How to enroll in your desired school abroad

How to choose the right school abroad for your child

For admission to good schools abroad, the student has to pass the entrance tests (usually language and mathematics). There might be also other tests, depending on student age and subjects to study.

In addition, the school organizes an interview with the student either in person or by skype. For admission to British schools or schools in remote countries overseas, the interview is conducted via Skype. For admission in almost all the schools of the continent (especially European schools) — the student is asked to come to school for tests and interviews. But even if the visit of the school is not compulsory, I highly recommend to go to school, to stay in the school for 1-2 days, take the so-called "school tester" — this will help future students to understand if he wants to be in that school.

In all schools, there is an open day for the new students and it's better to come to school on that day. Although, there are two sides of this: the student will be able to meet potential new students and teachers, will see the campus as during the personal meeting, have less pressure during the tests and personal interview, but the admission team can't pay as much attention to the student as during the personal meeting if the family decides to visit the school in another day.

If you already have applied to the school and are invited to undergo tests and interviews — how do make a good impression and be admitted to the school of your dream.

Let's start with the fact that success does not happen without desire. It's not the parents and the Agency, but the student should know why he wants to enter a particular school. Half the battle is the current student progress at home school and test results, the second half is the interview.

What to pay attention to during the interview to school:

- First of all, it is the student's motivation, how he will try, how much the student himself understands why he needs to study.

- Does the student know where he will go next, what he wants to do in life, and how the school can help him in this. Here it is imperative to look through the list of subjects offered by the school and be ready to say which subjects are preferable from those offered by the school, and which the student considers as a fallback, especially if we enroll late and some subjects may not be available. It is imperative to motivate your choice in each subject, not only by the fact that it is good for entering the university but to show where the student showed talent in this subject earlier, to explain his interest in the subject in a reasoned manner.

- To what extent the student has become familiar with the school - even during a study tour of the school and a conversation with the staff, you need to ask the right questions. If you intend to study science, it would be good to ask to show scientific laboratories and ask them to tell in more detail how often experiments are carried out, what kind of research students do. If you intend to study art - ask to familiarize yourself with the works of school students. Be sure to ask to talk with teachers about the subjects you are going to study. Ask how many contact hours of classes on the subject per week, what topics are being studied, how the lessons are going.

- How he can integrate into school life: see what pose-class activities each school offers and in which the student would like to participate. In case of admission to the IB program, look at what service classes (social DIDs) the school offers and be prepared to positively describe which student wants to participate in and why. Answers that participation in this service will help when entering the university are not desirable, since the service is helping other people.

- Questions about previous schools and academic performance. It is necessary not only to tell what I studied before and what was more interesting but also to explain why academic performance in some subjects may be lower. The answer, - the teacher gives the material poorly or uninterestingly - is bad, since a motivated student will try to find knowledge on his own. Better to say what I had to be distracted by, and that this subject is also interesting and really wants to tighten up.

In some schools, it will be possible to attend classes when you visit, so you need to dress close to the uniform of the school you are visiting.

Happy interviews and admission to your chosen school, everyone!