School Guide

A Guide To Finding The Right School

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Jul 14, 2014

The process of finding that right school for your child is never an easy one. More often than not, the long road from scouring the right school to the actual application process is both mentally and physically draining.With every other parent coveting a similar place for their child, it would only make sense to plan accordingly ahead in order to succeed amid the rat race of open days and school reviews.

1. The “Homework” Phase

It would be very important to have a general picture of the school before you commit yourself to a visit. Finding relevant information and building the questions to ask on the school (Do they have a bad safety record? Are the teachers genuinely accredited?) can be found via the school’s website and the school’s profile on SchoolAdvisor.myTalking to parents with children already studying at the school would help with your inquiries on the school. Having a kindred soul providing you insights on the realities of enrolling your child into the school makes it easier to evaluate and take that next step.Social media has provided platforms in which parents can group and discuss such similar issues. The Malaysia International School Parent Support Group is one of the current platforms online that serves that purpose.

2. Taking the tour!

The next natural step would be of course to book a tour and visit the school. It would be very important to take note of key issues and individuals at the school which later may make or break the overall evaluation of the school.Beyond a tour of the school campus and facilities, talking to the teaching and non teaching staff of the school would help you to get a feel of the general attitude of the schools employees.If possible, negotiate to visit the school during school hours in order to see the school in action as some schools may oversell the glamour of an empty and sterile school during open day. While some schools do provide a Q & A segment, parents should always seize the initiative and ask any questions that may concern you the most about the school.The fee range of a school would most probably be a major concern. Private and International school fees in Malaysia may range anywhere from acceptable to astronomical. Take time to go through the financing part with the school to get a clearer picture of the financial commitment that you would have to undertake at the school.

3. Review

When all the tours are done and over with, the hardest part of the process comes in the evaluation and decision making process. While the decision on the right school maybe subjective from one parent to another, the general yardstick of what of how good of a school is may still apply.An important thing to note during such process would be to understand the kind of trade-off’s you would have to make for any school; would sending a child to a pricier boarding school prove to be a better investment or a school that is an hour away in Seremban be better than one in the city?Once you’ve made up your mind, all that stands between your child and enrollment into the ideal school would be the application process. In some instances, some schools have a long and exhausting wait list and it would be very prudent for parents to have in place a contingency plan beforehand.