Book Review of the "International Family Guide to US University Admissions" by Jennifer Ann Aquino

My review of the book International Family Guide to US University Admissions by Jennifer Ann Aquino is a bit overdue but there is a reason for that...I read her book twice and really enjoyed it and have found it very helfpful and relevant in my new position at Columbia College Chicago.  Additionally, as the father of three who will soon be involved in the college applicaiton process with my 16 year old daughter and then my two sons ages 12 and nine this book will become helpful to me on a personal level.

I first read Jennifer's book in early fall 2017 and my review was in the queue for posting here on IHEC Blog.  On October 2, 2017 I started a new job and on October 5th I departed for the AIEC conference in Hobart, Tasmania and was gone for nearly two weeks.  Things were busy but during winter break and into this new year I picked up International Family Guide to US University Admissions again becuase I'm having more of a role in international recruitment and admissions and knew that Jennifer's insight would be incredibly helpful to me as I learn more about this area of global student mobility and a large part of my new position.

International Family Guide to US University Admissions, 324 pages and published in 2017, is broken down into 12 chapters with Conclusion and includes The Writing Handbook to guide students through the writing requirements.

Contents of the book are as follows:

Introduction
Chapter 1 And You Are. . .?
Chapter 2 You’ve Got to Understand How It Works to Win
Chapter 3 Being Your Nerdiest Self . . .and Taking Time to Do It
Chapter 4 Your Goldilocks Moment
Chapter 5 Less Snap-Chatting and More Real-Chatting
Chapter 6 School’s [Not] Out For Summer!
Chapter 7 You Can’t Fake It
Chapter 8 The Pressure Is On!
Chapter 9 The Busiest Month of Your Life
Chapter 10 The Final Month of Writing College Applications. . .Ever?
Chapter 11 A Rite of Passage in the Making
Chapter 12 Anticipating, Deciding, and Arriving
Conclusion: The Beginning of the Rest of Your Life
The Writing Handbook
References
Index

As Jennier highlights in the Preface, one must read the book linearly as she walks students and their families through the detailed timeline of the admissions process from beginning to end.  What I really like is that she incorporates active Milestones, case studies and worksheets into each chapter.

International Family Guide to US University Admissions is an excellent resource and tool for international families and students considering applying to a college or university in the United States.  Jennifer provides sage advice in this excellent step-by-step guide of the admissions process in the United States and will serve as an incredibly helpful resource for prospective international students and their families.  As I previously mentioned, I found the book to be incredibly helpful to me and my new role in understanding the admissions process in the U.S. and I appreciate understanding the process via the international student and family perspective.  This will serve as an informative resource for me in my office library for many years.

That said, in about a year I'll have to check the book out of my office and bring it home as a resource for my wife and me as we begin to help guide our 16 year old daughter through the college and university admissoins process!

If you are interested in learning more about and purchasing the book you can do so via Jennifer's website here.

Note:  I receive no compensation for this book review other than the copy of the book I received in the mail for this review.

Yesterday at the "Educational Policy in the Trump Presiency, One Year In" #cepsforum at Loyola University Chicago

Presentation went fairly well but final question to me at the end of the panel did stump me.  My confusion was mostly how I was defining "transnational education" and what the audience member was asking.  Good question not a great answer...

Why are fewer international students coming to the U.S.? @DavidComp #CEPSFORUM pic.twitter.com/rSMwlUI1VB

— Cultural & Educational Policy Studies (@LoyolaCEPS) January 26, 2018

Speaking at Forum on "Education Policy in the Trump Presidency, One Year In" at Loyola University Chicago on January 26, 2018 – 3-5pm

I was a last minute invite (yesterday) to fill in to present and sit on a panel for the "Education Policy in the Trump Presidency, One Year In" forum presented by the Cultural and Educational Policy Studies program at Loyola University of Chicago this Friday, January 26th from 3:00-5:00pm in the Galvin Auditorium at Loyola’s Lakeshore campus (Sullivan Center, 6339 N Sheridan Rd).

• Mirana Johnson from Loyola's School of Law will discuss civil rights and K-12 students
• Amy Shuffelton from Loyola's School of Education will discuss sexual harassment and Title IX
• Demetri Morgan from Loyola's School of Education will discuss higher education financing and student loans
• I'll be speaking on Internationalizaition and International Student Mobility.

The previous speaker had to pull out so my Ph.D. director Noah Sobe, who is coordinating the event, invited me to fill in.

You can read more about the event via the Cultural & Educational Policy Studies Program News and Events page.

I received my Ph.D. from Loyola's Cultural & Educational Policy Studies program in 2013 and my area of concentration was Comparative and International Education.

Due to the lapse in appropriations...

Today I received an email notification that the school my kids attend will receive a $675,000 gift to support educational and collaborative partnerships with China!

My children attend the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.  The Laboratory Schools teach children in 3 year old nursery through high school and was founded by John  Dewey.  Today I received an email indicating that the school received a $675,000 donation from Jun Zhou to support international collaborations between the Laboratory Schools and educators and students from China.  

I have copied and pasted the email below:

Gift to support educational and collaborative partnerships with China for Lab students and educators

A gift of $675,000 from Jun Zhou, chairman of Zhongtong Logistics Company, Ltd., Zhongshou Logistics Company in China, and the Jefferson Education Group, will support exciting international collaborations between the Laboratory Schools and educators and students from China.

The University of Chicago's rich history of scholarly collaboration in China dates to the early 1900s and Lab founder John Dewey spent two years there from 1919 to 1921. During Dewey's time in China, he gained what some have called "superstar" status with people flocking to his lectures or reading them in translation in books and newspapers and widely applying his philosophies of education. Mr. Zhou's gift is inspired by the work that unfolded on that trip, and which Mr. Zhou and Lab hope to continue, believing that Dewey's ideas are still relevant today. Specifically, the gift will allow Lab to:

• Host a conference and commemorative activities celebrating the 100-year anniversary of that 1919 trip. The May 2019 conference will bring together researchers, policy-makers, and school-level educators from the United States and China. It will also invite the Lab community to honor Dewey through hands-on activities and shared explorations.

• Fund student exchanges—study tours and community service work—in the summers of 2018 and 2019, that will focus on cultural understanding in areas such as the arts and leadership development.

• Sponsor professional development for both Chinese and Lab teachers via summer educator exchange programs.

In the span of a century, research partnerships between University of Chicago scholars and their Chinese counterparts have blossomed into dozens of ongoing relationships spanning many fields of study. Lab educators are excited to deepen this connection in the areas of pre-collegiate education and student experience.

"Dewey had a lasting impact on Chinese education," says Laboratory Schools Director Charlie Abelmann. "His landmark trip in 1919 represented the introduction of new ideas that shaped policy and practice. And his travels overseas allowed the ideas that he and his wife, Alice, developed to spread and shape the global educational landscape."

Through his gift, Mr. Zhou hopes that Lab's students and teachers will learn more about "Chinese traditional culture, current China, meet people and see with their own eyes, and think." In this way students will "better prepare for college and have more options when they go to the real world to live and work in the future." Mr. Zhou sees the conference as the first step of new and important collaborations.

Former Lab parent Ling Zhao Markovitz was instrumental in introducing Mr. Zhou to Lab and helping to make this gift a reality. "I've known of Mr. Zhou's admiration for the legacy of John Dewey in China," she says. "As a Lab parent for the past 14 years, I believe in Dewey's approach to children's learning and development. I've seen my own and other children flourish under those founding and guiding ideas, and am confident that the tradition will be continued and extended under Charlie's leadership. That's why we've been motivated to help the Laboratory Schools in any possible way through our own philanthropy and through encouraging the philanthropy of others."

Mr. Zhou is also providing significant funds to support the expansion of Buddhist studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School, as well as a variety of other University-China initiatives.

Says Mr. Abelmann, "The learning partnerships that Mr. Zhou's gift will sponsor are exciting. And through the conference, Dewey's work—championed by an interested and engaged community—will support new ideas and help to shape future educational policy and practice."

My PIE Chat with The PIE News

Many thanks to Patrick Atack of the PIE News for inviting me to be Interviewed for the most recent PIE Chat . Our conversation was on October 10, 2017 in Hobart, Tasmania just after my invited talk and panel discussion at the IEAA Research Roundtable on "The Rise of Social Media in Public Influence for Int'l Ed."

PIE Chat this week features @DavidComp, assistant provost for global education at @ColumAdmit

He talks to us about the USA’s new competitors, #socialmedia use in #intled and the importance of reaching out to surrounding communitieshttps://t.co/vHpCdsPOc3 pic.twitter.com/AoeeS025wu

— The PIE News (@ThePIENews) January 17, 2018