Life at University

Happy New Year!  There is always much anticipation in the start of a new year and a new term.   Already the University Advising Centre has been buzzing with activity.  In addition to visiting Grade 10 mentor groups this month to introduce them to the Self-Assessment tools and Resume Builder in Family Connection, we have begun our individual advising program with Grade 11 students.   Over the next two months, every student in Grade 11 will be invited (via Google Calendar) to meet with their University Advisor for an 80-minute session during one of their free periods.   Students have been asked to complete a number of surveys and conduct research into potential courses of study, careers and specific universities in preparation for their meeting.

In the first week of term, Grade 11 students attended an assembly involving a panel presentation of recent alumni from UWCSEA's Dover campus on "Life at University".  The five students came from five different universities in the US and the UK and were on holiday in Singapore after their first term of university.  The young alumni talked about different aspects of their new lives at university and contrasted their experiences at US and UK, large and small,  urban and rural campuses.

Our Grade 11 students took the alumni's advice to heart to really do some soul searching about what they want out of university,  develop good time management skills,  not to sweat too much about the SAT,  and to definitely attend international student orientation.    Two of the best takeways from the event were that UWC and the IB were great preparation for university, and  that it was possible to be happy and find a community at a wide variety of universities.  The panelists' experiences reflected that university is what you make it.   This article from the New York Times reinforces the idea that students should look beyond just the numbers when choosing a college or university, and look for places that will stretch them and give them new experiences.

This month our campus will be a closed test center for the SAT on the morning of Saturday, January 26th.  Over 40 students signed up to take this nearly four-hour exam as part of US university admissions.   Those who didn't register for this month's exam will have several more opportunities to take the exam before applications are due.

All the best for a healthy and happy 2013.

Plan Well, Eat Well, Sleep Well, and Other Things : Checklist of Things for High School Students to Do Over the December Holidays

           December break is just around the corner. We know you’re looking forward to sleeping in, catching up with friends and family, and just all in all having a good time. We would like you to rest and relax; we’d also like to give you a few tips in order to ensure are making effective use of your time. We’ve divided the list up by Grade level. Grade 9 and Grade 10 students will be introduced to more tools through Family Connection in term two.


Grade 9 and Grade 10 Students:

•          Ensure your resume is up-to date.
•         Write! Find your “voice.” Reflect on your experiences so far. Write about a particular  significant event at an activity/in class/on the field/in the canteen.
•         Read! Get caught up on personal reading; spend some time exploring topics you enjoy.
•        Look for summer internship opportunities.
•        Stay involved in service projects/activities/ sports that you are passionate about

Grade 11 Students:

•        Set goals for yourself for next term.
•      Watch a play.
•      Complete the Personality Quiz on Family Connection
•        Complete the Career Profiler on Family Connection
•        Practice your music pieces.
• Prepare for SAT through PrepMe.  You can find this through Family Connection.
•     Explore Courses and Universities on UCAS or Family Connection, or through our Resources tab.
•        Continue to develop your art portfolio.
• Complete the Google Form entitled, “Finding the Right Fit University.”
• Update your resume.
• Come up with a list of 1-3 universities and your reasons why you like them.
• Return to your CAS reflections and add more details to them. These reflections will serve you well when you have to write essays for college applications
• Get caught up on any reading that you need to for your courses or read a book for fun!
• Stay involved in service projects/activities/ sports that you are passionate about
• Research internships for the summer/ summer programmes.
• Have frank conversations with your parents about the decisions you are making. Ensure all constraints (financial, geographical, courses/majors) are all clearly laid out on the table. If you and your parents are on the same/similar page it may make decision-making easier.  Remember you are the one going to university for 3 - 4 years. Also remember your parents are the ones paying for you to go to university for 3 - 4 years.
• Look for the calendar invitation for a one-on-one meeting with your university advisor. Accept the invitation.  Set a reminder for your one-on-one meeting time. If you cannot make the scheduled meeting, please let us know ASAP. The invitations will go out early next week, for meetings scheduled for the first week back.  After that, invitations will go out a week before meetings are scheduled.  

It may appear to be a long list, but most of this can be done within a solid hour or two a day (PrepMe and a conversation as a family will take more time and dedication).  Planning and being organised are essential elements to succeed and will make your life a lot easier as you are thrown back into the throes of classes and activities. So plan well, eat well, sleep well, and have a lovely December break!

Tuition Fees: Home Status and Overseas Student Status

After our presentation to Grade 11 parents on the application process in the UK several questions on tuition fees and the fee structure for International students and domestic students have cropped up.  With this post, we hope to point families to some resources as they start researching universities and the fee structure. Please note that policies and fees change, and at the time of writing this post, the details are correct. We encourage families to peruse individual university websites and also to contact university representatives directly, for clarification and up-to-date information.

Broadly speaking, all country destinations have two categories: International and Domestic. Domestic students are termed as those who hold a passport of that country. So you could be an Australian citizen, having lived in Singapore your entire life, and you are still considered an Australian national for university fees. This is also true for Canada, most European destinations, New Zealand, and the US (in-state tuition for State Universities has an additional category; we will speak with students one-on-one about this).  The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published an e-book, this has a section on tuition fees policies for OECD countries for 2012.

The education department of the UK Government decides the categories of student fees. There are two broad categories however,  UK/EU known as “home” and Non-EU or “Overseas”.  The fees increase in the UK, for domestic students from £3,000 to £9,000 has everyone talking; even British Intellectuals are discussing the increase in tuition fees.  With the increase, families are more concerned about what category they will fall into.

As mentioned earlier, usually universities look at a student’s passport and citizenship. However, in the UK, a student’s citizenship and residency status are evaluated. If you are an EU passport holder or a UK citizen, you may not instantly be considered “home status.” Usually families have to prove that they pay taxes in the UK or an EU country and have records of this for three years prior to a student enrolling in university. In addition, if you already hold citizenship of an EU country or the UK, and a parent works for a UK or an EU-based company, this will benefit the student’s claim for home status. Finally, if the family is only outside of their home in the EU or the UK (for two years or else), this should be highlighted to gain home status.

However, the classification of “home” fees can be complicated and we recommend that individuals contact specific universities to clear doubts. Families should also visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs website for detailed information on Home status vs. Overseas status

To assess whether someone is viewed as “Home” or “Overseas,” students may be asked some questions and will need to provide some information:

·           Do you have permanent residence in your current country?

·           Give details of countries in which you have lived with the dates.

·           Do you own property / pay taxes / have medical insurance in the UK?

·           Is your father’s / mother’s work contract temporary?

·           Is your father’s / mother’s employer UK / EU based?

Please note that documentary evidence will be required for all claims.

According to Education UK average costs, per year, for International students are:

·         Arts courses: £7,000 to £9,000

·         Science courses:  £7,500 to £22,000

·         Clinical courses: £10,000 to £25,000

 

It is important for families to understand that a university can charge different fees for different courses. It is up to the university to decide what fees it will charge for the courses it offers. However, the Guardian University League Table lists the minimum and maximum tuition fees charged by each university for domestic and International students for the academic year 2012-2013.

The next question may be, is there financial aid available in the UK?  The UK government wants to ensure people are not deterred from enrolling into university because of lack of funds. Bursaries and scholarships are forms of financial help for International and home status students.  Students will have to look at individual universities to see if there are bursaries they are eligible for.

Home status students can also apply for a loan. The Students Loans Company administers all student loans. It manages student loans to EU students from any national UK student finance company. Students must apply to the Student Finance Company that is in the area they are from (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales).  There’s also information on Student Loan Repayment.

Deciding where to study and what course to enroll in is a difficult task. Add to the mix the complication, for some, on fees category, and the university application process becomes an emotional and financial journey.  We encourage families to find out all information about fees and additional costs (accommodation, transportation, food and so on) as students explore their options. To make it a little less difficult, we ask families to ensure they have open and frank discussions about several factors: location, course of study, and definitely about finances.

Good luck researching university options!