School ambassadors shared the reasons they chose a specific university – including why they chose the UK over other popular study destinations – with school counsellors, who all travelled from South East Asia to the UK for Cialfo’s inaugural UK Counsellor Fly-In between June 16 and June 22.

The counsellors stopped in six UK cities to visit HE institutions such as the University of Liverpool, Durham University, the University of York, Loughborough University, the University of Surrey and Queen Mary University of London to help them gain a deeper understanding of each university’s academic performance and life on campus.

The UK remains one of the ‘Big Four’ international study destinations, welcoming a record 679,970 overseas students for the 2021/22 academic year, according to the latest HESA data.

International student ambassadors from Durham University, University of York, University of Surrey, and Loughborough University provided the counsellors with a series of campus tours and panel discussions – giving invaluable insights into their experiences and what other international students could expect.

“Each university visit offered a unique experience, enriching our understanding with diverse teaching styles and student life insights,” noted Seema Kaushik, career and college counsellor and SAT test coordinator at Global Indian International School.

The event, hosted by the college application platform Cialfo, aimed to help the counsellors offer more “nuanced, informed guidance” to high school students in the process of choosing which university to apply to, Cialfo said.

Each university visit offered a unique experience, enriching our understanding with diverse teaching styles and student life insights

Seema Kaushik, Global Indian International School

“The counsellors were very engaged and asked lots of questions. We had valuable discussions about the UK admissions process and it was beneficial that the counsellor group included a range of professional experience and different school curricula,” said Caroline Feeley, head of international recruitment at the University of Liverpool.

Jennifer Basa, college/careers counsellor, admissions manager, alumni laison at Cebu International School, said the trip provided great insights into different options to feed back to potential students.

“We got to learn all about different university programs, build relationships with university representatives, and really get a feel for campus life,” she said.

“We hope that they benefited from the opportunity to visit the various UK university campuses during the Fly-In and have returned home equipped with greater knowledge and tools for advising their students,” Feeley added.