NEWS FROM THE HEO
HIGHER EDUCATION OFFICE UPDATES - 7 JANUARY 2015
Dear Students and Parents
Happy New Year!
Welcome back everyone and hope you had a wonderful Christmas break. A lot is happening this term including Year 13 trial exams, the ESF University Fair for Year 12 at Island School, a US University Fair here at DC, feedback on PSAT results for Year 10 & 11 students, a Psychology Lecture from the University of Aberystwyth and as usual, a stream of interesting university visits.
YEAR 13 - University Offers
All the hard work from last term has definitely paid off and we are delighted that university offers for our Year 13 students are rolling in. Students have received conditional offers from UCL, Kings College London, Durham, Manchester, Bath, Bristol, Nottingham, Leeds, Exeter, Loughborough, Kent, York, Warwick, Royal Holloway, Queen Mary, East Anglia, Newcastle in the UK.
US offers have started to come in as well from the University of Hawaii Manoa and HPU (Hawaii Pacific University), the Academy of Arts and Columbia College in Chicago. Interviews for Hong Kong universities are now starting and we are excited that two of our students have received a scholarship from SCAD Hong Kong.
Interview Practice for Year 13 will take place over the next few weeks, starting on Thursday 8 January 2015 in our first HE session of the term.
YEAR 12 - Get Busy!
Now that the Year 13 students have submitted all their university applications, our time in the HEO will be focused on Year 12 to ensure they are confident and proficient in their university research and developing a strong student profile for university applications.
To help them with this, students were given a detailed questionnaire to complete over the Christmas holidays. Please click HERE for a copy.
The aim of the questionnaire is to encourage students to start thinking seriously about the various options that are available to them. Students need to have a good strategy for selecting universities and need to write a strong admissions essay. Finding a university which is the ‘right fit’, and writing a good essay all depends on how well students know and understand themselves and this questionnaire focuses on self-assessment.
Please note the deadline for returning this questionnaire has been extended to Friday 16 January 2015. Students, please take time over this document. It must not be rushed and hopefully you will find out a lot about yourself in the process.
YEAR 12 PARENTS - Don’t Forget to Brag!
The HEO sees the university guidance and admissions process as very much a partnership, between the students, the parents and the school. In this respect, we actively seek input from families by ways of Parent Brag Sheet.
Please consider this as your opportunity to tell us everything about your son or daughter! We use the information you give us to more effectively counsel your child, to get a stronger feel for family priorities concerns and aspirations; and to advocate for them through our university references and Letters of Recommendation.
Some of the information you provide will help us in an "off the record" capacity, where as other information will help us brag about your child. The Letter of Recommendation is a crucial element of the university application and our goal is to write a strong and compelling reference for each and every student and therefore your input is of great importance and relevance.
Please click HERE for a copy of the brag sheet and email back to heo@dc.edu.hk by March 2015.
YEAR 10 & 11 STUDENTS
ESF University Fair
On Wednesday 21 January 2015 all Year 12 will attend the ESF University Fair at Island School. An E-notice will be sent out to parents this week with more details and information.
Please click HERE for a list of universities attending the event.
British Council Fair
Upcoming University Visits at DC
Summer Programmes
Now is the time to think about making your summer productive and one of the key ways of achieving this is to enrol on a summer programme. The HEO will be arranging several presentations and workshops on summer options over the coming months including:
Cambridge Programmes - www.reachcambridge.com
Rustic Pathways - http://rusticpathways.com/
The Oxford Spires - www.theoxfordspires.co.uk
Oxbridge Academic Programmes - http://www.oxbridgeprograms.com/
Discovery Summer Programmes- http://www.summerdiscovery.com/
University California Berkely Summer Programmes - http://summer.berkeley.edu/
Cornell Summer Programmes - http://www.sce.cornell.edu/sc
Gordonstoun International Summer School - www.giss.org.uk
HEO Resources
Make sure you use the valuable HE Library now located in the Study Centre in the Diploma Centre. All the latest prospectuses are here along with up to date information on SATs, IELTS and admissions tests. There is also an excellent range of directories and guides on universities in the UK, US, Australia and Canada.
Now there is absolutely no excuse for not doing any research!
Information on scholarships and careers are also posted up on the notice boards in the DP Foyer and on Ding!
New SAT and New PSAT/NMSQT
Please click here for an informative article on why the changes were implemented
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html?_r=0
Please click HERE for a more detailed timeline and a comparison between the current SAT and the redesigned SAT.
SAT Prep Courses
There is a wide variety of SAT prep courses in Hong Kong. We can recommend courses at:
Kaplan - http://www.kaptest.com.hk/klt/sat
NTK - http://www.ntk.edu.hk/home.aspx?lang=en
The Edge - http://www.theedge.com.hk/courses
Remember that as an ESF student you will receive a 10% discount.
HEO FOCUS
Studying in Europe - an Increasingly Attractive Option
In recent years, more and more universities in Europe have started offering Bachelor programmes taught entirely in English. In the Netherlands for example, 75% of university courses are taught in English. Low tuition rates combined with has made studying in Europe an increasingly viable option for all students.
Please click on the following links for more information.
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jun/13/students-head-for-european-universities
http://www.gooverseas.com/blog/8-best-universities-in-germany-international-students
http://asiancorrespondent.com/50398/top-25-european-universities-for-asian-students/
European University Consortium (EUC) was established to bring some of the most prominent universities together, which has greatly promoted English-language higher education in Europe. Please click here for the Bachelor programmes offered by EUC.
Council of International Schools (CIS) Forum on International Admission & Guidance
Ms Yan attended the above two-day global gathering of university admission officers and school guidance counselors in Amsterdam in November 2014. It was a great experience to engage in dialogues regarding admission processes and learn about current trends in higher education, as well as network with admission and guidance colleagues.
Prior to the CIS Forum, Ms Yan was invited to visit Trinity College, Dublin – a world leading university with a legacy and a vision. Trinity offers exceptional educational experience and its student support is one of the best. Please click here to know more information.
Wishing You a Wonderful Start to 2015 and to the New Term!
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Kind regards,
Ms Susie Blomfield & Ms Amanda Yan
Useful Resources
UK – UCAS – www.ucas.com
US – College Board – www.collegeboard.org
Petersons College Search - www.petersons.com/college-search
Common Application - https://www.commonapp.org
US News – www.usnews.com
Canada – www.aucc.ca
Australia – www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au
HEO - Higher Education Office
Email: heo@dc.edu.hk
Website: http://discovery.edu.hk
Location: Siena Avenue, 38, Discovery Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: (852) 3969 1000