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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When you apply to your top choice college in the early application round you will get one of three responses, accepted (yippee), rejected (boo) or deferred (what?). In this article I’m going to explore what it means if you are deferred and more importantly what to do about it.
While it is a busy time for Grade 12 students as they apply for their regular decision schools (if applying to US unis), Grade 11 students are gearing up for their winter break. As you know, your next year would be crucial in getting you placed in a college of your choice.
Majors in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) are the most popular choice of major for the students we work with, so it was rather a shock to come across a statistic taken from the Engage to Excelreport, stating that 60% of students who start college intending to complete a STEM major end up graduating with a non-STEM degree.
There are many reasons for this, and in this blog I will explain some of the most significant ones, and some things to consider when you choose your college.
As a person who earns a living as an independent college counsellor, you will not be surprised to know that I believe working with somebody like me can be a solid investment in your family’s future, in this blog, I will set out why. I don’t intend for this to be an extended advert for Ivy Central, rather I hope to give some pointers on what anybody who is contemplating employing a private counsellor should consider.
While few Summer Programs have already opened their applications for an early-round, the others will follow suit shortly! This blog comes in the form of a step-by-step guide towards planning your summer for the next year.
With the submission deadline for applying in the early round of US college applications coming up, you will hopefully have already finished your personal essay. This is the one opportunity that you have to help the admissions teams get to ‘meet you’ and understand something about the individual behind the grades and scores.
Writing a strong personal essay is, for many students, the most challenging part of the application, its test comes because what is required is significantly different from the types of essays that most students have been writing during their schooling. In this blog, I will share five tips from admissions professionals to help you if you are still working on your personal essay.
The Application Season is here and we are as excited as you are!
In this blog, I will take you through tips for writing those seemingly insignificant short take supplemental questions that first few, now many, colleges are including as part of their mandatory essay requirements.
This is the second of two posts where I am exploring the different routes to qualifying as a doctor in the United States and the United Kingdom. Over the years, these are the countries that most Ivy Central students have chosen to apply to for medical training but of course there are many other options to consider.
In the first post, I focused on the pathway to becoming a doctor in the United States, in this second article I will be focusing on the route followed by aspiring doctors in the United Kingdom.
With the help of all the medical programmes on television, you may have thought to yourself that becoming a medical doctor may be the career for you. Over the next two blog posts I will take you through the steps, needed to achieve this goal, but as a regulated career, the requirements to qualify as a doctor differs from country to country. In this first article, I will focus on providing an overview of the steps required to train and work in the US,
Anybody aspiring to attend college in the United States will come across the Common Application. In excess of one million students use it each year to make their application to colleges from Maine to California. Here is the Ivy Central quick guide to the Common App.
Ivy Central is one of the World’s Best Performing College Counseling team with outstanding performance in gaining admissions to US and UK Top Tier Universities. We work with students globally Inlcuding India, UAE, UK, Singapore and the United States.
2024 Ivy Central is not affiliated with any university or college and is an independent organization. We are not affiliated with The Ivy League or its member universities.
