College counselling

University applications have different requirements and deadlines depending on the institution and country. Students receive help planning their applications and preparing the documents they need.

The IAS College Counselling Board provides this support. Students meet a counsellor one to one, in scheduled sessions, and work through the whole thing at their own pace: which countries, which courses, which documents, and in what order.

Where and what to study

Students discuss their interests and plans with a counsellor, then compare courses and institutions. The counsellor explains entry requirements for each country and university.

Students applying in Poland and students applying abroad get the same attention. Both routes are normal here, and a good number of families are weighing one against the other well into the final year.

The personal statement

Writing a personal statement takes time and practice. The counsellor gives them sample statements and real document examples to read first, so they can see what a finished one looks like, and then reads their drafts and gives feedback. The aim is a statement that sounds like the student who wrote it.

Paying for it

Financial aid rules differ depending on whether a student counts as a home applicant, an EU applicant or an international one. The same student can hold all three statuses depending on the country they apply to. The counselling team works through which category applies where, and what that means for fees and for the aid a family can realistically apply for.

The year after the offer

Advice does not stop at the acceptance letter. Where a student lives in their first year shapes how that year goes, so the team talks through the options: a university dormitory, a shared house, or something arranged privately, and what each tends to cost and to be like.

When to begin

Alumni have gone on to study in Poland and abroad, and into careers across many fields. Starting early leaves time to prepare. A student who starts in Grade 11 has time to sit the right tests, draft a statement properly and apply to the courses they want. Starting later can limit the courses still accepting applications.