As part of SIS’s curriculum, rising juniors begin the application process with a preparatory class that sharpens their essay writing skills and gives them time to research careers and schools that may be of interest to them. By August of their senior year, they have a personal statement ready and a clearer knowledge of what universities are a good fit for them.
The Class of 2020 especially took advantage of the seminar class from the start. “This class is very motivated and excelled in all of the tasks I asked of them,” SIS college counselor Whit Altizer said. “They had also put themselves in a position early on to have strong applications with plenty of activities, community service, and strong grades from 9th grade,” he added.
So far, nine out of 20 students received 25 total acceptances before the new year. Among those seniors accepted, one has already committed to Emory University with a QuestBridge scholarship that covers her tuition and expenses. Altizer set a goal last January to have all U.S. applications done by winter holiday and an overwhelming majority of the seniors met that goal.
“We’re very proud of this class and we are certain wherever they go they will make as big an impact as they did at SIS,” SIS headmaster Ron Snyder said. “We take pride in our Geckos going off to top notch universities all over the world and displaying the strength and initiative that is the backbone of our school and island to their new community.”
SIS Class of 2020 Acceptances
Allan Lee
Baylor University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Drexel University
Washington State University
Andrea No
University of Massachusetts, Boston
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Seattle University
Anika Snyder
New York University-Abu Dhabi
University of St. Andrews
Jon Paul Sablan
University of Portland
Notre Dame de Namur University
Ken Song
Emory and Henry College
University of Portland
Malika Miyawaki
Emory University
QuestBridge Scholar
Sally Lai
Duquesne University
Seton Hall University
University of Portland
Loyola University Chicago
Adelphi University
Steven Goodwin
Chapman University
San Diego State University
Loyola Marymount University
You Sun Lee
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Rollins College
