2023 International ACAC Conference Education Sessions

Do you struggle with getting students to embody the concept of best fit and not best school? This presentation will explore an opportunity called the junior project that seeks to assist students in personal and academic reflection through a structured powerpoint presentation that culminates with them identifying multiple schools that are the best fit for their individual needs. We will also discuss how universities can help echo the message of best fit during their high school visits.

Intermediate

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)

In a world where competition seems to drive decisions, the character and attitude of the student often gets lost in the shuffle of GPA, test scores, and the right kind of recs. This session will focus on ways counselors can infuse more activities focusing on the social-emotional needs of students for better outcomes for the student. The session will feature research from brain science, best practices, and the work of Making Caring Common. Participants will walk away with some tangible practices, whether their school has a counselor of one or one of many.

Beginner
Intermediate

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)
Organization (For-Profit, Non-Profit, CBO)

We will be delivering a brief presentation, outlining:
• Brief overview and history of the range of institutions across the UK, why does that matter?
• Myth-busting preconceived notions and ideas about the UK and studying there
• What universities offer students - where and how to find this out, including
- Degree content
- What are students buying into
- What do they study and how they are assessed
- Employability opportunities
- Niche subjects/specialized subject areas
- Challenges
• Rankings and statistics – simple pointers to make sense of the data
There will be a range of student testimonials (recordings and live) to give counselors understanding from the student point of view, of their experiences in choosing and applying to institutions in the UK. Having students live (likely to be virtual) during the event will allow for interactivity with counselors able to ask questions.

Beginner
Intermediate
Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual

For the past two decades, engineering was the most competitive program that students were applying to. And then, a few years ago, a new trend began to emerge. Computer science has now eclipsed engineering. As the number of prospective computer science applicants has risen, secondary school counselors find themselves struggling to find a wider range of programs for students to apply to.
What do counselors need to know about this important major? What is the best curricular preparation for students who want to pursue a career in this field? And how can counselors support these curricular choices and help students find HEI options, regardless of whether the student is towards the top or bottom of the class?

Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Organization (For-Profit, Non-Profit, CBO)

While we all have positive intentions to counsel and advocate for, admit and enroll refugee students, there is a lot more work needed to understand how best to assist students who have been displaced and living as refugees. This session will give perspectives from both counselors working with refugee students on the African continent and admissions officers who have intentionally worked as part of a task force on how to be more refugee-inclusive in their colleges' admissions and enrollment policies. We intend this session to provide practical tips and give a realistic view of the challenges refugee students face and the work needed for them to navigate them.

Intermediate
Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)

What does it mean to be an international student today?
This session will examine the implications of the rise of internationally-oriented high school curricula worldwide, following on the success of the IB.
How effective are these diplomas in promoting bilingualism, global citizenship, and critical thinking within the framework of national or state curricula? To what extent are these diplomas also an elite marketing tool for aspirational families?
We will introduce several examples, such as the new Baccalauréat Français International (BFI), Spain’s bilingual schools, the AP International Diploma (APID), and Cambridge IGSCEs/ A-Levels in non-UK schools. Our panel of international university admissions officers will then discuss how they evaluate such candidates and how these diplomas contribute to student success at their institutions.

Beginner
Intermediate
Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)
Organization (For-Profit, Non-Profit, CBO)

The world has changed astronomically in the past 20, 10, 5, or 2 years. Doing things the same way we’ve done them for years is not accessible or engaging for today’s Gen Z students. We can change our approach to intrigue students and make the process delightful, while still maintaining a rigorous and holistic admissions process. Ultimately, this approach is going to give you a better view of the whole student AND make the process fun and exploratory as opposed to stressful and inaccessible.

Beginner
Intermediate
Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)

Reverse admissions is an entirely new approach to college admissions that flips the script on the traditional admissions model.
This novel approach, in which universities come to students (rather than the other way around) creates new opportunities and challenges in supporting international students post admission.
Listen to a few case studies on how institutions have used this new admissions model to make international education more accessible, as a way to diversify their incoming student classes and help students broaden their options.

Beginner
Intermediate
Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)
Organization (For-Profit, Non-Profit, CBO)

This session situates student mobility, one of the key features of internationalization, within the framework of queer studies to conduct a comparative analysis of the means through (and the extent to) which universities in the UK and the US create an inclusive and welcoming space for their students. Simultaneously, the presentation will review benchmarking instruments such as the Campus Pride Index (in the US) and Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme (in the UK) to create a handy tool for college counselors for evaluating institutions on inclusivity. A cross-institutional collaboration across academic faculty, admissions, and counseling, the session promotes reflection on and engagement with the role played by gender and sexuality in student recruitment and experience.

Beginner
Intermediate
Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)
Organization (For-Profit, Non-Profit, CBO)

Whether we like it or not, the era of AI is here. With ChatGPT writing college essays, passing medical school exams and even prescribing medication, there’s no limit to what it can do as it continues to improve and enhance its functionality. This has raised great concerns among admission professionals about the authenticity of the application files that they have received and will receive in the future. But AI is here to stay and as we learn to co-exist with it, it is more urgent than ever for admission officers to be innovative and nimble-minded about their international recruitment strategies.

This session aims to share best practices of exciting, innovative and effective ways of engaging with international markets with a focus on China beyond the traditional recruitment models to counter the potential negative effects of AI (and we are not just talking about interviews).

Beginner
Intermediate
Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)

It takes a village to recruit, develop, and support a diverse international student community within the context of global higher education.
A panel of seasoned experts, representing various flavors of institutions (including our sister organization, NACAC), will explore key themes & challenges impacting our International ACAC family of members. These themes include:
• understanding the future of finding college matches;
• globalizing access/ inclusion/ belonging/ welcomeness initiatives;
• serving as ambassadors & advocates for the college career counseling worldwide; and
• anticipating major shifts in global student decision-making and demographics (with a focus on affordability & return-on-investment, especially with the emergence of the global South as source of student mobility and as a higher ed destination).
We will identify actionable insights and will share proprietary data and research to spark and inform a highly interactive discussion.

Beginner
Intermediate
Experienced

Secondary (High School) & Individual
Post-Secondary (College & University)
Organization (For-Profit, Non-Profit, CBO)