Customer Reviews

The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition

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A Lewis & Clark College colleague discovered Tina Quick's book while attending the OACAC (Overseas Association for College Admission Counseling) conference this year. He loaned me the book for the weekend and I haven't given it back yet! I've ordered my own copy for the office. I love this book and feel that it is the most helpful resource for TCKs (Third Culture Kids) that I have ever read. While based on research, it is easy to read and very, very practical. TCKs will appreciate the real life experiences of their peers and will come away with good advice no matter where they open the book and start reading. After digesting the section on relationships, TCKs might actually understand why they initially have so much difficulty making US friends. This book gives students lots of good, sound, practical advice that they can use before and during their transition to university. Last week I sent an email to my new incoming first year TCKs (and their parents) suggesting that they buy the book and read it in the month before new student orientation begins. As a TCK herself and as a mother of three TCKs, Tina Quick knows her subject well and speaks with authority. But, she does so in a manner that students will enjoy.

Greg Caldwell
Associate Dean of Students and
Director of International Students and Scholars
Lewis & Clark College
Portland, Oregon

Tina Quick's book is the book that has been missing for years from our library of books about raising and educating children overseas. In fact, it seems that "transition to college" is where all the help books and "owner's manuals" for parenting stop. However, transition to college for any student is a major life change. Couple that transition with the issues that a Third Culture Kid faces and it's no wonder that many of these young people have a very difficult time adjusting. I have been telling every one of the college-bound students I advise, their parents, and my professional college counseling colleagues about the importance of this book. And parents - if you can't get your own teen to read the book yet - read it yourself so that if he/she calls home frustrated or in tears, you'll be able to better support them!

Rebecca (Becky) Grappo, M.Ed.
Founder, RNG International Educational Consultants, LLC
Certified Educational Planner

I wish this book was available when I, a Global Nomad, returned to my passport country and entered college! It fills an important niche that has been vacant for too long. I love Tina's style of writing for she writes clearly and gives wonderful examples for the Global Nomad making this transition. I had a difficult time putting down her book. She is most knowledgeable and has certainly done her research. The book is filled with interviews of Global Nomads and those who work or study them. I think Tina went the second mile with her writing as she ends each chapter with the key points of that chapter and where one might find more materials on that topic, etc. It is not a book filled with philosophy and research studies, but a most practical book that a university bound student can put into their backpack and understand what is going on within them. The chapter on hidden grief is the most important one in the entire book. It is the perfect companion book to David Pollock and Ruth VanReken's book "Third Culture Kids:Growing Up Among Worlds". In my role as a mental health counselor, this book will be high on my referral list to all Global Nomads and their parents.

Looking back on my troubled college years, how much I wish I had had this book at that time! I was a TCK who grew up outside of my home counry, and went back to my home country for my undergraduate degree. The reverse culture shock that I felt during my university life back in my home country was so much stronger than culture shock from foreign soils. I was exposed to the toughest life experiences completely off-guard. This book provides a very easy-to-follow but practical advices to such (potentially) troubled souls. Therefore, this book has the potential to save many TCKs, their parents, and their friends from so many misunderstandings and troubles. I highly recommend this book as a must-read to all the college-year TCKs, their families, their friends, educators, counselors, and so on.

I bought this book for my college freshman, who is a Third Culture Kid/ Global Nomad as well as a child of a multi-cultural family. I thought it might be helpful for some of the transitional issues. He received the book yesterday and apparently stayed up way too late reading, without realizing the time. He said, "The book is actually really good." I thought that was worth sharing, especially for parents who are considering whether it would help their child.

When I first read Tina's book, I had a recent high school graduate and I was "sad" I didn't have int information earlier. I found it very helpful and made my child read parts of the book as we traveled to her college. Later that year, I attended Parent Weekend and ended up mailing the college this book. I thought the admissions and counseling office needed to know what these TCK's are going through when they return home. (Which is often a place they have never lived).

Since then as I know more and more college admissions and counselors, I often leave Tina's book as my thank you gift to their institution when I leave them after a visit.

Now my second child is a senior and I feel like I know much more about what to expect when he relocates due to reading and re-reading this book. I feel it is a must have for any family with children in high school.

If parents get the help they need early on in their assignments overseas and use this as a resource when they kids return back home, it is a win win for both parents and kids.

Julia Simens

This book is very teen-friendly in format. It pares down the essential, relevant content from Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, Revised Edition (by David C. Pollock & Ruth E. Van Reken) and delivers it into digestible, usable, quickly accessible chunks. Furthermore, it is so user-friendly that I was able to use it to quickly create a day-long seminar for my graduating students. PLEASE, walk students through the first few chapters near the START of their Senior year (or the end of their Junior year). This will 1) force them to actually read it even though they have so many tasks at hand and 2) allow them the time to work through the steps in a knowledgeable way. They are going to be experiencing the truths of the book anyway. You might as well enable them to feel less like a freak during the process and open dialogue amongst his/her peers and yourself.

With thanks to Nel Vandekerckhove a Belgian expat who now lives in Amsterdam, for writing this reveiw

In general, guidebooks are not my favorites to review. While often written with the best intentions, to me these books have a tendency to overdo the how-to's and must-do's. Often after reading, little advice sticks. In view of the topic of this book, global nomads on their way to university, I was glad to make an exception. Transition of expat kids from high school to university - whether back in their `passport country' or elsewhere once again - is a rockier path than generally presented, and therefore can use some extra attention.

The expat youngsters, or Third Culture Kids (TCKs) as they are addressed in this book, experience a double rite of passage when entering university. Not only are they moving from high school to university - leaving their family behind for a longer period of time, they do this in a country that is being referred to by their parents as `their home country'. College years might indeed be "the best years of your life", but people tend to forget that the double shift from high school to university, and the process of repatriation/migration remains a challenge, even for Third Culture Kids who have lived in multiple countries before they reach the age of eighteen.

Tina Quick does an excellent job in addressing this matter and the possible hiccups for TCKs when they decide to repatriate or expatriate to attend university. The Global Nomad's Guide to University Transition is a very lucid, well-written work that offers a detailed overview of the different stages of the `transition cycle' of youngsters and their parents from the moment the TCKid decides to leaves and settle in the `home country'. In chapter one, the author addresses the Third Culture kid phenomenon and the issue of belonging TCKs might feel when relating to their peers who have not lived abroad. In chapters 2 to 6, each stage of the transition cycle is discussed in detail. Catchy titles such as `Itchy feet to dragging feet' or `Fish out of Water' grab the readers' attention and straight away make them reflect on these issues. The second part of the book (chapter 7 till chapter 10) is set up as a practical guide on how to cope with mental and physical distress related to this transition process. For instance, how can the TCKs set boundaries with regard to drugs and alcohol, take care of their health and deal with the campus life abroad? In the last chapter (chapter 11), Quick addresses the parents to help them understand the struggle of their TCK offspring and the ways they can provide help and support. Being a mother of three college-aged TCK daughters, the author knows from first hand experience that often TCK parents are only too grateful for some tips and advice on this transition process.


One of the major strengths of this book, are the frequent use of real-life examples. The testimonial of Marie, an American/British TCK who lived most of her childhood in Switzerland, helps bring the matter alive and leads you to make comparisons with your own expat experiences. In that regard, the book is not just appropriate for TCKs and their parents at the eve of making the university transition. It is also insightful for everyone who lives or is thinking about living abroad to frame their own experiences or those of their (future) TCKids. A must read for sure!

[...]

Quick has written the ultimate introduction to college life for Global Nomads, TCKs, and also parents of ANY college-bound child. In fact, the book should even be recommended reading for researchers, who will find a first chapter that skillfully synthesizes the Global Nomad experience and reference lists at the end of every chapter. Quick uses detailed descriptions and real life examples to address every possible emotional issue and practical concern--from transition shock and being a "hidden immigrant" to campus life realities and long distance relationships. She even highlights problems you may not have even thought of--such as how to deal with permanent and summer addresses, so as not to lose crucial mail. She handles the issues with compassion and a high level of competency, even covering topics like sex and prevention of STDs; perfect for Global Nomads who can benefit greatly from clear explanations of cultural expectations and helpful suggestions to avoid bad, but realistic situations. The handy "tip to remember," "beware" and "try this" boxes make the suggestions easy to find and remember. Graduation, Christmas or a birthday, this is a perfect gift for a high school senior!

Liz Perelstein, School Choice International