Institut Florimont 14 Rules for Application Success Based on Personal Contact with US and UK dmissions & 7 years of Counseling.
1 Choose your destination wisely • US, Canada and the UK are completely different choices • US – significant financial and time investment e.g. SATs • US – very cool liberal arts approach – incredible choice and flexibility. • Canada – much easier: no SATs, easy application. McGill remains a favourite, not so much interest elsewhere. • UK – very straightfoward application. No SATs. • UK – predicted grades. US and Canada – transcript (grades from 3 ème onwards) • Is the US really for you? « 2 nd -tier university or college? »
2 If the US, you should have already started your SAT preparation. • If in 2nde, start college research on basis of PSAT results. (Add 60). • If in 1ère, get going! • Josh at Alpha Prep. Bespoke Education, Paris – Zach. • Tutors Plus here in Geneva
3 Save yourself a fortune and a lot of stress – Canada, UK, Netherlands • Canada – Commerce McGill $40k. Bachelor Arts & Science $15k. • UK - £9k per year. • Netherlands – c € 1k
4 Know Yourself and Make Realistic Choices • Look at bulletins – 1ère • French Bac – 16-18? IB 36 upwards. Most selective unis – Warwick, Bath, Durham. • FB – 14-16 – less selective – Manchester, Leeds, Surrey, Sussex. IB 30-35. • FB 10-13. IB 24-28 – least selective. • Florimont marking – FB – more conservative. • Examples from July. Plymouth. Warwick. Surrey.
5 Get Familiar with Google Drive – Know how to Use Tools • How to get to Google Drive (not same as Google Docs or Gmail) • How to upload a document • How to change it to a Google Doc • What a Google Sheets spreadsheet is and how it works • How to share a folder with duncan.lally@gmail.com
6 Do what you enjoy doing, for no-one other than yourself • Take the Higher Level subjects you enjoy most. • Take the Bac Séries because it’s what you want and forget “prestige”. • “Go deep” – in Maths research (Jacquier), in Maths (extra lessons, apps). • Go to UniGe lectures and seminars – e.g. linguistics. • Don’t try to do too much. You don’t HAVE to do SUN, MUN, international award – unless you want to! Give yourself a break and think for yourself.
7 Be organized and pay attention to the details • Blocking time each week • Labeling your Google Drive folder as “Surname, Name” • Copies of 3ème, 2nde and 1ère bulletins in my casier, stapled and in order • Transcript with subjects in same order as reports, correct name, correct dates
8 Ask yourself some hard questions if you dream of the Ivy League • http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/16/01/turning-tide- inspiring-concern-others-and-common-good-through- college-admissions • Are you changing the world locally? • What leadership do you show? Initiatives? Could the teacher hand the class over to you? Brown. • You have to stand out. Do you? How?
9 Have an open-mind. • Is London the only place in the UK? • How many coasts does the US have and is there any space in between? • Does the fact that you know the name of a university mean that it is where you should apply? • North of England, Wales. • Notre Dame, Claremont McKenna, Vassar, Swarthmore … • So many good places!
10 For the UK, systematically refuse to talk about extra- curricular activities or to listen to counselors, family or friends who encourage you to talk about them
11 Take charge of your application • Work closely with me and blot out the noise made by most other people in life and on the internet. • This includes Oxbridge, LSE and Ivy League graduates. • Manage your teachers – “appréciations”. Some are excellent, most are (increasingly) good, a few are “challenging”. • DO use your initiative in checking university websites before asking for information easy to access – e.g. “Do I need letters of recommendation for McGill?”
12 Be ready for some seriously hard work • Be ready to work hard, feel extremely discouraged and learn through painful experience just how hard it is to write a good essay or personal statement. • Oxbridge applicants – 2 x afterschool workshops September. • Regular entry applicants – 3 versions. • “Why is this piece of writing so difficult?” • 90% of what students write is seriously poor quality through no fault of their own. • Only a few counsellors know what’s needed. • You may well arrive at December of Tle and your PS will still be in need of improvement. Grit your teeth.
13 If you’re aiming high, don’t be this student!
14 – Trust the Counselling Office • Confidentiality – part of our relationship with universities. • BUT - look at bulletins – 1ère. • We will be a positive as we realistically can be. • Conferences, training, relationships with unis
E.g. - predicted grades • Effective. • Positive. • Universities understand.
What happens with UK applications? Canadian apps? Dutch unis? US? • US & Canada • I recommend no more than 5-6 choices. Anything more is too desperate and suggests lack of research. • Mostly via Common Application (some exceptions). • Student submits their part, school submits its part, teachers submit their letters. • EA – decision before Xmas. RA – April. Accepted or not • Canada – some common systems otherwise individual web accounts. • Dutch universities – similar to Canada.
Key Resource 1 - 7 Step Guide • 4 key meetings – student-counsellor (January start) • Considerable preparation required by student • Keep in touch • P2 – “Big Group” lunchtime sessions • Research – November & December • No LSE or Oxbridge after March 1ère • Realistic choices – p8 – don’t over-estimate! • Checklist helps you keep track – p15
Key Resource 2 – Blog d’Orientation
Blog Subheadings
Why Believe Me? Our Track Record • MIT • Columbia • Harvard • Barnard • Medicine • Cambridge • Law • Oxford • UCLA • LSE • Bristol • Warwick • McGill • UCL, King’s, SOAS • UPenn & Stanford • Durham & Bath Summer Programs “ … your reference is a model of clarity and detailed information”, Dr Richard Partington, Churchill College Cambridge, November 2016
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