The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education

I inhaled this book, and now my daughter (a sophomore in high school) is doing the same. It is a book that dares to be different--dares you as a parent to stop capitulating to the timbre of conventional thinking when it comes to your children's education. It is a guide for you and your teen(s) to stop that treadmill of competition and initiate an authentic and global education. Inside are specific resources to igniting an imaginative, innovative, and creative fire of opportunity so that your child(ren) can possess a confident and solid footing for the future.The key to an education in today's world is *global* diversity--genuine and authentic. Not a hollow ring of words and concepts being thrown around because they are in vogue. And not just two-week trips or summer jaunts to Europe to pad the educational resume. If your child wants a strong, solid perch on a phenomenal, exciting future, then going global optimally means going abroad for an educational year. Of course, that may not work for every child or household. Frost lays out a variety of attainable ways for your child to have an opportunity to expand her (or his) horizons, whether it is studying abroad in high school or in college, or selecting another option to nurture a global awakening and future. There is no one formula here. But there are plenty of eye-opening tools to assist your kid in taking charge of the high school and college years--without being intimidated by the needless, excoriating, and daunting competition of the conventional route.This is not just rhetoric; this book contains specific and highly useful, concrete information and support for accomplishing adventurous goals. After reading it, I emailed the author with additional questions of my own, and her response was both swift and extremely helpful. My daughter is already initiating a commanding, fresh look at her high school education and seeing it through a bright-eyed, bold new lens.Not every kid l-o-o-o-ves high school or flourishes in the 4X4 path (4 years of high school segueing into 4 years of college). Not everyone thrives on Spring Break, prom, cliques, trendy fashion, and the high school social scene. Maybe your child is a square peg--or a shooting star ready to take off and orbit away from the standard and into the transformative--around the globe. Some teens feel outright depressed on the boilerplate path. This book helps your child discover some alternative routes to achieving his or her goals while attaining a first-class education and college degree. And, believe it or not, they may even graduate early. From both. Additionally, this book is also a guide to studying abroad without breaking the bank. The author is economically wise. She illustrates that you don't need to be affluent with notable or powerful connections to get an international education.Frost's writing style is engaging, entertaining, inspiring, and encouraging. Always encouraging. Interspersed throughout the book are narratives by many of the students who have designed a colossally impressive education--by applying a dose of daring and a sparkle of ingenuity.The advice, the recommendations, and the wisdom of this book will boost your (kids and parents/ guardians) confidence, spirit, and outlook. I am not overrating this book--grab it now and score an intrepid and global future.

I found much of the information in this book very interesting, and it offered much solid, practical guidance on studying abroad and finding other paths through high school & college that are not as traditional. I definitely think it is worth the time & money to read.The major criticism I had of the book is the authors assumption that a "global" child is the goal we are all/should all be aiming for, without much explanation as to why that is so much better for our children than a well-informed, balanced, but thoroughly American perspective. Perhaps given the title, her readers' agreement on that was a fair assumption on her part, but I don't happen to think that anything global or international is inherently better or worse than anything American, and I found myself quite tired of this assumption in the book. I want my children to understand how truly blessed they are, and to speak other languages, too, but I am not attempting to raise global citizens, I am attempting to raise American citizens that can connect with others around the globe. I didn't find any allowances for that in this book.The second problem I had with the book is related to the first - the author throws her worldview into the book freely without ever stopping to consider that others with different worldviews may still be looking for non-traditional routes to college. Her pejorative use of "suburbia" turned me off, as did her completely out of place reference to health care in America not being as humane as health care in Argentina. She did not seem to have any respect for the fact (or any awareness of it, for that matter) that reasonable, thinking people might like Suburbia and find ways other than moving to another country to deal with the pressures in it, or that indeed they may not want their children to be so heavily influenced by other cultures before they fully understand or are able to defend their own.All in all, though, I found the real information in this book outweighed the irritations. If you share her worldview, you will probably love it. If you happen to lean more conservative, you may be frustrated also, but it is still worth reading.

The New Global Student is a great book that inspires you to forget fears and step out into exciting world of opportunity. Many times we are paralyzed with doubt and uncertainty, believing that a global experience will be too dangerous or what we won't be able to handle the pressures. Maya Frost deals with these issues saying that the emotion cost is real, you have to let go and you will have difficultly, but the overwhelming majority of people who take that leap of faith land and say, "That was so worth it." She also gives great tips as to how to get ahead of the game and snagging extra college credit to enter college as a sophomore or even a junior at age 18.Currently I am 22 years old and a college student at a private institution in Michigan. Though this book is geared for High School students and their parents, it is a great resource for anyone. I was shocked to find out that when I was dealing tired of High School and desperately wanted to get out after my junior year, but was stuck finishing out an almost pointless year, I had other options. I could have skipped my senior year and been catapulted into a more rewarding college experience. Thankfully, Frost's advice doesn't stop for High School students. The stories she shared of other students who cross the American board into the great beyond have blown away my fear of the unknown and made me hungry for a global challenge. Now, largely because of her book, I am getting ready for a semester abroad in South Korea.Whether you are a Middle School, High School, or College age student, or a parent you have a lot to benefit from by reading this book. Don't get stuck in the herd but be inspired to break ranks and fly by reading Maya Frost's "The New Global Student".