YCYW students with ace university offers
As we welcome spring, Yew Chung International School and Yew Wah International Education School’s final-year students have been receiving news of outstanding university offers, reaping the rewards of their years of hard work.
Whether an Ivy League university or a specialist institution with a discipline they are passionate about, in a new city they will soon call home, the students are ready to embark on another bright chapter of their lives.
Over 250 graduates — from YCIS Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and Qingdao, to YWIES Shanghai, Guangzhou and Yantai — have received more than 800 offers from universities and institutions of higher education worldwide.
The graduates will soon attend world-renowned universities that are celebrated for their extraordinary talents and achievements, including University of Oxford, Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley, as well as top liberal arts colleges such as the long-established Wellesley College.
Prestigious institutions in the United States including Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, Savannah College of Arts and Design and École hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland are also on the list of university acceptances, which are well-known for their high selectivity and tough admission requirements.
In addition, the graduates are also accepted into distinguished universities in Asia including Waseda University in Japan, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Yale-NUS College in Singapore, The University of Hong Kong and Peking University.
Competition for admission into prestigious universities worldwide is becoming increasingly intense, so the difficulty of this process for the students was high. Without the determination and perseverance to reach their goals, they would not have been able to obtain the achievements they have. Staff at the University Guidance Office in Yew Chung and Yew Wah schools have worked alongside each of the graduates and their parents over the past four years. From advising them in selecting the most suitable courses, to planning for their future career development with personality tests and identifying the most suitable schools, the staff, students and parents have worked and made decisions as a team.
Preparing university admissions for students from Year 10 to 13 is a truly unique and unforgettable journey, as each student’s statements, letters of recommendation and interviews need to stand out among thousands of other candidates. Each of the one-on-one university counselling sessions is underpinned by six questions: “Who are you?” “Why do you wish to study at this school?” “What do you wish to learn?” “When and where are you planning to go?” and “How would you achieve that?”
In order to ensure that the students are admitted into universities and areas of study of their choice, it is essential for them to have clear and flexible plans outlining their abilities and future prospects.
It is important to understand that university rankings fluctuate each year and do not fairly represent the true strengths and culture of a school. Therefore, students and parents should see ranking as an indicator to show the quality of a programme, but not as the final answer when choosing a school. More importantly, students should consider if the curriculum matches their interests and expectations of a chosen career. Oftentimes, students find a university’s culture and style of teaching, as well as the climate and atmosphere of a city, to be the decisive factors in choosing the perfect school.
How can students enjoy and fully immerse into a new learning environment if they are not passionate about the place?
The YCYW University Guidance Office explained a different approach: “Instead of believing that there is a ‘best school,’ we should shift our thinking to a ‘best school for me,’ so that each student sets clear goals to enter the school that best fits their learning interests. Rather than rote learning, purely working to attain high scores to gain admission into distinguished schools, as educators, we are proud to see our students cultivate their interests, follow their passions by choosing areas of study in STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and other disciplines, thus embodying our values in holistic education.”
The gifts that Yew Chung and Yew Wah wish to give to their graduates are to have strong wills and healthy minds, the tenacity to face any challenges, curiosity and a lifelong love of learning and, more importantly, the spirit and kindness of a servant-leader willing to contribute and make the world a better place.
