Site Search:
 
Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

SAT Preparation

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Hong Kong
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
southerngirl



Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Posts: 53
Location: Sunny beaches

PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2009 1:33 pm    Post subject: SAT Preparation Reply with quote

For Hong Students aspiring to attend American universities what options
are available for SAT exam preparation?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger
Yes Sir I Can Bogey



Joined: 23 Mar 2009
Posts: 201

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 2:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You seem to have a mistaken idea as to HK and the students. Very few HK students would be allowed to go abroad for their university education (their parents would not allow it). Very few of the local students I have taught at universities in HK were even permitted to live in student accommodation, which is now pretty much exclusively for exchange students and, increasingly, students from the Mainland. Undergraduate students in HK � for the most part � are just kids. I have even seen a first year undergraduate student being walked up to the university entrance gates by their mummy.

Also, it costs a fair bit of money to go overseas for three or four years and very few locals would able to afford to go to a university abroad. If they could then they would either already be overseas at a boarding school (or whatever), or would have gone through the international school system in HK, meaning that they would have either completed the international version of the British A level, or, more likely, the IBD. Either way, SAT is simply not relevant to them, hence no one replying to this thread. This is HK; not Americanised South Korea.

Besides, very few locals 'aspire' to go to an American university. British universities seem to be the preferred choice, understandably, followed I think by universities in Australia and NZ. Indeed, outside of MIT, Harvard and a few other institutions, the term 'American university' would be regarded as something of an oxymoron by many locals.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
texasisthereason



Joined: 29 Apr 2009
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 3:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
the term 'American university' would be regarded as something of an oxymoron by many locals.


Really bogey---when you look up the top 100 universities in the world---you do realize that 34 are from the US---that's in the WORLD. And out of the top 10, 6 are from the US.

I'm sure that people realize this when contemplating sending their kids abroad.

southerngirl---you will eventually realize, if not already, that Americans are a punching bag for other westernesrs--- don't sweat it. For someone to call American universities an "oxymoron" is an absolute dunce. Check the internet for Nobel Peace Prize recipients-----how many Americans are there mate?

bogey--the mods are looking for you.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
texasisthereason



Joined: 29 Apr 2009
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 3:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sorry---here's the link---for univerisities
http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2007/overall_rankings/top_100_universities/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Yes Sir I Can Bogey



Joined: 23 Mar 2009
Posts: 201

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 3:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Again, as stated above, very, very few locals can afford to send their kids abroad. If they could then, typically, they would either already be abroad at a boarding school (many people in HK have an educational allowance specifically for this) and so SAT preparation in HK is not relevant, or they would be in the international school circuit in HK, which essentially means that � unless they have attended the American International School � they would have completed A levels or, as is now more commonly the case, the IBD. Either way, again, SAT preparation in Hong Kong is simply not germane, which I guess is most likely the reason why no one responded to this thread before.

You can throw terms like "dunce" around if you like, that is, if it makes you feel like a big, strong man, but it only reflects badly on you and the country from which you stem, about which you are clearly insecure.

As for the number of US universities that are on the 'top 100' list, so what? You seem to think you are dealing with normal, rational beings, but you are not. It wouldn't matter one iota whether 101 US unis were on the 'top 100' uni list. HK is the place where women really seem to think that rubbing a magic cream on their chest will make it grow larger. This is the place where professors with three degrees in the hard sciences really seem to think that pressing the button for the lift will make it come faster, and that once in the lift the button for their desired floor needs to be repeatedly pressed lest the ghost in the machine 'forgets' to stop at that floor. This is the place where people boil vinegar in the communal landing if there is talk of a virus. This is the place where people take food and drink to graves so their ancestors can have a feast. This is the place where people burn 'Hell Money' so the same dead ancestors have money to spend in the afterlife. This is the place where people put up umbrellas even when it is not raining. This is the place where people get out of the swimming pool if it begins to rain. This is the place where, immediately prior to the Handover of 1997, con artists were able to make an absolute killing going around selling 'universal passports' to members of the HK Chinese middle class, claiming it would allow them to enter and reside in any country in the world they wanted.

So, I wish you luck with your logical thinking and quoting of 'top lists' from the Internet.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Yes Sir I Can Bogey



Joined: 23 Mar 2009
Posts: 201

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 4:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

texasisthereason wrote:
I'm sure that people realize this when contemplating sending their kids abroad.

And they might also contemplate whether it is easier to get a study visa for the US than it is � as citizens of HK who either hold a British passport, a British Overseas passport, or a HKSAR passport � to secure one for Britain itself or a Commonwealth state such as Australia or NZ.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
texasisthereason



Joined: 29 Apr 2009
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bogey--when you make a statement such as "American universities are an oxymoron" and then I send you a link to prove otherwise---it does make you a bit of a 'dunce'. You obviously have a bit of venom for America(ns). It's OK mate---keep it up. And yes------by having that many universities in the top 100 does make your stance on our educational system run a bit thin.

You never responded to my argument that you didn't understand logic.

You also have zero information to back up your statements as fact.

AND the mods are sniffing you out.

How is N. Africa treating you now?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kevinsays



Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

well, I have to disagree with you on this one texasisthereason. he stated that american universities were an oxymoron to locals. i don't believe he is stating that himself. so the argument lies in whether hk'ers and their parents think that american universities are terrible.

it's interesting because seoul has an american culture because of americas involvement with their history and hk has a british culture due to british involvement in hk history, but i think bogey needs to have a disclaimer stating that his information is based on his experience of hk and thus are generalizations based on what he's seen.

while many around the world don't look at the US the same as they did before Bush, I have yet to get the opinion from any hong konger that if they could go(whether for money or family reasons) to the USA to work or live that they would decide not to go. Additionally, I have not heard of any hk'er choosing the UK over America for university. i do agree that hk'ers will have a harder time getting a visa from the US than they would from the UK.

Bogey, you seem to paint a horrible picture of HK? any specific reasons as to why you're still there?

fyi - my relatives are all from hk/southern china provinces. i was born and raised in america.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
texasisthereason



Joined: 29 Apr 2009
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2009 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
bogey wrote- but it only reflects badly on you and the country from which you stem, about which you are clearly insecure.


Really--- seems to me that I've only countered all of your arguments when you continue to make blanket statements about America being a - last resort when looking for teachers, undesirable for students to attend universities, not on par with other countries teaching credentials.

Seems to me that I am just voided ridiculous comments and countering silly opinions. That makes me insecure?

I think the mark of someone who is insecure is the behavior you have exhibited--- you constantly attack the States, you constantly talk down when speaking about HK locals, you constantly point out all of the 'wrongs' of living in HK. You have nothing positive to say.

That, to me, is someone who is using a defense mechanism in order to cover up a shortcoming.

The smallest dog always seems to bark the loudest.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pelican_Wrath



Joined: 19 May 2008
Posts: 490

PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

texasisthereason wrote:
bogey--when you make a statement such as "American universities are an oxymoron" and then I send you a link to prove otherwise---it does make you a bit of a 'dunce'.


And you quite clearly lack the ability to read the English language. Yes Sir... did not say that American universities were an oxymoron, he said that that was how they would be regarded by locals.

If you can not distinguish between the two, I really do wonder at the kind of people being allowed to teach English these days.
Back to top