United World Colleges

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>I am interested in applying for LPC-uwc next year (I’ll be under international quota category). I have some questions that I want to ask about uwc’s in general.</p>

<li>Is it really hard to get in under international quota?</li>
<li>How are the academics there? Is there an advantage in terms of university admission if one attends a uwc? (I am talking about top universities, such as HYPMS) How are the teachers? </li>
<li>How are extracurricular activities there? (sports, volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Can we write competitions there? Like, math competitions and such. </li>
<li>MOST IMPORTANTLY, how was your experience there? </li>
<li>If okay, could you tell me what universities you guys will be attending?</li>
</ol>

<p>This is one reason why I am kind of held back from applying to LPC uwc. Well, going to a uwc means that I will spend my gr. 12 and and extra year there. I haven’t read anywhere about involving in academic competitions and olympiads in UWCs, and if I were to stay at my school and just finish my high school years regularly, I think I have a pretty decent chance in getting national awards in math and some science competitions in the senior year. I love competitions, but then again I really want to have that experience of co-mingling with people from all parts of the world and earn a wider perspective. What to do what to do…:stuck_out_tongue: (haha…of course this dilemma is based on the ASSUMPTION that i’ll be able to get into LPC if I apply,I think its better to look at the bright side and be optimistic, don’t you think??? =P)</p>

<p>I’ve visited the uwc websites, but no websites can provide me with better information about these schools than the students who attended the schools. Thanks a lot everyone! =) </p>

<p>(If you wanna know my stats and what not for answering my questions, bump.)</p>

2

<p>Coolness, wht not apply to the ones outside of Canada?</p>

3

<p>Lol, I realize that my english skills are still kind of lacking and I couldn't really understand what you meant by "ones outside of Canada".</p>

<p>If you are talking about the uwc, LPC-uwc is in Hong Kong. And ya, I can't apply to certain uwc's, because they don't accept International Quotas (IQ). In case you don't know what IQ is tho, i'll briefly explain. So its for students who are residing in a country where they don't have a citizenship of, which is me. And even if I was living in South Korea, I would still have to apply under IQ, because Korea doesn't have a national committee that provides scholarships for students attending uwcs.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for always answering my thread! You are a great help. :)</p>

4

<p>any one from uwc???? =(</p>

5

<p>there was some discussion about UWC in the Indian Thread so use the search function of this forum to search for those.. I think there might be a few students from UWC india here but not sure . </p>

<p>
[quote]
Lol, I realize that my english skills are still kind of lacking and I couldn't really understand what you meant by "ones outside of Canada".

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What he means is why dont you apply to uwc campuses in other countries?</p>

6

<p>I get it, but I thought LP, Pearson, was the school in Vancouver that has a summer leadership program I considered. I know it's tough when citzenship is in question, one of my best friends is facing now where college is concerned. It's so unfair.</p>

7

<p>I'm from Alberta (like you!), and applied for the UWCs this year. I was one of 17 people in the province who got interviewed, but I'm not one of the 8 people going to the UWCs next year. My main reason for applying was that I attended the PSYL (the leadership seminar at Pearson in Victoria) and it was amazing. The fact that I didn't get in doesn't bother me, because now that I look at it I really don't need another year in high school and I knew when I applied that I wasn't really sure I wanted to go. I thought it would be great, but life here is great too. I'm already in the IB program and I can go to any university in Canada because admission is based largely on grades, and I have good ones. I'll try to answer your questions, and if you have any more about the admission process, let me know. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Is it really hard to get in under international quota?
You have to apply through your national committee. In Canada, however, we have provincial committees. You are going to be applying for the Grant MacEwan United World College Scholarship. It is a full ride to the UWC the application commitee decides they want to send you to. If you get an interview, tell them that you want to go to LPC. The scholarship is applicable to any grade 11 student in Alberta and you can find the application here: <a href="http://www.alis.gov.ab.ca/scholarships/info.asp?EK=24%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.alis.gov.ab.ca/scholarships/info.asp?EK=24&lt;/a>
Only eight students in the province get to go to the UWC's each year. Also, if you don't go to Old Scona or Strathcona-Tweedsmuir, you might want to consider your chances a bit lower (like as in having 6 spots left) because they usually accept a couple of kids from those schools. Last year three Strath kids got the scholarship. Approximately 15-20 students get interviewed each year for these eight spots. I don't know how many apply, but I am sure that it is a lot. </p></li>
<li><p>How are the academics there? Is there an advantage in terms of university admission if one attends a uwc? (I am talking about top universities, such as HYPMS) How are the teachers?
I don't know too much about the advantages or teaching, but I do know that everybody at the UWCs take the IB diploma program. Find out more from <a href="http://www.ibo.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ibo.org&lt;/a> (<-- for the official stuff) or <a href="http://www.ibscrewed.net%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ibscrewed.net&lt;/a> (<-- for a more interesting point of view - ours!). There are six mandatory subjects: 1- first language, 2- second language, 3- social science, 4- science, 5- math, and 6- fine arts or another group 2-5 subject. You have to participate in CAS (creativity action service hours) and you take a philosophy course (TOK - theory of knowledge). You also have to write a 4000 word essay on the subject of your choice. Actually, I'm trying to pick a topic for mine right now! Doing the IB means that if you have a good predicted score (40+ out of 45), you can pretty much get into any university in the world. </p></li>
<li><p>How are extracurricular activities there? (sports, volunteering, etc.)
CAS is mandatory, and I'm sure there are a lot of activities to choose from. Some of the websites have descriptions on them (I know the Atlantic college does). Also, when I was at PSYL, we had the opportunity to do kayaking, swimming, canoeing, soccer, etc. The students there even run their own ecological marine reserve and have a floating classroom with all sorts of marine biology equipment. It's very cool! Also there are about 15 pianos on the campus and a huge theatre. Being on Vancouver Island, they also go on a lot of camping trips. </p></li>
<li><p>Can we write competitions there? Like, math competitions and such.
I'm pretty sure that it can be arranged. I know some people from the school at Pearson, and they do participate in the Waterloo and CNML contests regularly. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>5/6. I don't actually go to a UWC, so I don't know about those ones! Sorry. </p>

<p>Good luck!!!</p>

<p>Also, I highly recommend going to PSYL. It rocked, I met amazing people from all over the world, I learned so much... it was definetly a life-changing experience (and will probably be the subject of some of my university application essays!).</p>

8

<p>I am from albuquerque and I see many people from the World's College from near Sante Fe participate in activities, including science olympiad and model UN.</p>