INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
“In the UK, it is very black and white: students receive a conditional offer based on a set of predicted grades accompanied by brief biographical information and a short personal statement not exceeding 4,000 characters. There’s not much to it, and it can be relatively formulaic. If the student gets the grades, they go to that university. “Because the ethos behind a US
undergraduate degree is still based on the liberal arts, and due to its multifaceted, multidisciplinary education, there is a lot more data that students can include in their applications.” While he agrees that academic
performance will always be at the core of any decision, Mr de Witt explains that there is space to bring in a large amount of the student’s character on a US university application. In the UK, students apply for up
to five different university courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), an online system with a database of courses and entry requirements that processes UK university applications. In comparison with this process, applying to US colleges can be a lengthy and strenuous process, he says, with much more direct communication and collaboration with the colleges themselves. As US colleges are private institutions,
the rules and requirements for each are different, so it is essential that the priorities of each individual institution are understood and carefully considered in order to align a student’s application successfully. Although entry requirements differ wildly from college
to college, it is fairly standard that students will be required to complete an academic essay as part of their application. This, says Mr de Witt, should be a ref lective piece of writing that will be very different from any academic argument that UK students will have learned through a GCSE or A Level curriculum. “It’s far more of a revelation of one’s character, and it should
go into some serious depth,” he says. “A strong application in the US demands that a student is a highly proficient writer.”
Academic requirements In the UK, students’ academic achievements are typically measured by their performance at GCSE, A Level, Pre-U or the International Baccalaureate, and they will, more often than not, form a part of a conditional offer from their chosen university or college. In the US, there is no national set of examinations taken at
the age of 16 and 18, as is the case in the UK, so some element of standardised testing is required for university entry. These standardised tests, known as the SAT and the ACT, include multiple-choice assessment in maths and English. Both have equal weight in a college application.
Timing of the application process With so much involved in the application process, it is advisable for students to start thinking about their options long before applications are due. TASIS England, an international school based in Surrey, offers
a four-year college counselling curriculum that is unique to most international schools. Students are advised to start exploring their higher-education options at the age of 14, when they begin in the Upper School. “We are here to help our students identify and then
develop their personal, academic, artistic, leadership and athletic qualities,” explains Anna Wright, director of college counselling. “They explore a wide array of choices, and we make sure they have the guidance to make their plans possible. “We take them through a process of setting personal goals
and investigating different post-secondary institutions to help them discover what options would be best for them. In their final two years, we work closely with them on each application. “We have an extensive network of university contacts, many
of whom visit TASIS England every year, and we advocate for our students throughout the process.” Wherever a student decides to apply, most college counsellors
and education consultants would agree that matching the student’s abilities, passions and interests to the course that will help them to continue along that path will maximise their chances of standing out in a crowded and highly competitive field.
64 | Re:locate | Winter 2016/17
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