Colleges have begun bringing exchange students home from China

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure. Since kids usually foot their own airfare for study abroad, I doubt the school is chipping in. But they are mandating that kids return. Probably don't want the liability.

But most people buy their return ticket months in advance and can’t shell out $1-2k for another with almost no notice. Again, for my daughter, it was prohibitive at ~$1300.

1300 is not prohibitive. Put it on a credit card. It is a question of life and death...

Not everyone studying abroad can do that. When I studied abroad, my mom was below the poverty line. I won a research fellowship to pay for it. When my DD studied abroad, she worked for two years to pay for 1/2 and then got a scholarship for almost all of the second half. She lived very frugal there and a worked a part-time job to bridge the gap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure. Since kids usually foot their own airfare for study abroad, I doubt the school is chipping in. But they are mandating that kids return. Probably don't want the liability.

But most people buy their return ticket months in advance and can’t shell out $1-2k for another with almost no notice. Again, for my daughter, it was prohibitive at ~$1300.

1300 is not prohibitive. Put it on a credit card. It is a question of life and death...

Exactly. I can't believe parents here are concerned about cost. I would pay $5,000 if that's what it took...even more.

And if you didn’t have a spare $500, even on a credit card? It’s not just rich kids doing study abroad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are American students studying in China? Communism?

Uh...Chinese. The language that more people on our planet speak than any other!

And? Were they planning to stay there to use their Chinese language skills?

Businesses are eagerly recruiting Mandarin speakers. Even the US gov’t sponsors study abroad for Chinese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure. Since kids usually foot their own airfare for study abroad, I doubt the school is chipping in. But they are mandating that kids return. Probably don't want the liability.

But most people buy their return ticket months in advance and can’t shell out $1-2k for another with almost no notice. Again, for my daughter, it was prohibitive at ~$1300.

1300 is not prohibitive. Put it on a credit card. It is a question of life and death...

Exactly. I can't believe parents here are concerned about cost. I would pay $5,000 if that's what it took...even more.

And if you didn’t have a spare $500, even on a credit card? It’s not just rich kids doing study abroad.

What would that person have done if their kid simply got sick, or had some other reason to come home, separate from a broader issue like this virus?

Presumably a parent had to have some plan because certainly no one else would pay then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are American students studying in China? Communism?

Uh...Chinese. The language that more people on our planet speak than any other!

And? Were they planning to stay there to use their Chinese language skills?

Businesses are eagerly recruiting Mandarin speakers. Even the US gov’t sponsors study abroad for Chinese.

For what exactly?

[Anonymous]

They probably scraped the money together to give their child the study abroad opportunity and hoped for the best. Don’t judge if you are lucky enough not to live paycheck to paycheck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are American students studying in China? Communism?

Uh...Chinese. The language that more people on our planet speak than any other!

And? Were they planning to stay there to use their Chinese language skills?

Businesses are eagerly recruiting Mandarin speakers. Even the US gov’t sponsors study abroad for Chinese.

For what exactly?

US government needs Chinese speakers to work at the NSA, CIA, the trade and export control sections of Commerce, the State Dept, etc etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure. Since kids usually foot their own airfare for study abroad, I doubt the school is chipping in. But they are mandating that kids return. Probably don't want the liability.

But most people buy their return ticket months in advance and can’t shell out $1-2k for another with almost no notice. Again, for my daughter, it was prohibitive at ~$1300.

1300 is not prohibitive. Put it on a credit card. It is a question of life and death...

Exactly. I can't believe parents here are concerned about cost. I would pay $5,000 if that's what it took...even more.

And if you didn’t have a spare $500, even on a credit card? It’s not just rich kids doing study abroad.

What would that person have done if their kid simply got sick, or had some other reason to come home, separate from a broader issue like this virus?

Presumably a parent had to have some plan because certainly no one else would pay then.

When the illness warrants a medical evacuation, travel insurance pays. Otherwise, you try to GoFundMe or otherwise raise the funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure. Since kids usually foot their own airfare for study abroad, I doubt the school is chipping in. But they are mandating that kids return. Probably don't want the liability.

But most people buy their return ticket months in advance and can’t shell out $1-2k for another with almost no notice. Again, for my daughter, it was prohibitive at ~$1300.

1300 is not prohibitive. Put it on a credit card. It is a question of life and death...

Exactly. I can't believe parents here are concerned about cost. I would pay $5,000 if that's what it took...even more.

And if you didn’t have a spare $500, even on a credit card? It’s not just rich kids doing study abroad.

What would that person have done if their kid simply got sick, or had some other reason to come home, separate from a broader issue like this virus?

Presumably a parent had to have some plan because certainly no one else would pay then.

When the illness warrants a medical evacuation, travel insurance pays. Otherwise, you try to GoFundMe or otherwise raise the funds.

Ok, so use any of those approaches now rather than assuming the college should pick up the tab.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure. Since kids usually foot their own airfare for study abroad, I doubt the school is chipping in. But they are mandating that kids return. Probably don't want the liability.

But most people buy their return ticket months in advance and can’t shell out $1-2k for another with almost no notice. Again, for my daughter, it was prohibitive at ~$1300.

1300 is not prohibitive. Put it on a credit card. It is a question of life and death...

This is NOT likely a matter of life or death! the fatality rate is about 4-5%, not much more than regular flu. the hysteria is beyond control

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are American students studying in China? Communism?

Uh...Chinese. The language that more people on our planet speak than any other!

And? Were they planning to stay there to use their Chinese language skills?

Businesses are eagerly recruiting Mandarin speakers. Even the US gov’t sponsors study abroad for Chinese.

For what exactly?

Hi MAGA dummy.

[Anonymous]

I know, it is not a particularly threatening illness. I think people are just scared because it is "new" and the public is not familiar with how quickly respiratory pathogens can spread throughout a population with no prior exposure.

[Anonymous]

If it were my kid I'd bring them home now, not so much for fear of the virus but because you don't know how much longer airlines are going to continue flying out of China. British Airways just stopped all flights today and most airlines will probably follow suit. You really want your college-age kid stranded in an authoritarian country during a pandemic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it were my kid I'd bring them home now, not so much for fear of the virus but because you don't know how much longer airlines are going to continue flying out of China. British Airways just stopped all flights today and most airlines will probably follow suit. You really want your college-age kid stranded in an authoritarian country during a pandemic?

Hence why our neighbors are bringing their kid home, exactly.

[Anonymous]

At the college I work at, students have to sign a safety agreement before leaving that basically says that if the college determines there are safety concerns, they can require you to come home at your own expense. Or if you refuse to come home, it ends your affiliation with the college exchange program (and basically then you are there on your own).