International Association for Admission Counselling Conference 2023 report
This year’s conference was held at Florida International University, Miami. In addition to attending the main conference, I presented at the Pre-Conference Institute, as I did last year. After the conference I flew to New York City to host the inaugural Dubai College USA Alumni event, then on to Boston to join a college tour that took in Dartmouth, Middlebury and the University of Vermont.
International Association for Admission Counselling Conference 2019 report
This year the International Association for Admission Counselling Annual Conference (IACAC) was held at the University of Western Ontario in CANADA. This gave me an opportunity to learn more about the differences between Canadian and US higher education. After the conference I was able to visit a number of excellent universities in Ontario and Quebec. You can read my report of the conference and subsequent tour here:
Time to Apply for that Visa!
The time of year to start thinking seriously about the admin involved in heading off to study in the US of A is upon us. I am attaching a handy document from education USA below that will take you through the process and more information can be found on their website here: https://educationusa.state.gov/
International SAT Dates for 2019-20
While International students still have to do some form of standardized testing it is good to be prepared. I have it on good authority that the following are dates for the SAT tests in 2019 - 20
SAT will in 2019-20 on these 4 dates internationally (anticipated):
• October 5, 2019
• December 7, 2019
• March 14, 2020
• May 2, 2020
Each of the above dates overlap with an SAT Subject test date except the March date. SAT Subject Tests will not be offered on the March 14, 2020 date. SAT Subject Tests are offered on November 2, 2019, and on June 6, 2020, but the SAT is NOT offered on those Subject Test dates. In other words, March 14, 2020, is an SAT-only test date. Nov 2, 2019, and June 6, 2020, are Subject Test-only dates.
In 2020-21, The Collegeboard plan to expand SAT international administrations from 4 to 5 dates. These 5 anticipated dates in academic year 2020-21 are:
• August 29, 2020
• October 3, 2020
• December 5, 2020
• March 13, 2021
• May 8, 2021
March 13, 2021, is SAT-only. June 6, 2020 will be Subject Test-only.
The anticipated SAT dates are all here: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/international
SAT will in 2019-20 on these 4 dates internationally (anticipated):
• October 5, 2019
• December 7, 2019
• March 14, 2020
• May 2, 2020
Each of the above dates overlap with an SAT Subject test date except the March date. SAT Subject Tests will not be offered on the March 14, 2020 date. SAT Subject Tests are offered on November 2, 2019, and on June 6, 2020, but the SAT is NOT offered on those Subject Test dates. In other words, March 14, 2020, is an SAT-only test date. Nov 2, 2019, and June 6, 2020, are Subject Test-only dates.
In 2020-21, The Collegeboard plan to expand SAT international administrations from 4 to 5 dates. These 5 anticipated dates in academic year 2020-21 are:
• August 29, 2020
• October 3, 2020
• December 5, 2020
• March 13, 2021
• May 8, 2021
March 13, 2021, is SAT-only. June 6, 2020 will be Subject Test-only.
The anticipated SAT dates are all here: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/international
International Association for Admission Counselling Conference 2018 report
Each summer I spend a couple of weeks in the USA learning more about US colleges and the admissions process. The first part of my visit is the International Association for Admission Counselling (IACAC) conference, and this year’s was held on the grounds of Tulane and Loyola University campuses in New Orleans.
The purpose of the conference is really twofold: Learning and Networking, though there is much crossover between these two elements.
Learning
Each conference has six timeslots for education sessions delivered by counsellors and/or admissions representatives that are tailored for counsellors and/or admissions representatives. These are spread over two days, and there are usually ten or so presentations running concurrently so attendees have to choose wisely; groups of attendees who know each other well divide up the sessions between them and feedback to each other afterwards – as this was my fourth conference I have a pretty good network of colleagues on both sides of the admissions process, so I was able to cover most of the sessions that were relevant to us. This year’s conference also saw the introduction of shorter, TED-style presentations and more informal chats as learning opportunities.
Networking
As the conference is made up of counsellors and admissions representatives there are distinct networks that develop. Initially, you gravitate towards your own and I have found that other counsellors are my greatest resource; we have a shared experience that has many variables and I am yet to encounter a question that no-one knows the answer to! Of course, getting to know the other side of the equation is also highly valuable both for information and for recognition when it comes to students actually applying.
The networking opportunities occur in the sessions themselves through Q&A’s, in the college and high school fairs and in the conference social events. These latter include the opening reception, the annual dodgeball tournament and the end of conference party.
I attended sessions this year on how different colleges read applications, how to construct teacher recommendations, if one should disclose mental health issues and how to go about it, women’s colleges and school smartphone policy, but I also have feedback, and the presentation materials from all the other sessions.
The high school and college fairs are my favourite part of the conference. When the colleges have their stalls laid out I can visit each of those who have admitted students from the previous year, have a chat with new colleagues from institutions I am trying to get more students in to and collect more college pennants for our office! During the high school fair, I lay out the DC stall and people come to me – I get to tell them about our amazing school and start booking in university visits face to face.
The social aspect this year was also excellent, with an opening ceremony that involved a New Orleans style parade, and a closing party at Mardi Gras World; Tulane and Loyola pulled out all the stops and really made us feel welcome in their fabulous institutions.
My first visit to the US on behalf of Dubai College was a tour of Boston colleges in 2014 and since then I have toured Upstate New York and Indiana. For my second week in the USA this year I was part of a tour of colleges in the Metro New York City area. These tours are a really great way to interact with admissions representatives, acclimatise to the nuances of college admissions processes and get a feel for the subtle differences between institutions. I visited St John’s, Hofstra, Fordham, Fairleigh Dickinson, Fairfield, Pace, Long Island University and The New School as part of the tour, and as I was in New York City I also popped in to Columbia, NYU and Barnard. If you would like to learn more about any of these institutions, just drop me a line!
You can find my photos from the trip here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dubaicollegemedia/albums/72157699064051881
Each summer I spend a couple of weeks in the USA learning more about US colleges and the admissions process. The first part of my visit is the International Association for Admission Counselling (IACAC) conference, and this year’s was held on the grounds of Tulane and Loyola University campuses in New Orleans.
The purpose of the conference is really twofold: Learning and Networking, though there is much crossover between these two elements.
Learning
Each conference has six timeslots for education sessions delivered by counsellors and/or admissions representatives that are tailored for counsellors and/or admissions representatives. These are spread over two days, and there are usually ten or so presentations running concurrently so attendees have to choose wisely; groups of attendees who know each other well divide up the sessions between them and feedback to each other afterwards – as this was my fourth conference I have a pretty good network of colleagues on both sides of the admissions process, so I was able to cover most of the sessions that were relevant to us. This year’s conference also saw the introduction of shorter, TED-style presentations and more informal chats as learning opportunities.
Networking
As the conference is made up of counsellors and admissions representatives there are distinct networks that develop. Initially, you gravitate towards your own and I have found that other counsellors are my greatest resource; we have a shared experience that has many variables and I am yet to encounter a question that no-one knows the answer to! Of course, getting to know the other side of the equation is also highly valuable both for information and for recognition when it comes to students actually applying.
The networking opportunities occur in the sessions themselves through Q&A’s, in the college and high school fairs and in the conference social events. These latter include the opening reception, the annual dodgeball tournament and the end of conference party.
I attended sessions this year on how different colleges read applications, how to construct teacher recommendations, if one should disclose mental health issues and how to go about it, women’s colleges and school smartphone policy, but I also have feedback, and the presentation materials from all the other sessions.
The high school and college fairs are my favourite part of the conference. When the colleges have their stalls laid out I can visit each of those who have admitted students from the previous year, have a chat with new colleagues from institutions I am trying to get more students in to and collect more college pennants for our office! During the high school fair, I lay out the DC stall and people come to me – I get to tell them about our amazing school and start booking in university visits face to face.
The social aspect this year was also excellent, with an opening ceremony that involved a New Orleans style parade, and a closing party at Mardi Gras World; Tulane and Loyola pulled out all the stops and really made us feel welcome in their fabulous institutions.
My first visit to the US on behalf of Dubai College was a tour of Boston colleges in 2014 and since then I have toured Upstate New York and Indiana. For my second week in the USA this year I was part of a tour of colleges in the Metro New York City area. These tours are a really great way to interact with admissions representatives, acclimatise to the nuances of college admissions processes and get a feel for the subtle differences between institutions. I visited St John’s, Hofstra, Fordham, Fairleigh Dickinson, Fairfield, Pace, Long Island University and The New School as part of the tour, and as I was in New York City I also popped in to Columbia, NYU and Barnard. If you would like to learn more about any of these institutions, just drop me a line!
You can find my photos from the trip here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dubaicollegemedia/albums/72157699064051881
Common App Essay prompts 2018-19
The Common Application has announced that the 2018-2019 personal essay writing prompts will be the same as the seven 2017-2018 prompts. By conducting a review process every other year, rather than annually, they can hear from admissions officers, as well as applicants, parents, and counselors, about the effectiveness of the essay prompts.
With the announcement of the essay prompts and the ability for applicants to roll over their Common App account each year, we can start thinking about the Common App earlier and hopefully not feel so overwhelmed by the application process. To get started, go to Common App Ready, a series of ready-to-use resources, presentations, training videos, and handouts covering everything from account creation to submission.
2018-2019 Common Application Essay Prompts
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
The most popular essay prompt of the 2017-2018 application year (through January 5, 2018) is "Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth..." (23.6%), followed by the topic of your choice option (22.5%), and "Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful..." (21.4%).
With the announcement of the essay prompts and the ability for applicants to roll over their Common App account each year, we can start thinking about the Common App earlier and hopefully not feel so overwhelmed by the application process. To get started, go to Common App Ready, a series of ready-to-use resources, presentations, training videos, and handouts covering everything from account creation to submission.
2018-2019 Common Application Essay Prompts
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
The most popular essay prompt of the 2017-2018 application year (through January 5, 2018) is "Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth..." (23.6%), followed by the topic of your choice option (22.5%), and "Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful..." (21.4%).
Dubai College partnership with Unifrog
The Unifrog portal allows students to explore careers, universities in the UK, USA and a growing number of ROW destinations, and build their own profile through an accessible and easily navigable space. The counselling team can then access students' profiles, college lists and essays/personal statements, and share their thoughts directly with each individual.
Year 12 students are already using Unifrog's clear and crisp filtering system to explore career options, degree courses and destinations that may not have previously been on their radar, and we are sure that it will be a really valuable tool in the 2018-19 application cycle.
Dubai College's long-term plan is to embed Unifrog further down the school so that students can begin to explore their future path earlier and at a more personal, considered pace. In the meantime, we urge parents to have a look at the Unifrog website to see how it works: www.unifrog.org/
Year 12 students are already using Unifrog's clear and crisp filtering system to explore career options, degree courses and destinations that may not have previously been on their radar, and we are sure that it will be a really valuable tool in the 2018-19 application cycle.
Dubai College's long-term plan is to embed Unifrog further down the school so that students can begin to explore their future path earlier and at a more personal, considered pace. In the meantime, we urge parents to have a look at the Unifrog website to see how it works: www.unifrog.org/
New Link For UK Applications
I have spent ages trying to get the very nifty UCAS widget to embed on this site, but my IT skills are a bit limited. I have nevertheless created a link to it in the new UK Applications page, to be found at the bottom of the menu bar on the left. Once you are in that page just click on the UCAS button to get started!
Common App Essay Prompts 2017-18 released!
The Common App has just released essay prompts for the coming applications cycle. There are some subtle differences in wording to a few of the existing prompts, and two entirely new ones that increase the scope of what can be written. You can find the reasoning behind these changes here: http://www.commonapp.org/whats-appening/application-updates/common-application-announces-2017-2018-essay-prompts . The changes suggest to me that, firstly, admissions offices want to know more about an applicant's inner self - their ideas, thought processes, hopes and dreams. And secondly that there are tropes which appear year on year that admissions teams are tired of reading (the 'Sporting failure that made you a better person and now you're a winner', the 'Inspirational grandparent' , the 'Third Culture Kid'). Italicised text below shows a change, and notes in purple are my thinking about the changes and the new prompts.
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. [No change]
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? [The addition of the words Obstacles, Challenge and Setback (where before there was only Failure) seem to be a way of distancing us from the black/white of success/failure, and will hopefully prompt more subtle and nuanced ideas about the value of difficulty in everyday life rather than, say, sport or academia]
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? [Challenging a belief almost suggests a physical act, and is pretty strong language that might imply the involvement of another party. Questioning already sounds more thoughtful, introspective and, again, subtle]
4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. [No change]
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. [Realization here emphasizes your thought processes and intellectualism. This prompt used to ask how the event etc. marked your transition to adulthood within your culture, family, community etc. The removal of this suggests to me that admissions offices don't want to hear about other people, they want to learn more about you and what goes on in your brain!]
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? [This prompt is saying: write about your passions, how you seek knowledge and understanding and why these things appeal to you - for me this gets to the heart of what universities are looking for - YOU and the reasons you get up in the morning]
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. [This prompt is interesting, and my feeling is that it exists because students may write engagingly about stuff they are really into all the time - why shouldn't they be able to submit something they have done already of which they are proud? This could also be an edge towards taking a little of the heavy workload out of the application process]
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. [No change]
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? [The addition of the words Obstacles, Challenge and Setback (where before there was only Failure) seem to be a way of distancing us from the black/white of success/failure, and will hopefully prompt more subtle and nuanced ideas about the value of difficulty in everyday life rather than, say, sport or academia]
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? [Challenging a belief almost suggests a physical act, and is pretty strong language that might imply the involvement of another party. Questioning already sounds more thoughtful, introspective and, again, subtle]
4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. [No change]
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. [Realization here emphasizes your thought processes and intellectualism. This prompt used to ask how the event etc. marked your transition to adulthood within your culture, family, community etc. The removal of this suggests to me that admissions offices don't want to hear about other people, they want to learn more about you and what goes on in your brain!]
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? [This prompt is saying: write about your passions, how you seek knowledge and understanding and why these things appeal to you - for me this gets to the heart of what universities are looking for - YOU and the reasons you get up in the morning]
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. [This prompt is interesting, and my feeling is that it exists because students may write engagingly about stuff they are really into all the time - why shouldn't they be able to submit something they have done already of which they are proud? This could also be an edge towards taking a little of the heavy workload out of the application process]
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Universities' Response to White House stance on immigration
I can imagine that any potential USA applicants, regardless of their creed or colour, have been a little unsettled by the recent actions of the new US administration. Universities are keenly aware of this, and as such are doing all they can to reassure guidance counselors and applicants that they are against not only the recent actions taken by the White House but, perhaps more importantly, the ideology behind them. I have received many emails from universities and from the International Association for College Admission Counselling (IACAC) making their position absolutely clear. I am attaching here the statement from IACAC and a letter sent to the White House by 47 US universities highlighting their concerns. I hope these letters offer a little reassurance!