Grade 12 Counseling Newsletter
Sent on the last Thursday of each month, the Counseling Newsletter provides extra guidance and information to assist you during the university research process. Please read each issue carefully. The newsletter is also shared with your parents and teachers, and it can be used to help create more dialogue about your future.
Sent on the last Thursday of each month, the Counseling Newsletter provides extra guidance and information to assist you during the university research process. Please read each issue carefully. The newsletter is also shared with your parents and teachers, and it can be used to help create more dialogue about your future.
September 2019
In this issue will have a look at what you should have done by now, as well as what is coming up in the university application process. We also clarify a misconception about taking the SAT in other countries. It is our job to help you make an informed decision, and we know that the more time and energy you put into this process, the better the outcome.
Keep on walking, a step at a time, and we will be here to support you.
Kind regards,
The High School Counselors
In this issue will have a look at what you should have done by now, as well as what is coming up in the university application process. We also clarify a misconception about taking the SAT in other countries. It is our job to help you make an informed decision, and we know that the more time and energy you put into this process, the better the outcome.
Keep on walking, a step at a time, and we will be here to support you.
Kind regards,
The High School Counselors
September 7: Seoul World University Fair - Biggest College Fair in Korea - at SFS
30 August, 7.00-9.00 pm: Princeton, Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern, and Georgetown at SFS
Registration here: https://ugadmission.northwestern.edu/register/seoul
Registration here: https://ugadmission.northwestern.edu/register/seoul
September 2, 1.00-2.00 pm: CIS University Fair at SFS - 25 universities
September 25, 5.30-7.00 pm: Brown and Penn at YISS
Registration here: https://key.admissions.upenn.edu/register/SeoulSouthKorea
Registration here: https://key.admissions.upenn.edu/register/SeoulSouthKorea
What You Should Have Done by Now
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University Research:
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Testing and Essays:
What Else?
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Ex-Seniors' Advice
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"Start writing the application essays early, do not cram them in the last week (of December) before the internal deadline at school. Many assignments will be due during the same time. (and perhaps also mocks). Don’t put it off, but don't stress about it either. It's easier than you'd think. Just stay calm, it will all be okay".
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"It was easier for me because I had a clear idea in my head which university I wanted to get into. Don’t get other people to write your college essay. It isn't honest and most universities can probably tell when its written by a professional. Don’t let what other people say affect your choices.
TIME MANAGEMENT: Making a schedule early and balancing between schoolwork and university work is very difficult especially in the first couple months of Grade 12. During that period, students are flooded with work so they may lose focus on the university work". |
What’s Coming Up
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For North-America
For Australia
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For the UK
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What else?
- Start working on your online university applications, and inform your counselor by email when you have completed any application.
- If you are using the Common Application then link your Common App and Maia Accounts - step-by-step guide here.
- Review the SFS University Application Timeline 2019-2020 and take note of important dates.
- Keep on reading the Counseling Newsletters (each issue), and take note of the things that are relevant to you. Some of the information in the newsletters will not be shared with you elsewhere.
Senior Check-in Meetings
Your counselor will schedule a 30-45 minute meeting with you between August 21 and September 11. In this meeting we will go through what you have done over the summer to get ready to send your applications, and what you should be doing over the next couple of months.
Your counselor will schedule a 30-45 minute meeting with you between August 21 and September 11. In this meeting we will go through what you have done over the summer to get ready to send your applications, and what you should be doing over the next couple of months.
Coming up in September Seminars with the Counselors
In September, students will work on their university applications and college essays/personal statements in small groups with the help and support from the Counselors. Times and venues can be found in the Senior Seminar Schedules: Red/Blue and Green/Gold.
In September, students will work on their university applications and college essays/personal statements in small groups with the help and support from the Counselors. Times and venues can be found in the Senior Seminar Schedules: Red/Blue and Green/Gold.
Deadlines to remember (lots of them this month)
- Remember to collect your High School Transcript from Mrs Koh. and confirm your courses and grades on September 5.
- Parent Brag Sheet and the Junior Interview Survey updates are due on September 9
- The Intent Notification Form for Oxbridge/UK Medicine and US EA/ED is due on September 11
- Your Final Short-List (Colleges Applying) is due on Maia on September 18
- The SFS University Application Agreement needs to be signed by you and your parent and returned to your counselor by September 18
- Students applying to Oxbridge or Medicine in the UK get their predicted grades from teachers on September 20
- September 23-27: Predicted Grades Meetings with Counselors for students applying to Oxbridge or Medicine in the UK
Kind reminder of October 1 Internal Application Deadline for universities below:
- Oxbridge/UK Medicine
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Georgia
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- North Carolina State University
- University of South Carolina
How to move you Non-Common App universities from "Colleges Considering" to "Colleges Applying" on Maia
How to move you Common App universities from "Colleges Considering" to "Colleges Applying" on Maia
Your colleges will be moved to your Applying list automatically whenever Common App syncs with Maia (daily) as long as you have synced your accounts and added the colleges to your My Colleges list on the Common App. - step-by-step guide here.
Your colleges will be moved to your Applying list automatically whenever Common App syncs with Maia (daily) as long as you have synced your accounts and added the colleges to your My Colleges list on the Common App. - step-by-step guide here.
SAT is Not Scored on a Curve
Students do not receive any advantages by traveling to another region of the world or time zone to take the SAT. That is simply not how it works. Despite rumors & chatter to the contrary, SAT is not scored on a curve. Students are much better off taking the SAT without jet lag in our own very familiar venue - the MPR here at school.
What’s important to know is that a student’s SAT score reflects the number of questions that the student answered correctly on the test independent of how other students answered the same questions.
The College Board use different SAT test forms across different time zones for the same administration. They also use different test forms across different test administrations (October 2018 vs March 2019 vs May 2016, etc.).
While they do their best to plan for consistency across test forms across various administrations, on occasion there are some test forms that can be more difficult or easier than other test forms. That is why they use a statistical process called equating. The equating process ensures fairness for all students. It should not matter which test form a student took or when the student took it. Equating makes sure that a score for a test form taken on one date is equivalent to a score from another date. So, for example, a single incorrect answer on one test could equal two or three incorrect answers on a more difficult test.
Equating is used for every SAT administration and is standard practice for assessments like the SAT or ACT or A-Levels or AP or IB or what have you. That said, every SAT is scored the same way, no matter where or when it is administered. Through equating, adjustments are made so that, when a test form is easier, more questions need to be answered correctly, and when the form is more difficult, fewer questions need to be answered correctly.
Note that a similar situation occurred in the U.S. in June of 2018, and generated very similar confusion among students in some regions of the U.S./ Americas.
These blog posts, developed in response to questions from U.S.-based students, remain relevant to this situation:
More information can be found at https://sat.org/scores and at https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/how-sat-is-scored. This video is also helpful in describing how the SAT is scored, particularly the equating process: https://youtu.be/MDoc0qoKSHA; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDoc0qoKSHA&feature=youtu.be
Students do not receive any advantages by traveling to another region of the world or time zone to take the SAT. That is simply not how it works. Despite rumors & chatter to the contrary, SAT is not scored on a curve. Students are much better off taking the SAT without jet lag in our own very familiar venue - the MPR here at school.
What’s important to know is that a student’s SAT score reflects the number of questions that the student answered correctly on the test independent of how other students answered the same questions.
The College Board use different SAT test forms across different time zones for the same administration. They also use different test forms across different test administrations (October 2018 vs March 2019 vs May 2016, etc.).
While they do their best to plan for consistency across test forms across various administrations, on occasion there are some test forms that can be more difficult or easier than other test forms. That is why they use a statistical process called equating. The equating process ensures fairness for all students. It should not matter which test form a student took or when the student took it. Equating makes sure that a score for a test form taken on one date is equivalent to a score from another date. So, for example, a single incorrect answer on one test could equal two or three incorrect answers on a more difficult test.
Equating is used for every SAT administration and is standard practice for assessments like the SAT or ACT or A-Levels or AP or IB or what have you. That said, every SAT is scored the same way, no matter where or when it is administered. Through equating, adjustments are made so that, when a test form is easier, more questions need to be answered correctly, and when the form is more difficult, fewer questions need to be answered correctly.
Note that a similar situation occurred in the U.S. in June of 2018, and generated very similar confusion among students in some regions of the U.S./ Americas.
These blog posts, developed in response to questions from U.S.-based students, remain relevant to this situation:
- https://blog.collegeboard.org/june-2018-sat-score-release-faq
- https://blog.collegeboard.org/why-is-my-sat-score-lower-than-i-expected
More information can be found at https://sat.org/scores and at https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/how-sat-is-scored. This video is also helpful in describing how the SAT is scored, particularly the equating process: https://youtu.be/MDoc0qoKSHA; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDoc0qoKSHA&feature=youtu.be
Registering for the SAT at SFS
When you register for the SAT on the College Board's website, make sure you type in our SAT Test Center Code 65305 as well as your High School Code (also called CEEB Code) 682380 in the relevant sections. We have guaranteed spaces for SFS students, but these will only be visible on the College Board's website if you use the two codes above. Please don't register at another test center because our test center appears to be full. In that case, come and talk with the counselors first, so that we can help you with the registration. The registration deadline is always about a month before the test date.
When you register for the SAT on the College Board's website, make sure you type in our SAT Test Center Code 65305 as well as your High School Code (also called CEEB Code) 682380 in the relevant sections. We have guaranteed spaces for SFS students, but these will only be visible on the College Board's website if you use the two codes above. Please don't register at another test center because our test center appears to be full. In that case, come and talk with the counselors first, so that we can help you with the registration. The registration deadline is always about a month before the test date.
A note on Teacher Recommendation Letters:
If you are applying to the US then you will ask two teachers to write for you. The only exceptions would be if you are applying to some Art or Drama related programs in addition to other more academic programs or if you are registering on NCAA for athletic reasons. If that is true for you then please talk with your counselor about requesting a third letter. Universities prefer to hear from teachers that have taught you recently (Grade 11-12) and they prefer to hear from core teachers (Math, English, Econ, Physics, etc). Some times (really not often) do universities specify what subject teachers they want to hear from (for example Math and English teacher at MIT, and math/science teacher and humanities/social science/art teacher at Harvey Mudd College) and then you don't really have a choice anymore. If you are applying to universities in Australia and/or UK only then you don't need to ask any teachers to write for you (if counselor doesn't say that it is needed for your particular course). If you are applying to Canada only then you can ask for one letter (some programs do require a letter). If you are applying to any university that have a specific recommendation letter format/form that they want your teacher to use then please contact your counselor and we will guide you through that process. Please contact your counselor if you are still confused about what teachers to approach with your letter request. Here is more information on how to decide on which teachers you want to ask to write for you from Vanderbilt University. Most other US universities would give you the same or similar guidelines.
If you are applying to the US then you will ask two teachers to write for you. The only exceptions would be if you are applying to some Art or Drama related programs in addition to other more academic programs or if you are registering on NCAA for athletic reasons. If that is true for you then please talk with your counselor about requesting a third letter. Universities prefer to hear from teachers that have taught you recently (Grade 11-12) and they prefer to hear from core teachers (Math, English, Econ, Physics, etc). Some times (really not often) do universities specify what subject teachers they want to hear from (for example Math and English teacher at MIT, and math/science teacher and humanities/social science/art teacher at Harvey Mudd College) and then you don't really have a choice anymore. If you are applying to universities in Australia and/or UK only then you don't need to ask any teachers to write for you (if counselor doesn't say that it is needed for your particular course). If you are applying to Canada only then you can ask for one letter (some programs do require a letter). If you are applying to any university that have a specific recommendation letter format/form that they want your teacher to use then please contact your counselor and we will guide you through that process. Please contact your counselor if you are still confused about what teachers to approach with your letter request. Here is more information on how to decide on which teachers you want to ask to write for you from Vanderbilt University. Most other US universities would give you the same or similar guidelines.
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The next issue of the newsletter will be posted on Thursday September 26.
Kind regards,
The High School Counselors
Kind regards,
The High School Counselors