comparing high schools in Dubai and Vancouver

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 05 March 2015 - 11:11

Dear all,

We're planning to move to Vancouver this September. We have Canadian passports but we've never lived there One of our major reasons to move at this point is a better chance for our son to enter a good university like UBC or Simon Frasier or any good uni in north america.. However, recently we've been concerned that maybe he will have a better chance if he stays in his high school in Dubai and applies from here. Can someone with knowledge of the highschool standerds and university entrance ratings in both cities help me in this?
My son is currently in grade 10 and his private high school in Dubai offers an ib program. We understand that he will have the option of both public and private schools in vancouver but we don't want to actually lower the chance of him getting accepted in a good university by moving him at this point. Any thoughts?

Judy

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 10 October 2015 - 20:44

You don't mention which school system your son is in now, but my son graduated from ASD and then returned to Canada for university (UofT) after spending half his schooling overseas in the American system. He was accepted by multiple universities in Ontario and Nova Scotia. Canadian universities, particularly the large ones, take many foreign students from different school systems, so I doubt that would be a problem. I would suggest you contact the university admissions departments directly and, if possible, come for a visit prior to applying. Schools in Canada are administered at the provincial level, so even students moving across Canada will come from slightly different curriculums. I don't think there is any advantage to moving him to Canada at this stage, unless there are other reasons for you to move. Kids repatriating for university, and particularly those who have never lived in their passport country, do face challenges adapting. Your son, like mine, will be a "hidden immigrant," ie technically Canadian but with limited knowledge of the country and its culture. A good book which has been published since our family went through this is The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition by Tina Quick.

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Cowboy

685

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EW GURU

Latest post on 05 October 2015 - 01:50

As long as he maintains good grades, his chances of getting into a good university won't be hindered. I know many people who graduated from schools in dubai and went on to good universities in Canada.

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