Over the past 15 years, we have accumulated a wealth of experiences that have strengthened our understanding of families, students, and the education field. From Q&As with students and parents, to articles with tips on excelling through all aspects of the admissions process, we hope our knowledge base offers some insight into the current educational climate.
Q: What do you think helped you to stand out during the application process? A: I’m not entirely sure, but my sense is it’s because I did my own thing versus following the crowds. I also think because I wasn’t at an international school, I really had to work a lot harder to find resources, create opportunities, and find the right mentors to help me work towards my goals.
Maggie is seeing a tutor to brush up on her writing skills but during the lesson, she seemed less engaged and focused than usual. After several failed attempts at getting on task, Maggie broke down in tears and ran to the bathroom sick to her stomach for what turned out to be the third time that day. Besides that, she is not doing as well as we know she can in school and she is lagging behind on university applications. We’re extremely worried, but when we tried to talk to her about it, she just yelled and told us to give her space. What do we do?
Q: My husband and I are split over a U.S. or a UK boarding school for our daughter. Jessie is 11 years old and attending a top local school. Can you tell us about the two application processes and what are the key differences that we should be aware of?
Meet Thomas Hassan, former Principal and Admissions Director of Phillip’s Exeter Academy, and former admissions officer at Harvard and Brown. Aegis Advisors was honored to host Thomas in Hong Kong on Feb 15-17. Together with our Directors, Dan Chen and Cindy Hah, Thomas shared invaluable insights with over 100 parents on the U.S. university and boarding school admissions process. Here are a few key takeaways:
Q: I recently received my mock exams and I was shocked to see my grades because I spent a lot of time studying for them. I feel pretty lost and helpless right now because official exams are coming up and I don’t know what I can do to improve my grades.