CIS parents? Is it really difficult to be accepted by CIS?

yuenszewing

I heard that many people need to wait more than 5 years for CIS? Is it true? Please share your view and experience.

Thanks

gst725

I have submitted an application to CIS and waiting for their reply. What year level is your kid?

yuenszewing

My bb is only 1 year old, but if it takes 4 - 5 years waiting, then I need to apply now?

gst725

I think those who have been waiting for 5 years are the ones who apply for Year 2 up.

gst725

If you are really interested in CIS, you can apply for their kindergarten now. It's always easier to get in by starting with kindergarten.

I am still choosing between CIS and ESF. I have no idea about which one is better. The only things that I know are their language of instruction and tuition fees are different. One thing I really want to know is their study atmosphere. Do you have any idea?

gogocat

Hi,

hv you got accepted by both schools? we have applied for the reception class and are awaiting for the result.

cheers
gogocat


gst725 寫道:

I am still choosing between CIS and ESF. I have no idea about which one is better. The only things that I know are their language of instruction and tuition fees are different. One thing I really want to know is their study atmosphere. Do you have any idea?[/quote]

gst725

We are going to have an interview with CIS the coming Saturday. I heard that there will be another 5 candidates together with my daughter for the interview. My daughter is extremely quiet and shy. I am worrying wether she can stay in the classroom for the whole hour with all strangers without crying. She would always need to take long long time to warm up with strangers especially with foreigner.

Was your interview conducted in English or Mandarin? Do you mind to share the experience of the interview procedure? Hope my daughter can be a classmate with yours in the future.

gogocat

In fact, i have no idea about what she has done in the assessment room. The teachers just called for 6 children in a time and brought them to another room. I could only see her after the interview. My daughter could not tell me much about the interview. She drew a picture in the classroom and brought it back to me. The waiting room is the library with toys and books for junior student so most of the kids could have a chance to get used to the environment. To my surprise, most of the kids are pretty independent and held the teachers' hands once they were called up. No kids cried on the assessment day.

yuenszewing

dear Gogocat,

Did your child accepted by CIS? I am interested to know.

gogocat

The result has not been released yet. As far as I know, the last assessment will be  conducted in this coming sat.

yuenszewing 寫道:
dear Gogocat,

Did your child accepted by CIS? I am interested to know.

gst725

Anyone who can share the experience of your kids interview process of CIS ?

ALIP

Unlike Aust Int'l, CIS doesn't prioritise accepting students on the basis of how long they've been on the list. I submitted my daughter's application Jan this year and she got interviewed last Sat.

ALIP

The choice really depends on whether you want your child to be truly bilingual or just have Mandarin as a basic 2nd language. From what I heard, ESF only has 2 good schools namely Island School and the Shatin School. The std at every ESF school differs quite dramatically. It has more local students in comparison to CIS and runs the British curriculum. CIS on the other hand offers ratio of 50/50 Eng/Mandarin in the first few years and than eventually 35/65 for the respective languages. CIS runs the IB curriculum.

gst725 寫道:
If you are really interested in CIS, you can apply for their kindergarten now. It's always easier to get in by starting with kindergarten.

I am still choosing between CIS and ESF. I have no idea about which one is better. The only things that I know are their language of instruction and tuition fees are different. One thing I really want to know is their study atmosphere. Do you have any idea?

gst725

We have submitted our application at the beginning of March and we have been told that we would have to be on the waiting list. We are going to have an interview this coming weekend. Do you mind to share your experience of the interview? They conducted in English and Mandarin?

ALIP 寫道:
Unlike Aust Int'l, CIS doesn't prioritise accepting students on the basis of how long they've been on the list. I submitted my daughter's application Jan this year and she got interviewed last Sat.

ALIP

CIS interview process, my daughter went last Sat:

- 3 teachers lead a group of 6 children
- 3 teachers are conversant in Eng/Cantonese/Mandarin
- depending on the languages you list in the application form as 1st & 2nd language, the teachers will communicate with your child accordingly
- my daughter said she was spoken to in all 3 languages
- not sure what kind of activities were conducted but my daughter mentioned playing with building blocks, running in the courtyard, drawing and chatting with the teachers.
- don't know how my daughter did but she was very happy at the end of it. in fact, a couple of kids who were unwilling to go with the teachers came back smiling so I guess the kids were not put under any kind of pressure.

gst725 寫道:
Anyone who can share the experience of your kids interview process of CIS ?

ALIP

I think their policy is to interview all the applicants who submit applications before the assessment period commenced which is Mar hence you got placed on the waiting list.

There are over 380 applicants this year for just 88 places. The lady at CIS said that after they've selected the 88 kids, another 40-50 are placed on waiting list for the full school year and vacancies do come up.

gst725 寫道:
We have submitted our application at the beginning of March and we have been told that we would have to be on the waiting list. We are going to have an interview this coming weekend. Do you mind to share your experience of the interview? They conducted in English and Mandarin?[quote]
ALIP 寫道:
Unlike Aust Int'l, CIS doesn't prioritise accepting students on the basis of how long they've been on the list. I submitted my daughter's application Jan this year and she got interviewed last Sat.

[/quote]

gst725

Thanks very much for your generous sharing. I just put Chinese as our first language on the application and didn't emphasis whether it is Cantonese or Mandarin. I hope they will talk to my daughter in Cantonese.

My daughter is extremely shy and quiet especially to strangers. That's why her current teacher suggested her to study in an int'l school which can build up her confidence.

I have put an application to ESF and GSIS too although it is very late already as we were planning to send her to the traditional Primary school.

To be honest, I really do not have any idea about how good to those int'l schools. I just heard that the singer Jackie Chan's daughter is studying at GSIS.

ALIP

Hi gst725,

You're most welcome. I'm not sure what kind of education you want for your daughter but if her shyness is the only reason, I think you need to consider other aspects as well coz putting her in a school that causes her pressure will not enable her to learn effectively. Other than considering if your daughter is suitable for a particular kind of school, you also need to consider if you accept the way a school is, in terms of it's culture, teaching methods, expectations of children etc...

I grew up overseas so I knew I won't be able to relate or help my daughter if she went to a local school therefore I only focused on researching int'l schools. Generally speaking, int'l schools foster individuality, inquisitive mind, creativity which could potentially result in self centredness, less discipline and laziness because of the freedom the kids are given. Local schools on the other hand foster discipline, ability to focus and hard work which in turn could result in rigidness, low creativity.

CIS and GSIS are the 2 int'l school with most impressive academic achievements - GSIS may be slightly above CIS. CIS is a truly bilingual school while GSIS require all students to study German. ESF on the other hand, has limited Mandarin lesson and it has a catchment policy so where you live would affect which ESF school you go to and not all of them are good.

If you're okay with your daughter learning limited Mandarin, you may want to consider Renaissance College in Maonshan. It's a new school managed by ESF and is slightly more expensive coz it has more facilities and runs the IB programme. I visited the school and was impressed by the principal, the teachers and the campus. I didn't choose it for my daughter coz I want my daughter to be fluent in both English and Mandarin, and this school does not allocate enough time for Mandarin lessons.

A word of caution though, int'l and local schools are very different, once you've chosen one stream, it'll be very difficult for the child to swap to the other stream. Perhaps the best way to go about this is to visit the schools you've shortlisted.

Hope this helps!












. GSIS is also very good school academically but you're required to study German. If you are not concerned about the standard of Chinese, you could consider Renaissance College which is run by ESF

03baby

ALIP, how do you compare esf cis to sis?

gst725

Thank you very much for your advice ALIP! My daughter has gone through the interview with CIS this morning and she seemed happy.

All I want my daughter to be in her school life is to study happily without loads of pressure. She is lack of confidence. So I hope she can study in a school which can help her to build up her confidence too. I don't mind if she does not speak Mandarin well while she is still very young. Actually, language of instruction is not my first concern.

But one thing made me not feeling very comfortable today when I was in CIS. The candidates' parents all seem unfriendly and showoff. I also noticed that some of them have tried to dress themselves like super star. Very childish!

Do you think Australian Int'l School, HKIS, CNDIS, and SIS are as good as GSIS and CIS academically? I heard that students in HKIS use drug quite often!