4 Questions to Ask Your Child When Choosing a University
A well-rounded tertiary education is not just about textbooks and acing exams. A future-ready education should enable students to hone a variety of essential life skills. As a parent, you want to ensure that your child gets the best education that prepares them for life. From career goals to the university experience, here are some questions to ask your child on their university choices.
The world is evolving faster than ever. To thrive in it, students need to be able to adapt quickly and effectively. This means that a university education should be holistic and provide them with an opportunity to develop both technical skills and soft skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, creative thinking, and leadership abilities to excel in this new economy.
Given this dynamic landscape, parents are naturally concerned about helping their children pick the right university that can nurture leaders of tomorrow.
With multiple considerations to take into account, how do you know what is best for your children? A good way to start is by asking them questions about their priorities and goals for the future.
In this article, we’ll share some of the most important questions parents should ask when starting a conversation with their child on university choices.
1. What are you looking for in your university experience?
Most students focus on how well they can potentially do academically when they’re gearing up for university. But a well-rounded tertiary education is not just about textbooks and acing exams. Beyond accumulating knowledge, a future-ready education should enable students to hone a variety of essential life skills.
While parents may urge their kids to pursue a more conventional degree in the hope of securing a career in an established, stable field, the younger generation may lean towards their areas of interest. Thus, it is crucial to ask your child what they wish to gain from their university experience.
Thankfully, SMU students can enjoy the best of both worlds, by curating academic experiences from over 500 double degree and double major combinations. Such flexibility in designing their education helps widen the net of career prospects for graduates. Students can also integrate learnings across disciplines, interact with one another across majors, and work in teams to solve problems — thereby preparing them for the real world.
To develop a global perspective in our students, SMU requires each of them to participate in at least one overseas experience. Multiple opportunities for global experiences across more than 150 cities include:
Overseas Study Missions
Furthermore, with the SMU city campus situated in Singapore’s central business district, and the arts and heritage precinct, it counts among its neighbours business headquarters, world-class museums, architectural marvels, cultural destinations, and culinary delights – providing your child access to professional, personal, and intellectual growth, right at its doorstep.
2. What are your career goals after university?
In a VUCA world, it’s hard to know what your child’s career goals should be. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity are all part of today's dynamic world, and it’s not always clear what they need to do to succeed.
First and foremost, ask your child, what career pathways do they hope to embark upon graduation. Do they want to work for a big company, join a vibrant start-up, or launch a business of their own? Are they interested in a particular field or industry — and how have these sectors been affected by recent disruptions like technological and AI transformation, climate change, the Covid-19 crisis, and ongoing tensions within cross-border trade relations?
Once your freshman-to-be gains an idea of what they want to do and the potential challenges of reaching their goals, start researching universities that can equip them with the necessary competencies to get them on track upon graduation.
In this aspect, SMU prepares graduates to take on a wide range of different career pathways through an interactive curriculum with a guaranteed second major and global exposure, developing our students in the top 10 job skills of the future, such as analytical thinking, resilience, and creative thinking.
3. How will you maximise your employability?
As parents of a college-age child, one of your top priorities is ensuring that they receive the best possible education to prepare them for the world stage upon graduation. Specifically, an institute of higher education should open up pathways to a successful career and greater employability.
With that, take the time to discuss with your child how they intend to gear up for their career ambitions.
At SMU, our students undergo a holistic programme that builds a strong foundation for a vibrant career, from the day they step onto campus as a freshman. Leveraging upon its vast industry network, the University organises regular industry talks to provide insights into the real world.
Students are also encouraged to explore various industries to gauge their interests and aptitude. This includes completing a mandatory 10-week internship before graduation.
In addition, a dedicated Career Centre provides lifelong career support, such as career counselling, resume writing workshops, and networking events that can help connect students and alumni with employers.
As such, SMU graduates are highly sought after by top employers locally and internationally. In the 2024 Joint Graduate Employment Survey (GES) conducted by SMU and the other Autonomous Universities, its graduates again emerged with one of the best starting salaries and strongest employment rates in Singapore amongst all government-funded universities.
4. How can a university prepare you for a lifetime of meaningful impact, beyond work?
It’s no secret that the economy is changing. Jobs that used to be commonplace are now scarce, and new careers are emerging all the time. So, how does a university education prepare your child for this ever-changing economy?
Today’s top universities stand out by being dedicated to grooming a future-ready workforce, often through collaborative, interactive learning.
At SMU, an interactive seminar-style pedagogy provides the groundwork for sharpening ‘hard’ critical and analytical skills, while honing ‘soft’ articulation, presentation, and leadership skills. An emphasis on ‘heart’ skills also nurtures your child to be a socially responsible leader — one who could navigate and thrive within this Asian Century of fast-paced economic development and transformation.
This form of student-centred learning starts with the Core Curriculum at SMU, which emphasises faculty-student interaction and the exchange of ideas. The common interdisciplinary and intellectual programme exposes students to experiential learning characterised by project-based learning, tackling of real problems, and mentoring by faculty members and industry partners.
Finally, SMU students also have opportunities aplenty for a rich and fulfilling student life outside the classroom for a truly holistic education. From transforming their interests into meaningful impact, to being able to demonstrate future-ready and leadership traits, your child could gain strong experience via over 150 student organisations in SMU.
It is impossible to predict the future, especially given the uncertainties we currently face. But if our children are going to be leaders of tomorrow, their education will play a huge role in navigating disruption and its potential impact on life goals. That’s why it’s important to look at what makes a school great – not just in terms of rankings or prestige, but also how it will guide its graduates towards grasping the opportunities that tomorrow will bring.
Done with the conversation? Get your child ready to take on the world. Find out more about joining SMU here.
