Counselor's News  Subscribe

Applications at Columbia soared by 33% last year. University of Virginia applications was up by 18%. Meanwhile Georgetown received a record total of 20,015 early decision applications. Applications from non-California students to the University of California’s 9 campuses rose by 56% or 33,000 applications. Of this 56%, 66% were International students mostly from China, India, Korea and Canada. UCLA attracted 72,626 applications, up 18% from last year and UC Berkeley received 61,661 applications, up nearly 17%.

Financial concerns continued to be the worry for both families and colleges. Eighty-six percent of colleges said they had more students requesting financial aid this year. Indeed, finances were the theme this year. Families at every point on the financial spectrum are haggling over financial packages – more students wanted and needed more money this year. In a recent survey over 55% of universities surveyed said they are trying to take steps to increase financial aid.

At ICS we are constantly mindful of our responsibility to educate our students of the dangers of events that take place outside of school hours and other risky behaviors that some of our students may partake in. We will continue to review and update our programs, as needed. While we can encourage our students to make good choices and keep you informed when we hear about issues in the community, ultimately it is parents who must set the boundaries and expectations for their children.

All grade 11 students and parents are invited to our college evening on Thursday 9 February at 7:00 PM in the Secondary Library. This is an important event as we all come together to go through the college search and application process. Please make every effort to attend. Over the coming months Mr. Tingley will be scheduling individual meetings with students and parents to discuss your child’s future plans.