Unique College Counsellor position in Elite Beijing National School
School
Beijing National Day School (BNDS) is widely acknowledged to be one of the
foremost public academic senior secondary schools in the capital city of China. It
is an institution with international curricula, elite faculty, and increasingly
diverse student body, most of whom are Chinese nationals. China’s National
Certificate Curriculum (CNCC) comprises the education programme for
two-thirds of all students, but two recently inaugurated English-medium
programs are rapidly changing the character of the BNDS experience. The first is
the Cambridge International Advanced Level Examination programme and the
second is the American College Board AP Programme.
These two programmes
now enroll over 250 students.. BNDS has also recently gained IB World School
status and anticipates the start of the IB programme in fall 2013. This deliberate
expansion of English-medium programs and faculty is expected to reach its
strategic stride three years from now, when nearly one-half of our 500 annual
graduates are projected to head for university with three or more AP, IB Higher,
or A-Level passes.
Only the best Junior Middle School leavers achieve high
enough scores on their senior school entrance examinations to gain admission to
the conspicuously competitive BNDS senior high school. This fact effectively
ensures that the BNDS student body is of uniformly high calibre. It is relevant
to note, perhaps, that our Principal, Li Xi Gui, is one of China’s most respected
school reform leaders; he is also a best-selling author of several books on
educational philosophy and international education.
Historically, BNDS graduates can be broken down into four groups
corresponding to their college matriculation behaviour.
The first group,
comprising up to the top 12% of BNDS graduates, enroll in either Tsinghua
University or Peking University, reputedly the top two universities in
China. The second most competitive portion of the class (about 25% of the
cohort) enroll in one of the other seven C9 League institutions, commonly
referred to as the ‘Chinese ivy league’, or into the next 30 highest-ranked Chinese
institutions, all of which enjoy 985 Gongcheng (Project 985) status. Close on their
heels, about 60% of the class routinely enroll in one of the other ‘National Key
Universities’ of China. In recent years, BNDS graduates looking for bachelor
degrees abroad has grown to 190 per cohort, which is a direct reflection of the
increasing commitment this school has made to internationalization.
Position/Job Title College Counsellor
Reporting to
Foreign Director of College Counselling
Duties and
Beijing National Day School seeks up to two experienced college counsellors to
Responsibilities
join a growing staff in its College Counseling Center.
Beijing National Day
School is located in the Haidian District of Beijing.
The BNDS College Counselling Centre was established in September of 2010 and
is dedicated to serving high achieving students who wish to pursue bachelor’s
degrees overseas, especially in core English-speaking countries.
The current
opening(s) is for a new position that offers an exciting opportunity to counsel
Chinese national students who are enrolled in the College Board AP programme,
Cambridge-A Level programme, and the Chinese National Certificate
Curriculum.
The successful candidate is expected to play an important role in assisting the
Centre realize its goals for 2014 in serving the counselling needs of a rapidly
expanding portion of the BNDS graduating class.
The new counsellor will join
a team of four full-time ex-pat counsellors, one full-time bilingual Chinese
counsellor and one half-time bilingual Chinese counsellor in this work.
Responsibilities

Educate students and parents on the appropriate university admission
tests and the preparation required for tests such as ACT, SAT, SAT
Subject tests, AP exams and TOEFL or IELTS

Meet with students to research universities, generate a list of potential
universities that are a good fit academically, socially and financially

Guide and assist students through the application process (ie obtaining
teacher letters of recommendation, essay reviews, creating an activity
resume, meeting deadlines, following application and transcript
procedures)

Participate in on-campus BNDS events and BNDS sponsored
USA/Canada college tours through national high schools in Beijing and
neighbouring provinces.

Educate staff, students, and parents as to the various types of institutions
as well as the different admission practices associated with them

Participate in BNDS students’ college tours to the US/Canada

Maintain an ongoing knowledge base of university admissions issues
and develop a strong network among university counselling and
admission professionals

Meet with university representatives to obtain updated information and
market our students and schools.

Arrange and attend professional development activities such as
university fairs, high school visits, conferences and workshops in China
and overseas.

Assist in the annual revision of the Counselling Centre Handbook and
building a digital and hard-copy archive of application resources for
students and families

Assist teachers in writing letters of reference appropriate to the receiving
university/culture.

Make weekly reports and provide data/statistics on academic and
admission progress of all students
Requirements

Other work as assigned

Master’s degree preferred, minimum of 3 years of extensive experience
in all aspects of college counselling for highly selective university
admission

Operational knowledge of all the requirements (i.e. including financial)
of the US/Canada/UK college Admissions system

Wide ranging knowledge of the US/Canada/UK universities and their
academic programmes

Familiarity with current climate and dynamics of Chinese Mainland
students applying to USA/Canada/UK higher education is preferred

Experience in living and working, or studying, abroad

Ability to adapt quickly to a foreign environment and the challenges it
presents

Enthusiasm for working with adolescents and their parents is essential

Excellent communication skills, both oral and written. Strong writing
skills are necessary for writing references for students and assisting them
with personal statements for their applications

Bilingual Mandarin/English not required, but preferred.

High degree of flexibility

Demonstrated ability to work well in fast-paced environment

Some evening and weekend work

Team player with sense of humour
Compensation
Competitive Salary, Full Benefits, Professional Development
Start Date
August 25, 2013
Send letter of interest, CV and names of 3 references to the following contacts.
To Apply
1.
Mr. David McCauley
email: davidmccauleybnds@gmail.com
2.
Mr. Percy Jiang
email: percy.bnds@gmail.com
Review of applicants will begin 15 April 2013 and will continue until the position
is filled.
Skype interviews are expected to begin in June.