June holidays

As June holidays descend, there must be a thousand and one thing for all students to do that they can never find the time to do during class time. Here are some really really important events for those who are applying to colleges/scholarships coming up!

1. [June] PSC psychometric test
There's a good descriptor of the test by Ying Zhen if you look at some of our archives. Brightsparks also offers a pretty good analysis of what you need to do if you are interested to do well in.

2. [Late July] Opening of UCAS portal (UK)
Thinking about which university to go for UK? Start preparing a personal statement for UCAS now! Your application for 5 courses/university depends on a single essay.

3. [August] Opening of Common App portal (US)
Start writing your essays now before the common app portal actually opens! For the universities which sign up for the CA, almost all demand an essay unique to its own university, in addition to the common app essay. In case you haven't know it already, the common app essay is one essay used for all of your application (ie. you will submit 2 essays at minimum to every university). While the university specific essay topics may change from year to year, the common app essay topics never change.

4. [June - December] Requesting for letters of recommendation
Start early, give both yourself and your teachers sufficient time to write and review. And remember to say thanks!

5. [June - December] Take time off to reflect
Take some time off to reflect what you want to do with the next phase of life. You're at the crossroads and no one will decide your path except yourself.