Sonya Ohlsson
sonyao@isb.ac.th
Seniors:
The College Office is busy sending in the documents for all applications that students have before Feb. 15. This includes the School Profile, School Report, Official Transcript, Counselor Letters and Teacher Letters of Recommendation. It can take schools 2-3 weeks to process everything as this is the time when they receive the most documents from their applicants. And many colleges and universities will be closed for the holidays as well, so in many cases, things will just sit–either on servers waiting to be downloaded and attached to a students application or even by paper, sitting in the mailroom. The key here is patience!
Also, please remember that the college counselors will not be available over the break, so be sure to ask your questions before Friday, Dec. 18! We all have earned a break, so get things done now, so you don’t have to worry about it during your holiday!
Juniors:
Juniors had their last Junior College Seminar of the semester this week. They were shown, by way of a nifty diagram, how much power they truly have in the whole application process–if they are willing to put in the time, energy and effort. The only time they are not in control is when they hit the submit button. And so to that end they were given a university research assignment (due 15 January) that asks them to spend some time, energy and effort thinking about what elements factor into their priorities vs their preferences when thinking about universities and “right fit“. This will help them as they spend the next 9-10 months really thinking about which schools to apply to because they are a good match in multiple ways.
This will also help them prepare for the Junior-Led Conferences in February and March! More about that to come.
PSAT scores have been sent to all juniors who took the PSAT. If any junior did not receive them, please send an email to sonyao@isb.ac.th and she can provide an access code to see your scores. Again, please do this before the break or after we return on January 11.
This week we focused on the importance of determination. Whether we deal with friends, family, work, school, or whatever the ability to be determined is a skill that can serve a person for their lives. There was a great article in the Bangkok Post about this very topic
“In other words, the winning formula for success means grasping opportunities and being able to step outside your comfort zone, and pushing yourself to your breaking point.” (Bangkok Post)
As students are working on those final projects, or exams before break we are hoping to give a bit of encouragement, as well as, being understanding of their stresses right now. They will do great, we have no doubt, but just being supportive right now is what we hope to do for them during this time.