General Info

[QUOTE=WanderLuster;1611635]I don't want to see physical harm to Koreans. I do want to see a big advertising campaign saying that PH citizens should be very suspect of those visiting from Korea. I've traveled 30+ countries and never seen "tourists" more horrible than Koreans in PH.[/QUOTE]Sxxxx. Please see this and note the comments (as well as read my PM). I gather you have been PMing a few members saying we are naïve etc but others also think some Koreans are bad tourists in many ways. Go to Globe or Metro supermarket and watch them. Some are nice, many unfortunately are rude and arrogant (or ignorant).

[QUOTE=WanderLuster;1611635]I don't want to see physical harm to Koreans. I do want to see a big advertising campaign saying that PH citizens should be very suspect of those visiting from Korea. I've traveled 30+ countries and never seen "tourists" more horrible than Koreans in PH.[/QUOTE]I have been to Phil 28 times since 2004 and have personally been treated rudely by Koreans many times. I don't understand why they think they are better than anyone else. It's not ALL Koreans though. I use Korean Airlines exclusively and their flight attendants and Airline staff are very courteous. Of course they are getting paid to be nice. LOL.

[QUOTE=Nightrider1;1611723]I have been to Phil 28 times since 2004 and have personally been treated rudely by Koreans many times. I don't understand why they think they are better than anyone else. It's not ALL Koreans though. I use Korean Airlines exclusively and their flight attendants and Airline staff are very courteous. Of course they are getting paid to be nice. LOL.[/QUOTE]Cheer up, m8. It's not as dire as it seems. Sure they detest you. But they loathe each other even more.

There has been debate on the effectiveness of any Philippine university and its abilities to compete on the wider stage (ie Asia not the world!

The latest QS survey seems to suggest that the previous conclusions on the low standards etc are true if this survey is to be given credence. Those who understand the education sector in the country will know more and may offer more informed comment.

The links below are self explanatory In the Asia's top 300 so few Philippines institutions (Ateneo Manila, De la Salle and Ateneo Davao only in the top 300 and then around 150 and well below) but look at the score on the box and see it is below 50 so really IMHO this shows that universities here are failing their students.

Juts a thought for those who sponsor a cutie to get a degree. Which is very important for many who get it and their families but in the wider competitive world?

[URL]http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings/2014[/URL]#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=.

[URL]http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings/2014[/URL]#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=.

Now am sure the methodology of assessing each university will be questioned and I am no expert but this is just for information for those who are interested.

[QUOTE=WickedRoger;1611973]. . .< SNIP > . . .

Now am sure the methodology of assessing each university will be questioned and I am no expert but this is just for information for those who are interested.[/QUOTE]A major criterion in the QS ranking is [B]research quantum[/B]. Unless any University has a high proportion of spending on research then its ranking will drop, as has happened for Australian Universities with their large reduction in research budgets as a result of government cuts.

QS ranking is not a worthwhile means to assess whether your support for any filipina is well-placed unless you are generous enough to be subsidising a place in the private schools mentioned by WR.

Most of the regional universities are not even ranked once you get to place 300 or so in the Asian rankings. They are all just lumped together as "more than 300".

A much better measure is to look at the employment outcomes for a University or College; how many graduates actually pass the Licensure exams for entry to the various professions, such as Education, Law, Nursing, Engineering, Surveying. How many actually get jobs [B]in the profession in which they trained[/B].

This date is available from the Commission for Higher Education (CHED) or the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) websites. Philippines Business for Education (PBEd) also has a useful set of data on its website. Note that it doesn't include those with, for example, teaching degrees who are working in call centers.

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1611998]

A much better measure is to look at the employment outcomes for a University or College; how many graduates actually pass the Licensure exams for entry to the various professions, such as Education, Law, Nursing, Engineering, Surveying. How many actually get jobs in the profession in which they trained.[/QUOTE]I agree. I explained a few years ago why the QS research design is flawed. It is tremendously over-represented by American and British evaluators. Participation is voluntary and there is no apparent effort to control for representativeness in the analysis. I was encouraged to participate from a particular Korean university with which I have had some interaction in the past. For the last two weeks before the deadline to participate they bombarded me with emails lauding all their wonderful programs, explanations as to the importance of the QS ranking, and convenient hotlinks to the online survey. I do not want to participate under those circumstances. I am sure there are several other participants on the Phils board who would be eligible to participate, but it would have been no less a waste of their time.

As RK points out, outcomes--actual placement rates--are far better indicators than prestige ratings or schools' strategic abilities to market themselves.

BTW, UP, at 63rd, actually ranked highest among the Philippine schools. Despite paying their faculty less competitive salaries, they are simply most selective in their admission of students. Brightest students coming in are pretty much the brightest students going out. Unfortunately, this tends to perpetuate class relations in the Phils, since the quality of high school preparation is heavily skewed toward private schools. A kid from a poor provincial public school who gets admitted to UP has gotten there on the basis of hard work and truly fast-firing synapses. I've been told that there was a previous policy to automatically extend acceptance to the top three finishers in every high school in the country. But that is no longer so--for reasons both good and bad.

If we conflate job placement and educational quality, then the former might be a definitive criterion. Of course, we would also want to consider the quality of the jobs obtained, and that consideration might skew the results negatively, since, cat least in my view, spending four years, for example, obtaining an HRM degree and subsequently securing a job as a waitress might cause one to question the value of a degree.

I would argue however that ascribing too much value to "placement" carries with it the strong implication that a primary function of a university is vocational, whereas I still retain the (perhaps overly idealistic) belief that intellectual development remains a university's primary function, and in that regard most tertiary institutions here fail miserably. The reasons for this are well known to many of us who have worked with schools here: inadequate physical plants, poorly trained faculty, lockstep curricula, inconsistent language (s) of instruction, minimal exposure to art, music, literature, and discouragement of intellectual curiosity.

Granted that virtually all surveys are based on core values or criteria with which reasonable people may disagree. I would argue however, that this survey's assessment of universities here is accurate.

GE.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1612339]

Granted that virtually all surveys are based on core values or criteria with which reasonable people may disagree. I would argue however, that this survey's assessment of universities here is accurate.

GE.[/QUOTE]Glad to see the more knowledgeable members such as GE and RK help me understand this better.

Any survey can be skewered as many governments in the world know.

What I find interesting is that none of the local press has picked up on tis survey regardless of how robust it is / is not. More chatter about the Pope again, Pacman being picked in the basketball draft (is he really a politician looking after his constituents?) plus the normal pork barrel and MRT woes.

I think it was the Singaporean president who said that education was the most important asset to his country and to his people hence the system there is held up as one of the best on the world (well according a recent documentary I saw on the Australian network). Sadly nt the case here methinks.

Skip. Apologies must have missed UP higher in the list (so make it 4 in the top 300).

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1612339]. . .
I would argue however that ascribing too much value to "placement" carries with it the strong implication that a primary function of a university is vocational, whereas I still retain the (perhaps overly idealistic) belief that intellectual development remains a university's primary function, and in that regard most tertiary institutions here fail miserably. . . . [/QUOTE]I too have your (overly idealistic) belief GE but unfortunately this primary function of a university is rapidly being eroded in other countries by governments that simply do not get it.

The Australian HE system is being transformed into a group of prestige career providers; research funds are being cut; there is no longer any central science agency responsible for R & D, and we seem to be following the UK.

Re placement as a criterion: I was responding to WR's point that guys should check up on the quality of the qualifications of the institutions in which they are sponsoring students. In the Philippines, that simply means "will they get a job at the end of the course?" To use GE's example, if an HRM degree gets someone a job as a waitress in preference to an applicant without a degree then I guess we have to say it helps. But it's rather sad to contemplate.

i'm just researching to go to philippines, around nov / dec for about 2 months and if i like it i can stay another month or two. i was going to go last year, but the back to back earthquake and hurricane put me off a bit.

my primary objective is not really going to girlie bars all day long, although i frequent them occasionally, but i like a bit of night life and clubs with fl and semis. i have travelled around and know the ropes but never been to philli.

for various reasons i don't want to be moving around, i need to rent a condo as a base (with good electric and internet connection) and then can make 3/4 days trips every now and then to see other places.

aside from girls i like to be in a walking distance to a nice beach and to night life, a few nearby bars for a few drinks and playing pool, but also not too far places (if possible) for swimming, snorkelling, fishing (from the shore), may be some [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord121][CodeWord121][/url] (not that kind, the wind or kite surfing, boogy board, dingy sailing type etc.). i probably rent a bike and can make short trips around, but not too far. i know it's hard to have everything in one place, but hope to have a few at least. as i am there a long time, i like to do the normal things too, like going shopping, half-descend market, restaurant, cinema and so on.

i am not a big fan of big cities, but looking at various options in philli i am considering cebu as a base. but i don't see any nice beaches in walking distance there. someone who i know and travelled across phili suggested puerto galera, but it seems to me a very small place (not sure he was suggesting sabong beach or the pg city itself!

well, to make it easy for those who are familiar with los, patong in phuket is my ideal place (it almost has all the above i mentioned), before you say i should go there, i have already. many times / months, so looking for a change and also travel to a new country i always wanted to visit.

any answer / opinion would be appreciated with a few pros / cons.

I doubt that the topic of the quality of local tertiary institutions is of interest to more than a handful of forum readers, but it's obviously a topic of more than passing concern to RK, WR, and perhaps a few others in addition to me.

I've had an opportunity fairly recently to spend a bit of time at Diliman, and with some of its senior faculty, all of whom received their doctorates outside of this country. There's no doubt that they're extremely capable, highly intelligent, and committed teachers. There's also little doubt however that they are not representative of most tertiary faculty members around the country. Then too, though they're anomalies here, they would be nothing extraordinary in Western (and likely Singaporean or Japanese) institutions. My guess is that comparing Diliman--the best that this place has to offer--with the gamut of universities in the states, it would be roughly equivalent with a mediocre, middle-rung university. It's facilities are, to be kind, out-of-date and poorly maintained. There's little or no budget for sending faculty to international conferences, and research facilities, such as they are, are wholly inadequate or so my discussions with staff would suggest.

The simple fact is that there's absolutely no equivalence of investment in tertiary education between this country and other countries that place a higher value on and take pride in quality education. This is reflected in the anemic budgets for public education at all levels. The larger tragedy of course is that the country consistently fails to develop its human capital, thus dooming itself to lagging ever further behind those countries that do make the investment and reap the rewards.

GE.

[quote=uzinuzin;1612396]i'm just researching to go to philippines, around nov / dec for about 2 months and if i like it i can stay another month or two. i was going to go last year, but the back to back earthquake and hurricane put me off a bit.

my primary objective is not really going to girlie bars all day long, although i frequent them occasionally, but i like a bit of night life and clubs with fl and semis. i have travelled around and know the ropes but never been to philli.

for various reasons i don't want to be moving around, i need to rent a condo as a base (with good electric and internet connection) and then can make 3/4 days trips every now and then to see other places.

aside from girls i like to be in a walking distance to a nice beach and to night life, a few nearby bars for a few drinks and playing pool, but also not too far places (if possible) for swimming, snorkelling, fishing (from the shore), may be some [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord121][CodeWord121][/url] (not that kind, the wind or kite surfing, boogy board, dingy sailing type etc.). i probably rent a bike and can make short trips around, but not too far. i know it's hard to have everything in one place, but hope to have a few at least. as i am there a long time, i like to do the normal things too, like going shopping, half-descend market, restaurant, cinema and so on.

i am not a big fan of big cities, but looking at various options in philli i am considering cebu as a base. but i don't see any nice beaches in walking distance there. someone who i know and travelled across phili suggested puerto galera, but it seems to me a very small place (not sure he was suggesting sabong beach or the pg city itself!

well, to make it easy for those who are familiar with los, patong in phuket is my ideal place (it almost has all the above i mentioned), before you say i should go there, i have already. many times / months, so looking for a change and also travel to a new country i always wanted to visit.

any answer / opinion would be appreciated with a few pros / cons.[/quote]cagayan de oro is the place you out of go. nice bars with beautiful ladies. just out of town is the.

longest zipline in asia. nearby is rafting the cagayan river, which is a kick. hiking and caves. stay at victoria suites 800/ night and they are used to ladies coming and going. i give everyone tips to stay happy. good luck. i will also be there in november. i need to pick up some things and then going to circumnavigate samar. did mindanao last year. that is when i discovered cdo. never had so much fun. videoed a room full of naked ho's. he he he.

[quote=goodenough;1612398]i doubt that the topic of the quality of local tertiary institutions is of interest to more than a handful of forum readers, but it's obviously a topic of more than passing concern to rk, wr, and perhaps a few others in addition to me.
.... snip....
the larger tragedy of course is that the country consistently fails to develop its human capital, thus dooming itself to lagging ever further behind those countries that do make the investment and reap the rewards. ge.[/quote]thanks guys. it's a topic of a bit more than a passing concern to me. because like several other members' posts, a look beneath the surface helps on a daily basis coping with this place, interacting with the locals, and just trying to stay sane.

secondly, since i'm not much into the point-and-dick stuff, aspiring students are a favorite demographic, and i've been able to help out a few. but i always thought that in the event i found someone i was fond of for more than just casual shagging, besides just short term spending money, one of the only things i could bring to the table would be letting her continue or pick up her education again. so that way, in the end when it comes time to get off that train, i would hope she'd be better off than she was when i got on, as opposed to having just wasted allot of her time and my money "studying". so that stuff helps, thanks again.

[quote=uzinuzin;1612396]i am not a big fan of big cities, but looking at various options in philli i am considering cebu as a base. but i don't see any nice beaches in walking distance there.
....snip....
well, to make it easy for those who are familiar with los, patong in phuket is my ideal place (it almost has all the above i mentioned), before you say i should go there, i have already. many times / months, so looking for a change and also travel to a new country i always wanted to visit.

any answer / opinion would be appreciated with a few pros / cons.[/quote]you described the place i been searching for about 2 years. there is no phuket or the old samui here, at least not that i know of. most nice beach places are either tourist traps, or you'd be extremely lucky to find real mustard in the supermarket. ge put it politely in the last part of his post. but you may find it hopeless before long, especially if you're used to what you described. it takes a certain type of person to stay here very long.

the visayas sound like your best bet so ya, you can land in cebu which is allot easier. i don't know about cdo, stopped in a few times, seems a bit gritty especially if you don't like bigger cities. but i don't recommend mindanao, westcoast just mentioned it in the other places thread. it's too conservative, the rest is dangerous, and it's mostly impossible to rent a motorcycle. davao is over crowded, noisy, smokey, and the beach stinks. think about tagbilaran. . big mall, colleges, beaches. or dumaguete, restaurants, nice apartments for cheap, beaches, mountains. not great for girl hunting, but they're there. province chicks in the hills and siquijoir. and you can jump a speedboat to cebu from either place. very few other places rent motorcycles, but the places i mentioned do. if you buy one, then you have that anchor around your neck anytime you want to transfer to another island.

the weather gets good on luzon that time if year, la unoin may work for you. there's a whole intersection packed with bars and chicks in case you get in a pinch.

all the best, let us know how it goes.

[QUOTE=Uzinuzin;1612396]I'm just researching to go to Philippines, around Nov / Dec for about 2 months and if I like it I can stay another month or two. I was going to go last year, but the back to back earthquake and hurricane put me off a bit.

My primary objective is not really going to girlie bars all day long, although I frequent them occasionally, but I like a bit of night life and clubs with FL and Semis. I have travelled around and know the ropes but never been to Philli.

/ cons.[/QUOTE]My Vote is 3 places:

Near to Subic, access to Angeles and its open clean and fresh.

Davoa is the nicest small city I have been to but hard to get laid professionally.

Cebu is not bad with close access to Bohol and Dumagete.

From Cebu lots of trips by Ferry are availble but Cebu is fast becoming Manila and Greater Manila is a shit hole of Epic portions!

PP.

Thanks for the replies, I look into all suggested locations and probably come back with a few more specific queries.