Nuts and Bolts of the University Research Process:

What you should be doing this year

Secondary Counselors @ NIST Thursday 29 August, 2013

Is university right for you?

Other great options: Community College (two years very specific training for a particular kind of work) Apprenticeships that lead directly to work Military Service Gap year with meaningful learning, travel and or volunteer work

PART 1: STEPS IN FINDING THE RIGHT UNIVERSITY

The Challenge
Finding the right university is a challenging process. In order to choose the right school, you have to know a lot about yourself... and you are changing every day! Once you have figured out who you are, and what you are interested in, how do you figure out which colleges you should apply to?

Steps to College

Steps to College

The key is to start early!

Choosing a program or major

Remember the Three Questions: 1. What are you good at? 2. What are you passionate about? 3. What are your priorities?
You have also completed the Do What You Are, The Career Interest Profiler, and the Career Survey on Naviance as well as the Work Experience Week. Dont be freaked out if you are not sure what you would like to pursue upon graduation. UniQuest is here to help you! More on that later.

You and Your Family

When choosing a university major or program, you will need to consider what your parents want for you and think about how you will address possible differences in expectations. This is not always easy!

Whats the deal with Liberal Arts?

Universities in both the USA and Canada (often referred to as Liberal Arts systems) give students a year or more to choose a major after they have started university (There are exceptions!) A true Liberal Arts college is quite a lot like IB in that it requires certain courses and encourages students to be well-rounded in academic studies
Most other systems (Australia/New Zealand, UK/Europe, Asia) ask high school students to apply directly to a course or program Exceptions are Melbourne, University of Western Australia, and universities in Scotland.

Does the university offer your major or program of interest?

A university might be well respected, but not very strong in the field in which you are interested.

Decide on a geographic location (country, region, city)

Students may apply to multiple systems

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49 out of 86 Seniors (57%) in the Class of 2012 are attending their 1st choice university in 14 countries around the world
Country USA United Kingdom Thailand Australia Canada Hong Kong Taiwan Korea, South Norway Sweden Finland Switzerland Japan Singapore Military Gap Year Attending 32 17 8 7 5 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2

56 out of 98 Seniors (57%) in the Class of 2013 are attending their 1st choice university in 12 countries around the world Country
USA United Kingdom

Attending
37 18

Thailand
Australia Canada Hong Kong

9
10 14 1

Philippines
Holland New Zealand Netherlands Japan Singapore Military

1
1 1 1 1 1 1

Gap Year

Other factors to consider

Are you considering university in your home country? What is the distance from home? What will a flight cost? Please be aware that you might not be able to transfer university credits from one country to another It is so important to communicate with your family about your wishes and concerns

Road Map Required!

You will need to develop a set of criteria your own personal road map to help guide your university search So what is important to you? UniQuest is here to help you!

The Campus
Urban, suburban, small town Campus Safety Public vs. Private university Single-sex vs. Coed Religious vs. NonDenominational Enrollment (large, medium or small school)

Fiona Falcons Personal Criteria

Liberal Arts University in Canada, the USA or an international program in Japan Major: English/Comparative Literature Looking for a campus with ethnic diversity, lots of activities on campus, renowned faculty Would prefer an urban campus in a cool city Price tag: Cannot cost more than 35,000 USD per year Note: Fiona does NOT care about: the size of university, private vs. public, cold weather What are your personal criteria? Reflect now and be ready for UniQuest

Thinking about the Long List

Cast a wide net Focus on factors that are important to you Continue to narrow your choices based on additional information you gather throughout Year 12

Developing the Long List

Students need to be anthropologists in the strange new world of universities Your task is to gather as much information as possible Dont judge at this point just research and learn

How long is the long list?

Selecting an initial pool of 15 to 20 universities will give you the flexibility to eliminate universities that do not suit you. When you move from your long list to your final (short) list, you will still have a full range of schools to which to apply! Important: Dont forget to classify your schools as Reach, Fit, or Star.

Getting real about your academic profile

How do you know if you will get in? What kind of a student are you? What are your IB scores and other qualifications including SAT, SAT Subject Tests, TOEFL/IELTS?
Tools to help students choose universities that are a good fit: 1. Naviance (Go to the admissions tab of each college) or conduct an SuperMatch college search and enter your criteria 2. UCAS and The Good University Guide (Times Online) for UK 3. http://www.uac.edu.au in Australia 4. College Board for students applying to America

How do we know if a university is a Reach, Fit or Star School?

Universities in the UK, Australia, and most Asian countries will give you the minimum IB scores required for admission. This is not true for US universities.

Chances of getting admitted to US Universities

What is the range of SAT scores of students that were offered admission to the university you are interested in last year? How selective is the university (percentage of applicants accepted)?

UCLA SAT MID-50%

1760
2120

25%

50%

25%

Your Score: 1600 Reach School

Your Score: 1900 Fit School

Your Score: 2200 Star School

Remember
A university that accepts less than 20% of applicants is a Reach School for all students regardless of your IB and SAT scores.

How many Universities can we choose from?

UK: 100+ Universities Australia: 41 Universities Canada: 100+ Universities USA: 4000+ Universities

Where have our students been accepted?

Overlaps

What to Avoid
When choosing a university, try to avoid these mistakes:
Choosing a university...
for its prestigious name, without finding out if it's a fit for you because someone you know attends that school and they like it because your friends are going to apply there because family members say it is a great school because a friend told you that the university has a particular program that you didnt research yourself.

All these points have something in common... Choosing a college for any of these reasons is ignoring YOU and your authentic self. UniQuest is here to help you!

PART 2: WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING DURING YEAR 12

Talking with your parents about money

Your must have an honest conversation with your parents about money The question youll need to ask is this: How much money is available each year for four years of undergraduate study? While some entrance and merit-based scholarships are available to international students, it is not safe to rely on them, regardless of how strong a student you are.

Tests
1. What are the tests? IB internal and external assessments Tests for Medical School (UK) SAT/SAT Subject tests for America-bound students (First admin Year 12) TOEFL or IELTS (English Proficiency) Thai University Entrance Tests 2. SAT preparation courses and books
Naviance SAT Test Preparation (Method Test Prep 2.0)

3. Importance of setting goals for improvement

SAT
It is very important that you plan carefully and register for the test dates you prefer ASAP. Please note that the SAT is not offered in March outside the US. We recommend that students in Year 12 take the SAT for the first time in January if you have prepared sufficiently. You should not take the SAT without preparation. If you just want to see how well you would perform on the SAT then we recommend that you take a Mock SAT test (before your Three-way conference in April/May).

There are several centers in Bangkok where NIST students do SAT preparation. Some of them are: Princeton Review Admissions Test Prep Top Scholars Kaplan

Note that the counselors do not recommend any particular center. It is beneficial to do some research on the various centers and choose a center that has an approach that matches your learning style.

 Some students prepare for the SAT independently using SAT test preparation books. Others study with private tutors. There is also a SAT prep course offered as ECA at NIST this year. And there is a free, online SAT course on the first page of Naviance called Prepme (the school has paid the fee for this course).

PrepMe
SAT Preparation Program on Naviance

Year 12 Post-UniQuest Meeting

January-February 2014 45-minute meeting with your counselor Review completed UniQuest Assignment Discuss your research action plan Preparation for the 3-Way Conference with your parents and counselor in April-May

Meeting with your Counselor

In April/May of Year 12 you will have a Three-way conference with your parents and Counselor This meeting will be scheduled only after you have completed the Post-UniQuest meeting and all of your Naviance benchmarks At this meeting, please advise us if you intend to apply via Early Action or Decision (U.S.A.) or to Oxford OR Cambridge, or medical/veterinary school in the UK.

Extra-curricular Activities
You are not just a student! What other activities are you involved in? This is not just about university applications (where participation in extracurricular activities are beneficial) but also about your health and well-being Balance between academics and life

Research, Research, Research

2010 Alumni Advice

Please work hard on your university research! I have never put so much dedication into anything in my life! But I worked so hard on applying to colleges, doing my research, getting advice...etc. And in the end it is SO worth it. When I look back, I am so incredibly proud of myself and I really hope you can get that feeling too. Do your research, look for schools that you think would fit YOU! Don't just apply for the sake of applying, because you never know where you're gonna get accepted into, make sure you're gonna love all of them!

UniQuest
Connecting Your Strengths and Interests with College Choice
And learn valuable university research skills that you will apply in the research process throughout Year 12

and examine each from the perspectives of the results from DWYA and CIP.

Review 3 universities in depth

Use Naviance, online research tools, university websites, and books in the counseling department when you do your research.

Copy and paste your results on one page for easy reference for an active comparison

Review and reflect on your results!

What do they mean to you? What do they suggest to you about:
Careers Majors Learning Environments

Research and Evaluate

1. Define your personal criteria 2. Pick the most interesting career suggested in the Career Interest Profiler or DWYA.
Does your university offer a major/program that leads to this career? Is your university strong in this major/program? (Look for evidence on the career service page, department pages, student profiles, ranking lists, etc.)

3. Your strengths and Learning Style to what degree does this university meet your approach to learning? 4. Pick 3 personal criteria such as location, size, cost, extracurricular activities, student life, close to family, etc.
Evaluate the college on its relative strength for each criterion

5. What is one thing that surprised you about this university?

If you are researching universities in North-America only then we recommend that you choose:

1. One small residential liberal arts college 2. One large research intensive university (public or private) 3. One specialty school if you are thinking business, engineering, art or music

Reflect and Respond

When you have completed researching 3 universities in detail then we would like you to reflect on the process by completing the UniQuest Survey on Naviance.

Reminders
Answer all questions completely. Expect to spend approximately 5 hours on this assignment; 45-60 minutes per university. You must use the results of Do What You Are and Career Interest Profiler when you evaluate the universities. The UniQuest Assignment must be completed before the deadline on December 2 Start working as soon as possible

UniGo A Snap Shot

UCan A Snap Shot

October 7: PSAT Tips and Strategies Workshop October 16: PSAT at NIST December 2: Deadline for the UniQuest Assignment January: Individual one-hour Post-UniQuest Meetings January: Lunch hour workshops on university research for various national systems April-May: 3-Way College Conferences between student, parent and counselor Continuously: University visits @ NIST (approximately 300 universities per year)

In the College Library Presented by Montakan ONeill from Insight Education Consulting Overview of Australian universities Entry requirements Alternative pathways into programs Fees Application processes
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U. of Chicago, Rice U., Vanderbilt U. in

the College Library on 2 September 2.30-4 pm Helps you understand the application process behind the scene In groups, you will review 3 mock applications. Each admission committee will discuss each candidate and choose to admit one, waitlist one and deny one. Together with the admission officers, you will then compare each groups decisions and talk about the process

University of Pennsylvania and Brown University

September 26
7-8 pm: Open Session to the community in the NIST Theatre

CIS US College Fair at NIST

October 2:

30 US Universities 2:15-3.15 pm: University Fair 3.15-4.00 pm: Workshops

UCLA - 2nd time in Thailand

October 3
10.45-11.35 am: Meeting with NIST Students in the College Library 6-7 pm: Open Session to the community in the NIST Theatre

University Fairs 2013

September 1: Japanese Uni Fair (most unis.) at Central World September 21: AEO Uni Tour (41 US unis.) Plaza Athenee Hotel September 24: Study in Australia Info Session@ NIST 2.30-3.30 October 2: CIS US College Fair (30 US unis.) at NIST 2:15-4 pm October 6: Canadian University Fair - Renaissance Hotel 1-5 pm October 11: Linden Tour (30 US Unis) at ISB 10:20 to 11:10 am October 17: Thai Uni Fair (most Thai unis.) at NIST 2.30-3.30 pm October 31: University Fair at BPS (36 US unis.) 2.30-4.00 pm November 2-3: OCSC University Fair (100+ unis.) at Paragon January TBA: British Council UK Uni. Fair (70+ UK unis.)

This will help you tremendously

U of Washington
UBC

UC Berkeley

UCLA U of Southern California

U of San Francisco UC Davis Stanford U

U of San Diego

CCA

Loyola U of Oregon Marymount U

Seattle U

Pepperdine U

UC San Diego

I guess the most important thing about university is visiting your favorite universities during the summer holiday. I visited several universities, and I immediately knew I belonged in William and Mary . When you visit a college, you'll be given a tour by a tour guide (usually a college student) and you'll be able to ask them all these questions. What's great about this is that the tour guides are students so they'll understand what you're looking for.

UK: Song Kran Break

USA: March (5 days during school)

To be Confirmed

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Catch up session tomorrow during lunch in the learning space 2nd floor. You can bring your lunch. Please stay back for a few minutes