BTEC Students take note!

ESF ADVANCED DIPLOMA FAIR!

Next week is the ESF Advanced Diploma Fair. It is being held at West Island School on Wednesday, 9 March 2011.

• This event showcases Higher Education Institutions/Universities from around the world who accept the BTEC qualification. There will also be specific presentations on pathways and recognition in the UK, Australia, Hong Kong and the USA. See the brochure on what’s happening there…
• Year 11 and 12 BTEC students should attend – take your parents and learn about future study and career opportunities!

Important details:

Fair runs from 4:30 – 7:30
West Island School, 250 Victoria Road, Pok Fu Lam. For details on Location of the school click here.
Parking is limited so taking public transport is advised.

Gap Years

Year 12 - yesterday’s presentation on gap years was a useful way to start your thinking. Don’t forget to review the resources we listed in our brochure.

Year 11 and 13 – feel free to come and get a copy of the gap years brochure from the HE Office. You might also be interested in the youtube clips we showed the year 12s in our presentation. The first was from a student at Macquarie University, Australia talking about his gap year and the second was a short video produced by Birmingham University, UK discussing gap years from a university viewpoint.

Speaking of interesting, this article on gap years is another one we came across this week. Also interesting is the clip from the US talk show The Today Show where US university admissions staff discuss what makes an application stand out. Obviously, the discussion is about students applying from within the US. Basically, it’s pretty important to get the best grades you can. And as a general rule, we don’t suggest you do a DVD with a comedy routine to accompany your application!

Time is March-ing on...

A reminder about the University Planning Calendar for Years 11-13
Year 12 - Remember the planning calendar you were given at the start of year 11? Well, the March - June entry is:

Evaluate Higher Education Destinations (with help from parents, HE Counsellor & teachers) and decide broadly WHERE you want to study post-school.

March is also a great month to ...

• Update your Gateway comments! For Year 12 - add your ideas and information on what you are considering in terms of higher education and careers. For Year 13 - make sure your information on applications and offers is up-to-date.
  
• Write your CV. Ask around now to see if you can line-up some work experience during your breaks... There is also a talk coming up on how to write a resume - keep an eye on the bulletin for details.
  
• Think about university visits you might be doing while out on the Easter/End of Term break - what questions will you ask? Come to the Higher Education Office for help - we have lots of resources to get you thinking.
  
• Attend the university presentations we have on here at school. - Check out the weekly Higher Education News for details of who, what, where and when!

ESF University Fair 2011

ESF University Fair 2011 - The Final Report!

The Fair was held at Island school on 27 January. 106 universities from around the world were represented and more than 600 ESF students and their parents attended.

A real part of the success to this event can be put down to YOU the students! The great student volunteers, thoughtful and considered questions and general enthusiasm made this a hugely successful event again this year.

Key highlights included:

• The increasing interest in the Fair by North American universities – at the Fair this year there were 31 universities from the US and Canada, including 3 of the 8 Ivy League Colleges;
  
• Representation by 47 United Kingdom universities, with a range of specialties that included Veterinary Sciences, Medical Schools, Sports and Sports Management, Oriental and African Studies, Engineering, Business, Law and Liberal Arts to Creative Arts. The breadth of possible areas of study represented was impressive;
• The excellent preparation and well thought out questions that students and parents asked. In a survey of representatives, the overwhelming comment was that students were very focused and enthusiastic - students were described by reps as "very motivated", "ready to take on challenges" and "serious about where they are going when they finish their studies"; and, as noted above,
  
• The tremendous help given by the 70 year 12 student volunteers. Many of the representatives commented on how well Island School was portrayed by the helpfulness of the volunteers. For example the representative for Emory wrote “The student who met us at the entrance was a fantastic representative of the school.”

The Fair has now become an established annual ESF event hosted by Island School and we look forward to hosting the University Fair again in 2012.