Education is more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. It is one of the most important investments a person can make, and is an essential gateway to having a prosperous life.

The first time we are introduced to formal education is in school when we realized that school years are the grounding years of one’s education and play a key role in developing children into responsible citizens and great human beings. It is in schools where young talent should be recognized and nurtured. Unfortunately, most schools in the region do not provide students with the proper academic guidance one requires, and most do not have talent specialists which aid talented students to reach top universities. For that reason, there are many counseling companies such as Education Zone to help students in their career pathway.

We at Education Zone guide school students from an early age towards finding out their career choice. We engage students in an interactive learning process, helping them develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to successfully examine their own lives, explore and evaluate a wide range of education and career options and make reasoned and researched goals for their future. We also help build the students’ academic CV in order to make it appealing to the universities the students’ aim to apply to.

We welcome students from grade 8 and over and facilitate their in-depth exploration of who the student is, what they want and how they can get what they want.

These questions drive the academically-integrated curriculum, making it relevant, rigorous, and relationship-rich. This motivates students to envision a self-sufficient, productive life beyond high school, college or post-secondary training.

We provide students with personality and ability psychometric testing, we place them in voluntary programmes, we send them to camps, we aid their career research process and we help them in their university search.

Students that study British curriculum have the ability to go to UK universities right after their IGCSE’s. Having said that, to go to a top university in UK they need to achieve several things such as a gap year, work experience, a proof of helping humanity and a set of fantastic grades, otherwise we have to settle for a mediocre university.

The situation is not different in other countries, so don’t just wait till you graduate from high school, start now, and this should be read by parents too as they are responsible for making sure that their children achieve high and attend the best universities so they receive the ultimate in their careers.  Isn’t the career that is the goal of every parent?

Tips for High School Students to Prepare for University

  • Be prepared to do a lot of reading prior to reaching university level.
  • Learn time management: use a calendar and plan how to use your time. Learn to manage your time while still in high school, keep a calendar of all exams and paper due dates.
  • One of the biggest transitions between high school and university is development of time management skills – students must learn to balance school and social life.
  • Be prepared to discipline yourself, as the temptation to slacking could be great. Make time to revise all subjects studied throughout the week, and prepare well before tests and exams.
  • Learn to read – summarize and outline reading.
  • Learn to take notes in class.
  • Participate in volunteer and community service programs.
  • Write lots of essays in various subject, as you never know which essay will win you that scholarship
  • Take advantage of the revision offered in high school.
  • Think about what characteristics in a university are of most importance to you (climate, environment, degrees offered, size, location, etc.) before making a final decision about attending college. Visit them if possible.
  • Take a career guidance psychometric assessment.
  • Finally, you must think carefully about your future, as time is of essence and if lost, then its lost forever. You do not want to redo your bachelor programme due to a bad choice in the first instance.

Throughout students’ high school careers, our counselors can help students explore careers, degree programs and colleges/universities.  Students can take interest inventories and aptitude tests to determine what career/degree program meets their interests and abilities. 

Here is a breakdown on how we work with our students on their academic CV:

Grade 9

  1. Monitor academic progress. 
  2. Encourage student to become involved in a wide variety of high school activities.
  3. Psychometric Testing
  4. Select appropriate 10th grade courses. 

Grade 10

  1. Continue to monitor academic progress.
  2. Continue to encourage student to be involved in activities and to develop their leadership skills.
  3. Take an ability test which measures the student’s academic skills
  4. Take the PSAT if wanting to study in the US.
  5. Select appropriate courses for the 11th grade.

Grade 11

The junior year is when students should seriously begin examining their college options.  Juniors should also start taking college tests and making college visits.

  1. Continue to monitor academic progress.
  2. Continue to encourage students to be involved in activities, community service and to develop leadership skills.
  3. Talk about university options. 
  4. Have your son or daughter register for the ACT and/or SAT. (For US studies)
  5. Make sure the student has selected the right courses for his/her senior year. 
  6. Help the students choose meaningful activities for the summer months (internships, volunteering or community service activities). 

Grade 12

  1. Continue to monitor progress because grades are still important. 
  2. Sign up for IELTS or TOEFL.
  3. Apply for universities after the first semester.
  4. Make the decision. 
  5. Once accepted, complete the necessary forms and as a courtesy, notify the other colleges who may have also extended an offer.