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January 15, 2025 | Article

The Importance of University Advising

When it comes to international university admissions, students and families must navigate complicated requirements and complex processes. Obtaining all the necessary information and support for this journey can be daunting. Dedicated university advising can make all the difference for a smooth application and admissions process.

At Hudson Global Scholars, international students receive free university advising when working towards an American high school diploma. Each student is assured four individualized sessions with their advisor plus many other valuable resources to support their university journey. Each step in the process serves an important purpose as students consider, apply for, enroll in, and begin their college experience.

A University Guarantee

Students who successfully complete an American high school diploma with a 2.5 grade point average or higher are guaranteed acceptance to at least one of more than 30 participating English-speaking universities, or Hudson Global Scholars will refund their program fee. Hudson Global Scholars is proud to offer a strong portfolio of universities that are eager to recruit our graduates. These participating universities also allow eligible students to benefit from a streamlined application process, waiving many common requirements such as essays and standardized tests.

The University Advising Experience

Hudson Global Scholars advising is designed to foster caring relationships with students and families. As one recent graduate describes:

“My university advisor was really kind, supportive and knowledgeable. Our session was quite helpful. She gave me useful feedback and even though our session time was over, she extended the session just to answer all my questions.”

With personalized guidance, the advisors provide practical support for students from the beginning of their university planning through a smooth transition to university. Here is how the unique program works for most students.

Step 1: Meet Your Advisor

At the beginning of their program, high school diploma students are welcomed to Hudson Global Scholars’s unique advising program. In their orientation, students, parents, and administrators are introduced to HGS advisors, who share the information about the university advising program and the universities in the Hudson Global Scholars’ portfolio. Students are also welcomed to the global student community and are put in contact with other diploma students around the world with similar goals and ambitions.

In their first one-on-one advising session, students meet with a dedicated advisor to receive personalized guidance and develop preferences such as university location, programs of study, career goals, and budget. Usually, parents also join in this meeting, and a coordinator will join if language translation services are needed. Together, participants get to know each other and begin to explore options.

Make the most of each advising session with a helpful Advising Session Planner. Bring your goals and questions to each session, and capture tasks, notes, and follow-ups with this printable resource.

The first meeting can open a whole new way of thinking about a student’s future.

In a memorable advising session, a student and his parents came to the first one-on-one meeting thinking that an international university was beyond their reach.

“They did not know if obtaining a student visa was even possible,” recounts Emily Doyle, Director of Product Management and Community Engagement at Hudson Global Scholars. “However, they left the meeting with a practical plan for pursuing an engineering degree in the United States. The student is currently living his dream by attending the University of Illinois Chicago.”

For many global scholars, especially first-generation university students, attending university abroad may at first seem impossible. Hudson Global Scholars’s advising shows these students and families what is possible and helps them make this goal a reality.

Step 2: Focus in Together

During the next advising phase, usually a year prior to graduation, students begin to narrow down their top university choices with the support of their advisor. Advisors encourage students and families to research their top choices and bring questions to meetings so they can make the most of their time. During this session, the advisor answers questions about costs, scholarships, academics, campus life, and other details for specific universities of interest.

Step 3: Prepare Your Applications

As the process continues, the advisors help students prepare materials for university applications and complete applications with the students. During this session, advisors also help students explore their scholarship opportunities. Graduates of Hudson Global Scholars schools have the unique opportunity to earn scholarships based on their academic achievement. In fact, graduates with a 2.5 G.P.A. and above are guaranteed a minimum scholarship, and students who graduate with a 3.7 G.P.A. or higher receive a $10,000 scholarship if they attend one of Hudson Global Scholars’ participating universities in the U.S. The Hudson Global Scholars advisors can also help students attain additional scholarships at the discretion of their chosen university.

With a simple admissions portal, students encounter a streamlined and easy process to apply to universities within the Hudson Global Scholars portfolio. Applicants benefit from rolling admissions processes, and they typically receive university decisions within 30 days of submitting all their required documents. The participating universities are eager to recruit Hudson Global Scholars, so most standardized tests, essays, and letters of recommendation are waived.

High-quality English-speaking universities are consistently being added to the Hudson Global Scholars portfolio, which includes institutions around the world, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Advisors find that during this period, international students and families may need extra support to work through any problems that arise. Hudson Global Scholars advisor Rukayat Olunlade helps families troubleshoot these unforeseen challenges as part of her advising role. As a former international student herself, Ruka uniquely understands the anxieties that families can feel around navigating big education decisions abroad. When things come up, she is there to find a solution!

Step 4: Transition to University

In the final phase of the process, advisors share the exciting news of university acceptances and scholarship awards with students and their families. Once students have made their final decision, it is time for advisors to support students in all the next steps, including language placement, housing and meal plan choices, and financial deposits to secure their place at university.

Another key step in this part of the process is visa support. Advisors introduce visa support teams that specialize in the visa process. This team will prepare students, including completing and submitting I-20 forms, visa interview set up, interview practice with the goal of obtaining the required visas for international study.

A Focus on Retention

Once students are enrolled in a university, they have achieved a major accomplishment. However, student retention at international universities can be a challenge for several reasons including support and preparation.

The universities in the Hudson Global Scholars’ portfolio are invested in student success. Many first-year university programs include valuable benefits that support positive academic and social outcomes, such as:

• Academic counseling and tutoring to build a solid foundation
• Customized English courses to improve conversational and academic proficiency
• Student advising to aid the transition to life in the U.S.
• Cultural group outings to discover the local area with fellow international students
• Campus orientation and outings to become familiar with the new campus and surrounding neighborhoods

Student preparation is another factor that affects university retention. Research shows that high school students who participate in American dual diploma programs have more successful outcomes when they attend U.S. universities.* Hudson Global Scholars practice their English skills in rigorous classes. They experience the educational methodology used in U.S. universities. Furthermore, they hone their online learning skills while participating in diverse student communities that build global citizenship. In short, these diploma programs truly prepare scholars for the level of academic rigor and social experience that they will encounter in their university.

This combination of guaranteed admissions and university readiness makes Hudson Global Scholars a solid choice for students and their families. Not only will students be accepted into a competitive university, but they will also be prepared to thrive in their higher education journey.

There is so much to navigate for international students applying to and enrolling in universities abroad. Hudson Global Scholars prepares students academically, linguistically, technologically, and socially for the rigors of an international university experience. University Advising supports students every step of the way, from choosing and applying to university to making the transition to college student. Hudson Global Scholars’s university advisors love to see students and families who thought a dream was out of reach enroll and succeed in their educational pursuits around the world.

Learn more about the university advising process and how it supports your student.

* Qin, Tian and McNaughtan, Jon, “Higher Education Administrators’ Perceptions of a Dual Diploma High School Program: A Single Institution Case Study of International Student Transition Experiences,” Journal of International Students, Volume7, No1, 2024, https://saoc-ojs-shsu.tdl.org/saoc