What will it be like to do school/college in Philippines?

Question

I am a half Filipina half British, I am 14 and go to school here. My British dad is planning to retire soon and my Mom wants to move back to Philippines to be with our family.
We are planning to move when I turn 16 and finish my high school education. My mom is giving me a choice of staying here untill i finish college or moving out to Philippines to go my college tuition there.
The thing is that I have pros and cons for each choice. I don't like the fact that England is cold and rainy and costs a lot to live here in terms of high VAT and tax and stuff but if I choose to go to the Philippines I only know little of the language (I know a bit of spanish which could be helpful) and I am not used to their way of living, when i last went there to visit my family everyone was so kind and hospicable, they kept giving us gifts and food and smiling all the time, i cant really understand why they do that because in england we probably get visited once or twice by our family if we are lucky. My mother also says that their education is good and it would be a chance for me to learn a lot of disipline and morals (I'm not exactly a angel LOL). I'm sort of leaning towards moving to the Philippines but what do you think...
Thanks, I would grateful for answers :D

Answer 1

You will enjoy the Phils they have a good laugh and although people take education very seriously they also have lots of time hanging out with their friends...



....you will be a bit of a celebrity....because you probably have naturally lighter skin and hair and they all spend money and time to have your natural looks.....loads of friends....not so cliquey in Phils...



....the standard of education is good and the attitude means people want to learn and do well....



...you only need to speak English really...they will allow for the fact in your Tagalog class...or your Philippine History class....really everyone at your college will speak English...and because you speak it well ( unless you come from Essex...hahahaha ).. you will be popular....



....on the negative....the guys in Phils spend every waking hour sweet talking the girls...to get to take advantage of them....and anyone who tells you that isnt true is blind., yes, not my place to tell you, coz you are young....but you need to open your eyes...most charming guys in the world maybe.....you DONT go off with some guy alone here....the police are nothing in Phils and so as a result nothing is done ....so you will hear a thousand stories about the girl falling crazy in love and the guy making fun....yes in UK it is also the same....but the guys in Phils will convince you....the normal age for girls to fall a victim is about 17....this is good advice...so take care....



but Phils is not dangerous....just need to take care...



...also, even though the education is good and fun and you will get a University degree.....it has little value....certainly MORE value WITH a British Passport, but just go to SM Malls and ask the girls there working for 10,000 pesos a month what degree they have.....they have to have degrees to work in a mall....!!....nurses become receptionists...as do HRM graduates....so you need to think about the value of the degree....and relate it to your future plans....



Weather....someone mentioned cold...it rains maybe 5 months a year....but it is never cold to British people....so dont think about that...and you will be surrounded by super people, most of the time...and real people....very very close families and that is worth a lot.....it's great to sit on the terrace waving to all the people while you are eating breakfast....don't happen in UK....hahaha...



Good and bad....but if your future plans dont rely heavily on you having a degree, like a wealthy family or something, then Phils is the choice....because it will be fun and different and probably what you are looking for.....and as your mum says....if these chose a good school for you....it might let you get in touch with a country where a lot of the girls still have good ,morals....and trust me...that will make your life better....



By the way, did you know that you can get a Filipinas passport automatically from the Phils Embassy in London...coz your mum is Filipina,so you are automatically a Filipina AND you can keep your Briitsh passport...means you dont need a visa....even you travel alone....but if you travel there with your mum you get a 1 year Balikbayan visa....so with a Filipinas passport you can own or buy land yourself....useful...info....hehehe





Take care whatever you decide.

Answer 2

It all depends on what college you go to. Most of the top universities here use english as their primary teaching tool. I study in the University of the Philippines and most of my professors teach in english. They would speak in tagalog from time to time though when they want to make things a little clearer. This is because most of my classmates are more accustomed to tagalog.



It's a different case though for some colleges like Ateneo. Here, most of the students are more comfortable with english. You won't have a hard time fitting in.



Of course, you can always try to get into one of the classier colleges like Enderun. If you end up here, I don't think you're ever going to need to know how to speak in tagalog.

Answer 3

Hi Eva.

I'll tell you some stuff first.



1. I assume you don't come here whole year round, maybe a week only or so. Cold season (no snow, little rain) starts by November and ends by February. Cold winds come by mid-January which is not as cold as in Britain but you should wear jackets. No snow, okay? The rest of the year is the dry season. Dry season doesn't mean that the weather is extremely hot, it only happens from March to June. Typhoons (or cyclones, whatever you call it) is very common, at least 16 of average 21 typhoons come here the whole year round.



2. General school year for grade and high school and most of the colleges and universities start by June and ends by March. Graduation and official end of classes follows by the first week of April, depending on which the Holy Week is scheduled. If the Holy Week falls on March, expect for the classes to end too early, or if it falls on April, classes will end a bit longer. For colleges, semester breaks are implemented, which varies from each school. In my university, semester breaks start by mid-October and end by the Sunday following All Saints' Day (Nov. 1). There is also a huge chunk of vacation, maybe two weeks, which are the last two weeks of December and ends by Sunday following New Years' Day.



3. College years are divided into semesters. When a school implements a semester rule, it means that the whole school year is divided into two semesters (first semester is from June-October and second semester is from November-March/April). For some exception schools such as De La Salle University, they are divided into trimesters (three semesters) and Mapua Institute of Technology is divided by quarter terms (four semesters). If the number of semesters increases, expect that the number of months allotted for you to study and take exams will be smaller. Think carefully for choosing semester, trimester and quarter terms school. After the second semester, summer sessions are offered, either for you to catch up failed subjects or to take advanced credits. I think for trimester and quarter terms schools they don't have summer classes because they almost fill the whole year.



4. There are some schools that their mode of instructions is English, but expect to see people talking in Filipino. However, since you are going into a university or college, the probability to meet people who are good in English is very high, so you don't need to catch up studying spoken Filipino very fast as you can always speak in English. Spanish is not spoken here.



Send me a message if you still have questions :)