Students often feel the pressure from their parents’ of making the most out of the opportunity of getting to study abroad and though a little bit of academic pressure is normal but, a lot of pressure from your parents can result in students feeling stressed and that may lead to an unhappy Australian study experience.
Following are a few tips to help you manage your parents’ expectations as well as your own:
• Communicate with your parents about your studies: Discuss your course with your parents, talk about the subjects you are studying, how much work you are expected to do and how you are assessed. It’s better if they know about your course and how you are doing, instead of pushing you to achieve top marks without much knowledge of what you are actually studying.
• Set realistic goals: If your parents have high expectations and want you to get top marks in the subjects you are studying, try to reach a compromise and decide on some more realistic goals. Talk to them about what it’s like to study in Australia and how your assessments are marked. In most Australian universities, for example, a mark of 80 per cent or more suggests excellent work, this is often called a ‘high distinction’. It’s usually quite difficult to get a mark of 80, with some teachers reserving these marks for only a small number of students. Scores above 90 per cent are very rare.
• Discuss difficulties you are having: Let there be transparency between you and your parents and let them know about of any problems you are having with your studies. This way they’ll know that their support is more important than their expectations. Your parents should know that it may take some time before you are achieving the desired marks. It is very normal to experience difficulties adjusting to the learning and teaching style at your Australian institution or to struggle to keep up with the new content you are learning. Your marks may also be affected by personal issues such as homesickness. If you are finding your studies difficult, you must know that there are many services at your institution that can help, such as academic support and counselling services.
• Manage your own expectations: Be careful that your own expectations are not too high. If you promise that you will get top marks in every class, then your parents are likely to have the same expectations. If you are studying at tertiary level for the first time, remember that your subjects will be very different to what you studied in high school. Even if you have studied before, you must remember that the teaching and learning style at Australian institutions is usually self-directed and may be different to what you were used to in your home country.