In my role as a Careers and University Guidance Counsellor, I have had the good fortune of visiting hundreds of universities around the globe, and speaking with professors, admissions officers and Bangkok Patana alumni.  It is during such visits that I realise the true value of a campus tour because there’s a huge difference between reading about a place on a laptop and actually being there. 

Finding your ‘FIT’

We regularly talk about “fit” when discussing university lists.  These are the factors that are important to the student (and their family) that will allow them to thrive in their journey after Patana.  Here are some points to consider:

• Academic focus. Public or private?  Conservatoires, research, liberal arts, STEM, or technical institutions?
• Academics.  Do they offer majors, minors, concentrations, electives, core curriculum, specialisations, internship opportunities, study abroad programmes that you are interested in?
• Clubs and activities.  Do they offer sport, art, cultural, academic, community service and business clubs that you’d like to be involved in?
• Size.  Very big, mid-sized, or small? 
• Location.  Do you want to be near a city, in the countryside, or somewhere in between?
• Distance from home.  How far from home are you willing to travel?
• Funding and fees. Domestic/ international tuition fees? Private Vs public? Living costs? Availability of scholarships, grants and bursaries?
• Climate.  Do you need warm weather or four seasons?
• Parental priorities.  Expectations, budget, passports, visas, and safety?
• Post university plans. Return home or work in host country?

When to go and what to do before you go

• Year 10-11. More general visits to gain a feel for university life and different types of institution before the pressure of applications begins.
• Year 12. More purposeful visits for students to have a clearer sense of their subjects and possible directions but are not yet in application mode.
• Summer between Year 12 and 13. Perfect for serious shortlist visits; students can attend open days, speak with admissions tutors, and gather material for personal statements
• Year 13. Post-offer visits (offer holder days) to help decide between acceptances; many universities run dedicated events in Bangkok for this purpose

A Campus Visit Makes the Decision Feel Real

Alexa Love, one of our pioneering IB Career Pathway Grad’26 students, travelled to the UK during the February half-term break to decide her Firm and Insurance UCAS choices.  She said:

“I’m honestly so grateful that I got the chance to visit universities in the UK because it completely changed how I see where I want to study. Before going, I had a clear “top choice” in my head based on what I’d seen online, rankings, and how the course looked on paper. But when I actually got there and experienced the campus in real life, everything shifted. The atmosphere just didn’t feel right for me, and I realised I’d kind of built it up into something it wasn’t.

At the same time, a university I hadn’t really prioritised ended up surprising me in the best way. Being there in person made such a difference connected with the environment, the people, and the overall vibe so much more than I expected. It just felt right and way more like somewhere I could actually see myself living and studying.”

Catching up with Patana Alumni

The best tour guides are always students and even better if they are Patana alumni.  They can provide genuine insight into what an institution is really like from an academic, social, and practical perspective. 

Embracing Scotland’s chilly temperatures, Grad’24 students Maetus Low (Mechanical Engineering) and Ayesha Sachdev (Biomedical Sciences) were proud to show me around the University of Edinburgh and point out to some of its iconic sights. 

It was wonderful to catch up with Grad’25 students Oden Stalberg and Margot Werbert who are in their second year at IE University’s Madrid campus where they are studying Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s in Economics respectively.  Their degrees are taught in English, but both were impressing me with their fluency in Spanish. 

I met up with my former Grad’14 student Ashley Siribhadra, who was now sporting a faint Scottish accent.  She studied Medicine at the University of Dundee and is now a practising radiologist working between Glasgow and Strathclyde and is clearly thriving.

No website or prospectus can fully convey which type of university will feel right for a student. It is important to try and look beyond the rankings and visit three or four different types of institution, because you may surprise yourselves and choose a university that you had barely considered, simply because being there made it real.

To find out which university felt like the best fit for me, amongst the hundreds I have visited, feel free to pop up to the second floor of Senior Studies or attend one of next year’s Careers and University Parent Coffee Mornings, and I will be happy to share which one and why.