Expectations and Reality:
Maneuvering the Complex World of
International College Admissions
November 30, 2015
PAIS Inaugural Boarding Schools Conference, The Hill School
Jennifer Bethke, Associate Director of College Advising, The Hill School
Lauren Hoyt, Associate Director of College Advising, The Hill School
Agenda
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Particular challenges in working with international students & families
How we handle those challenges at Hill
Resources
Open Forum discussion on Best Practices
Holistic Admission vs. Test Admission
• Challenges:
• The US process can feel “random” so why not apply to super selective schools, it’
“worth a shot”
• Students are tempted to overemphasize parts of the application that aren’t critical
• Can lead to less than authentic or flashy applications in order to impress
Holistic Admission vs. Test Admission
• Ways we address these challenges at Hill
• Naviance scattergrams
• Discuss the results of annual NACAC State of College Admission Report
• Look at Common Data Sets to see what colleges are prioritizing
• Ensure that essays and short answers have been read and the student’s authentic voice
shines through the entirety
What is a Liberal Arts Education?
• Challenges
• Pressure from parents to choose a major before applying- you have to lock in
• Oftentimes that chosen major seems random or there is a lack of evidence in high
school that the student would even be interested in that field
• View college as career preparation
What is a Liberal Arts Education?
• Ways we address these challenges at Hill
• Provide opportunities for students to talk with admission counselors and college
counselors about flexibility of curriculum
• Encourage students to read academic resources such as course catalogs and academic
department websites
• Encourage younger students to explore their passions while in high school
Focus on Testing
• Challenges
• Spend breaks in cram camps only practicing for the SAT
• Have high test scores but “flat” applications
• Feel pressure to compete with other international students with high test scores
• View that test scores will compensate for a lower GPA
Focus on Testing
• Ways we address these challenges at Hill
• Emphasize the importance of what happens in the classroom
• Work with students to think of creative ways to use breaks to ensure they are exploring
their interests
• Offer opportunities for students to work on test prep throughout the year
• New SAT is more curriculum based and may be harder to psyche out in the same way
Cultural Expectations
• Challenges
• Lack of knowledge about a wide variety of US schools
• Many apply to the same set of schools
• What is considered a “good” school by country
Cultural Expectations
• Ways we address these challenges at Hill
• Encourage students to visit with as many colleges as they can when they visit Hill
• Ask for the list of “approved” schools in their home country and then talk through
which are academically realistic and which are not
• Name implication- Understand what having a degree from any one of the schools in
the US would mean if the student was to return home to work one day
Outside Consultants
• Challenges
• Not having full knowledge of the US system and advising based solely on numbers
• Not having full knowledge of the students academic abilities and credentials and
making promises to families based solely on the recognizable names in their country
• The family relying on this consultant because they are known to them, where they may
have never met us before
Outside Consultants
• Ways we tackle these challenges at Hill
• When we have knowledge that this is happening, working with them instead of against
• Sharing with parents that the consultant does not have access to Hill specific data and is
not privy to the conversations we have with college admission counselors
• Demonstrate our credibility
High Price Tags
• Challenges
• General lack of knowledge about financial aid
• Less expensive options in their home country and expectations of what they will
receive in the US
• Reality that the financial aid they receive at Hill will be very different from what they
may or may not receive from colleges
High Price Tags
• Ways we tackle these challenges at Hill
• Discuss financial need from the beginning and explain how financial aid works
• If student will be a high need student, discuss schools who are known to be generous
with aid to international students, even if they are schools the student hasn’t heard of
• Discuss Certificate of Financial Resources
• Transparency
Other Important Questions
• Demonstrated interest- how to help students figure out the best way to do
this when visiting isn’t as easy for them- but also making sure they don’t go
overboard
• How do we get past- “it’s just how it’s done here?”
Resources
• http://www.nacacnet.org/research/PublicationsResources/bulletin/2015Bulletin/01-29-2015/Pages/SevenTips-for-Counseling-International-Students-at-US-High-Schools.aspx
• http://www.nacacnet.org/research/PublicationsResources/bulletin/2014Bulletin/08-132014/Pages/Getting-Schooled.aspx
• http://www.nacacnet.org/International/InternationalInitiatives/Documents/jca223AdvisingInternationalSt
udents.pdf
• http://www.nacacnet.org/research/KnowledgeCenter/Documents/Marketplace/SecondaryHelp.pdf
• http://www.nacacnet.org/research/KnowledgeCenter/Documents/Marketplace/ReducingAnxietyInternati
onalApplicant.pdf
• https://www.iecaonline.com/PDF/IECA_Library-Financial_Aid_Chart_for_International_Students.pdf