This past week I was able to attend the Global Forum on International Admission and Guidance hosted by the Council of International Schools. The conference hosts universities and international schools from around the world in an attempt to enable school counsellors to connect with universities.
As I have attended this conference in the past, I had the opportunity to prepare really well for the opportunities to learn and to network. I had requested students from Grades 10, 11 and 12 to look at the universities attending and give me questions to ask if they are interested in applying to these universities. I had a number of students look through the list of around 500 universities from across the world mention the ones they are interested in and add questions they wanted me to ask these university reps.
In a school fair, universities visited school desks and I was able to meet a number of universities that I had not yet interacted with. This is a great resource for me to further guide our students in their university search. I was also able to meet representatives of Unifrog and Concourse, two platforms we are currently working with to help our students find the best-fit option for their further education.
Unifrog is a platform that helps students with the whole process of researching and planning for their further education - from exploring their interests to recording what they do over their high school years, to finding education and training opportunities, to drafting their applications. Our students are encouraged to work with Unifrog from Grade 9 to be able to make informed choices and decisions once they move into the final year of their school career.
We also work with Concourse. This is a platform where the application process is flipped around. Instead of students applying to universities, universities contact students whose profile fits the university's needs and they offer students a place of study.
During the conference, I was further able to attend different sessions addressing various aspects of the university application process, focusing on wellbeing and DEIJ, trends in university admissions processes as well as foci, university applications need to have. Overall, it was a confirmation of things that I already addressed in our guidance programme at WIS, but it was a good reminder and affirmation that we are on the right track in the way we guide our students at WIS to find the best fit for their further studies.
I would like to share contacts and the conversations that I have been able to have, with our parents in an evening where I will be able to speak about priorities in university admissions as well as share contact and information about universities that might help conversations at home to find the right match of universities for your child(ren).
Please join me on Thursday the 30th of November 2023 from 17:30 - 18:30 if you are interested in these conversations and know more about plans to host another international university fair in 2024. Kindly let me know if you are interested in this session so that I can arrange this evening further.
REMINDER: On Thursday the 23rd of November, we are hosting the University of Calgary at school - also from 17:30 - 18:30. This is a good opportunity to learn about this specific university, and also about studying in Canada. |
Maggie Reiff
Secondary Principal and Career Guidance Counsellor