Cinderella Project

The Cinderella Project is a community program created to celebrate students who have overcome adversity to achieve high school graduation. Each year, it assists graduating students who may not have the financial means to attend the various graduation festivities by providing them with a "boutique day" where students will be able to select a free suit or gown of their choice. The project will also provide the students with shoes, accessories, and jewelry to complete their special grad outfit. Below is the motto of the program:

"In the spirit of community sharing and support, the Cinderella Project celebrates the achievements of high school students in the Lower Mainland who have overcome adversity in reaching the milestone of graduation."

Application forms are available from me. All applications will be evaluated, and the first 150 candidates who meet the selection criteria will be selected. For more information or the application form, please come to see me. Please also help spread the word around, especially if you know a fellow graduate who may be in need of this assistance. Thanks!

For more information about the Cinderella Project, click here.

Admission Timeline for the University of Victoria

University of Victoria (UVic) has just released its admission timeline. Please note these important dates if you are interested in applying:

• September 1: application process begins for September 2014 admission
• October 1: Self reporting phase 1 opens for early admission
• November 30: Self reporting phase 1 closes
• February 1: Self reporting phase 2 opens for early admission
• February 28: early application deadline for high school students
• March 31: Self-reporting phase 2 closes; application deadline for entrance scholarships
• June: Course timetables published and registration time tickets sent out by e-mails
• June: Housing application deadline; all conditions must be met by June 30 in order to qualify for first-year- direct from high school guarantee.

And below are a few links from UVic that you may find useful:
Applying for UVIC: click here
Self-reporting: click here
Registering for courses: click here

Info from UBC's Counsellor's Day 2013 (Part 2)

(continued from previous post)

In this second of two posts (for Part 1, click here), I will outline the information given to the counsellors by UBC on the writing of the student profile, and UBC's English requirement.

Personal Profile (Broad-based Admission)

• 12% of first year students admitted to UBC last fall were admitted as a result of their personal profile - as such, please treat this portion of the application seriously
• UBC does not provide the rubric or the weight of how the personal profiles are evaluated, and each faculty can use the personal profiles differently. (Mr. Leung's note: a general rule: if your averages is around the admission average for the faculty you are applying, the personal profile's importance is much higher than it would be if your averages are way above the admission averages)
• Students with a higher admission average can be displaced by students with lower averages but stronger student profiles
• The personal profile questions can be found on the application for admission - you should read them, reflect and think about your responses, before actually responding to them. 
• Each student profile will receive at least two reads
• It is important to write about your authentic experience and ideas when answering the personal profile questions - UBC is NOT looking for model answers; it is looking for students who show the ability to reflect on their personal life experiences.
• UBC has provided all counsellors with a handout called "Personal Profile 'Pointer'" - if you want to have a copy - please come to see me. 

UBC's English Requirement

• Admission Standard (i.e. for your application to be eligible for admission consideration): must have completed three or more consecutive years of full-time education in English within Canada immediately prior to attending UBC, and must achieve a grade of 70% or better on the PROVINCIAL EXAM portion of English 12. 
• Students who do not meet the above admission standard can write one of several English language proficiency tests. For more information, click here.
• The English 70 rule (Vancouver campus only) - all students must achieve a final grade of 70% in grade 11 or grade 12 English
• English Provincial exam discrepancy rule: in cases where a significant discrepancy exists (20% or more) between the course grade and the exam grade, UBC reserves the right to use the exam grade only in evaluating admission application (i.e. if your provincial exam is substantially lower than your school mark for English 12, you may lose your seat!) 

The above are meant to inform you of what I have heard and written down from the information day for counsellors. For the most up-to-date information, please go to UBC's website directly. Thanks!

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Info from UBC's Counsellor's Day 2013 (Part 1)

The following were pieces of information I gathered from UBC's Counsellor's Conference on November 1. Please read the following information very carefully - UBC has made some changes again in their admission and application process, and some of these changes may impact you.

There is a lot of information given, so this would be the first post of two to outline what I have heard:

Admission Process

• UBC has a set of minimum criteria for admission consideration. That is, if you do not meet any of these conditions, your application will NOT be considered. They include: high school graduation, program-specific pre-requisites, minimum admission average (70% for UBC Vancouver; 67% for UBC Okanagan), and a minimum mark of 70% in English 11 or 12 (UBC Vancouver only)
• Admission Competitive Assessment Criteria: When evaluating your application, UBC will be looking at several factors. They include: your grade 12 marks (because Templeton is a linear school, your grade 11 marks will not factor), faculty admission average, your personal profile (4 to 7 short essay questions)
• (NEW) Faculty Course-specific minima: For certain faculties, you may be required to obtain an unspecified minimum mark for a certain course to be admitted, regardless of your overall average. For example, Applicant A may be taken over Applicant B by the Faculty of Commerce if Applicant B has a much lower mark for Pre-Calculus 12, even though Applicant B's overall average is higher than Applicant A. 
• Admission Timeline: Self-reporting portal opens from March 3 to April 11 - students are to report their TERM 2 marks in progress (or completed grade 12 marks); UBC will begin making offers to qualified students in March. In May, UBC verifies the grades from the Ministry of Education, and may withdraw offers.

Self-Reporting

• (NEW) Unlike other post-secondary institutions, UBC does NOT look at your term 1 marks for admission purposes (except for major entrance scholarship applicants - see below). Students are to report their term 2 marks when the self-reporting portal opens on March 3. 
• (NEW) All documents used to self-report must be uploaded to UBC - this document to verify your grades may be your term 2 report card, or the Ed Access portal report for courses you completed. 
• (NEW) For distributed learning courses (including online courses), you must identify which course(s) are taken through this method, and who the course provide is. 
• Self-reporting a course you are re-taking: you have the choice to report a completed grade 12 course mark, or a term 2 interim grade for a course you are re-taking.
• Online Courses: To use it for admission calculation, the course must be completed by February 1. No exceptions to this rule.

Scholarship Application

• UBC offers two different types of financial aid/reward to students entering their programs, the Major Entrance Scholarship (MES) and the UBC Entrance Award.
• The MES is merit-based, and has a renewable value up to $10,000. 
• Application deadline is December 10, 2013.
• UBC will be using your grade 11 marks to create a shortlist of qualified applicants, then use your self-report grades to determine award recipients. 
• Grades reported in the academic profile will be used to render admission decision also. 
• All winners of the MES will be notified by April 28, 2014
• The UBC Entrance Award is needs-based. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2014
• Application requires a nomination letter and application found, which can be found at this address (click here)
• A separate application is required for this award

Read on for information regarding self-reporting, and English requirement for UBC. (Click here)