Wednesday 18 September 2013

NYTimes.com: More Students Are Taking Both the ACT and SAT




This article in the New York Times from August 2, 2013 highlights how applicants to US colleges and universities are increasingly taking both the SAT and the ACT (with Writing) exams as part of their college application preparation.   Universities allow students to submit either one as evidence of standardized testing.  The ACT with Writing is often accepted in lieu of both the SAT Reasoning exam and SAT Subject Tests.  See this article by Nancy Griesemer, DC College Admissions Examiner, for more details.

There is a trend towards increasing flexibility in what standardized tests are required, with some prominent universities now accepting IB predicted grades or multiple SAT Subject test results instead of either the SAT or ACT.   Testing requirements can change from year to year, so students must check the individual websites of colleges and universities they are interested in.

The SAT is offered at UWCSEA East campus five times each year in October, November, January, May and Jone; the ACT can be taken at other locations in Singapore in February, April, September or October.  For more information, see our UAC website.




Friday 13 September 2013

Advice on the Personal Statement for the UK

The representative from Durham University visited campus and spoke with students about writing a Personal Statement.




Krishan Naik, a Grade 12 student, distilled the information and recorded part of the conversation. (We apologise for the poor sound quality).

Top Five Tips for Writing a Personal Statement:

1.  Celebrate your Extended Essay and other aspects of your education that are uniquely IBDP (TOK)

2. Internships and Job Shadowing Opportunities related to your course will enhance your statement

3. Do not just list achievements; have evidence of learning

4. Be personal; be true to your voice. Do not use flowery language

5. Proofread

Have a look at the video too!

Here's some information that our intern, Mala Swaminathan compiled (from the talk by the Durham representative and from the UCAS website):


A personal statement that is written while applying to UK universities is very different from essays that are written while applying to universities in the US. A personal statement is a kind of letter that you write to your future self.


There needs to be a considerable emphasis on academic achievement through which the student’s personality should shine through. While several UK universities do not lay much emphasis on extracurricular activities, it may be a good idea to mention what your interests are other than academics. Talk about your wider contribution and what you do when you are not studying.


Two thirds of your Personal statement should focus on academic achievements with one-third that focuses on extra curricular activities.


        It is important to make a connection with your past and present  experiences.


Be specific.

Do not generalize.

Give selective examples of well-chosen ideas and experiences that have made you think. Aim to slow the reader down.

Avoid using overused opening sentences such as ‘I am passionate about History and I have wanted to study it since a young age”.

Tell the university why you are so keen to study the subject and demonstrate that by being specific.
Top 10 most overused personal statement opening sentences:

1. I am currently studying a BTEC National Diploma in ... (used 464 times)

2. From a young age I have always been interested in ... (309 times)

3. From an early age I have always been interested in ... (292 times)

4. Nursing is a very challenging and demanding career ... (275 times)

5. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with ... (196 times)
6. "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only” ... (189 times)

7. Nursing is a profession I have always looked upon with ... (178 times)

8. For as long as I can remember I have been interested in ... (166 times)

9. I am an International Academy student and have been studying since ... (141 times)

10. Academically, I have always been a very determined and ... (138 times)

Reproduced from the 'UCAS Guide to Getting into University and College' with permission of UCAS - available from www.ucasbooks.co.uk
       
        It is not necessary for the personal statement to have the same thread running all the way through. Let the IB ‘ness come through. Talk about how you have made the most of the IB program and try to make the connection between the different subjects that you are studying.

Make use of your cultural and personal background to express yourself. Talk about ideas and events that have got you interested in the subject that you are applying for.

        If you have lived in several countries and have travelled widely it is advisable not to mention all the countries that you have travelled to. Instead, talk about your experiences and how travelling has shaped your personality.

Mention the extended essay.

If you have had the opportunity to do a bit of job shadowing do talk about your experiences. Do not focus on the company where you worked, but talk about what you learnt during the experience. What sounded more complex than you thought? Give examples.

Strive for originality. Try not to appear cliché.

Make each thing count and your personality will come through.

You’ve have to write within 47 lines and 4000 characters (including spaces). Hence use well divided paragraphs.

        Several universities now offer a substitute personal statement for students who are applying to different programs. This is available on the university website. In such cases the admissions officer would look at the personal statement on the UCAS website and the substitute personal statement on the university website. It is hence advisable to use the substitute personal statement if you need it. The substitute personal statement should be more course specific.

Monday 2 September 2013

How to Get an Interviewer to Like You: Reflection and Tips


By Aashika Anantharaman 

I found the practice interview sessions on Thursday helpful not only because I learnt more about how to perform during the actual interview process but also because we got to meet some extremely interesting people and interact with them afterwards thereby working on our conversational skills with outside of the interview. 

There were 3 interviewers allotted to each student and each mock interview was 15 minutes long. At first I thought it would be hard to come up with information about myself to coherently talk about for 15 minutes, but my first interviewer made it seem like 15 minutes was not enough to convey everything she wanted to know about me. Being much younger than the other two interviewers, I guessed she was able to relate to my experiences more and ask me questions that really prompted me to talk a lot. Everyone seemed pretty nervous for their first interviews, some, like me were talking extremely fast and colloquially while some were freaked out by the number of awkward silences in their interviews where they completely blanked out.


 I think we can all agree that the second interviews went much better than the first. In my case it felt more like a conversation than an interview and the conversation flowed much better because I was warmed up and had organized my thoughts having already said them out loud during the first interview. The third was by far the best for almost every one of us. The practice really did help us gain a better understanding of what we struggled with and what went well, and we could revise this each time. We also learnt that it is better to adapt depending on the type of person who is interviewing you, for example if an interviewer doesn't have very much to ask you and is quieter, it makes sense to ask them questions about their experiences at the college and engage them in the conversation as well.




We also talked about how some of us may have struggled with getting a message across to the interviewer, for example we could tell them about where we have lived and how the experience was but still not show them 'who we are'. Through discussion I think most of us agreed that it was better to tell them about our qualities and then back them up with evidence, how they developed and why they are important to us.
Most questions that we were asked were about the activities we're interested in, what we want them to know about us, qualities we think we possess that will be useful in university, and where we have lived etc. It was tricky narrating these things about us but keeping in mind that it was not the actual facts about ourselves that the interviewer was interested in but how those facts form the kind of people we are today and our opinions and stands on different issues. The most important piece of advice I took back from yesterday was to 'be genuine', the initial speaker, an interviewer from the University of Pennsylvania who is also experienced in interviewing job applicants, said that he can always tell when a person is exaggerating or not being genuine and that that is extremely off putting.

I also realized that it is important to establish a good rapport with the person who is interviewing you, for example while the last interviewer could relate to me and liked me because she too was introverted and quiet, the second interviewer felt I was not confident enough and did not understand why I wasn't more bold and comfortable. It is in my experience important to adapt and in a sense mirror the personality of the interviewer in order for them to be able to like you easily.