ESF 2014 Graduates - University Destinations

Fatrara

If you are interested in knowing where the graduates of ESF have gone to, here is the information:
http://www.esf.edu.hk/university_destinations

Fatrara

ESF announced the data of higher education destinations and areas of studies for our students from the class of 2014. Students are studying at over 250 different higher education institutions in 18 different countries with the most popular being the UK (40%), Hong Kong (22%) and USA (17%). It is notable that an increasing number of students have chosen to remain in Hong Kong for higher education over the last few years – almost double from about 120 in 2011 to 204 in 2014.

The top five most popular universities for our 2014 graduates are the University of Hong Kong (HKU) (75 students or 8%), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) (44 students or 5%), University of British Columbia (40 students or 4%), University of Toronto (33 students or 4%) and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (27 students or 3%).

Some of the popular UK and US university destinations for our 2014 graduates include the University of Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, New York University and University of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles. Other popular UK and US university destinations are shown in the tables below.

Business studies, medical sciences and law* are the top three most popular areas of studies for the class of 2014, which 166, 94 and 58 students study the courses respectively.

A number of medical students have chosen to study in Hong Kong at HKU and CUHK and a few have gone to the UK to study at top universities including the University of St Andrews, the University of London and the University of Nottingham. A steady increase in the number of graduates choosing medical sciences as their studies has been observed over the past three years which rose from 42 in 2011 to 77 last year and then further to 94 in 2014.

“Those who choose to pursue a career in medical sciences received multiple offers from first-class universities in the UK and Ivy League institutions in the US but they decide to stay in Hong Kong as they see the demand for bilingual doctors growing,” said Chris Durbin, ESF Secondary School Development Adviser.

On top of the above courses of studies, our graduates study a wide range of courses in all fields which range from creative arts to science and technology. Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Hong Kong, for example, is one of the popular destinations in 2014 which 15 creative ESF students who aspire to become a leader in art and design decided to go.

“ESF students are highly favoured by university admissions officers because they are educated to be confident, internationally-minded and all-rounded individuals. Our professional teams of higher education counsellors work with students throughout the year in planning their study pathways and university applications,” said Durbin.

In 2014, seven ESF schools – including Discovery College, Island School, King George V School, Renaissance College, Sha Tin College, South Island School and West Island School – produced more than 1,000 graduates.

“The schools maintained very high standards of achievement in the International Baccalaureate Diploma and the BTEC examinations. Each and every student matters to us and this is evident in the choice of diversity of courses across a variety of university destinations,” he added.

Shootastar

WOW! Excellent Performance.

FattyDaddy

Fatrara 發表於 15-1-27 11:13
It is notable that an increasing number of students have chosen to remain in Hong Kong for higher education over the last few years – almost double from about 120 in 2011 to 204 in 2014. ...

This is not surprising, and reveals the underlying trend that more and more local HK families are opting for International Schools in order to avoid local schools, and not so much because of a plan to relocate abroad at some stage.

Julybabe

原帖由 Fatrara 於 15-01-27 發表
If you are interested in knowing where the graduates of ESF have gone to, here is the information:
h ...

The results  is pretty impressive

Mighty

Even I said so myself (as my child is in ESF), I was quite impressed with their results.  ESF schools, as average schools among intl schools, should be proud

nintendo

ESF 算係咁，又唔係精英制，一路讀上去冇篩學生，難得有好多叻學生，唔轉去 D 個個贊話係 TOP 的國際學校。

sara_liu

Considering there are over 1000 graduates in 2014 which is the biggest international secondary group in Hong Kong, surprisingly, the percentage of going into ivy league schools or the top universities in UK is not that high.

Cytine

Agreed with you FattyDaddy

FattyDaddy

sara_liu 發表於 15-1-28 22:43
Considering there are over 1000 graduates in 2014 which is the biggest international secondary group ...

I guess that is quite normal.

If we take a non-selective random sample of 1000 Hongkongers in the streets, how many of them would have been to an Ivy League school? Probably very few.

If parents believe their child is gifted or at least could be pushed with extra private tuition to become better than most, sending him/her to a non-selective school like one under ESF will probably be a waste.

This reminds me of another post I have seen here last year which had stuck in my mind, I forgot who was the poster, it said something like asking a parent whether she minded sending her child to a non-selective school with big class size of 30 children, and the answer was she didn't mind, because if not for that her child may not have had a chance to be there in the first place. A very insightful answer.

jolalee

nintendo 發表於 15-1-28 17:17
ESF 算係咁，又唔係精英制，一路讀上去冇篩學生，難得有好多叻學生，唔轉去 D 個個贊話係 TOP 的國際學校 ...

讚成ESF係好學校，很多學生成績優異。請留意近一成學生冇考IBDP而讀BTEC, 即變相篩學生。其實個個學生各有所長，而且行行出狀元。指出只希望表明ESF不是magic，始終靠學生本身的努力及資質，並無貶低此校之意。

jolalee

FattyDaddy 發表於 15-1-28 23:59
If parents believe their child is gifted or at least could be pushed with extra private tuition to become better than most, sending him/her to a non-selective school like one under ESF will probably be a waste.

I always thought ESF is good for all kids... Does that mean you believe gifted students should not attend ESF?

FattyDaddy

jolalee 發表於 15-1-29 00:21
請留意近一成學生冇考IBDP而讀BTEC, 即變相篩學生。...

If they used just those students who took IBDP (i.e. minus the 10% who took BTEC) as the base to calculate the percentages, then yes they have effectively done some sieving to make their figures look 10% better. If they used the total number of final year students as the base, then whether they did IBDP or BTEC is immaterial.

We don't know how they did it and they didn't elaborate on their webpage, worst case is the figures should be discounted by 10%.

FattyDaddy

jolalee 發表於 15-1-29 00:29
Does that mean you believe gifted students should not attend ESF? ...

I did not say that, I said it might be a waste, because the gifted child might not be selected out from the rest and realize his/her maximum potential.

All parents would like to think of their child as being unique or special or even gifted in one way or another, I have yet to come across a Hongkong parent who think of their 3 year old child as being just an ordinary run-of-the-mill type, but reality tells us most children will probably become just an average person. If everybody is chief, who is going to be the indian? :)

Many parent would try for selective schools, but would keep non-selective schools in their sights, just in case reality doesn't quite match up with expectations.

jolalee

At age 2-4, honestly can we judge which child will become successful and which one will not? I am not sure if the selective schools can really tell either, and selecting the child is just a matter of luck and the parents' effort.


Does being a selective school or not really make that much of a difference?

Does ESF being non-selective means they can make average students become above average?

Would intelligent students be overlooked or fail to realize their full potentials?

坦誠希望研究: 有否篩選學生，其實分別大不大...

FattyDaddy

jolalee 發表於 15-1-29 01:17
At age 2-4, honestly can we judge which child will become successful and which one will not? I am no ...

Don't forget it is not just a matter of getting in, over the years a selective school may ask nicely or not so nicely a student to leave if he/she is not up to the school's standards.

No one can tell in advance how a child's life will unfold, if the child is very clever and may do better in another school, or if a "better" school proves to be too competitive for the child, the most productive step to take is to change schools.

jolalee

The way you put it, it sound like ESF is not for the really bright students, which i am not sure that i agree with.

It could be true that some schools may have a more competitive atmosphere, for better or for worse. Some kids do strive better in a competitive environment whereas some may thrive at their own pace in a more relaxed one. If this really is the case, parents do need to pay attention to their children's characters over the years to see if the school and the child is the best fit...

FattyDaddy

jolalee 發表於 15-1-29 01:44
The way you put it, it sound like ESF is not for the really bright students, which i am not sure tha ...

I don't know why you keep interpreting it that way, my exact words were "it might be a waste" for clever children to go to non-selective schools, especially when their parents have high hopes (realistic or otherwise) of them and expect them to be selected out and treated differently so as to maximize their potential, e.g. being sorted into different classes according to academic ability and taught differently. Non-selective schools just don't offer that kind of environment, waste or not waste has more to do with the parents' attitudes and expectations.

jolalee

I see, it is the parent's attitude & not the children themselves that you are referring to. Sorry I am kinda slow in getting the gist in your undertone. I still believe that being selective or not would not affect the child's ability to learn, but yes, the parents attitude and how they prepare their kids would. Even a born genius would not go to Ivy League schools without lots of hardwork and the right environment, and honestly going to one really doesn't mean much in the long run.

A successful lawyer friend of mind from a wealthy background went to a "regular" University, graduated and later became partner at a major law firm (and then quit in order to give birth to and raise a lovely pair of twin boys). She has childhood friends with parents that pushed and pushed them into Ivy League schools (probably with connections or donations). Those kids don't amount to much, some can't even hold a proper job and had to live with their parents. I do believe how parents raise their kids do play a major part in their characters and attitudes in life, and that would determine how they would live their lives. Different parents do select different schools for their kids, and hence this is where the students' similarities part. Must say thought, more and more tiger parents are infiltrating ESF and other major International schools....

Mighty

I kind of agree that ESF is not selective only at admission.  However, it does select/divide students into appropriate groups according to their capability for major subjects, e.g. Maths.  At year 7, the school (at least my daughter's) has already said in black and white that lowest groups are likely not opt for IGCSE  Extended Curriculum.  Of course, it also said students can be moved among groups depend on their performance.  In conclusion, I still think your gifted/talented children can still thrive while average students enjoy their steady pace through the years in ESF.

Fatty Daddy : [All parents would like to think of their child as being unique or special or even gifted in one way or another, I have yet to come across a Hongkong parent who think of their 3 year old child as being just an ordinary run-of-the-mill type]

Hahaha, I might be the first hongkong parent you come across that really thinks that her/his child is just average.  And there is nothing wrong to be average.  I treasure how much effort one puts into what he pursues.