Debbie McDowell
debbiem@isb.ac.th
The University Counseling Office is excited to celebrate the birth of Ms Shrestha’s daughter on Saturday last week. This means that Ms Shrestha’s maternity leave has started a bit earlier than expected but Ms Gordon is lined up to step in to support Ms Shrestha’s students. She is available to do zoom appointments prior to her arrival on campus late next week or the first of the following week, we hope! Students may email Ms Gordon (tammyg@isb.ac.th) to have their essays or applications reviewed and to set appointments for submitting applications.
The Virtual UK/Irish University Fair was on Monday and seemed to be a great success. We hope that your child and/or you found it to be helpful and that you gained valuable insight into different universities.
The next opportunity to connect with university representatives will be when ISB and other international schools in Bangkok will be hosting the first ever Virtual Thai University Fair on 30 November, 2:30-4:30 pm. The early list of universities that have confirmed their participation include 12 universities and 26 Faculties. The list will be made available closer to the time. The event will be held on the Airmeet platform and pre-registration will be required for students and parents to participate. A school email will be required to register for this event. Registration link will be provided next week so watch your email for announcement with the link.
A note about virtual fair etiquette: There are many reasons for students to attend a university fair. One is to learn more about a university to which the student may be interested in applying. Another important reason is to show demonstrated interest in a university. To let the university know that the student is keenly interested in attending that institution. A great way to do that is to connect with the university admissions representative who may be reading their application. So it is important that students and parents make sure that they have their cameras on while they are in a breakout room with a university rep. Not only is it common courtesy but it gives the university admissions officer a chance to actually have a conversation, not just speak to blank boxes on a screen. ISB students are required to have their cameras on during a virtual university visit and/or fair! Please keep this in mind the next time you join a virtual university visit and please have this conversation with your child.
Juniors met with University Counselors on Thursday in Junior Seminar #3. The counselors reviewed the importance of self-reflection in the university application process. Students have written their own 6 Word Stories and completed a questionnaire about their Interest, Values and Perceptions to engage them in the self reflection process. Counselors introduced the idea of Missions Statements during the lesson and students were given an assignment to write their own personal Mission Statement (80 words or less) which is due on 17 November. In addition, students were provided with a Priorities and Preferences University Research Spreadsheet that lists many Elements of Research. Students were given the assignment to review those elements of research and record their ideas/preferences/priorities about each category on the spreadsheet. Then, the second part of the assignment is to interview their parents about their ideas/ preferences/ priorities and record those on the spreadsheet. This assignment is due on 21 November. There are also columns for students to put in universities they are considering and make notes about how the university matches with their own and their parent’s preferences and priorities. This is the most important part of the university research process. If this work is done well, the student will find university selection and essay writing to be much easier! So, please have conversations with your child about their 6 Word Story, Mission Statement and the Priorities and Preferences they have about universities to which they are considering to apply.
For Seniors: The next deadlines will be 15 November for other Early Action applications and the University of Washington, 30 November for applications to the University of California and California State institutions, and then 1 December for all students applying to the UK through UCAS. Please encourage your child to submit well before any deadline. Last minute complications or unforeseen events could totally wreck an application. Have your child reach out to his/her counselor if they need support, application review, or essay feedback well in advance of submitting an application!
Please note: The Transcript Request Form is due on 23 November for all applications that have a deadline before 15 February. This will include most applications to Canada, Netherlands, Thailand and the US, as well as many others. Please discuss this deadline with your child to make sure he/she gets that form in before 23 November to guarantee that all supporting documents from ISB will be submitted on time.
Seniors will meet in Sr Seminar next week on Wednesday, 17 November. They will meet with their university counselor to discuss the upcoming deadlines and work on their applications, essays or university research. University counselors will be available to set appointments with seniors for Thursday and Friday next week when the students are not involved in Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences in order to review applications and essays and to support students in submitting university applications. Please ask your child to set the appointment with his/her counselor ahead of time if they need time to work on their applications.
Virtual university visits: The university counselors are hosting many virtual visits with universities from around the world (7:15-7:45 am, 12:50-1:15 pm, and 3:00-3:45 pm) for ISB students and parents. There are 2 sessions exclusively for ISB students and parents next week: Oberlin College and City University of Hong Kong! Be sure to check the Virtual University Visit list for university presentations that are scheduled exclusively for ISB students and parents (highlighted in yellow). In addition, there are many other virtual events available for any students interested in gaining more information about particular institutions so please check the Virtual University Visits list on the ISB University/College Counseling website for loads of information!
Want to find out more about the University Counseling program at ISB? Please visit the ISB University Counseling website.
Ms. Debbie McDowell (she, her, hers)