Hi.

My girl's nephew is a fairly bright kid. His mother was abandoned by her husband and the kid is now looking at leaving school and heading to Bangkok to go to Uni.

The only thing is of course they have no money for him to go to Uni.

If I was to decide to sponsor him, how much do you think this should cost me? I don't mind helping out, but would like to just give a reasonable amount. Enough so that he can endure his study and living away from home, but not so much that he'll be living the high life.

Thanks for your thoughts.

His mother was abandoned by her husband

And consequently, the child is abandoned by the mother.

Except if she finds a willing sponsor.

Your only cheap choice is Ramkhameng university http://www.ru.ac.th/english/index.html

Thanks for the link.

I don't really understand the tuition fee page though!!

These academic fees 25 Baht & 150 Baht Service fees mean what? Is that a per day rate, or semester rate in 1,000 bahts?

All fees are in Thai Baht.

1. General Fees

regular/special program for Regional Centers

Academic fee (per credit) 25 / 80

Service fees :

Regular semester

150 / 150

Summer session

50 / -

Special session

-/ 100

Also what do you think would be a reasonable allowance be for food and accomodation?

For a state university you're looking at a few thousand baht per semester, of which there are two are three. There's books, exam fees, course fees, registration fees and so on. Somewhere in the region of 10k -20k (max) all in per year would be my guess for somewhere like Rahmkamhaeng. There are also places like Sukhothai open university in BKK which are cheaper, and being an open university you rarely have to actually attend, and do via correspondence, through books and CDs, so could work at the same time.

Main costs I'd foresee really would be living expenses.

BTW Ignore the flames that are coming from the people with nothing better to do than have a go at someone else's personal situation and good intentions.

Hi.

My girl's nephew is a fairly bright kid. His mother was abandoned by her husband and the kid is now looking at leaving school and heading to Bangkok to go to Uni.

The only thing is of course they have no money for him to go to Uni.

If I was to decide to sponsor him, how much do you think this should cost me? I don't mind helping out, but would like to just give a reasonable amount. Enough so that he can endure his study and living away from home, but not so much that he'll be living the high life.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Wonderful thing to do. Money well spent. I'd be interested too, I've put away for daughters higher ed (not for 12 years yet mind) just interested in costs now to make a projection.

ramkhamhaeng is cheap as hel_l.. just gotta decide what u want to give him to live on.

My Fiancee just finished a BA at Mahidol University. It cost me 30K baht per semester, but that's one of the top universities in Bangkok.

For living expenses, my fiancee has a small room...about 200 sq ft with a bathroom (toilet and shower). NO aircon. She pays 2,700 baht per month. Food is cheap over there. if he goes to street vendors, about 100-150 baht per day. Buses are cheap. We had to go from Sathorn area, to the other side of the river and then some (Siriraj Hospital, where they held the classes), 30 baht round trip (two buses). Computer and cellphone cards are extra.....

those are just some of my thoughts

good luck. You are doing a good thing.....

You are doing a good thing.....

Hmmm.. that's debateble. I agree you have a great heart. Another option is to teach him how to find the money and help himself. My parents didn't have money to pay for me, but I managed to finish college and pay off all my student loans. My brother is now a board certified orthopedic surgeon. He paid for it himself through loans and grants. etc, etc. You get the point. Giving people free money is not always a good thing. I am so greatful I learned how to achieve my goals without free handouts.

Oh, and my Thai girlfriend just graduated last year with a law degree. She worked and got her own student loans. I am very proud, but she is more proud than I am. ... just a tought.

Does the kid really want to study?

While staying with my wife's family, I observed some "students" routine.

Attendance = just 2 days a week.

hardly ever saw any one hitting the books or spend time at the library.

Soap operas on tV, listining to music, sleeping until noon... You get the idea.

One was doing a Masters degree, the other one got kicked out.

Good of you to help a kid, but also be his mentor. Help him set priorities,

help him handle his time. Help him with an English English dictionary etc. etc.

And do not just hand over cash!! Be the one to pay the tuition fee.

Tell him about Skype.

Don't trust him to budget well, maybe you can make many small payments and pay the rent for him?

Having him repay the loan would make sense - for his own benefit, as others point out about their own careers.

Avoid being a sucker. Often, the demands will escalate.

Hi.

.....the kid is now looking at leaving school and heading to Bangkok to go to Uni..... how much do you think this should cost me? ... Enough so that he can endure his study and living away from home, but not so much that he'll be living the high life.

Again, the devil is in the details. What grade is he in? Has he taken the Thai equivalent of the SAT or college aptitude test? My understanding is the student picks the 4 universities he/she wants to go to, takes the SAT, and based on the score and the order in which they defined their preferences can only be accepted into those 4. So if his score is too low, he will get none of the four and has to wait a year to retake the test.

Apparently it does not matter if there are other universities that accept students with that score, if it is not on the student's selected list.... no can go.

Now there is also a direct application method which may be harder as it is the whole person approach (as I understand it). So if the student got a lower score but was the "deputy nai amphur' and that took up too much time so that he could not properly study for the SAT.......

Since you are looking at the future, I assume none of the above has happened. If he is not in M5/M6, it might be premature to think about it now but, again, consider his current performance. So, to assess your costs, you need to know what 4 univ's he would prefer. And then consider his academic achievements to see if these 4 are reasonable choices. If not, then getting Thamasat (sp?) costs would be misleading.

The above is based upon some lenghty discussions I have had with my neighbor's 16 year old M5 gifted student.

Now my nephew struggled through high school, so it was no surprise he couldn't test "into" a local university. He went to the equivalent of jr college for 2 years, made it into Mae Jo Univ, and dropped out after the 1st semester. Just not a motivated student (specially after he found his one true love).