Education Session 1

Location: WSC 55 - Western Science Centre
Audience: High School   |   Inspirations: 3, 6

Panelists:

• Michelle Chow-Liu - Western Academy of Beijing
• Bernadette Condesso - Graded - The American School of São Paulo
• Stephanie Barker - Cairo American School of Seoul
• Wilson Lee - Singapore American School
• Anna Boyd - Frankfurt International School

So...how many models are there? Considering a change to your current counseling model?
Needing to convince your board or administrator to add extra help or support in your office?
Want to learn if the comprehensive model OR the specialized model is the right fit for you?

This session will provide you with 6 different counseling models and programs ranging from a one-person counseling team to a team of three or four.

Each counselor will present their counseling model, including the why it works and the challenges they have. We want you to leave with tips to add to your current counseling model.

Location: WSC 55 - Western Science Centre
Audience: High School   |   Inspirations: 3

Panelists:

• Kim Zwitserloot -  University College Utrecht
• Tannaz Daver -  Saint Joseph’s Institution International
• Nathan Mack -  University of Southern California
• Salisha Randel - Ryerson University
• Nicholas Rowland -  The University of Edinburgh

• How do universities decide on the various Maths requirements for particular programs?
• Why do some universities ask for four AP exams whereas others will accept the high school diploma without AP exams?
• Ever wondered how universities decide on the academic entry criteria for their programs?

University representatives from Canada, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. will share how their universities determine their entry requirements.

Location: SH 3345 - Somerville House
Audience: Both   |   Inspirations: 6, 7

Panelists:

• Jake Hoy-Elswick -  Doane University
• Andrew Fraher -  Fraher Consulting, LLC

Institutional decision makers don’t have time to read long strategic documents and the time we get to present an initiative must be used strategically to build support.

This session will focus on developing a strategy pyramid to map out a specific strategy and creating a strategy on a page (SOAP) document that can be shared with institutional leaders as an executive summary of your strategy.

These tools will provide a concise framework to communicate strategy, tactics and operational outcomes that will lead to the achievement of your strategic goals.

Participants should come with a specific goal or initiative in mind and be prepared to participate in a facilitated workshop with peers to develop a strategy pyramid and SOAP document they can take back to their campus to advocate for their initiatives.

Location: AHB 1R40 - Arts & Humanities Building
Audience: Both   |   Inspirations: 1, 2, 3

Panelists:

• Ruby Bhattacharya - Barnard College
• Benjamin Gutierrez - Johns Hopkins University
• Joan Liu - UWC South East Asia, East Campus
• Simon Nascimento - University of Chicago

How can admissions offices, secondary schools, and organizations work together to support high achieving, low income students and to increase access for this important demographic?

Many counselors operate under the long-standing impression that students seeking financial aid should only apply during RD. Is this still true?

Join us for an inside look from both sides of the desk about what each decision plan - ED, ED II, EA, and RD - means for aid-seeking F-1 students applying to U.S. colleges and universities that meet full demonstrated need.

Location: MC 110 - Middlesex College
Audience: Both   |   Inspirations: 3, 6, 7

Panelists:

• Kelly Braun - Saigon South International School
• Michael Sexton - Santa Clara University

Pulled in a million directions and nowhere to go?

Work life balance a beautiful myth that is like the elixir of life? Let’s not talk about the email addiction, the hours scrolling through social media for a ‘break’, and lack of sleep. Our jobs are complicated yet consistent, overwhelming but predictable, basically one big oxymoron after another.

How do we break this cycle and put ourselves and our health at the very middle?

Two self care advocates will give 50 tips to improve your self care and two different perspectives on how to put yourself first. Bringing self care into the conversation is the beginning of the change that we can so desperately look for.

Location: SEB 2202 - Spencer Engineering Building
Audience: Both   |   Inspirations: 3, 4, 5

Panelists:

• Ffiona Rees - University of California, Los Angeles
• Krista Despotovic-Jacobson - International School of Geneva, La Chataigneraie
• Bisma Sheikh - International Baccalaureate Organization
• Paul Teulon - King’s College London
• Pamela Kelly Wetzell -UWC South East Asia, East Campus

“Friday night I crashed my IB, Saturday I said I’m sorry. You may be right, I may be crazy. You may be wrong for all I know, But you may be right.”

Rumours are flying about predicted grade inflation and the rescission of university offers when students' results fall significantly from what was predicted.

Are universities seeing any trends of increasing inflation and how common is it to rescind offers?

What can high schools do to improve accuracy of predicted grades overall and also reduce the number of outliers whose significant drops with their final results that may jeopardize their university offers?

Join a discussion from both sides of the desk about what they have seen, and hear from IBO about what they are seeing statistically.

Humming along to Billy Joel is optional, but group discussion is required!

Location: SSC 2050 - Social Science Centre
Audience: University   |   Inspirations: 4, 5

Panelists:

• Russell Dover - The College Board
• Ankur Vohra - O.P. Jindal Global University
• Nadine Naffah - American University of Beirut

How can universities best recruit in the highly-dynamic The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region?
Many international educators are familiar with the historic flow of students from the region to study abroad. In several cases, GCC governments have been instrumental in supporting their citizenry by funding international study. In addition, the region boasts a large expatriate resident worker community, providing additional internationally-mobile student communities.

Despite these opportunities, recent trends have seen declines in some of the government-sponsored scholarship programs for students leaving the GCC for their tertiary education. While this has led to fewer internationally-outbound students for some countries, elsewhere in the GCC the outbound population has continued to grow.

Beyond schools catering to local citizens and Western expats, another notable opportunity for international recruitment and admissions offices has been the development and maturation of school networks focused on the needs of non-citizen communities, particularly those of South Asian origin.

This session will explore which parts of the GCC continue to send growing numbers of students abroad for undergraduate study, as demonstrated by College Board data. The panel will analyze recent shifts in student preferences and suggest ways to effectively yield students from this region.

Location: UC 3110 - University College
Audience: High School   |   Inspirations: 1, 2, 3, 4

Panelists:

• Ioana Benea - MODUL University Vienna
• Daniel Flores - Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne
• Miwa Kitamura - Vesalius College
• Elisa Melendez - IE University
• Elisa Raveglia - Bocconi University

Besides choosing the right degree, location is a significant factor when it comes to the college search. Europe is increasingly becoming a popular destination for international students.

English-taught undergraduate programs in Europe are a great alternative to the U.S. and U.K. With thousands of world-class universities, research centers and higher education institutions, exquisite architecture, grand history, intoxicating languages, tasty cuisine and more, Europe is the place to be!

Location: SEB 1059 - Spencer Engineering Building
Audience: Both   |   Inspirations: 1, 3, 5, 6

Panelists:

• Sara Riggs - Georgia Institute of Technology
• Sarah Schmidt - Macalester College
• Mark Butt - Emory University

More and more selective US institutions are adopting paired reading (also known as Committee Based Evaluation or Partner Based Review) as a sustainable way to efficiently and thoughtfully review applications.

This session will offer a transparent look into how the process works and highlight how it benefits both the admission officer and the applicant.

Counselors interested in learning about the advantages of this review process for their students and university representatives interested in scaling this model to their own institutions should attend.

There will be a short case study and time for questions.

Location: HSB 40 - Health Sciences Building
Audience: Both   |   Inspirations: 7

Panelists:

• Katryna Snow - Council of International Schools
• Joshua Ferchau - Knox College
• Laura Kaub - Nova Pioneer Schools
• Elizabeth Zeller - Leiden University College, the Hague

There is growing awareness of the risks to student well-being during and post-transition from school to university, and of the difficulties that international students face in navigating unfamiliar environments.

These issues may include students struggling with substance abuse, students who are victims of abuse in need of on-going support, or students that are at risk of harming other students.

How can universities and schools best share important student information during transition, increase students’ resilience, and be more proactive about preparing students for the risks to their well-being that they may face during and post-transition?

This session will explore these issues through a discussion of how schools and universities are currently addressing them and explore what more can be done to safeguard and support our students, not only during transition, but throughout their life at university.

Location: NSC 145 - Natural Sciences Centre
Audience: High School   |   Inspirations: 1, 2, 7

Panelists:

• Jeannie D’Agostino - Drexel University
• Mindy Rose - Shanghai American School, Pudong Campus
• Mary de Villiers - University of Notre Dame
• Aaron Zdawczyk - Northwestern University

Students face uncertainty about when and how to share information about challenging or complex circumstances they have faced in their university application.

In this session, a panel from both sides of the desk will discuss recommended ways that students can relay complicated and often sensitive information to Admission offices.

The session will highlight ways in which college counselors and school officials can best support students with these situations and how admission officers use that information in review.

The session will also explore how universities are able to provide support services to students once they arrive on campus.

Location: SEB 1200 - Spencer Engineering Building
Audience: High School   |   Inspirations: 3, 4, 7

Panelists:

• Avalon Mott - Emily Carr University of Art + Design
• Kress MacLaren - California College of the Arts
• Ilan Gutin - School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• Sarah Titford - Maryland Institute, College of Art

In this round-table style session, participants will hear from four different colleges and universities who have an art and design focus and are members of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art + Design (AICAD).

Hear about the differences in application procedures, including portfolio requirements, student life, and programming available to help your students find the right fit for them.

Come with questions and a hunger for lively conversation about Higher Education focused on Art and Design!

Location: TC 141 - Talbot College
Audience: Both   |   Inspirations: 1, 3, 5

Panelists:

• Lukman Arsalan - Trinity College
• Lindsay Addington - National Association for College Admission Counseling
• Hannah Morris - Intercultural Transitions

Who is considered an “international student” at institutions across the globe? Are we truly serving all students who need international student services?

This session will discuss the importance of expanding our definitions of “international student” to ensure student success and promote retention.

Location: SEB 2200 - Spencer Engineering Building
Audience: University   |   Inspirations: 4, 7

Panelists:

• Natalie Bitton - Lycee Francais de San Francisco (LFSF)
• Gail Berson - Lycee Francais de New York (LFNY)
• Carrie Ngo - Lycee Francais Toronto

There are about 1 million international students studying in the United States as undergraduates. 495 French high schools in 135 countries excluding France offer the French Baccalaureate diploma (including 12 schools in the United States).

Starting with the Class of 2021, high school students will be studying for a NEW French Bac - with lots of changes and choices that can influence their college admissions options.

We will discuss the updates, reforms, and changes and provide a one-page cheat sheet of the NEW French Bac.

Location: NSC 1 - Natural Sciences Centre
Audience: High School   |   Inspirations: 3, 5

Panelists:

• Sophie Mettler-Grove - Oberlin College
• Kathleen Abels - Haverford College
• Matthew Jaskol- Pioneer Academics
• Matthew Young - Germantown Friends School

Students, families, and even schools feel compelled to press not just for tests scores but for extracurricular achievement to gain an edge.

How do activities factor into admission decisions? How can we guide students to pursue their interests in a way that enriches them and also expresses their potential to selective college admissions officers?

We’ll consider how to guide students to be heard above the noise of exaggerated and even manufactured accomplishments.

Moderated by an Oberlin College admission officer, this panel will bring together the perspectives of the college admissions office, the high school, and the academic enrichment program.

Participants will take away strategic insights and practical strategies to help students develop authentic profiles that separate them from the competition and ready them for life.