In preparation for the upcoming field trips to NYU, Marist and Vassar (for students who are thinking of applying to university), our College Counseling office recently invited five recent alumni to talk about their own experiences with the college admissions process. In the auditorium this past December, Lycée graduates from ‘16, ‘17 and ‘18 joined our Premiere and Terminale classes to give the scoop: when should you take the SAT? And what is college really like? Representing schools as diverse and international as King’s College London, McGill, Wellesley, Columbia-Sciences Po and George Washington University, our panelists all had one thing in common: They were kind enough to come back and share their first-hand insights with us. Watch the video to see the whole panel.
Here are some highlights of what we learned:
What insights can you share about applying to colleges?
“Don’t accept the school with the highest ranking. Accept the school that you really like, and where you see yourself being able to grow the most.” — Celine Christory
“Applying to a lot of schools can be beneficial if you don’t know what you want. But if you do have an idea, don’t make the process harder than it needs to be by applying to 14 schools. That’s what I did because I was afraid of not getting in anywhere. It was a lot of extra work. But if you know what you want to do, you’ll get into the school that’s right for you.” — Zoe Gamet
What advice do you have for Y11 students?
“It’s important to know what you want and focus on that. Visit schools and see if you like the campus. Do you think you’ll make friends there? Could you spend four years there? You could probably be happy in a lot of places, honestly. What’s most important is to ask yourself: ‘Could I spend four years working in this academic focus?’” — Pierre Chardot
“If you want to go to school in the U.S., start the process early. Especially when it comes to essay-writing. You don’t need to write your essays in Premiere, but do start thinking about them. Set up your dates for tests like the ACT and SAT. Take those tests as early as possible, in case you want to take them again to up your score.” — Nour Mohsen
“I regret waiting until the last minute to write my application essays and supplements. I didn’t have time to edit them. If you start writing early, you’ll have time to go over your essay before the deadline. You’ll be satisfied when you send it in.” — Matthieu Andre
What is the first year like?
“For the first year, you should have an idea of the format of the school. I’m somewhere where I have 9 hours a class a week, but I have 3 hours of reading a day. Be aware of that before you go.” — Zoe Gamet
“My first semester was really fun. It’s a lot of new stuff. It’s a lot of learning to be independent—in your work, and in your everyday lifestyle. Adapting to unstructured mealtimes: that’s a lot. But it’s fun.” — Nour Mohsen
Watch the panel here:
Participating alumni:
Nour Mohsen ’18 (McGill)
Pierre Chardot ’16 (Columbia-Sciences Po)
Zoé Gamet ’18 (King’s College London)
Matthieu Andre ’18 (George Washington University)
Celine Christory ’17 (Wellesley)
About the Author :
Originally from Massachusetts, Jeff Wong began working at the Lycée in 2015, after seven years working in admissions and college counseling. Jeff attended Wesleyan University, where he studied government. After graduation, he began his career at Brandeis University, working as an Admissions Counselor and Assistant Director of Admission. During this time, Jeff read almost four thousand applications and traveled internationally to recruit new students. He then worked in the field of college counseling at The Benjamin School in Florida. Outside of work, Jeff enjoys exploring new restaurants, reading, and traveling with his wife.