Aidan is at Grade 8 now and we are starting to consider options on where to send him to college. I like our sons to establish their roots in Manila, studying in the best university for Engineering, Computer Science and Multimedia Arts—De La Salle University.
Studying in the US was not really an option because I’m afraid of the values they’ll learn in school. We would have to go with them to reinforce the Filipino family values at home.
But I’m considering Spain for college or masters for our boys. Here’s why…
STUDY IN SPAIN
There are no test prerequisites unlike in the US, except that you need to be at B1 Spanish Proficiency.
Our kids would be quad-lingual, able to speak Filipino, English (3rd most spoken language in the world), Mandarin (1st) and Spanish (2nd).
We love to travel around Spain because they have one of the best food in Europe, beautiful landscapes, passion for sports and fashion.
The kids will get to know their indirect Spanish heritage and the best culinary scene in the world.
Bachelor’s degree tuition fees are competitive because public institutions are subsidized by the Spanish Government. The fees vary depending on the region:
• Vigo, Malaga, Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba: Euro 757 ~ USD 875 ~ Php 47,370 per academic year
• Valencia, Basque Country, Castilla y Leon: Euro 1,000 ~ USD 1,155 ~ Php 62,510 per academic year
• Barcelona: Euro 3,309 ~ USD 3,820 ~ Php 206,850 per academic year
• Madrid: Euro 7,000 ~ USD 8,085 ~ Php 437,600 per academic year
It’s counterintuitive to where most Filipino students would go but, all the same, they can truly be world-class citizens.
Spanish Educational institutions are recognized in the area of agricultural biotechnology, automobile production, biochemistry, molecular biology and renewable energy.
Your kid will earn a bachelor’s degree recognized in the European Union. Not to mention the endless destinations he’ll discover in the EU!
CAMPUS SPAIN
Campus Spain promotes Spain as an educational destination by helping international students learn the Spanish Language, Culture and Adaptation to University Course.
They also provide academic orientation and assistance with admission to the Undergraduate, Graduate and PhD studies at leading Spanish universities.
You can enroll your kids during their gap year (after Grade 12) to learn the Spanish Language, immerse into the Spanish Culture and be acclimated to the University Campus experience in Europe.
They also follow the Cervantes Institute’s methodology of Spanish Language education.
Campus Spain’s Language, Culture and Adaptation (LCA) Program costs around Euro 7,500 ~ USD 8,600 ~ Php 468,850 for a 7- to 10-month Spanish immersion program at the University of Vigo in Pontevedra in Galicia.
The LCA Program takes in students in October and January, and the program ends in July in time for the next academic year in August.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A better strategy would be to learn Spanish while you are in Manila to be A1 or A2 proficient by attending classes at Instituto Cervantes of Manila. They have a 30-hour Spanish Language program at ₱170/hour, with 3-hour sessions/day .
We have to save enough money to be able to afford sending our kids to a gap year education at Campus Spain at the University of Vigo.
At the end of the day, we want to join them to keep the family tight and have a good home base to launch Our Awesome Planet Europe.
What do you think? At least, I still have time to think about this…
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Disclosure: We attended the Campus Spain roadshow sponsored by the Embassy of Spain. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions and insights.
P.S. Is there an equivalent Silicon Valley in Spain where kids can learn multimedia arts, gaming or digital marketing programs?