What services does CGA offer for university and careers counseling?

University and Careers counseling is an incredibly integral part of the CGA student experience. From the moment that students step into Crimson Global Academy, we prepare them for a successful transition to future tertiary study, and their future careers.

From a university preparation standpoint, a true global school means an exposure to a global range of options. CGA’s philosophy is to educate students about their best-fit options around the world, equip them with the tools to explore and understand their university candidacy, and challenge them to build a well rounded university application profile. One of the founding principles of a CGA education is that we believe students shouldn’t be limited in their options because of their geographical location; our university counseling process is aligned.

CGA’s university counseling service is comprised of three core components: live webinars, recorded content, and one on one meetings.

1. Live webinars allow students with similar goals or application cohorts to receive university application advice in small groups, engage with staff, and ask questions.
2. Recorded content is available on-demand for students, explaining common topics to university study.
3. One on one time with CGA’s university counseling staff ensures that each student receives personalized advice and attention in their planning.

Is there a difference for services available to full time and part time students?

Full time and part time students have access to the live webinars and recorded content. Full time students enjoy hours of one on one meetings, consultations, and advising sessions with CGA’s university counseling staff.

Since full time students will be applying with CGA as their primary school of record, CGA also assists with all aspects of the documentation process, such as preparing transcripts and predicted grades and supplying personalized reference letters in support of our students.

Does CGA leverage any of Crimson Education’s knowledge to help students with admissions counseling?

Yes! CGA’s admissions knowledge and consulting process was built on the backbone of Crimson Education’s vast experience with thousands of students around the world.

CGA understands the geographic variations to candidacy, university preferences, and financial considerations and takes these into account when advising students. CGA students can access resources that have been prepared by Crimson Education, such as student handbooks, writing exercises, and profiles of successful students.

In addition, full time students are invited to schedule regular sessions with their university counselor at CGA. They have access to Slack in order to communicate with CGA staff outside of these sessions, and can request sessions as needed.

What are the most important factors considered for university admissions?

Academic performance is the most important factor in university admissions, at any university around the world. While some universities and countries may take secondary factors into account, such as standardized testing or involvement in extracurricular activities outside of the classroom, academic performance and potential will always be the primary factor.

Universities make decisions based on the student’s prior academic performance, and judge how confident they are that this performance will also translate into potential achievement at their institution. Exam results, and in some countries, day-to-day in class performance are taken into account.

CGA’s greatest strength is the quality of our teaching, and our student exams results demonstrate this. Our students are well prepared from an academic angle for university admissions!

Get to know the head of CGA’s admissions counseling, Bob Fan, here.

Is it necessary to know exactly what you want to study in university before applying?

It depends! Some countries–the most well known being the USA–extend students a certain amount of flexibility in “discovering” their academic passions and subsequently their course or major while in their first few years of university. In fact, this is encouraged, and is a large part of the educational philosophy. Other countries have educational systems in which students go into university already knowing what they want to study, and changing is inflexible.

A large part of the university counseling process is discussing strengths and passions with students in order to find this best-fit. Some students may be very focused on pre-professional courses or majors such as Law or Dentistry; therefore, it makes sense to pick universities in a country where a student is able to study these immediately. Some students may still be discovering or exploring; it’s best to choose universities in countries where they will have the ability to continue exploring in their first few years of university.

Any success stories to share?

Absolutely! CGA students in our first 2 admissions cohorts have been admitted to some of the best universities and programs around the world, including medicine programs in the UK, Stanford and NYU in the US, and computer science programs in Canada. In addition, CGA students have also received financial aid and scholarships in order to help finance their education at universities around the world.

Learn more about our student outcomes here.