That 'Useless' Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech's Hottest Ticket - Forbes

As students start thinking about returning to school, we thought we'd share this article with you. Here's an excerpt:

Engineers may still command the biggest salaries, but at disruptive juggernauts such as Facebook and Uber, the war for talent has moved to nontechnical jobs, particularly sales and marketing. The more that audacious coders dream of changing the world, the more they need to fill their companies with social alchemists who can connect with customers–and make progress seem pleasant.

Harvard President and Composer on the Value of an Arts Education

Harvard President Drew Faust invited  trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis to discuss the value of an arts education. They state the arts prepares students with skills, for a world we do not know yet.

Here is an excerpt from the article in USA Today:

We need education that nurtures judgment as well as mastery, ethics and values as well as analysis. We need learning that will enable students to interpret complexity, to adapt, and to make sense of lives they never anticipated. We need a way of teaching that encourages them to develop understanding of those different from themselves, enabling constructive collaborations across national and cultural origins and identities.

In other words, we need learning that incorporates what the arts teach us.

Read the full article here. 

Applications: Hard Work and then the Waiting Game

Jamie Buitelaar, Grade 12 student, describes the "Waiting Game" in the college admissions process. Read on and wish her luck:


It's December and my application has been submitted. I wrote my essays myself, checked off all my references and wore a nice skirt to my interview. 

Now what?

Now, I wait. 

I have to say, it is excruciating. There is a deadline looming and I've been counting the days since I left that Starbucks table in my nice skirt and sweaty palms. I am consistently revisiting my application in my head. There are some things I know I should have done - I should have taken the "additional details" section a little more seriously. Who knows? Maybe something someone else says creates the tipping point. Maybe all the things I wanted to say but couldn't find the space to could find their way into my application through that little "upload" button. 

Memories of my interview are never far behind. Was my skirt nice enough? Did I say what the interviewer was looking to hear? Did I smile enough? Did I fidget? Despite the fact that I was sufficiently prepped-up by the UAC office, and the welcoming air of the interviewer, I was much more nervous than I suppose I had the right to be. Even now, I can't help wondering, did I, did I, did I? 

At the same time, however, it's very comforting to know that I've gotten through it, and this last stretch is no longer in my control. Applying to a liberal arts college is interesting in that sense - it gives you control over so many aspects of the application. Your essays. Your short answers. Your interview. You can sculpt your application however you want. The thing is, there comes a time after that "submit" button has been pressed when that is no longer the case. It is the neater of the beast, and it must be accepted. 

Having gone through the process of application even once leaves me with a feeling of completion. I am so thankful to my teachers and counsellor and parents - oh my gosh, my parents - for the megaton of help they've given me. Now all that's left is to focus on my studies and wait. 

And hope. 

Oh, and wish. Wish on every star, eyelash and 11:11. Let's not forget the wishing. 

Amukelani, Grade 12, on Supplementary Essays

Supplementary essays are coming out of my friends’ ears!

Living in the boarding house, we are in each others’ space a lot of the time so, more often than not, we know exactly what’s on each others’ plates. My dear friends have no space for dessert because the Common App (and all its glitches) have taken up all the space. It’s a little amusing to watch everyone channel their creative juices as they attempt to fit in how awesome they are while sounding humble into 650 words.

I have had to do the same and I must say, having something to say really helps. Filling in my Common App has been a relatively hassle-free process for me, which I am grateful for. I do wish I had some more exciting supplementary essay topics, though!

One friend has to respond to the prompt, “If you were a professor teaching a university course, what course would you teach and why?” I can think of so many. One is “How to come to the terms with the fact that university is closer and closer everyday 101.”

The closeness of graduation and university is an exciting prospect for me and one that I think we are all going to be more than ready for, whether we believe that to be so right now or not. UWC has taught each of us so much and in different ways and thus has given us plenty to write about in those wonderful supplementary essays. The direction you take your essays in must reflect what you see yourself doing in university and, potentially, your life. Like CAS reflections, this is making us think of how far we’ve come and how far we want to go and looking at my peers, I’m proud to report: very far.

My university list is very different to that of many of my friends and we’re realising that this is going to scatter us all over the globe. That’s OK, though, because that’s the extent to which we’re needed.

Predicted Grades and Developing a Balanced List of Universities

Grade 11 students have completed their exams and are nearing the end of their first year of the rigorous IB program.   Everyone in Grade 11 will be invited to meet their University Advisor in the last few weeks of Term 3 to discuss their university research and go over a checklist for the summer.  Parents who would like to attend this second meeting should ask their child after May 17th for the date of their appointment and have him or her inform the University Advisor that parents would like to join.

Given UWCSEA’s limit of 10 university applications per student, it is not a good strategy to apply indiscriminately. We recommend that students develop a balanced list of universities, with 1-2 in the “reach” category, 2 or more in the “likely” category and the rest in the “match” range.   How do students determine whether a particular university is a reach, match or likely option for them?

In the UK, Canada, Hong Kong and a few other destinations, universities publish the minimum IB requirements for particular courses of study and make offers based on the school’s submission of students’ Predicted Grades, the professional judgment of teachers regarding the grade in each subject a student is likely to achieve as a final result in the IB Diploma Program (this is not the case in the US, as discussed below, or in Australia where students apply after final IB results, or where offers are portfolio or audition-based).  UWCSEA keeps Predicted Grades confidential so that universities can be assured that they are the teachers’ most accurate prediction.  However, Predicted Grades are usually closely aligned with assessed grades, so students should develop their list of reach, match and safety schools based on their assessed grades from their report cards.   The most recent Grade 11 exams are merely one component of the Predicted Grade and should not be considered a proxy for Predicted Grades.

As an example, for an international student to study Mechanical Engineering at Bath University in the UK, an applicant would need a minimum of 36 IB points overall (including core points) with at least a 6 each in HL Mathematics and HL Physics and a 5 in English.  If a student’s most recent assessed grades added up to 34 points with the required grades in these specific subjects, a student should consider Bath a match (assuming he would earn at least two core points from TOK and the Extended Essay).

UK applicants need to pay careful attention to the fee status category they apply in.  Students who are considered residents for home fee status in most cases put themselves in a more competitive applicant pool, particularly in Scotland, where Scottish and EU residents attend university tuition-free.  For example, for those wishing to study Business at the University of Edinburgh, a Korean student would need to earn 34 points whereas a French (EU resident) student would need to earn more like 41 points to enter the same course.  In this case, university websites may have the most accurate information about entry requirements.

In Canada, international and Canadian students are treated the same, and offers of admission made on Predicted Grades are unconditional.   For example, either a Canadian or an Indian student who would like to study a Bachelor of Commerce at McGill University in Canada would need to be predicted at least 35 IB points (not including core points) with either a 5 in HL Mathematics or a 6 in SL Mathematics.  A student who has achieved above these grades in her latest assessment should feel that McGill is likely to make her an offer.   

Because US institutions consider students holistically, it is much more difficult to gauge how likely students are to receive offers from particular colleges and universities.   US universities do not publish minimum grades or scores, but often share averages based on Grade Point Average (GPA) and SAT scores.  GPA doesn’t translate easily to IB scores so is not a reliable source of information.  SAT scores alone should never be considered as minimum entry qualifications.  US universities consider the entire transcript of assessed grades starting in Grade 9 and may put less weight on Predicted Grades, as most American high schools do not predict grades for their students.

It is possible to organize US universities into reach, match and likely categories based on academic qualifications, but harder to predict outcomes, because decisions often hinge on subjective factors, like a student’s ability to write and her teachers opinions of her, as well as factors outside of a student’s control, such as her citizenship, ethnicity, gender and family’s ability to pay.  Based on published statistics regarding averages and data from past applicants at UWCSEA’s Dover campus, University Advisors can help guide students in arranging their US university list into “reach,” “match” and “likely” categories, with the caveat that being academically qualified is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success at many US universities.

Students should give some serious thought to whether they would really be happy to attend every school on their list.  A “likely” choice is not a meaningful one if students are listing it only to appease their University Advisor or their parents.   For each university on their list, students should be able to give a thoughtful answer to the question “Why are you applying to this university?”   The more research a student has done prior to his or her appointment, the more productive our meeting will be.  In the meantime, students are welcome to drop by or email with any questions.

UK or US?

Finding a university that is a good match for you requires not just an understanding of yourself as a person and a learner, but also an understanding of the type of experience that different universities have to offer.  Many of you are considering universities in both the UK and the US.   While both countries have terrific reputations for higher education and are home to some of the most prestigious institutions in the world, the experience of attending university can be quite different in each country.  There are some important distinctions that may make one country a better fit for you than the other, depending on your interests, learning style and aspirations.  Here are some of the key differences between these two university systems.

Commitment to course of study.    In the UK, university applications are subject-specific. This means that when you apply, you must apply to a specific course.  If you are UK-bound, you will need to have a good idea of the direction you would like to head in by the beginning of Grade 12 at the latest.  At US universities, in most cases you will apply for a place at the university, rather than in a specific course, and it is perfectly acceptable to arrive at a university without a clue about what you would like to specialize or “major” in.

Professional and specialized degrees uncommon in US.   The UK allows you to study professional degrees in the first instance, as a Bachelor degree.  Programs such as the Bachelor of Medicine and the Bachelor of Laws are particularly popular.  You will be also surprised by the breadth of offerings in the UK, degrees, with degrees available in specialties as far and wide as Brewing and Distilling, Physiotherapy, Television Production and Puppet-Making.  In contrast, professional and highly specialized degrees are most often offered in the US as Master’s or PhD programs.   It is possible to major in Engineering, Business or Architecture as a US undergraduate, but these programs are not offered at all universities.

Depth vs. Breadth followed by Depth.  In the UK there are generally no distribution or general education requirements.  You will take most of your classes in the area you applied for with a few choices of electives.  As a result, most degrees take only three years to complete, although Scotland requires students to take a wider selection of classes in the first year, and so Scottish degrees take four years.   In the US, Bachelor degrees take four years to obtain; most universities require that students sample courses in a broad range of subjects before specializing or majoring in one subject for the last two years.  This flexibility makes it possible in the US to major in two unrelated subjects, and at some US universities, you can design your own major to suit your particular interests.  While the US liberal arts and sciences approach makes it very easy to change your mind about what you want to study, in the UK it is far less common but still feasible to change your original choice of subject to a related subject.  There are also several combined and dual degrees in the UK that allow study in more than one subject, and liberal arts-type offerings are becoming more available.

Public vs. Private, Large vs. Any Size.  The vast majority of the UK’s over 300 higher education options are government-funded rather than private, and are relatively large institutions, catering to both undergraduates pursuing bachelor’s degrees and graduate students in master’s and PhD programs.   The average size of a UK university is 15,000 students, and after the first year many students live independently off campus in their own accommodation.  While the US has many large, well-reputed state universities, funded by American states, most of the over 4,000 higher education options in the US are privately funded and endowed.   Liberal arts colleges, which focus solely on undergraduate education, are often as small as 1,200 students and offer residential living communities for all four years.

Application Procedures.  Applications to UK universities are processed through a central governmental agency known as UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).  You can only apply to five universities in the UK, and only to four if you are applying to medicine programs.  You can apply to Oxford or Cambridge, but not both.   Because you will only submit one Personal Statement for UK applications, it makes sense to apply for the same or very similar subjects at each institution so that you can write about your interest and suitability in that area.  Applications to US colleges and universities are processed by the individual institution, although there is a private application consolidator known as the Common Application, which has about 400 members, that makes it easy to apply to many popular universities using a single online application, with individual supplemental essays for specific institutions.

Admission criteria.  Admission in the UK is largely credential-driven, with UCAS publishing minimum IB requirements, and offers of admission are made conditional on attaining IB results that are consistent with predicted grades.  UCAS distinguishes between UK and European Union residents and other international students, and admissions criteria and fees differ for these two groups.  The US has a holistic admissions process and considers a large range of factors above and beyond a student’s academic ability (as evidenced by assessment grades since Grade 9, predicted grades and standardized test scores), including how applicants would enhance the diversity of the student body, what special talents or contributions they would make to a learning community, and in many cases, their ability to pay.

Upcoming presentations to Grade 11 will focus on the special features of the UK and US university systems and the procedures, requirements and timing for applying in each country.  Future presentations will cover other countries popular with UWC students, including Canada, Australia and Singapore.  

Liberal Arts Education: What is it Good For?

There are a lot of myths surrounding the Liberal Arts.  George Forsythe the President of Westminster College addresses the advantages of a Liberal Arts education.  He asks:

What can you do with a degree in classics? How are you going to get a job with that degree? Many people still fail to understand what a liberal arts education is and how it translates into success in the job market. This attitude raises a fundamental question about undergraduate education in the 21st century: Are we preparing students for careers, or educating them for a lifetime of learning? A better question is: why do people continue to believe these are two separate things?

The article is thought-provoking and we recommend that you read it.