Cheltenham Ladies' College vs Cardiff Sixth Form

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

"Hiding in a toilet to study ......No time to join ECAs."  咁去 CLC 嚟仲嘜? 不如唔好去仲好啦.  CLC's records said 70% to 80% of the candidates get Grade A* or A in A-Levels.  So getting top grades is nothing special in this school. To be a top student, one has to get top grades PLUS excel in ECAs.  If these kids have to work so hard for so long in order to gain top grades (with no time left for other activities), it is difficult to imagine they are the top students.

Regarding Cardiff Sixth Form College, here is the 2013 result.
http://www.ccoex.com/results.php?id=14

It appears that 62 students got AAA or better. But its website shows only 29 students' university destination.
http://www.ccoex.com/life.php?id=70

Where did the other 33 students who got AAA or better go?  How about those who got less than AAA?  Anybody knows?

bobbycheung

回覆 Ruby1219 的帖子

I heard that they really drill you there and you would become an "exam machine".  That's how the kids get top grades there which is fine if that's the approach that you want.  Perhaps that's also why you hardly see any English names there.  The thing is we must know the different "culture" of each school and make a choice accordingly.  There is only one thing in common though - all top schools are extremely competitive.   So don't expect a walkover.

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

I was saying top students in schools like CLC need to excel in BOTH studying and ECAs.  I don't understand what it has to do with "top students in an average school doing lots of ECAs".   Could you please elaborate?

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

In fact, the school fees of top boarding schools like Westminster School, St. Paul's School, Wycombe Abbey, CLC.......are approximately GBP33,000 a year.   
http://www.westminster.org.uk/admissions/fees.html
http://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/admissions/fees
http://www.wycombeabbey.com/admin_procedure/Fees_23.php
http://www.cheltladiescollege.org/about-us/facts-and-figures/

So we are talking about an extra of HK$40,000 a year in school fees. For those who could afford to spend more than HK$1,000,000 for a 2 year A Level course, I doubt it will make a lot of difference.  

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

My kids are neither in boarding schools nor top students.  But common sense tells me that top students in top schools like CLC, Wycombe Abbey and Westminster School etc. need to be excel in BOTH studying and ECAs.  Which HK schools the girls came from makes no difference.  They may study 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in HK to become a so-called "top" student academically in HK.  But if they go to UK top schools and use this same approach (with no time to join any ECAs), I am sure no one (perhaps apart from you) would rate them as top students.  In fact, I wonder why the school admitted them in the first place.  As I said, 70% to 80% of the candidates in CLC get Grade A* or A in A-Levels. In Wycombe Abbey, 41.3% get Grade A* in A-Levels and those who got Grade A* or A are 86.3%.  Are you telling me that all these top girls who got Grade A* have no time to join ECAs?  

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

You were the one suggesting Cardiff is not bad for students with limited finance resource.  tcmsung then pointed out that it would cost HK$800,000 for the 2 year course.  You then "clarified" your meaning but saying Cardiff is 'relatively' not so expensive even though it would cost more than HK$1,000,000 for the 2 year.  I then pointed out that the other top schools would cost an extra HK$40,000 per year at most for the 2 year course.  Now you say it is not easy to get into these schools. I don't understand what it has to do with your "limited finance resources" or "relatively inexpensive" argument.  If that's what you had meant, perhaps you should have started off by saying Cardiff is not bad for students who can't get into other top schools.  (No offence meant to Cardiff.  Just to illustrate my point)  By the way, may I ask how many HK students get admitted to Cardiff each year?  Is it very easy to get admitted to Cardiff?

bobbycheung

In HK, we might describe a student as a "top student" if he excels academically even though he joins no ECAs.  But in UK and especially in US, such a student is not rated highly.  In fact, there is no chance of him getting into a top US college because academic excellence is just a minimum requirement.  Everybody is competing on ECAs etc. as well.  Even in HK, if you want to compete in eg. HK Outstanding Students Award, the assessment criteria is that "applicants are required to have outstanding academic records as well as active participation in community services and extra-curricular activities."
http://www.youtharch.org/osaapp_e.html
So ECAs is not a bonus but a requisite.

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

There is a huge difference between those who has no time to join ECAs and those who maintain one or two activities.  If you have to excel in something, you have to remain in focus.  That is why these students are concentrating on one or two ECAs.   It's the depth that counts, not the breadth.  As to those who do no ECAs, they have neither the depth nor the breadth.  I wouldn't describe them as top students and I don't believe the schools you mentioned would.

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

That may be the law of your "universe".  My universe doesn't work that way.  Try to apply to US top colleges with good academic results but no ECAs and see how far you will get.

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

Yes, definitely, we do live in a different universe.

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

If what you said about UK top schools and US top colleges are correct, mine is probably a black hole rather than a blind spot.

bobbycheung

回覆 Choisumwong 的帖子

投降!