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Exploring Journey to US College | Key Considerations for Students
College Counseling

Exploring Journey to US College | Key Considerations for Students

It can be very easy to be seduced by the idea of going to college, particularly one of the great colleges and universities worldwide. The good news is that the dream is increasingly becoming a reality for those that aspire to this goal but achieving it is not always straightforward and can sometimes come as a shock.

In this article, I want to help anybody considering applying to a US college, and their families think about some of the hard questions that will need to be answered on their journey toward college and university.

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Qualities you should demonstrate to colleges.

One of the most common questions that college counsellors are asked is “How do I get accepted by ????? University?” There is not a straightforward answer, each college or university in the USA will have their own peculiarities in what they are looking for, but there are some things that are common across just about all of them.

If you look on the websites you will often find something about how they make their admissions decisions, schools may rank them differently in order of importance but in this article I share some of the key qualities that colleges and universities will look for in your application.

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Comprehensive Guide About US Colleges Curriculum | Ivy Central
Study Skills

What do you actually study at US Colleges?

Can you imagine sitting in a college class you did not know you signed up for? In case you wish to avoid such blunders, one of the key aspects to understand when exploring colleges is the type of curriculum you would be studying right from the first day of your college journey. Remember that understanding what the curriculum at a specific university offers needs to be the priority in your college search process. 

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Building a College List with Reach, Target, and Safety | Ivy Central
Admissions

Building a College List with Reach, Target, and Safety

When you are building your college list you will often come across people recommending that you have a mix of reach, target and safety schools in your list. What you are less likely to find is a description of how you can decide which colleges fit into which category, so that is what I am going to do with this blog.

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Planning for College: What to do Now Spring is Here?

The road to submitting your college applications is a long one. The students with the best outcomes are those that have been working towards their applications throughout high school so in this article I’m going to look at what students from different grades should be doing during the next few months.

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College waitlist
Admissions

Waitlist to admitted- Your strategies to win over colleges.

If you have applied to colleges and universities in the United States, you should now know which have accepted you and which have not offered you a place. For some, there will be a third category where the college has put the student on a waitlist. If the college is your top choice college, then being on a waitlist can feel like being in purgatory, somewhere between heaven and hell. Read on to find out how you can judge your odds of being admitted off the waitlist and what you can do to improve your chances.

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Should I study for a psychology degree?

Have you ever looked up at the clouds and seen animals in the shapes, or wondered why you catch somebody else’s yawn, perhaps you have felt sudden pangs of hunger as you have walked past a fast food outlet? If that sounds like you and you are interested in why you do these things, then maybe a degree in psychology is for you!

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Greek Life: An American Tradition

For most international students the idea of fraternities and sororities is something they come across in films set on US colleges. Dating back to the early 1700’s fraternities and sororities have grown into an American tradition, with a presence on campuses across the country. In this article I will explain what they are, the benefits of ‘pledging’, and concerns that many have about them.

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All Change for the SAT… But Not Yet.

The SAT, together with its near relation, the ACT, has been a feature of college applications for many years. As a result of the COVID pandemic most US colleges have moved to a ‘Test Optional’ application format, meaning that applicants can choose whether to submit an SAT or ACT score without it affecting their chances of acceptance. This test optional format remains in place with most colleges for the 2022/23 round of applications and some colleges, including some of the most prestigious, have already announced that this will be the case for the following two application rounds.

All of this has led to questions being asked about the future of standardised tests and if they are needed. The University of California colleges announced last year that they will no longer consider SAT or ACT scores when making application decisions and an increasing number of colleges have followed a similar route.

In an attempt to reinvigorate the SAT, the College Board, which owns the SAT, announced at the end of January that, following a trial in November 2021, they are going to make significant changes to the SAT and the way it is administered.

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Business Management courses
Career Counseling

Should I do a Business degree?

Business degrees of one description or another are probably the most common undergraduate degrees in the world and are likely to remain very popular with students for many years to come. The reasons for this are numerous, but common themes for why students choose this are its relevance to the world they see around them and an expectation of a strong jobs market with plenty of opportunity for advancement during their working career. Some of those I speak to have more focused areas of business that attract them, entrepreneurship probably being the most common.

In this article, I’m going to explain about the different types of Business degrees and what you might study if you decide to pursue one, before going on to look at what careers you might choose to go into if you graduate with a degree in Business.

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What is a Portfolio? Who should submit one?

A Portfolio is a collection of your personal work. This could be in the form of fine art, digital art, creative writing pieces, or performing arts such as music compositions, monologues, dance choreography – the list isn’t exhaustive, but it usually tends to fall under these categories. 

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F1 Student Visa: The Basics

As an International student, you will be applying for a Non-Immigrant Visa. This means that you will not be allowed to ‘work’ in the US (excluding internships/co-ops which are practical/experiential opportunities – more on this in my future blog). While Student Visas can be received up to 120 days prior to the beginning of the course date, you are only allowed to enter the United States more than 30 days before this date

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Expert Guide About Why College Setting and Location Matters?
US Colleges

College Setting and Location Matter

In a previous blog, I gave five tips to help students find their perfect college match. In the article, I asked students to reflect on what they need around them to flourish, by which I meant what do they need, to feel comfortable during their time living at college. In this blog I’m going to explore this further by looking in more detail about just one aspect that students should consider, how does the setting and location of a college contribute to the college experience.

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College Applications

What’s an ‘Extracurricular Spike’?

When I meet with students to review their extracurricular activities for the first time, many are curious about whether or not they should focus on a single activity until they apply to college. I think for anyone considering an application to US universities, this is an important aspect to consider given the ‘holistic’ nature of the admissions processes, that is, thinking about how diverse your ECs should be.

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21st Century Skills

Over recent years a new terminology has been spreading through the worlds of education and business, 21st Century Skills. In this blog, I’m going to explain where this terminology comes from, just what they are and why they are important for young people today.

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