Supporting Our Students in their University Search

Students spending time in the Senior School Guidance Department are well acquainted with a certain saying on Alison Uys’ door. It reads: a university is not a prize to be won, but a match to be made. And Mrs. Uys, Guidance Counsellor, University Relations, her colleagues and the other teachers at TFS work very hard to help students make the best possible match.

Each student in Level IV and V is assigned a Guidance Counsellor, an IB CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) Advisor and an Extended Essay Advisor. All work to maximize the students’ potential for intellectual development and academic success.

Additionally, the Guidance Department schedules a series of activities to give both students and their parents a thorough understanding of how to research universities, and the many complex processes involved in applying to universities, at home and abroad, and for scholarships. For instance, students interested in universities in the UK were instructed on how to use the UK-specific university application system (UCAS). Many resources for university and scholarship research can also be found on Communiqué under Student Services, University Placement.

In guidance classes, students “are taught and encouraged to reflect on the different universities out there, the different degrees and the different kinds of educational systems around the world,” said Mrs. Uys. They receive experiential learning about university life by visiting the University of Guelph in Level III, as well as a university of their choice in each of Level IV and V.

TFS-hosted events include welcoming over 70 university representatives annually, from across Canada, the US, the UK and beyond, including Bocconi University’s School of Economics from Italy (equivalent to the London School of Economics) and L’École Hôtelière de Lausanne from Switzerland. This year, for the first time, the School hosted a Canadian Atlantic Universities Fair.

Students from Level III to V receive a weekly email advising them which universities will be making an appearance at TFS and what university fairs are taking place externally.

One of the most intensive periods of activity between the Guidance Counsellors and the students is when individual profiles, essays and other documents must be prepared for university applications and scholarships. “They need to learn how to position themselves and self-advocate so that schools recognize their excellence, in a world where the majority of universities are now looking beyond just grades to the entire person,” remarked Mrs. Uys.

And in the end it is all worth it. Very few TFS grads transfer from the universities they eventually attend, signalling, overwhelmingly, that they are happy with their choice. Said Mrs. Uys, “we walk with them every step of their journey, so it’s just as emotional for us when they cross the stage at graduation.”