Best International Schools
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EddiefromWV
Newbie

Joined: Apr 22, 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Moving to Shanghai next week
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Oct 26, 2005 - 07:31 AM |
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Someone is being far too kind. Teachers are what makes a school great and Livingston has assembled a top notch faculty that is delivering high quality, challenging instruction. The ESL program is as progressive as any I have seen in the United States. Check it out. |
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Cybornut
Talker


Joined: Oct 20, 2005
Posts: 124
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Posted:
Oct 26, 2005 - 10:03 AM |
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Homeschooling + local school classes if you can afford the time.
Most countries offer a highschool equivalency course (or rather year by year k-12) complete with study guides and teacher's guide for homeschooling. You'll need to take certain exams with local qualified notary or officials (for supervision) and send them home for evaluation but you'll probably have better control over what trash goes into your kid's brains (they can do that easily themselves without a rich expat highschool thank you).
Several of the local school offer "examplary classes" that allow foreign participations.
It'll round off your kid and make them know that they are not really living in China... but a small bubble resembling China as expat kids (well, replacing it with a bigger bubble that, while is very close to China, is essentially filled with middle-class Chinese).
It would also likely not make them into the typical "expat brats".
For expat friends, there are plenty of children's activities for expats only... sports is a great option.
Some from personal experience, some from listening to others, but I believe in it. Also, it'd be much cheaper this way... again provided you have the time to homeschool. |
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zxc777
Newbie

Joined: Dec 05, 2005
Posts: 2
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Posted:
Dec 05, 2005 - 07:35 PM |
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My kids go to SMIC now. One of the middle school one is enjoying great time at the school, but the school really offers too less stuff in high school. I have a choice of sending them to SAS, but is it worth USD 20,000? Does college application really depend on the school, or is it how the student does? They are enjoying their time in SMIC and have gained great popularity there already. Tough choice ain't it? Any tips? |
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how1123
Lurker


Joined: Oct 25, 2005
Posts: 20
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Posted:
Dec 06, 2005 - 11:21 AM |
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From my experience, colleges evaluate every application individually. If the student has what the college is loooking for, he is in. The high school name does not mean much excluding the top IVY League feeding private schools in New England area. Here, I assume you are thinking of American colleges. I have a son in college. The high school he went to is just an average school in the States. However, one or two outstanding students always get ccepted to th top colleges every year. If SMIC does not offer enough courses, you always can take online courses from Amercian colleges such as Standford EPGY or others which offer online independent study courses from high schoolers. FYI, the most improtant thing for college application is how you present the total package. A good counselor plays a very improtant role. Of course, the parent can be an excellent counselor as long as you have time to do the search and understand your child well. Anyway, this is my 2 cents from playing the counselor's role for my son.
Thanks for everyone. I have learned a lot from this forum. My family will move to Shanghai next spring/summer. I am searching schools for my middle school child now. |
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travelinjack3
FooJay


Joined: Sep 19, 2005
Posts: 1710
Location: Right Bank
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Posted:
Dec 06, 2005 - 11:47 AM |
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I know some folks at Concordia. They seem to range from good to excellant educators. The buildings are really very good with really nice atheletic facilities. |
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tnmom
LoopKicker


Joined: Mar 04, 2004
Posts: 916
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Dec 06, 2005 - 04:28 PM |
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Colleges are all different in the priority of what they are looking for - SAT scores, grades, course work, extra activities, application essay, etc. Each school has a different ranking of these items. For course work they like to see that the student took the most challenging path offered at their school - recognizing that not all schools offer advanced classes. If you can't take AP classes but take the highest level offered and do well in the class, then it should be ok.
Where SAS really shines is in college counseling - they lead the kids through the whole application and college selection process. Colleges visit throughout the year and kids are very well informed. |
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how1123
Lurker


Joined: Oct 25, 2005
Posts: 20
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Posted:
Dec 07, 2005 - 12:30 AM |
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I agree with tnmom completely. The order is usually GPA, SAT, activites, and then essay/interview. For all schools I visited, the most improtant factor is GPA with the evidence of taking the most challenging courses offered at school. If you can show you extend yourself to take online advanced course not availabe at your school, that is a plus. My son took a EPGY advanced math course after AP Calculus BC at school. His college did accept the EPGY credit, that is a bonus for time and money saved. The book Making it into a top college by Howard Greene, and Matthew Greene is a good guidebook.
PS Hi, tnmom. Did you receive my email? |
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pist-agn
Ranter


Joined: Nov 16, 2004
Posts: 501
Location: Canada - soon to be Shanghai
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Posted:
Dec 14, 2005 - 10:54 AM |
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I found Concordia very cold. It didn't feel like a school at all. It was so quiet!!! It felt like we were in an office building not a school. The person that gave us the tour was very matter of fact and dry. There were no pictures or drawings on the walls and the kids were soooo quiet. It was really quite wierd. It was like the life was sucked out of the school...
just my experience, that's why it is so important to visit the school before you choose.
P |
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jsun
Newbie

Joined: Dec 20, 2005
Posts: 6
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Posted:
Dec 21, 2005 - 09:56 AM |
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I am moving to Shanghai in Aug 2006 with two kids age 13 and 16. If SAS has no space for them, which other school wuld be alternatives? Help |
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jsun
Newbie

Joined: Dec 20, 2005
Posts: 6
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Posted:
Dec 21, 2005 - 09:58 AM |
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Dear Reacher:
We are from Canada too |
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pist-agn
Ranter


Joined: Nov 16, 2004
Posts: 501
Location: Canada - soon to be Shanghai
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Posted:
Dec 21, 2005 - 10:59 AM |
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Hey jsun,
If you register now you shouldn't have a problem... don't wait till you get there.
I am guessing that your kids are in high school by their ages. I am not sure of the other high schools in the area.
Are you looking at living on the Pudong side or the Puxi side? |
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zxc777
Newbie

Joined: Dec 05, 2005
Posts: 2
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Posted:
Jan 24, 2006 - 06:06 PM |
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It's winter vacation. We decided that SMIC is of the best value. |
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ShanghaiButterfly
Newbie

Joined: Jan 27, 2006
Posts: 2
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Posted:
Jan 27, 2006 - 11:38 AM |
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Schools...what to do...what a nightmare...l have a first grader. 4th grader and a 11th grader and l am about to move Melbourne , Australia...In the next 8weeks...what are the best options? I don't know where to begin and what to look at for the varying ages? Would greatly appreciate any comments from those who have done this all before....Cheers Amanda |
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ShanghaiButterfly
Newbie

Joined: Jan 27, 2006
Posts: 2
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Posted:
Jan 27, 2006 - 11:39 AM |
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from Melbourne, Australia that should read above... |
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tnmom
LoopKicker


Joined: Mar 04, 2004
Posts: 916
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Jan 28, 2006 - 09:14 AM |
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Does your company offer a look-see trip where you pick a house and schools? This is the best option - to work with the relocation agent to find both things that are relatively near each other and also near work. Since you are coming from Australia I think the grade levels may be mixed up - don't they start the school year now instead of August/Sept? I imagine the schools will be aware of that. This may be a difficult time to relocate since the schools are fairly full - which is why a good relocation service could help. We used FPD Savills and they did a great job - settting up school and house appointments and negociating our housing contract. |
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charl
Newbie

Joined: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: 3
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Posted:
Feb 01, 2006 - 10:04 PM |
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I guess I'm biased as I work at the British International School, Puxi Campus, but I think it's one of the best schools in Shanghai.
We are a brand new school (opened in September 2005), yet the atmosphere at our school seems as if we've been around a lot longer.
The school aims to keep ratios within 25% for any nationality, so we have a huge eclectic mix of cultures from all over the World, all studying within a UK National Curriculum context.
Located just around the corner from SAS in Puxi, BISS Puxi boasts great facilities and a very competent body of staff.
There is also a campus in Pudong for those who live on the other side of the river.
Feel free to send me an e-mail if you would like to know more. |
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charl
Newbie

Joined: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: 3
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Feb 01, 2006 - 10:04 PM |
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I guess I'm biased as I work at the British International School, Puxi Campus, but I think it's one of the best schools in Shanghai.
We are a brand new school (opened in September 2005), yet the atmosphere at our school seems as if we've been around a lot longer.
The school aims to keep ratios within 25% for any nationality, so we have a huge eclectic mix of cultures from all over the World, all studying within a UK National Curriculum context.
Located just around the corner from SAS in Puxi, BISS Puxi boasts great facilities and a very competent body of staff.
There is also a campus in Pudong for those who live on the other side of the river.
Feel free to send me an e-mail if you would like to know more. |
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charl
Newbie

Joined: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: 3
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Feb 01, 2006 - 10:04 PM |
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I guess I'm biased as I work at the British International School, Puxi Campus, but I think it's one of the best schools in Shanghai.
We are a brand new school (opened in September 2005), yet the atmosphere at our school seems as if we've been around a lot longer.
The school aims to keep ratios within 25% for any nationality, so we have a huge eclectic mix of cultures from all over the World, all studying within a UK National Curriculum context.
Located just around the corner from SAS in Puxi, BISS Puxi boasts great facilities and a very competent body of staff.
There is also a campus in Pudong for those who live on the other side of the river.
Feel free to send me an e-mail if you would like to know more. |
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eje
Newbie

Joined: Feb 08, 2006
Posts: 5
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Feb 09, 2006 - 10:23 PM |
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| rebirth wrote: |
hi joshua,
....you mentioned that the faculty turnaround rate is high at SMIC... why? can you share with me your comments between SSIS (Singapore international school) and SMIC? Besides the differences on school fees...
thanks!! |
It's been a while since this question was asked, but I think it is a good one. Does anyone know how Shanghai Singapore International School holds up in comparison to others? We just moved here (2 days ago!) but I've been researching schools for months now. I'm about to decide to send my 6-year-old daughter to SSIS, and I'm wondering why no one talks about this school - it is mostly Asian population and is a bilingual school with very good facilities, small student to teacher ratios.... and lowest price out of all international schools. So does anyone know something I'm missing about this??? Any info would be greatly appreciated!! |
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chinababy
Lurker


Joined: Feb 11, 2006
Posts: 29
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Feb 11, 2006 - 01:55 AM |
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Hi All:
My husband is very likely to relocatr to Shanghai in the middle of this year, therefore my family will be in the city after July . Dose any one know a good map in internet of Pudong area? My husband will be working in Pudong , so ideally we will live in Pudong , thus so as the kids school. We would enrol our kids into British school, but I heard the BISS is bit far to travel from the expat residential area. OR dose any Australian out there can shad some light on schools in Shanghai simular to the Australian education system. Any comment would be much appreciated. |
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rutuman
Low Seater


Joined: June 21, 2005
Posts: 3231
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Posted:
Feb 11, 2006 - 04:28 AM |
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"
I" have y kids at SRIS and I am very happy there. And so are they.
Academically speaking, it ranks amongst the top british schools. And I am not just talking as a happy mother. they post the SATS results (tests taken at the age of 7, 11 and 14 by ALL kids in the UK-government organised AND corrected) on their website and the kids' scores are much higher than the average UK scores! In spite of the fact that over 30% of all children are non native speakers!
Most british schools in Shanghai do not even take part in the official SATS testing as they are afraid of the outcome."
man, that was funny
i would just gloat at the education i got now. |
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eje
Newbie

Joined: Feb 08, 2006
Posts: 5
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Feb 20, 2006 - 01:24 PM |
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Lisa,
We looked into schools and finally settled on YCIS (Yew Chung International School). SMIC is a school made up of 50% (I believe) students whose parents work for SMIC, and I wasn't that into the idea of sending our kids to a school run by a corporation unrelated to schooling.... But from the website it looks ok. There are better options. Also, a great option is Shanghai Community International Schools (SCIS). We looked at this one, and it was very beautiful, very friendly staff, and kids from all over the world. The reason we ultimately chose YCIS over SCIS was because YCIS is a bilingual school, and the location is better for us. Both were great.
My advice to you is to plan 1 or 2 days when you get here to go look at all the schools you are curious about (I would say to look at atleast 3 schools). All the international schools are quite expensive, but if you're coming on an expat package they should give you some allowance for this.
Last, you also have the choice of some local schools (and there are some very prestigious schools that allow foreigners) which is great for Chinese immersion, but we decided against this due to the high academic demands and the very long hours (7:30-4:30 for primary school, + 2 1/2 hours of homework per night!)
Good luck to you!
Emily |
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emselst
Lurker


Joined: Sep 08, 2005
Posts: 23
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Mar 26, 2006 - 01:54 PM |
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| eje wrote: |
Lisa,
We looked into schools and finally settled on YCIS (Yew Chung International School). SMIC is a school made up of 50% (I believe) students whose parents work for SMIC, and I wasn't that into the idea of sending our kids to a school run by a corporation unrelated to schooling.... But from the website it looks ok. There are better options. Also, a great option is Shanghai Community International Schools (SCIS). We looked at this one, and it was very beautiful, very friendly staff, and kids from all over the world. The reason we ultimately chose YCIS over SCIS was because YCIS is a bilingual school, and the location is better for us. Both were great.
My advice to you is to plan 1 or 2 days when you get here to go look at all the schools you are curious about (I would say to look at atleast 3 schools). All the international schools are quite expensive, but if you're coming on an expat package they should give you some allowance for this.
Last, you also have the choice of some local schools (and there are some very prestigious schools that allow foreigners) which is great for Chinese immersion, but we decided against this due to the high academic demands and the very long hours (7:30-4:30 for primary school, + 2 1/2 hours of homework per night!)
Good luck to you!
Emily |
I would like to retract my statements about YCIS. After 3 weeks of our daughter attending this school, we are not happy with it. It is a complete disappointment: language immersion is not what it's cracked up to be, and it is not worth the money. We are now looking for a local/private school... though most don't have websites, so it's all by word of mouth. If anyone knows of a good bilingual school that is not exclusive to expats, please please post it, or contact me!
Thanks! |
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StMichael
Ranter


Joined: Feb 19, 2005
Posts: 575
Location: Qibao, Shanghai
Status: Offline
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Posted:
Mar 26, 2006 - 06:52 PM |
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| eje wrote: |
| It's been a while since this question was asked, but I think it is a good one. Does anyone know how Shanghai Singapore International School holds up in comparison to others? We just moved here (2 days ago!) but I've been researching schools for months now. I'm about to decide to send my 6-year-old daughter to SSIS, and I'm wondering why no one talks about this school - it is mostly Asian population and is a bilingual school with very good facilities, small student to teacher ratios.... and lowest price out of all international schools. So does anyone know something I'm missing about this??? Any info would be greatly appreciated!! |
Whoa! Lowest price of all international schools? SMIC is cheaper than us! OK, maybe it's not considered an international school (not operating on such a licence, I believe)...hmm...but I'm pretty sure we're not the lowest price (though we are among there).
It has to do with our target clientele (the business people without a fat expat package offered by their companies). Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that Singaporean companies (Singaporeans are about 25% of our enrolment) don't give very fat expatriate package too.
In spite of this, I believe we offer value for the amount that you pay (as in, a good education for a fair price). But there again, this is a biased account (I head a department at the Xuhui campus), so listen at your own risk ! |
_________________ Michael Chan www.senseimichael.com |
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smic/ssis
Newbie

Joined: June 02, 2006
Posts: 1
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Posted:
June 02, 2006 - 12:15 AM |
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| StMichael wrote: |
Whoa! Lowest price of all international schools? SMIC is cheaper than us! OK, maybe it's not considered an international school (not operating on such a licence, I believe)...hmm...but I'm pretty sure we're not the lowest price (though we are among there).
It has to do with our target clientele (the business people without a fat expat package offered by their companies). Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that Singaporean companies (Singaporeans are about 25% of our enrolment) don't give very fat expatriate package too.
In spite of this, I believe we offer value for the amount that you pay (as in, a good education for a fair price). But there again, this is a biased account (I head a department at the Xuhui campus), so listen at your own risk ! |
Umm...Im a student from SMIC and I was once from SSIS.
SMIC is much harder then SSIS and SSIS's price is twice as much as SMIC... |
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