be obtained simply by attending academic classes. We’re also often told from an early age that extra-curricular activities are necessary when it comes to applying for schools and for future jobs and internships.

Not a surprising fact, since participation in enrichment and extra-curricular activities can help children identify what major or career path to choose later in life. We’re told schools seek candidates who are “well-rounded” and who are “leaders” in addition to showing academic rigor and high test-scores. But what does it mean to be “well-rounded” and what activities are most helpful? Are children supposed to get good grades in addition to participating in sports, music, art, drama, write for the school newspaper, be part of the debate team as well as volunteer on weekends?

We try to cram as much as we can into our children’s schedules because we think it will enhance their chances of getting into an elite school overseas. They have extra tutoring after school, but also attend swim class, violin class, drama class and cooking class. They’re so busy that frequently they do not have sufficient time to unwind, and instead are splitting their energy over too many activities. They move from activity to activity with no break and no time to reflect or think. They’re stressed and frustrated; sometimes they don’t meet goals or achieve desirable results because they are only mediocre at what they do. As a result they can’t identify their true passions.

Rather than fall into the trap of trying to do more to please schools, we should ask ourselves, how do we help our children choose meaningful activities? Ones that will nurture their natural talents but give them a platform and environment to achieve a high level of success? Ones that will help them develop crucial life skills and experiences that they can use in every aspect of their daily lives? Ones that will provide them with compelling stories to tell when it comes time to write those school applications? Below are some of my thoughts on how to help your child go about choosing meaningful activities.

Try a summer camp at least once, more specifically, a traditional camp. I like the idea of a traditional camp versus a “themed” summer camp (such as sports camp or music camp or arts camp) exactly because they offer a broader range of activities. If your child hasn’t found his / her direction in life or an activity they’re truly passionate to pursue, a traditional camp may be a better choice. At least he / she will have the opportunity to try different activities and upon discovering those one or two that he / she enjoys the most you can encourage them to maintain their participation during the school year.

According to Stateside Adventures, “traditional camps offer activities that show children the amazing things they are capable of achieving. Traditional camps are places where they can leave their comfort zone and take healthy risks with both emotional and physical “safety nets” in place to catch them.” For further information, click here.

Find out more here

This post first appeared on February 15, 2014 on Prep Beijing and written by Alicia Lui.

Alicia Lui is a co-founder at Prep Beijing!, a coaching company focusing on core soft skills such as effective communication, social and emotional skills, etiquette, critical thinking and leadership skills. Prior to founding Prep Beijing! She has worked in management consulting and in banking. She holds and MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor’s from University of Chicago.

Photo courtesy of The Lund Report

Did you know that body language is the most important aspect of communication? Research has shown that in face-to-face interactions, about 55 percent of the meaning of the message is communicated via body language — indicating non-verbal communication is actually more important than verbal communication.

Only 38 percent and 7 percent of communication occurs via voice and words respectively. Whether you’re simply conversing, in an interview, discussion in a group or giving a presentation in front of an audience, body language is crucial to shaping the message you intend to deliver. As humans, we naturally and immediately develop a perception of others when we see them; body language builds, confirms and allays these impressions we form.

As we’ve mentioned before, communication skills are one of the most important skills you’ll need in life. You use it everyday regardless of whether you’re in school, at work or at home with friends, family, colleagues and teachers. In your contact with others, just as you may experience certain feelings watching their body language, others will react to yours.

Here are some helpful information to raise your understanding of the world around you and to increase the impact of your communication.

You look confident when …
…the other person feels your energy, your charisma, and sufficient eye contact. Open body language is of utmost importance. What does that mean? You’re standing in a welcoming posture so arms and legs are not crossed, you’re smiling naturally, you’re shoulders are relaxed, and of course, you’re facing the person that you’re talking to. You present an assertive handshake and are in control of your gestures and movements.

You look engaged when …
…you maintain strong eye contact, you nod on occasion in response to what the other person is saying and you lean your body forward  to acknowledge them. You listen attentively without interrupting, you smile naturally and gently and may on occasion mimic the body language of the other person.

You look nervous when …
… you frequently look away for short periods at a time and may use excessive movements such as fidgeting, playing with your hair, licking your lips or clamping your hands too tightly together. Your shoulders might be hunched as you try to draw attention away from yourself.

Find out more on Prep Beijing. This post first appeared on December 16 on Prep Beijing and was written by Alicia Lui.

Alicia Lui is a co-founder at Prep Beijing!, a coaching company focusing on core soft skills such as effective communication, social and emotional skills, etiquette, critical thinking and leadership skills. Prior to founding Prep Beijing! She has worked in management consulting and in banking. She holds and MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor’s from University of Chicago

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia commons

Across cultures, dining as a family or with friends is an important aspect of social life. Along with it comes the concept of table manners — etiquette rules that help you understand how to behave at the dining table, how to use utensils, where to sit and even your body language.

Within your own culture, you may understand what are the rules of dining etiquette but they can vary depending on where you are. To help you be savvy at cross-cultural dining etiquette, here are some rules to highlight:

• In China and Japan, don’t leave your chopsticks upright in the middle of your rice bowl as this invokes images of joss-sticks used at funerals. Also don’t use them to point at people or to pierce food.
• In Japan, it’s not rude to slurp your noodles — in fact it’s considered evidence that you enjoy the meal.
• In Thailand, don’t put food (especially rice) in your mouth with a fork. Use it to push food onto your spoon instead.

Find out more here.

Alicia Lui is a co-founder at Prep Beijing!, a coaching company focusing on core soft skills such as effective communication, social and emotional skills, etiquette, critical thinking and leadership skills. Prior to founding Prep Beijing! She has worked in management consulting and in banking. She holds and MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor’s from University of Chicago

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons