The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

98 DECEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT a document where you can cut and paste all essay prompts. Use last year’s prompts until the college publishes new ones, usually in August before your senior year.) • Other requirements for admission (particularly important for non-U.S. colleges) • Lots of room for your own personal notes Did you complete your homework for Day 1? You should nowhave a system to organize your list of colleges, either online, on spreadsheets or in notebook/ files. Days 2-4: Decide on where to study and how to study, giving yourself choices. Obviously, the location of your ideal university is determined by many factors: climate; ease of travel home; cost; prefer- ence for rural, urban or suburban; and of course, academics. But how you study is just as important as where. For example, most universities in the United Kingdom and the European Union demand a much narrower focus on your chosenmajor (called “course”) right from the outset. Many Canadian institutions do, as well. (Most U.K., E.U. and Canadian universities offer three-year programs, but non-citizens may have to do a foundation year to start.) Pre-professional programs in the United States also allow you to focus on your major from the start. Performing arts conservatories are one example, but there are also specialized engineering, pre-med and other programs. Babson College near Boston is an example of a liberal arts college that focuses on business and entrepreneurship. And don’t forget Switzerland’s famous hospitality programs such as Les Roches. But perhaps you’re not sure yet what you want tomajor in. That’s where most It can’t hurt to start putting together a rudimentary list during 10th grade, whenmost of the college admission pressure is still low.