It is never too early to prepare for your child’s university journey, and since we at Yew Chung International School of Beijing are now in the latter part of the school year, this means parents and Secondary school students are beginning to ready themselves for the transition from secondary school to university. Many students have already received acceptances from leading universities in Hong Kong and England, many more are still awaiting their results from universities in America and Australia.

Overwhelming as this period may be for some, there are various tools and resources available to support students with the easing of the process, whether it's moving to a new city or it's adjusting to life as a young adult.

Parents play an important role not only providing basic daily support to their children, but the academic, social and emotional support are as equally imperative.

Jonathan Mellen, YCIS Beijing University Guidance Counselor elaborates on how parents can support their children leading up to life in university in the above regards.

Emotionally: How students handle different situations depends mainly on their emotional intelligence, a trait parents can play a role in developing. You can teach your child to journal and reach out to people they can trust to share their feelings. Not only does it help them write what you are feeling, but it also helps them see how far you have come when they look back at their journal later. Universities also have a counselling office that will help you settle in.

Academically: You can help your child by monitoring their progress in school and helping them plan out their own academic schedule. For some subjects your child may need help in organizing and managing their time in each subject. Teaching your child to manage their time and academic work is important. When they reach university, they will need to be independent as there will be nobody checking up on his/her deadlines.  The point is to teach them to be independent.

Socially: Because we are all part of a bigger social community. Parents are advised to encourage their children to think beyond themselves. Introducing the concept of global citizenship from a young age is vital as it prepares your child for a diverse larger community outside of theirs. Parents can help research different types of extracurricular activities and encourage their children to reach out to various clubs before they arrive.

Physically: Teach your child the benefit of exercise on a daily basis. Teach them the benefits of a healthy balanced diet and getting enough sleep at night. When you go to a new environment you want to ensure that you have a healthy diet and are getting enough sleep. This will help them grow, mature and develop. Joining an intramural sports team at university is advised; it will help them find new friends, get exercise and have an outlet for the challenges they will face.

These are some of the ways parents can support their children as they head to different parts of the world.

Below is a list of university students have so far been accepted to. The full list to follow at the beginning of the new school year.

According to Mr Mellen, “We have had a very successful graduating cohort thus far. We have had offers to the following institutions this year”:

University of Warwick Newcastle University University of Leeds Hong Kong University Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

We have also had students interview with the following institutions:University of British Columbia Hong Kong University Hong Kong Polytechnic Dartmouth UniversityCornell University Princeton University 

Applications were also submitted to the institutions below and our students are awaiting responses from universities. Boston College Dartmouth UniversityCornell University Princeton University  Northwestern University Yale University Harvard University