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Whats inside Whats new with the University Counseling Program this year?
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What are the goals of our University Counseling Program? Page 2 Year 11, 12 and 13 Parents: whats happening this year with regard to the college admission process? Page 3 Reminders/tips for parents of students applying to the US, UK, HK, Canada, Singapore, et al. Page 5 Parents who have been there and done that share what they wish they had known before their college process started. Page 8 Beyond prestige: how to tell if a student has REALLY researched a prospective school. Page 9 Which colleges/universities are visiting CIS in the near future? Page 11 Managing your stress. Page 13
During this spring term, counselors will also help Year 12 students formulate a plan for completing SAT/ACT exams (if necessary). Year 12 students will write an initial essay or personal statement. We will also discuss the option of formulating plans for visiting universities over the summer. Your university counselors will never tire of saying that we are available to meet with any parent or student who has questions and concerns with any aspect of the college process. Please feel free to avail yourself of our services!
What can parents do to help their precious cargo through this college process?
University counselors are often asked by parents: how much of this should I be taking on, and how much do I leave to my child? The answer to these questions depends in large part on the students research and organizational skills, ability to meet deadlines as well as handle the stresses of this application process while balancing school and extra-curricular activities in a healthy manner. Theres no question that they have a lot on their plates. It is the rare teenager who retains a mature and balanced perspective throughout this process. The typical teenager will experience highs as well as lows at various stages. Problems typically arise when there are hidden agendas, expectations are unmet, and the college process becomes an ongoing tug-of-war between parent and student. Clarifying expectations and setting mutually agreed upon times to review where the student is in this process eliminates the need for constant checking (students might call this nagging!) and gives the teenager space to navigate his/her way successfully.
A conversation with your child and the university counselor can also help clarify roles and expectations. Generally, we encourage our students to take charge of this process in an organized, thoughtful and healthy manner and to confront expectations pro-actively. We meet with parents frequently throughout Year 13 so PLEASE feel free to take advantage of our services if you have any particular questions or concerns. We cant overemphasize the fact that we are here for parents as well as students. Reaching out is a good thing!
recommendation, but most US universities will only accept two. Students should consult with their university counselor if theyre unsure whom to ask for a teacher recommendation letter.
Applying to HK?
Application to the Hong Kong universities is completed via direct entry application rather than through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System scheme (JUPAS) designed for local students. All universities now have on-line applications for non-jupas applicants. It is the responsibility of your son/daughter to lodge his/her application to meet deadlines ranging from the middle of November to late February. We recommend that HK applicants become very familiar with application deadlines and requirements for individual HK universities. All non-jupas applicants are required to write a personal statement on what they want to study and why. If your son/daughter has written one for the UK and s/he is still applying for the same undergraduate programme, it is efcient to recycle the UCAS statement but adapt it slightly. It might be helpful to give a couple of reasons about why s/he want to study in Hong Kong. Additionally, the CIS University Counseling Ofce has arranged for CUHK, HKUST and HKU to give a formal presentation to interested students on Wednesday 10th October at 3:15 pm. Both HKU and
CUHK have agreed to continue their early application rounds. The full details have yet to be published on their websites. We highly recommend that students complete their HK applications on or before 14th December. Please note that HK universities do not require IB applicants to submit their standardized test scores (SAT or ACT with Writing). If your child indicates his/her SAT test scores on the online application(s) the test scores MUST be submitted directly via the College Board.
Applying to Canada?
With the exception of institutions located in the province of Ontario (such as University of Toronto), all applications to Canadian universities are completed on-line via individual university websites. For Ontario applicants, an electronic application is completed via the OUAC website (www.ouac.ca). We recommend that your son/daughter complete his/her Canadian applications by the 14th of December. (Deadlines: McGill U 15th Jan 13, others vary from 15th Jan 1st June 13). Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents of Canada must provide us with a good photocopy of their Canadian passport or landed paper to be submitted along with the academic credentials.
Applying to Singapore?
Application to the three local universities in Singapore is direct. Each university sets its own admissions requirements and procedures. The application period also varies slightly (October 2012 late March/early April 2013). Below are the three public funded university websites. National University of Singapore (NUS) Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore Management University (SMU) Applicants serving the compulsory National Service (NS) for the Republic of Singapore can apply for admission rst. Those who gain admission will have the places reserved for them until they complete their NS. If your son/daughter is interested in applying to other countries that are not mentioned above, please feel free to contact us for specic admission procedures and deadlines.
Why wait for the 2nd child to get this process right? Learn from the experts: what parents tell counselors they wish they had known
No parent can go through this process armed with perfect knowledge, judgment and balance. But we can learn from those millions of intrepid souls who have experienced it and survived! Below is a sampling of what parents typically tell university counselors after theyve been through the college process for the rst time. Unfortunately, we assumed our son knew that we only wanted him to attend a college where he would be successful and happy, rather than a name college where he might be unhappy while we basked in the glow of its reputation. We did not understand that the great majority of (US) private colleges provide greater amounts of private aid than their public counterparts. Dont be swayed by the sticker price. Many US unis offer scholarship grants regardless of the parents nancial circumstances. If you dont ask, you wont know. We didnt realize that college admission ofcers want parents to participate in campus tours and information sessions. For our daughter, we didnt have to be tiger parents for this process to be successful. For our son, it was a somewhat different story. We didnt understand early action and early decision application plans and how they can affect the application and admission process. We just assumed our daughter would only get into a prestigious graduate school if she attended the most prestigious undergrad program. Whats true of high schools is also true of colleges: doing well in challenging courses is what gets you to the next level. We never realized how much other parents could wind us up! As with our son, we had to establish boundaries with our friends so that this didnt become a 24/7 obsession. We even instituted no college talk dinner parties! We eliminated a number of good-t prospective colleges because our sons test scores didnt exactly match the average score in the guidebooks. We now know that strong grades in challenging courses along with special talents carry more weight in this process than SAT scores. We thought numbers (GPA and SAT scores) were the critical determiner of admissibility. We didnt have a clue what holistic application evaluation meant. We always thought that a student had to be rounded and participate in lots of different activities and sports. We didnt realize that colleges are looking for pointy kids, students who show sincere dedication to a couple of activities and assume some leadership roles. We also learned that its the rare athlete who gets into college on the basis of his/her athletic achievements.
We pushed our son too hard and controlled too much of the admissions process. He could have benetted in so many ways had we given him more responsibility. Initially, we didnt realize the importance of formulating a balanced list of well-researched schools. Reach schools tend to get all of the attention and generate a lot of the angst.
Researching Universities
Your university counselors encourage students to look behind the label and comparison shop. The more deeply they delve, the more they realize that colleges/universities differ from each other in sometimes subtle and often profound ways. This is hardly a comprehensive list of all the factors to consider, but these would be some of the more obvious and critical components we want our students to research when rming up their prospective lists. We caution parents to avoid using this as a quiz or yardstick where the student needs to score all 4s by a particular date. We see this more as a tool to help parents guide discussion. Typically, students havent thought very deeply about these questions prior to Year 13, so dont be surprised if what they say on Monday changes dramatically by the following Tuesday. Remember that 17 year-olds are still very much trying to understand whats right for them. Patiently helping them nd THEIR answers is the wisest approach. We are also aware of the fact that students love to lavish research time on their dream schools, and are often reluctant to apply the same attentiveness to schools in which they have less interest. While its normal to nd some schools more attractive than others, help them understand that all of the schools on their list are equally important and deserving of their best research skills. Finally, we understand that the criteria listed below have more applicability to the US than UK universities as there are considerably more schools in the US and, therefore, a wider range of options to weigh and research. How to tell if youve researched a university well. Rate how well youve researched the following for the schools on your prospective list: 1 = Never considered researching this 2 = Not sure where to nd information on this 3 = Ive looked into this for some schools 4 = I have a solid knowledge of this factor for each of my prospective schools.
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I can pinpoint the location of my school on a map. I know where it is in relation to large cities and closest airport. I understand travel time and logistics to and from the school. I understand what the weather will typically entail. I understand the social scene of each school, what kids do for entertainment, what they do when theyre not studying.
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Ive researched the programs that my prospective schools offer in areas of interest. Ive looked at course offerings and understand course and core requirements for each school. I am honest in assessing my compatibility for each school on my prospective list. I realize that no school is a perfect match, and I can identify aspects of each school that might not be perfect for me. I understand what each school on my prospective list offers in terms of student support services including freshman orientation, academic support, career counseling and placement. For each of my prospective schools, Ive researched professor accessibility, teacher-student ratios, and the institutional educational philosophy. Ive researched what students have to say about the overall quality of the educational experience and the quality of individual programs. I understand what each of my prospective schools offers in terms of extracurricular activities and organizations as well as which ones I might be interested in joining. If service or study abroad programs are important to me, I know what each university offers. Ive researched the schools compatibility for international students as well as their programs for successfully integrating them into campus life. I understand what each of my prospective schools offers in terms of extracurricular activities and organizations as well as which ones I might be interested in joining. If service or study abroad programs are important to me, I know what each university offers. Ive researched the schools compatibility for international students as well as their programs for successfully integrating them into campus life.
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DATE Wednesday, October 3 (lunch) Monday, October 8 (break) Wednesday, October 10 9:40 11:00 am Thursday, October 11 (break) Sunday, October 14
UNIVERSITY Mount Holyoke College & NYU Shanghai University of Sydney Dean of York University speaking to Yr 12 VA students Topic: Studying Visual Arts at University York, Carleton, Trent, Dalhousie, Calgary & Western Auditions: Boston School of Music, Boston University Manhattan School of Music Ithaca School of Music, Ithaca College Oberlin College Conservatory, Oberlin College Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University Appointment: Jo Faulmann Email: jfaulmann@usaschoolsofmusic.com University of Virginia Cornell, Hong Kong University, IE, Bocconi and Jacobs Bentley University Ecole Htelire de Lausanne, Gilon & Les Roches Franklin College Switzerland
Monday, October 15 (break) Monday, October 15 (lunch) Wednesday, October 17 (break) Wednesday, October 17 (lunch) Thursday, October 18 (break)
DATE Thursday, October 18 (lunch) Monday, October 29 (lunch) Wednesday, October 31 (break) Friday, November 2 (lunch) Monday, November 12 (lunch) Thursday, November 22 (lunch) Friday, November 30 (lunch) Friday, November 30 6:30 7:30 pm
UNIVERSITY Pomona & Hong Kong University (Medicine) University of Southern California & University of Colorado Boulder (tbc) Quest University McGill University Queens University University of Toronto International Christian University(Tokyo) Sophia University(Tokyo) Waseda University(Tokyo) Japanese universities information session: SILS, Waseda University International Christian University(Tokyo) Sophia University(Tokyo) Waseda University(Tokyo) *brochures : Akita International University(Akita) and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacic University(Kyushu)