Sabi ni Aneko Delfin, 18, Grade 12 student sa Philippine Science High school (PSHS) sa Quezon City, siya ay isa lamang “mediocre” o “average” student.
Pero natanggap siya sa pitong universities sa U.S. with scholarship offers na aabot sa PHP17 million.
Pumasa si Aneko sa University of Pittsburg (Pennsylvania), Oregon State University, (Oregon), University of Michigan-Flint (Michigan), Temple University (Pennsylvania).
Tanggap din siya sa Bentley University (Massachusetts), Drexel University (Pennsylvania), at Hofstra University (New York).
Narito ang breakdown ng mga scholarships offers mula kay Aneko:
- Bentley University - $120,000 + $40K for a total of PHP$160,000 (PHP8,160,000)
- Oregon State university - $24K (PHP1,224,000)
- University of Michigan-Flint $4,000 (PHP204,000)
- Temple University - $8,000 (PHP408,000)
- Drexel university -$21, 200 (PHP1,081,200)
- Hofstra University – $108,000 (PHP5,508,000)
- University of Pittsburg
Tanggap din si Aneko sa tatlong top universities sa bansa: University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, at Ateneo de Manila University.
Malaking desisyon ang gagawin ni Aneko sa susunod na dalawang linggo: Mag-aaral ba siya sa U.S. o sa Pilipinas?
Hindi kasi biro ang mag-aral sa ibang bansa kahit may scholarship offers.
"Big factor" pa rin daw ang "financial capability" ng estudyante.
“Talagang mahal po to study abroad [like] in the U.S.," aniya sa Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP.ph) via Zoom interview nitong June 2, 2022.
"And even Filipinos who come from middle to upper class families, they may still have difficulty covering the tuition fees po in education abroad.
"I still really have to weigh my options at this time po. I don’t have a firm decision yet on where I’m going to go.”
Kelan niya gagawin ang desisyon?
“Most of their confirmation deadlines are like two weeks from now.
“So hopefully by the time I graduate, which is next week po, I would have made the decision by then already.”
Ani Aneko Delfin, maraming batchmates niya sa Philippine Science High School ang nakakuha ng admission at scholarship offers mula sa universities abroad.
Si Aneko ay panganay sa dalawang magkapatid. Isang school administrator ang kanyang nanay at I.T. specialist ang kanyang ama.
Gaya ng ama, ang interes ni Aneko ay computer science.
Ano ang kanyang ultimate career path?
“Yung goal ko po talaga is to be a computer scientist in the field of bio-informatics.
"So that’s like combination po essentially of biology and chemistry with computer and data science.
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ANEKO, JUST YOUR AVERAGE STUDENT
Aminado si Aneko na may reputasyon ang Pisay students na “nerdy.”
“That’s the stereotype we commonly get po talaga," pagsang-ayon niya.
“I guess it’s true that we’re nerds in the sense that we are really passionate about the sciences and things like that.”
Bagama’t hindi raw siya ang tipong sumasali sa academic competitions, sinabi ni Aneko na, “I’m passionate about things I study, more specifically, computer science and technology.”
Pero ang tingin niya sa sarili niya ay “average” student lamang.
“If I’m being honest, I honestly think that I’m just a mediocre, actually average student in my school.
“I think in terms of grades, extra-curriculars, I’m not exactly that one that shines.”
Kaya naman testimonya raw siya na kahit hindi siya ang maituturing na top student, “you really still have a shot at applying to international schools.”
Sa kanyang campus, hindi na raw bago na maraming estudyante ang nag-a-apply ng college admissions abroad.
“A lot actually of my batchmates also applied to schools abroad. They also got scholarships offers, admission offers.
“That’s why I mention I see myself as a mediocre, average student from my school,” sabi ni Aneko.
TIPS ON APPLYING TO SCHOOLS abroad
Hindi niya talaga ikinunsiderang mag-apply sa mga universities sa ibang bansa, pero hinikayat siya ng kanyang seniors sa school.
Hindi naman niya ito pinagsisisihan. Napagtanto niyang isa rin itong oportunidad para sa kanya.
“I never really considered it. None of my family members din po really migrate abroad to study po.
“It’s really a new experience for me," sabi niya.
Pero hindi rin naman naging madali ang proseso ng pag-a-apply.
“It was a very difficult process: from preparing essays and then finding different files, and documents po for as part of application requirements.”
Mayroon ding bad news. May mga pinagpasahan siyang universities, pero hindi siya natanggap.
Sabi niya, "Hindi lang puro happiness. Talagang the process was really difficult.
"I also received a couple of rejections from other schools that I applied to abroad.
"Hindi siya madaling proseso talaga. And there will be some rejections or failures along the way."
Ani Aneko, gusto niyang mag-aral abroad dahil mas modern at specialized ang courses na ino-ooffer.
Nagsimula raw si Aneko na walang alam kung paano gumawa ng applications for international schools, pero may mga taong tumulong sa kanya.
Ibinahagi ni Aneko ang ilang impormasyon para sa mga kapwa estudyanteng gustong sumubok din mag-apply ng international universities.
Maaari raw sumangguni sa College Admissions Mentors for Peers (CAMP) sa Philippines o CAMP Philippines, isang free mentorship program sa lahat ng estudyanteng interesado.
“Their job is to help students like me who aspire to study abroad," ani Aneko.
“So they help students like me for the whole application process. We’re assigned a mentor po talaga.”
Isa pang tip na ibinigay ni Aneko ay ang paggawa ng account sa Common Application, isang app para sa pag-a-apply ng undergraduate college admission sa iba't ibang bansa.
Simple rin ang dahilan ni Aneko kung bakit nais niyang mag-aral sa ibang bansa: mas modern at may specialization ang specific courses abroad.
“I think there’s a lot we can learn po from other cultures, other countries.
“The things I can learn from these schools, if ever po tumuloy ako," sabi ng dalaga.
“I really think that they would be of great importance if I can really use that knowledge to give back to this country, more specifically po in my field of computer science.”
May dalawang linggo pa si Aneko para magdesisyon kung itutuloy niya o hindi pag-aaral sa abroad.
Pero kung hindi man niya sunggaban ang pagkakataon na makapag-aral sa isang U.S. university, napagtanto na niyang may mga oportunidad na makukuha kung bukas ang isip para rito.
Sabi ni Aneko, "I think that would even give me drive po and talagang mas mag-i-intensify yung passion ko to bring these opportunities from other countries here sa Philippines.
“Because I think education like that, yung talagang mas specialized, everyone deserves quality education.”