Asia – The University Guys https://www.theuniversityguys.com Helping students make successful applications to international universities Sun, 26 Apr 2020 10:35:15 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://www.theuniversityguys.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/fav-150x150.png Asia – The University Guys https://www.theuniversityguys.com 32 32 Podcast Episode 48, Study in India https://www.theuniversityguys.com/podcast-episode-48-study-in-india/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=podcast-episode-48-study-in-india Sun, 26 Apr 2020 10:35:15 +0000 https://www.theuniversityguys.com/?p=6030 The post Podcast Episode 48, Study in India appeared first on The University Guys.

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Podcast Episode 41: Q&A on Uni entry in 2020 https://www.theuniversityguys.com/podcast-episode-41/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=podcast-episode-41 Sun, 22 Mar 2020 11:28:20 +0000 https://www.theuniversityguys.com/?p=5814 On Friday 20th March 2020, I moderated a Q&A session on the changed university admissions processes in the UK, and for students from the UK holding international offers. Experts Alan Bullock (Alan Bullock Careers), Melanie Moorehouse (St Clare’s Oxford), Mike Nicholson (University of Bath) and Anne Richardson (The American School in London) answered questions submitted from those attending the live webinar. Show notes: NACAC link referred to by Anne: https://www.nacacnet.org/college-admission-status-coronavirus

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On Friday 20th March 2020, I moderated a Q&A session on the changed university admissions processes in the UK, and for students from the UK holding international offers.

Experts Alan Bullock (Alan Bullock Careers), Melanie Moorehouse (St Clare’s Oxford), Mike Nicholson (University of Bath) and Anne Richardson (The American School in London) answered questions submitted from those attending the live webinar.

Show notes: NACAC link referred to by Anne: https://www.nacacnet.org/college-admission-status-coronavirus

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Reflections on the 2019-20 cycle thus far https://www.theuniversityguys.com/reflections-on-the-2019-20-cycle-thus-far/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=reflections-on-the-2019-20-cycle-thus-far Wed, 30 Oct 2019 09:03:34 +0000 http://ug.hawkeyedesign.co.uk/2019/10/30/2019-10-30-reflections-on-the-2019-20-cycle-thus-far/ Working with students based in the British Isles and globally, the last few months have been crazily busy supporting them with their applications. As things start to get submitted, I wanted to pause and reflect on some key takeaways I’ve seen from this application cycle. 1. The more complicated your application, the less inclined students are to apply I now have memorised the list of US universities which are test-optional, offer early action and have no extra writing requirements beyond the Common App essay, as in the last few weeks I’ve had many students look to supplement their college lists in the US in this way. If a student wants to add a couple of likely or safety colleges to their list, seeing that there’s a chunk of extra writing is a major disincentive. Added to that, having early action (instead of early decision) can tip the balance, with the student and family thinking ‘why not’? Northeastern and the University of Miami have always filled this role nicely for me, but this year I’ve seen more and more requests for universities like this. Arizona State has come from nowhere to be popular with my students for this reason. Outside of the USA, the same applies. The Netherlands continues to be popular, particularly the university colleges, but the more complicated the essay requirements (hello Amsterdam University College), the less likely students are to apply when it’s not one of their top choices. 2. Testing The most recent cycles of the ACT and SAT seem to have been a bit brutal. I’m not an expert on how the curves work each time, but this year I seem to have more students than ever with a significant mismatch between their achievement in A Levels or IB, and the test scores they have received (even after excellent preparation). It is for this reason that I’m seeing more and more students applying test optionally, and if more of the top-ranked US universities were also EA not ED, I’d have a batch of students applying to those too. If the University of California goes test optional (as is widely rumoured) then I can see where a huge number of my students’ applications will be going! 3. Lost in translation I sometimes think that my job is to take the needs of one application system and translate it into language that the student and family understands, but this year I’ve found this to be even more important. Terminology such as courses, honors, diploma, schedule and more are not widely understood by many families, creating a barrier to applications. Twice yesterday I had students say to me ‘We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you’, which though it feels nice makes me concerned: what about those students who don’t have university guidance available to them, or the means to pay for someone like me? That’s enough of a break from the busyness ahead of November 1st, back to my emails!

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Working with students based in the British Isles and globally, the last few months have been crazily busy supporting them with their applications. As things start to get submitted, I wanted to pause and reflect on some key takeaways I’ve seen from this application cycle.

1. The more complicated your application, the less inclined students are to apply

I now have memorised the list of US universities which are test-optional, offer early action and have no extra writing requirements beyond the Common App essay, as in the last few weeks I’ve had many students look to supplement their college lists in the US in this way. If a student wants to add a couple of likely or safety colleges to their list, seeing that there’s a chunk of extra writing is a major disincentive. Added to that, having early action (instead of early decision) can tip the balance, with the student and family thinking ‘why not’? Northeastern and the University of Miami have always filled this role nicely for me, but this year I’ve seen more and more requests for universities like this. Arizona State has come from nowhere to be popular with my students for this reason. Outside of the USA, the same applies. The Netherlands continues to be popular, particularly the university colleges, but the more complicated the essay requirements (hello Amsterdam University College), the less likely students are to apply when it’s not one of their top choices.

2. Testing

The most recent cycles of the ACT and SAT seem to have been a bit brutal. I’m not an expert on how the curves work each time, but this year I seem to have more students than ever with a significant mismatch between their achievement in A Levels or IB, and the test scores they have received (even after excellent preparation). It is for this reason that I’m seeing more and more students applying test optionally, and if more of the top-ranked US universities were also EA not ED, I’d have a batch of students applying to those too. If the University of California goes test optional (as is widely rumoured) then I can see where a huge number of my students’ applications will be going!

3. Lost in translation

I sometimes think that my job is to take the needs of one application system and translate it into language that the student and family understands, but this year I’ve found this to be even more important. Terminology such as courses, honors, diploma, schedule and more are not widely understood by many families, creating a barrier to applications. Twice yesterday I had students say to me ‘We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you’, which though it feels nice makes me concerned: what about those students who don’t have university guidance available to them, or the means to pay for someone like me?

That’s enough of a break from the busyness ahead of November 1st, back to my emails!

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Options in Asia: Go East, young friends! https://www.theuniversityguys.com/options-in-asia-go-east-young-friends/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=options-in-asia-go-east-young-friends Mon, 28 Oct 2019 09:27:31 +0000 http://ug.hawkeyedesign.co.uk/2019/10/28/2019-10-28-options-in-asia-go-east-young-friends/ Students looking for more exotic university options than just the usual Anglosphere world are increasingly looking beyond Europe, and far into Asia. In recent years, universities in many Asian countries have introduced programmes in English, with some amazing options available to students who’d like the comfort of an English-speaking institution but in a culture far removed from their own. Here is a selection of options: Branch Campuses of institutions based elsewhere: NYU in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai ·         https://www.nyu.edu/shanghai.html ·         https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/ Temple in Japan: https://www.tuj.ac.jp/ug/index.html Inchon Global Campus in Korea: with many universities on a shared campus: http://www.igc.or.kr/en/university01.do SUNY Korea: http://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/ Yale-NUS: https://www.yale-nus.edu.sg/ Northwestern in Qatar: https://www.qatar.northwestern.edu/   Global Rotation Study in Mumbai, Singapore, Dubai and / or Sydney with SP Jain: https://www.spjain.org/programs/undergraduate/bba     Japan There are many different options in Japan, with these being four of the better known options:   ·         https://www.waseda.jp/fire/sils/en/ ·         https://www.icla.ygu.ac.jp/en/about-us/ ·         https://www.icu.ac.jp/en/ ·         http://en.apu.ac.jp/home/     India In recent years, some amazing and globally-minded Indian universities have opened up, with some great examples being: ·         https://www.ashoka.edu.in/ ·         https://www.flame.edu.in/ ·         https://jgu.edu.in/   Hong Kong Hong Kong has a great suite of universities, including Hong Kong University, HKUST, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Polytechnic, to name but a few.   China There are vast number of options in China, but the systems can be hard to navigate. CUCAS are able to provide support to search for options, through their website here: https://www.cucas.cn/     If you have any further questions and need to explore any of these options further, please get in touch!  

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Students looking for more exotic university options than just the usual Anglosphere world are increasingly looking beyond Europe, and far into Asia. In recent years, universities in many Asian countries have introduced programmes in English, with some amazing options available to students who’d like the comfort of an English-speaking institution but in a culture far removed from their own. Here is a selection of options:

Branch Campuses of institutions based elsewhere:

NYU in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai

·         https://www.nyu.edu/shanghai.html

·         https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/

Temple in Japan: https://www.tuj.ac.jp/ug/index.html

Inchon Global Campus in Korea: with many universities on a shared campus: http://www.igc.or.kr/en/university01.do

SUNY Korea: http://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/

Yale-NUS: https://www.yale-nus.edu.sg/

Northwestern in Qatar: https://www.qatar.northwestern.edu/

 

Global Rotation

Study in Mumbai, Singapore, Dubai and / or Sydney with SP Jain: https://www.spjain.org/programs/undergraduate/bba

 

 

Japan

There are many different options in Japan, with these being four of the better known options:

 

·         https://www.waseda.jp/fire/sils/en/

·         https://www.icla.ygu.ac.jp/en/about-us/

·         https://www.icu.ac.jp/en/

·         http://en.apu.ac.jp/home/

 

 

India

In recent years, some amazing and globally-minded Indian universities have opened up, with some great examples being:

·         https://www.ashoka.edu.in/

·         https://www.flame.edu.in/

·         https://jgu.edu.in/

 

Hong Kong

Hong Kong has a great suite of universities, including Hong Kong University, HKUST, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Polytechnic, to name but a few.

 

China

There are vast number of options in China, but the systems can be hard to navigate. CUCAS are able to provide support to search for options, through their website here: https://www.cucas.cn/

 

 

If you have any further questions and need to explore any of these options further, please get in touch!

 

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Truly global advising, not just the USA https://www.theuniversityguys.com/truly-global-advising-not-just-the-usa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=truly-global-advising-not-just-the-usa Fri, 15 Mar 2019 16:27:39 +0000 http://ug.hawkeyedesign.co.uk/2019/03/15/2019-3-15-truly-global-advising-not-just-the-usa/ Earlier this week I was on tenterhooks. Not for the latest news on the US admissions scandal, but I was expecting news on whether one student had been made an offer from her top choice university. This was not an option in the UK, or Europe, or North America, but instead a world-class institution located in Tokyo, Japan. When I tell students that I advise on global university options, I really do mean global. For a number of reasons this student’s criteria were very narrow, meaning that we rapidly got down to a very small shortlist of universities that matched her and her family’s needs. Two of these were in Europe but the third suggestion I made led to silence at the end of the video call. “Japan? In English? We’d never even thought of that.” Over 50 Japanese universities offer at least one degree taught in English, and some universities there are offering many more. From Waseda to Keio to Temple to Doshisha and many more, there is something for everyone who wants to experience Japanese cultural while getting their degree. This particular student will embark on a truly life-changing experience when she starts university this autumn, something I’m delighted to have assisted with. It’s at times like this that I really do love my job.

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Earlier this week I was on tenterhooks. Not for the latest news on the US admissions scandal, but I was expecting news on whether one student had been made an offer from her top choice university. This was not an option in the UK, or Europe, or North America, but instead a world-class institution located in Tokyo, Japan.

When I tell students that I advise on global university options, I really do mean global. For a number of reasons this student’s criteria were very narrow, meaning that we rapidly got down to a very small shortlist of universities that matched her and her family’s needs. Two of these were in Europe but the third suggestion I made led to silence at the end of the video call.

“Japan? In English? We’d never even thought of that.”

Over 50 Japanese universities offer at least one degree taught in English, and some universities there are offering many more. From Waseda to Keio to Temple to Doshisha and many more, there is something for everyone who wants to experience Japanese cultural while getting their degree.

This particular student will embark on a truly life-changing experience when she starts university this autumn, something I’m delighted to have assisted with. It’s at times like this that I really do love my job.

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Study Abroad and the UK Student Loan https://www.theuniversityguys.com/study-abroad-and-the-uk-student-loan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=study-abroad-and-the-uk-student-loan Tue, 13 Mar 2018 16:02:00 +0000 http://ug.hawkeyedesign.co.uk/2018/03/13/2019-1-27-study-abroad-and-the-uk-student-loan/ Last week I was on the road again, touring South Wales and South West England with colleagues from four Dutch Research Universities, visiting 10 schools to meet students interested in studying abroad. Working in this field, I can forget sometimes the misconceptions students have about international opportunities. To me it is obvious that you can study in the Netherlands, in English, in almost any field of study, but many students dismiss the opportunity thinking ‘but I don’t speak Dutch.’ Traveling for work regularly I overlook the fact that it is not immediately obvious to students that the Netherlands, in terms of travel time, is closer than many UK universities they would consider. When I then start discussing opportunities in Japan, or Denmark, or Malaysia, I’m constantly reminded to go back to basics when explaining to students how their university experience might work in each country. Bringing universities to schools helps me to bridge these misconceptions, making it as easy as possible for students to hear of opportunities which might potentially change their lives. As I write there are two similar tours going on this week, IE Week led by Antony Adams, and the FPP Student World Roadshow, while next week Study Options will have their annual Australian universities events. This week I’ve also exhibited at events held at two schools in Somerset, meeting up with the teams from Burnett Global Education and IE University who are also evangelising for study abroad. Up and down the UK, students are able to meet with people exposing them to opportunities to study at a non-UK university. In this climate, there is one factor which regularly occurs to me: why can’t the UK student loan be taken overseas? It makes no difference to the repayment process, and if the Channel Islands can make it work then so can the English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish administrations. Universities UK have recently published statistics which show how much value study abroad – as part of a UK degree – adds to a student’s education, so why not take the next step and do your entire degree abroad? Friends and colleagues will know that making the student loan portable outside the UK is something I am very passionate about, and I will continue to press for this change in any way I can. It would be a game-changer for UK student mobility, fulfil widening participation and social mobility goals and, most importantly, have no additional cost to the UK tax payer. In a post-Brexit world, what could be a stronger statement to young Brits that they will still have a global future?

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Last week I was on the road again, touring South Wales and South West England with colleagues from four Dutch Research Universities, visiting 10 schools to meet students interested in studying abroad.

Working in this field, I can forget sometimes the misconceptions students have about international opportunities. To me it is obvious that you can study in the Netherlands, in English, in almost any field of study, but many students dismiss the opportunity thinking ‘but I don’t speak Dutch.’ Traveling for work regularly I overlook the fact that it is not immediately obvious to students that the Netherlands, in terms of travel time, is closer than many UK universities they would consider. When I then start discussing opportunities in Japan, or Denmark, or Malaysia, I’m constantly reminded to go back to basics when explaining to students how their university experience might work in each country.

Bringing universities to schools helps me to bridge these misconceptions, making it as easy as possible for students to hear of opportunities which might potentially change their lives. As I write there are two similar tours going on this week, IE Week led by Antony Adams, and the FPP Student World Roadshow, while next week Study Options will have their annual Australian universities events. This week I’ve also exhibited at events held at two schools in Somerset, meeting up with the teams from Burnett Global Education and IE University who are also evangelising for study abroad. Up and down the UK, students are able to meet with people exposing them to opportunities to study at a non-UK university.

In this climate, there is one factor which regularly occurs to me: why can’t the UK student loan be taken overseas? It makes no difference to the repayment process, and if the Channel Islands can make it work then so can the English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish administrations. Universities UK have recently published statistics which show how much value study abroad – as part of a UK degree – adds to a student’s education, so why not take the next step and do your entire degree abroad? Friends and colleagues will know that making the student loan portable outside the UK is something I am very passionate about, and I will continue to press for this change in any way I can. It would be a game-changer for UK student mobility, fulfil widening participation and social mobility goals and, most importantly, have no additional cost to the UK tax payer. In a post-Brexit world, what could be a stronger statement to young Brits that they will still have a global future?

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