High School Counseling eNews |

College Counselors

It’s hard to believe October break is here. What a busy first few months! And there is more to come…

ISB High School Parents & Students are invited to an evening with Mrs. Kelly Walter, Associate Vice President for Enrollment & Executive Director of Admissions at Boston University. This event will be held on Monday, October 30 at 6:30pm in MPB #1. Mrs. Walter’s visit is coordinated by the Office of Overseas Schools at the U.S. Department of State. The purpose of this event is to present on US Higher Education and the college admissions process at selective colleges and universities in the United States including the differences between research universities and liberal arts colleges, and the definition of “the liberal arts”.

College Counseling Parent Coffee – It was great to see so many parents at the coffee this past Monday as College Counselors provided an overview and introduction to the program supporting families. If you weren’t able to make it, please find a copy of the presentation HERE. We look forward to hosting next month’s coffee on Monday, November 13 at 8am when the topic will focus on Standardized Testing.

12th Grade Early Applications – It has been a very busy few weeks as a number of student finalize their early applications to Thai, UK, US and some Hong Kong universities. Counselors have been busy working with students to draft thoughtful and reflective essays and proofread their applications. These students should have already submitted via the testing agency any required SAT, ACT, or TOEFL/IELTS scores.

12th Grade Regular Applications – All senior college lists must be finalized by November 20 if an application deadline is now through January. This includes Canadian, UK, US, Thai, and some Hong Kong universities. Blue forms or transcript requests must be completed in full by November 20 and submitted to the counseling office by the student.

11th Grade PSAT – We’ve heard from CollegeBoard that 11th grade students should receive their PSAT results on December 13 via the email they provided on their registration.

11th Grade Personal Mission Statements – As we shared last week, College Counselors met with 11th graders and took them through an activity called “Blind College Taste Test” where students had to identify what they thought was the best university without knowing the name. This leads well into the next Seminar in November where we walk students through how to thoroughly research universities. But, if you haven’t already done so, ask your 11th grader about their personal mission statement! Student can access directions in Haiku where they must reflect on some questions, learn what mission statements are meant to convey, and then review some exemplars. The mission statement will be the first piece of the resume they will continue to build upon this semester and it is due by Friday, November 3.

11th Grade College Night – Mark your calendars! All 11th grade parents and students are strongly encouraged to attend on Wednesday, January 18 from 6:30 – 8:00pm. This is when we will officially kick off the college search and application process for 11th grade families.

US Financial Aid/Scholarships – Want to learn more about aid and scholarships in the US? Mr. Dane Rowley from California Lutheran on Tuesday, October 31. During lunch (10:00-10:30) he will meet with students who are interested in California Lutheran and from 10:45 – 11:30 he will present on financial aid and scholarships in the US.

UK and Australian Universities @ ISB – Just a special note to let parents know we are excited to host a number of UK and Australian universities the week of November 6. Please be sure to see the exact dates and times at the university visit link below.

University Visits– for a full list of who is coming, please subscribe to the Google Calendar at this link.

School Counselors

This year our high school has aligned itself with a 1 – 7 assessment scale. Many students and families are still familiarizing themselves with the scale and what exactly a given number on powerschool represents. Below is a link to IB grade descriptors which may hopefully help in gaining further understanding:

http://www.ibo.org/globalassets/publications/recognition/dp-grade-descriptors-en.pdf

Learning Benefits of Grade Alignment:

Discussion between students, teachers and parents focuses on desired learning outcomes and uses a common language – in grades 9 through 12.
Use of the IB scale improves grading consistency within and across subjects in all grade levels.
Student habits and attitudes to learning (HAL) will continue to be reported separately from attainment levels, allowing students to better target specific areas for growth.
IB grades offer universities and colleges an internationally understood and “inflation free currency” which greatly assists in the process of assessing a student’s suitability for a particular school or course.
In the international teacher community teachers are used to and familiar with the IB scale which greatly facilitates transitioning to a new school and benefits ISB students.
The IB diploma is the default path to graduation for the majority of our students (≃70%), almost all other students take IB courses. The consistency of communication that switching to the IB scale will bring to our learners is significant and provides students with the most meaningful feedback.
Teacher comments and grades relate directly to published IB learning criteria that have direct, subject specific meaning.
Student improvement goals are set in terms of detailed learning targets rather than increased percentage scores.
Grading in the IB Diploma program no longer needs to be converted or “curved”, thus ensuring that students get direct appropriate feedback in the “language” of the program and focused on learning.

A well-deserved break is knocking, where we hope students are able to relax and have some funJ