Counselling activity: thinking ahead to university applications

My colleagues and I created this multi-step activity to better assist our students in effectively preparing for postsecondary applications.

After noticing a spike in written and video supplementary applications – most likely as a result of AI – we developed a two-part assessment for our Grade 11 (Year 12) students, to assist in the development of their written and verbal metacognitive skills. 

A fringe benefit of this is how much this activity alleviates family stress and anxiety around applications as they a) better understand our role as their child’s counsellor and b) breathe a sigh of relief at seeing their child tackling early application work.

Part one: recommender or recommendee

Part one of this assessment requires students to choose between two tasks. They can either assume the role of a recommender for a fictional scholarship and write a recommendation letter from that perspective or they can write a personal statement, outlining their interest in and suitability for a particular programme.

I guide my advisees to choose the option that best suits their potential needs for next year. For example, if a student knows that they will be applying to UK universities via Ucas, I suggest that they complete the personal statement. But if a student is planning on applying to the US via the Common Application, I suggest they write a letter of recommendation, as it allows them to reverse-engineer a brag sheet for one of their teachers.

Part two: one-way video interviews

The second part of this assessment asks students to reflect on past experiences, by using several brainstorming sessions to create “master stories” to act as anchors for one-way video interview questions.

We have partnered with a company that creates a mock-interview experience. Over the course of several classes, students brainstorm, practise, reflect and continue practising the one-way video interviews. They use my feedback as well as the company’s performance metrics to improve, before recording their final assessment.

This experiential task has been incredible for student buy-in. I involve several stakeholders, bringing in Grade 12 (Year 13) students to talk about their experiences, as well as contacting university representatives. And I asked our school communications team to highlight this activity, so that the broader community – families, administration, other staff – better understands the landscape of postsecondary applications, and how we prepare students. 

Resources

The following documents outline the task in full: 

Part 1: Choose to write a personal statement or a reference letter. 

Part 2: One-way video interview component