University Councelling
UCO Mission
The mission of the UCO is to aid students in researching viable educational choices, ultimately finding the best match between a student’s talents and interests and those universities which will offer appropriate intellectual and personal challenges.
Once choices have been made by students and parents, the UCO will assist in all aspects of the university application process.
University and Careers Counselling Program
G Level
During G level, each student will participate in a careers and university applications counselling program delivered by the UCO counsellors. This will constitute 2 periods per week as timetabled and set by the EAO department. It is possible but not desirable that some students will not be assigned to a UCO enrichment class, in which case this should be brought to the attention of the UCO Head of Department. The program is designed to prepare students with transferable skills that will be beneficial throughout their education and particularly for the university selection process in A1.
The G1 program covers the following areas:
- Meeting the Counselor one-on-one and discussing a future application plan
- Career exploration and relevant degrees
- Discovering various independent learning projects
- Discussing different future course selections at SCIE that would line up with a student’s chosen country of application
The G2 program will cover the following areas:
- Regions of the world and universities in the rest of the world
- US comparison of Liberal Arts, Research and Specialist Universities
- UK university choices, programmes and entry requirements
- Summer schools and summer activities in more detail
- Research and select universities using CIALFO
- CIALFO careers research program
A Level
The A1 program covers the following areas (tailored for returning G2 and new A1):
- Overview of the US, UK, Canadian and HK application systems (plus others), deadlines and resources
- Personal statement and personal essay content. Production of plans and drafts. Highly selective university expectations
- Recommendation letters, references and predicted grades. Entry requirements, assessments and offers
- University choices and options
The A2 year revolves around regular one-to-one meetings between student and counsellor and focuses on:
- University choices and course choices, based on predicted grades and GPA/SAT/ACT results (as well as ‘fit’)
- Applying to highly selective universities and courses
- UCAS system support and internal deadlines
- The Common App and the University of California
- Personal statement and US application essays, review and revision
- Interviews for US recommendation letters
- Interview preparation support
- Selection of firm and insurance choices (UK) and final destination (US)
