Study Abroad after High School or University.

Here are some reasons to take a gap year.

• Become Fluent in Another Language
• Gain Experience Abroad and Earn Recognized Language Certificates for Your CV
  
• Discover Foreign Countries while Immersing Yourself in New Cultures
  
• Develop Greater Confidence, Maturity and Independence
  
• Build an International Network of Friends for Life
  

There are many programs for you and we can help you find out which option can help bring your career or academic goals to life.

Our consultants can help you start planning your gap year.

"I wanted to spend a year after high school gaining work experience, but I mainly wanted to experience the American life for myself. I wanted to explore the USA that I'd seen in movies." -Minji, Korea

"My dream is to study architecture in London, but to apply I needed to improve my English skills. So I decided to spend a year in London to better my English and also to get the chance to live amongst some of the world's most famous architectures." -Jiayu, China

As many of you know, schools are posting their decision notifications earlier than their official dates.

With Washington University posting yesterday and UC Davis posting today, we can now expect more decision notifications to arrive this season.

Here we have selected a few schools that many of our students apply to posting this week.

Boston College will be reporting this week.

RPI and Georgia Tech can be expected tomorrow, Saturday 3/12.

MIT will report Monday, 3/14.

University of Chicago posting Wednesday, 3/16.

Johns Hopkins can be expected Friday, 3/18.

Best of luck to you seniors!

As an increasing number of Chinese undergraduates are starting their college careers in the U.S, we noticed the increased number enrolling at American community colleges. It was reported that roughly 13 percent of all Chinese undergrads studying in the U.S increased from 2007 to 2015, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times.

Lee Academia has been working with children from not only the high-class families, but we are also starting to see more children from the middle-class families looking to leave the Chinese educational system.

Chinese students of every level are now looking at various types of U.S. institutions. They are more interested in the way America teaches. Top students were the majority coming to study in the U.S in the past, but now, more and more who can afford the education are coming to study at U.S. community colleges, and not necessarily applying to Harvard.

Many applicants were deferred from this year's early admissions. At the NACAC annual conference two years ago, the University of Michigan Senior Associate Director of Admissions addressed the issue of early action and the increasing loads of early applications from the students.

But over the last few years, we can see Michigan's admissions putting the brakes on and slowing down the process of early admissions.

There are many complaints posted on professional message boards and calls that went into the Michigan admissions office when the students and counselors saw the impact of the change in policy on early admissions. Counselors can continue to expect to see several thousand students deferred to regular decision due to the over-enrolling every year. In addition to reducing the number of students admitted early, the director mentioned that Michigan would be making greater use of wait lists to control the flow of admitted students and to get a handle on the class size.

There are many other universities finding themselves in similar situations, so for the thousands of applicants deferred because of the institution's over-enrollment problem, be prepared for a long ride into June.

Let us help you during this deferment. Contact us for more information.

Juniors, are you ready?

The Common Application just announced the writing prompts for the 2016-2017 application.

2016-2017 Essay Prompts
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.Contact us if you need assistance in brainstorming, developing and editing your essays. Our 3-hour College Essay Workshops will begin in July. Register now for the Early-Bird deal.

We would like to advise you that the MCAT registration for the June - September MCAT exam dates will open on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

And as a reminder, registration is currently open for the January, April and May dates.
 
Information on registration can be found at https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/register/.

For private MCAT test prep sessions, contact us for more information.

The last edition of the "Old SAT" is this Saturday, the New SAT is approaching, and test prep is on everyone's mind. Are you ready?

That being the case, we wanted to send along a few helpful and fun pieces of information in this article to get you squared away.

So far, we've worked on the "tangible" elements of your test prep - grammar facts, comprehension tricks, the math rules and strategies, and etc. necessary for top scores. But in this final week, you have a bigger job - making sure that your body and mind are fully ready for test day. The "intangibles" are equally as important. Your level of rest, relaxation, nutritional balance are all important when it comes to your overall test day performance.

This is why we never suggest that student pull "all-nighters" the week of his or her test. We have seen a student score 800 points lower than his predicted SAT score. But after getting plenty of sleep a month later, he scored a near perfect SAT score. 

We will show you exactly how to get your brain and body ready for the test - we even provided sessions on this throughout the year. Follow all the steps and you'll magnify your intelligence, memory, alertness, reasoning, reading speed, and awareness. We promise that it'll be worth your time!

A Week Before Your Test

Focus on SLEEP, NUTRITION and HYDRATION. Your body and mind needs to be optimally fueled and rested. 

1. Once you figure out where your SAT is, how to get there, when you need to be there and what time it starts, you should begin waking up at least two hours before the time of your test every morning. Your brain needs to transition from sleep to full awareness, and you want to give yourself time to snap out of it.

We recommend you get at least 8 hours of sleep every single night. Sleep is the biggest factor in your overall mental capacity. Learn to schedule your homework, school work, social obligations in advance.

Take a full-length, timed, graded practice test the weekend before your test day. Take away phones, TV, computers, etc. You need the absolute silence.

2. Cut the junk food. Eat plenty of healthy food on a regular basis. Focus on getting healthy proteins, fats, fiber, vitamins, and mineral at every single meal. Examples of the good stuff that keeps your body running at full capacity are lean meats, fruits vegetables, eggs, nuts, lean dairy and such.

Don't skip breakfast, don't skip lunch. Stick to a regular fueling schedule. Remember, your body enjoys cycles, so stick with a routine, especially for the whole week and you will be much better off on test day.

3. Hydration is important for many reasons. Drink more water than you normally do.

First, water will keep you from getting sick, and it will enhance your mental clarity. You want your bodily functions to be well maintained and if you are dehydrated, there are a list of physiological effects that will make your body and mind fall apart.

Try to limit your stress the week of your test. So sleep, eat well and hydrate.

We hope this helps. Good luck on your test this week.
​Stay tuned for our articles about the New SAT.

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.


2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?


3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?


4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.


5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Get started with your College essay this summer.

Lee Academia Consultants can guide you through the brainstorming, developing and/or editing process. For more information about our packages, contact us.