Choosing a university with the right fit involves many steps and hours of research. Students often get lost in the pages of university admissions websites without getting a feel for a given institution, especially when it is in a foreign country. To help bridge this gap, The International School of Macao hosted their 7th annual University Fair where 400 students from TIS and surrounding schools had the opportunity to meet with 55 university representatives from around the world.
The fair took place throughout the day on Monday September 25th in the New TIS library where students met face-to-face with representatives to ask questions and gain insight into potential programs of study. There was representation from Canada, Australia, UK, USA, Macau, Hong Kong, and Europe. From the university representative perspective, they are able to meet students in person and see their personal qualities that sometimes get lost in the digital space of the application process. “These students ask such good questions, and are willing to engage in conversation,” said one of the reps from Europe. TIS students were not alone in this fair, as there were groups from School of the Nations, Macau Anglican College, and Zhuhai International School in attendance throughout the day. “We were grateful to have so many local schools join us for the fair,” said Academic Counselor Ms. Jody Hubert.
The fair is not only about students talking to the schools they are interested in, but also opening themselves up to other opportunities. “Students sometimes focus only on the schools they are planning to apply to, but the great value of the fair is allowing students to see what opportunities exist,” said Academic Counselor Mr. Dan d’Entremont. A great opportunity to learn more about specific institutions is during the 30-minute breakout sessions. These breakout sessions occur throughout the fair where individual universities can do presentations on their school and programs to give students a more intimate look into the possibilities. The British Council also provided breakout sessions on UK applications and writing personal statements that were well attended by students.
Amongst the other benefits of fair, attendees were also given opportunities to learn about scholarships – and other financial aid options – accessible to international students around the world. “Scholarships open up a whole new breadth of opportunity to students that are involved in arts, athletics, and academia to pursue these passions further,” says Academic Counselor Ms. Lindsey Doland. As a former university varsity athlete, Ms. Doland owed a lot of her own scholastic success to the scholarships that she received as an athlete. TIS students have also benefited greatly from such opportunities, receiving over 7 million MOP in scholarship money as a graduating class in 2016-2017.
TIS students have a strong track record of university acceptances and to date have been accepted to more than 250 universities worldwide. The connections formed via the annual University Fair plays an important role in this process. Looking forward to next year, TIS will push to include more university representatives and attracting more students from the local community in an attempt to connect both groups.
