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Small updates, application advice, pictures of the office, and reminders to students are often done through the instagram page, updated a few times each week. Clicking on any thumbnail will link you to the instagram account, and a better view.

cristinabainconsulting

college consultant, life and career advising 💛 Hanoi 💛

CB Consulting
In a world where almost all schools will take eith In a world where almost all schools will take either, i think I prefer IELTS these days.

The few students I work with who still take the TOEFL in Vietnam complains about the testing facilities, and IELTS has surpassed it as the test that has the majority of the market share here. I'm for it, although I think IELTS has some definite negatives that will hopefully be addressed in the coming years, with pressure from new testing options like Duolingo, which are on a serious expansion trajectory!
Why do I like it?
1️⃣ Doing well in an interview (IELTS) is much easier than doing well in a recorded/timed answer (TOEFL). Looking at that clock makes everyone nervous, and its much less natural.
2️⃣ The TOEFL speaking section is hard for another reason: when there are people around you also listening and then speaking, or reading and then speaking, it is VERY distracting.
3️⃣ maybe you want to add a few Canadians to your list, or a few Australians. IELTS is more ""international"" and less American.

Downside of IELTS? 
1️⃣ It's $$$$$
2️⃣ sending the scores to schools is more annoying and time consuming
3️⃣ It tests a very specific version of English, so you really need to take IELTS classes, not English classes. Creates a whole industry rather than testing general English skills that could be picked up anywhere.

#duolingo_english_test #ielts #toefl #ieltsvietnam #toeflvietnam #testprep #duhocmy #duhoccanada #hocbongmy #hocbongcanada
Helllloooooo lovelies near and far! Chức Mừng Helllloooooo lovelies near and far! 
Chức Mừng Năm Mới!!!

Im off the grid from Jan 16-30, off to Italy with husband for some much needed family time and reflection (and pizzas and museums) 💛🥰 I hope the holidays are filled with love and fun (and nem and lì xì) and I’ll see you soon 🥰💛
Canadian applications take less time and require l Canadian applications take less time and require less information than American apps, but there's a bit more searching and follow-up needed, once you've hit submit.

🇨🇦With America, you've got one form (often the CommonApp but not always) and one due date. With many Canadian schools, there are different dates for application and scholarships, and often different forms and even sometimes separate portals!

🇨🇦Additionally, for many Canadian universities, the initial application is just the start. Filling in your basic details on a provincial generic application form (such as ApplyAlberta or the Ontario University Application Center, or EducationPlanner BC) is just the beginning. 2-10 days later, you'll get access to a portal where allllll the other things go. That's where you usually find essays, that's where scholarship forms are, that's where your test scores and leadership lists go. Give yourself as MUCH time in that portal as possible, because items sometimes take 2-3 weeks to be registered as "received" at the larger schools.

I love Canada, and many of the Canadian schools. About 1/3 of my consulting practice now is Canada focused, because so many students are interested in staying abroad when they graduate, and Canada makes this easy. If you're still reflecting on where you want to go, and think Canada might be it... DM me to make an appointment and chat about your options. I'm the only established *consultant* in town with this specialization.

#tuvanduhoc #hoccanada #hocbongcanada #duhoccanada
Preparing for the college interview isn’t just a Preparing for the college interview isn’t just about reviewing a list of possible questions - you need to be comfortable in your skin, comfortable with your stories, your strengths, your bragging points. 

As we work together to prepare, we will cover all the big topics/main points, we will talk about the many types of questions and the goal behind them. But just as important as the big direct things, are the little indirect things: body posture, email communication with interviewers, handshakes, jokes, eye contact. These are, honestly, just as important to the success of the meeting. 

You’ll work one-on-one with me, to master those little details, making sure you gain every available edge possible. It often comes down to the smallest of margins, to making a connection, and so nothing can be left to chance.But your practice needs to be varied, and challenging. By the time summer comes, we’ll be entirely familiar, your comfort with me will make practice interviews less scary, and therefore less realistic. So beyond our discussion and practice sessions, you’ll do a start-to-finish interview (requesting a meeting, scheduling, showing up, the interview, and the follow-up) with an American college admissions professional, and then get comprehensive feedback about what to improve.

It’s these details, and this practice, which will help you be comfortable and confident. We work one-on-one to build you up. Bit by bit, step-by-step. Together.

#tuvanduhoc #duhocmy #hocbongmy
nothing like a cali roll and a bit of essay planni nothing like a cali roll and a bit of essay planning 😍

THE *OPTIONAL* ESSAY

There is no such thing as an optional essay, unless you're sure that you place in the top 15% of the incoming class. Honestly...you're better off if you view them as a bit of a test: do you like this school enough to write the supplement essay, to submit additional material? If the answer is no... that is almost definitely going to impact your chances, unless you're so competitive to them that it doesn't matter. 

That's not usually the case. Write the essay.
(English below)

Ý nghĩ rằng chỉ những những học sinh tập trung vào Hoa Kỳ mới cần được cố vấn chuyên môn và nghề nghiệp, giúp xây dựng các kỹ năng mềm, kỹ năng viết, kỹ năng sống, giúp suy nghĩ về việc chúng muốn trở thành ai và cần thực hiện các bước nào để biến điều đó thành hiện thực. ..Thứ đó đã đến từ đâu?

Vì vậy, bạn muốn đến Úc, Vương quốc Anh, Nhật Bản, Canada, Châu Âu... điều đó có nghĩa là bạn không nên đảm bảo quá trình này mang tính tự phản ánh, cá nhân và toàn diện?

Nó không.

Nhắn tin cho tôi và hãy nói về kế hoạch của bạn, Hoa Kỳ hay nơi khác."

🍏🍎🍏🍎

The idea that only kids who are focusing on the USA need major and career mentorship, help building strong soft skills, writing skills, life skills, help thinking about who they want to be and what steps need to be taken to make that happen...where did THAT come from?

So you want to go to Australia, UK, Japan, Canada, Europe... does that mean you shouldn't make sure this process is self-reflective, personal, and holistic? 

It does not. 

DM me and lets talk about your plan, USA or otherwise.
📚FIRST YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS📚 Yes your job 📚FIRST YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS📚

Yes your job this semester is to get acclimated, and to make friends. But this is also the time for you to start making connections with faculty, and to get yourself set up for four years of success. I promise it FLIES by...so don't push things off until later!

1️⃣ physical planner or Google Calendar - you NEED to be organized
2️⃣ get a folder for each class. don't be that guy with a backpack full of loose paper
3️⃣ you are very likely to skip 8am classes. choose later sections.
4️⃣ go. to. office. hours.
5️⃣ take your time, soak it all in. don't rush through this amazing experience
6️⃣ set realistic goals (daily, weekly, whatever!)
“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary”
- Jim Rohn
.
Innovation, creativity, critical thinking...these don’t come from TV. They don’t come from your class textbook or your math worksheets. If you want to do something impressive, to BE someone impressive... this is one place to start. Read widely. Read weekly. Aim for a book a month, at LEAST.
Going to meet with them in person may seem old-fas Going to meet with them in person may seem old-fashioned in an era when you can message or email your professor at any hour, but OFFICE HOURS are an incredibly important part of developing the mentorship relationship you definitely want as a part of your university years. 

What are they, you ask? Almost all professors have set hours that they will be in their campus office each week, unscheduled and available to talk. They can help with assignments, explain what is expected for a particular assignment, give you advice about careers in the field, suggest future classes... anything. Most professors have 2-5 hours a week, and it's usually determined by how many students they have that semester. They'll usually just hang around the department waiting for students to stop by, and anyone who pokes their head in can have a sit and a chat.

yes yes yes - it's intimidating. but it's also a REALLY important thing to do. Around 15% of your grade is subjectively assigned based on attendance and participation. Guess what helps your professor have a good impression of you, which will obviously impact that subjective assessment? Office hours. This is how you end up with strong rec letters, top scores on essays, and introductions that become internships and research positions. Freshmen almost never go to office hours, because everyone's too nervous... so if you go, you'll stand out and make a great impression. The students who stopped by my office hours when I was at UW-Madison teaching were always the ones who got the strongest recommendations, because they were the ones I really knew.

Go. Once a week, go to ONE of your professors office hours. over the semester, you'll have a better relationship with all of them.

(pictured: minimalist office hours list of one my favorite professors at UW-Madison)
So the SAT is optional now, right? Right? Well So the SAT is optional now, right? 

Right?

Well the answer is... it's more complicated than that. If you're applying to STEM heavy universities (MIT, CalTech, RIT, Purdue) you should probably do it...they want clear evidence you're a badass with quantitative reasoning and the SAT is a strong measure of that. If you're doing the more standard universities (from safe options to the highly selective) the SAT is more legitimately optional.

Except admission and admission with money are two separate things, and I'm noticing that high need students are not getting the same offer that I would expect, if they're applying T.O. 

So my advice in this complicated era is this: take the test if you can. don't skip it because it's boring. if you truly put your heart into it and still end up with a score that drags you down instead of lifts you up...then TO is the way for you.

DM with more specific questions about your major and goals, as always!
Instagram post 17880541919744205 Instagram post 17880541919744205
I always worry about overly emphatic ED congratula I always worry about overly emphatic ED congratulations, knowing that some people out there are suffering their first real rejection, and the heartbreak of your favorite school saying “no”. 

So. Remember. The most impressive and badass people in history but also in our lives are not the ones that had everything go smoothly and to plan all the time. They’re the ones who adapt, grow, stand up again.
First you're going to start by "trimming big". Thi First you're going to start by "trimming big". This is where you think about the story you're trying to tell, and evaluate each paragraph and even page for how it contributes (or doesn't) to that goal. Brevity comes from carefully choosing what to say, not squashing everything in. Cut passages that don't contribute to your focus. Cut anecdotes that really aren't necessary, cut scenes that feel like side-bars. 

Then you need to "trim small". This is where you get rid of all those linking words like "therefore" that your HS english teacher taught you to put *everywhere*. Adverbs that don't change the purpose of the word it's modifying (ex: she was completely devastated - is that different than devastated? can you be partially devastated? bleh get rid of it). Prepositional phrases like "in my opinion" can be removed...we KNOW it's your opinion. 

It's painful, and time consuming. But trimming is important, like reducing a sauce strengthens the flavor. When I'm editing/trimming, I will go over the same essay 4-5 times to remove the 20% I want to take out, comfortable with it being an incremental process. This isn't one-and-done 10 minute project...settle in with your cup of tea and do the work thoughtfully.

#writingtips #collegeprep #collegeessay #personalstatement #duhocmy #duhoccanada #duhoc #hocbongmy #hocbongcanada
Get that manicure you deserve for all those hours Get that manicure you deserve for all those hours of work you're doing ✔️ 
chat about that cool M.Fin program that will take your career to the next level ✔️ 
plan essay together ✔️
write it, texting me for help when you get stuck ✔️
submit... and start the next stage of your career ✔️
You did it! You hit submit! It took everything you You did it! You hit submit! It took everything you had in the fall to get your applications together, to get teachers to submit those LOR, to get parents to sign those forms. To scan, upload, scan, upload. The writing was stressful, and all of this is on top of senior year, which is itself a full-time job. 
Bravo!

Except you're not quite done (oops)

If you're like most 18 year olds, you...are not the best at checking email, you sometimes forget that email that came in while you were standing in line to get boba. 

Here's the thing. If you're missing items in your application, the school is either going to email you about it, or they're going to expect you to check your portal. Think about it from their perspective... a kid who wants to go to their school is likely to follow up, right? RIGHT? 

So you've gotta go in and check that portal. You need to check those emails. Portals left unattended are incomplete applications, and you're essentially sitting in a waiting pile while they hand out acceptance letters and scholarships to other people. There are a finite number of acceptances to give, and even more finite amount of scholarships.

#duhocmy #duhoc #hocbong
I am all for internal pressure to do better, to be I am all for internal pressure to do better, to be better. It’s how change and growth happen! But I also meet too many teens comparing themselves in unhealthy ways, sure that if they don’t get the same SAT score, get into a top 10 school…their whole life trajectory will change. This is not how it works, you will be OK. If you’re that kid up at 2am for the 5th night in a row (for HW, not TikTok 😅) cut yourself a tiny bit of slack 💛
Spent the afternoon talking to a group of HoiAn In Spent the afternoon talking to a group of HoiAn International School teens about what they should be doing in 10th and 11th grade, as they work towards applying abroad. 
- make a testing plan for IELTS and SAT
- lean towards high school classes that match the kind of studies that appeal to you. Business. Psychology. Math. Whatever!
- start building up your ECAs. Universities care about 9, 10, 11, 12…don’t put it off!
- build those skills: reading, writing, organization, time management 

Everything is easier if you do it a bit at a time 🥰
have a homework & writing partner if you need acco have a homework & writing partner if you need accountability.

#studyabroad #tuvanduhoc #duhocmy #duhocanh #duhoccanada #hocbong #hocbongduhoc
One of the best things you can do for yourself, yo One of the best things you can do for yourself, your applications, and your mental health in the application process is to make a clear and detailed plan. It removes the fear of missing or forgetting something and it makes sure things are done on time, to the highest quality. I love hand-written notes and plans, but the application schedule should be typed, because that makes it editable. You will need to adjust, modify, extend, or reorganize it...and therefore digital is best. .
I use color-coding to mark:
1️⃣ what is coming up (black text)
2️⃣ what needs to be done now (yellow highlighting)
3️⃣ what is completed (blue text)
4️⃣ what someone else needs to do (highlight pink text).

This means I know what to do, and who might need a reminder. Make yourself a plan, and then get to work.

#duhocmy #hocbong #duhoccanada #tuvanduhoc #duhoc
11th graders: if you haven’t already started act 11th graders: if you haven’t already started actively working on your application plans, now is the time. DM me or email to come in and chat!

I'm currently taking meeting with students who are interested in starting in Dec/Jan, as my 25 spaces are full. I maintain a waitlist during the winter months for spaces that open up... so even if you're not quite ready to begin, come in and let's chat about your plan, and what you should be working on now!
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