Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

We are getting closer to having to decide what to do for our eldest - currently in year 10 at Doha British School. If University choice in Q is going to be limited and unviable, we're wondering if it might be better for him to go back to do his A'Levels and applying for Uni places.

Any advice or experiences welcome.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

I never see western kids in Qatar. Do they exist?

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

Depends what area you visit - pop down to AlWaab next to the American School and Doha College - there are plenty :)

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

I don't even know where Al Waab is.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

I'm surprised. Dogging hot-spot, apparently.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

I had to look it up. It's all compounds.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

Dogging ? And is it full of speakeasies ?

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

I do know of a few Westerners whose kids went to university in the UAE - but they were very few in number and the circumstances were probably different from yours (ie, they had spent most of their lives in the UAE, etc). They were also studying degree programs like tourism.

There could be real issues getting the university degree recognised in the UK and you need to research that thoroughly.

At any rate it will not be equivalent, or anything close, even if the degree is recognised.

I would be adamantly, adamantly opposed to my own kids attending higher education in the Middle East.

"limited and unviable" - as you put it - is the best way to describe it.

I know it is very inconvenient and difficult but your kids are much better off in the UK for higher education.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

University of Aberdeen have opened a campus in Qatar and are now offering Accountancy & Finance and Business Management, if that's any help.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

I can't speak for Doha schools, but in the UAE the better-quality British schools are reasonably good at getting post A-level students into British universities, including Oxbridge - and they can often advise, and write supporting letters, to get the child treated as a UK resident for fees. But there is (according to my teacher friends) a certain art to it, and schools which don't have much experience in sending children back to UK universities can make it a lot harder by failing to teach the right modules, arrange the right projects/experiences etc.
We've sent our eldest back to the UK to do his GCSEs and A-levels not so much because we didn't trust his school here to teach to the right standard, but we were not certain we could commit to keeping him here for the full period of study, and definitely did not want to find we had to change countries & schools (and therefore, possibly, also change examination boards) a year or so before A-levels. But if you are confident you will stay in Qatar till after his A-levels, and your son is at a good school with plenty of experience of teaching towards sending children to British universities, then no reason why he can't finish A-levels in Qatar and then go back to UK university.
I definitely would not consider sending a child to a university in the UAE unless he/she had a clear concept of how they would continue working in the UAE after that. Even ones like NYUAD, which get great lecturers, are very closely linked to their parent uni, and are amazingly cheap (through subsidies and scholarships) - whilst I don't doubt that the teaching is fine, he'll get a completely different cohort of students at such a place, which though it might set him up well for a life in the UAE, or even on the global stage, if his focus is likely to be work in the UK then he will miss out a lot.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

Its a few years ago now, but my oldest two both went to UK universities and thrived. They had managed to keep quite good connections with the UK and liked it there, but eventually all came back to Dubai in the end to work.

My youngest went to Bristol for one year but couldn't hack it as he had never lived in UK after the age of 3 and found it very alien to him. He then went to Middlesex University in Dubai reading economics and accounting. The degree is issued from UK fully recognized and he got himself a great career with one of the big four accounting firms as a grad in Dubai.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

Why couldn't your youngest hack it in the UK?

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

reasons probably similar to why a British kid couldn't hack it at a UAE university after living all their life in the UK.

I know personally how hard returning "home" to the UK as a kid can be after growing up overseas. Some kids do fine, but not all.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

But why is it hard returning to the UK?

It seems pretty straightforward to me. Left foot forward. Right foot forward. Repeat. Get on with life.

Re: Anyone sent their kid(s) to University in Qatar?
 

Would have hated to go to Uni in the ME. The whole point of Uni after getting the bit of paper is to grow as a person, get drunk, party, have adventures, make mistakes, get yourself in and out of trouble etc. The Uni side of life here must be so dull.