ESF有可能改善嗎?

almom

I think there are 2 issues here.

First, the actual universities placement results.
I would say that this depends much on what the student can choose (depending on his school results, including SAT, etc), what the student can afford (going to the US is not exactly cheap, when compared to Australia and Canada, expecially to those who have an Australian or Canadian passport), what the student want to choose (who knows, may be he wants to stay with mom in Hong Kong; or may be mom does not want him to leave Hong Kong; yes I have heard of such cases). Et cetera.

Second, which I think 阿胡 is focusing on, is the application procedure or the effort of the school in helping out those who want to go to the US.

In this respect, I would like to ask 阿胡 whether the schools are putting as little effort with applications to Canadian and Australian universities?

almom

原帖由 阿胡 於 09-4-6 00:31 發表
哈哈, 就是光以英國為目標做比較, ESF中學也不如CIS做得好. 可CIS有大部分學生是以美國大學為目標的啊!

So you mean, ESF students are not going to good universities in both the US and the UK?

CIS obviously can afford to put more resourses in university placements, or providing all kinds of supports to students to boost up their results.

almom

原帖由 阿胡 於 09-4-6 00:50 發表
我對去加拿大和澳洲大學讀書的學生了解不多, 並不能對此多加評論. 但邏輯上, 如果有很多家長對ESF為去美國升學而抱怨, 很難想像ESF會花很大努力幫助去加拿大和澳洲大學讀書的學生. 事實上, 加拿大和澳洲大學的競爭遠不如英美的頂尖大學來的利害.

I am curious what exactly would those university placement people be willing to do for the students?
What support do they provide.
May be my children are still small and I have very slight idea of their job responsibilities.
I would have thought that if they are hired to help students with university placements, they should try their best to help students.
BTW, do you mind telling me what year level is your child in?
Please also share what you know or see, regarding university placements.
I would like to take notes and get prepared.
Thanks.

almom

I see what you mean.
And I totally understand how you feel.
I think as parents, we can just push the school into doing more.
Like I said eariler, what else are they willing to help?
I thought they were hired to help students with university placement?
It is the problem with the person only, or with the general policy of the school?

almom

原帖由 阿胡 於 09-4-6 14:21 發表


通常他們被稱之為college counselor. 常常是native, 語言好, 識同人交流, 又熟悉大學錄取遊戲規則的人來擔任.

如果大學錄取只以分數作為標準, 這個世界就不會有college counselor. 但是, 英美學校, 特別是美國頂 ...

Then they seem to be the same "counselor" I used to have in high school.

Then my question would be, if the counselor of your child's school is not doing what he is expected to do, can you make a complaint to the school?

He is supposed to be hired to help with university placement. Now if he is not doing his job, should the school be looking for someone else to take up the job?

Or, has it been some kind of "tradition" of the ESF to be focusing on universities in the UK?

almom

華人都覺得SAT不太難, 但大學錄取, SAT的份量不大. 孩子的品德, 包括essay字裡行間表露的信息, 會對錄取很重要. 顯然, 這不是一句"He is an excellent student"就夠的. 好多時候要college counselor寫一封令人信服的信.

I think SAT is not exactly a piece of cake to everyone. And SAT is not exactly 份量不大.
I do not have details of the current SAT (may be I should now) but even at my time as a student, SAT was definitely not something that was considered easy. There is no passing score for SAT but schools are looking for "good" score and we all knew what was bad score and what was good score.
I understand that they have more papers with SAT now and it is in fact even more demanding than the time when I was student.
I understand that a lot of prep school in the US started preparing students for SAT very early on. Some students or schools would start preparing as early as Grade 9 or 10.
Having said that, of course, a good personal statement, a good letter of recommendation, etc would also help. Good SAT alone would not be the key to Ivy League and likewise, even with the best personal statement, etc, if you do not have good SAT score you are in a poor position.
I just feel that the success of applying to universities in the US is a bunch of so many things, all of which need support from the school. Students should not 小看 any one of the criteria.
In any case, I am still a bit shocked if the school counselors are that unhelpful. I thought they were hired to do things like that. If they are not doing what they were supposed to do, why were they even hired.