Careers and University Guidance Office

Personal guidance and a clear path forward

Students use their time at YCIS to improve and prepare for the future. Through career planning workshops and global university networking activities, our dedicated guidance counsellors provide individual and in-depth guidance to all students as they embark on the next steps in their lives. The YCIS Careers and University Guidance Office reaches out to students and parents as early as the upper primary years so that they can explore and define career paths and understand the subjects, skills, and qualities needed to make informed choices about universities during the upper secondary years. From fulfilling requirements to completing the application procedures step-by-step, our counsellors help students to reach their goals.

With an unwavering conviction, great curiosity, and a passion for creating a better world for themselves and others, our graduates attend top universities worldwide. Our team of Careers and University Guidance Counsellors across our schools share a rich network of resources and insights accumulated through regular university visits, international conferences and practical exchanges to ensure that our students always have access to the latest information and advice about further education.

YCIS Hong Kong employs four full-time University and Career Guidance Counsellors to help our Secondary students plan their future educational and professional paths and enable them to achieve their goals.

University Guidance Service Brochure

One-to-One Support

The Careers and University Guidance Office (CUGO) provides students with career planning guidance and helps them choose IB or IGCSE courses to enter universities in their preferred countries and fields successfully. Our CUGO also offers one-to-one advice to students, helping them compile the necessary materials required for university and college applications and preparing student transcripts and reference letters. Our counsellors use their expertise to help students and parents understand university requirements, the courses and programmes offered in various countries, and the application processes.

Members of the Careers and University Guidance Office, from left to right: Mr Anthony Dang, Ms Grace Poling, Ms Ingrid Luk Van, Ms Alison Chan, Ms Charling Cheung, Ms Chew Ling Seet, Ms Mariko Watanabe, Dr Alvin Kwan.

University Visits

YCIS annually hosts many visits from representatives of various universities and colleges from the US, the UK, Australia, continental Europe, Canada, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore. This allows students and parents to meet and speak with representatives of overseas universities and learn about their admission processes, university life, and their programmes.

Career Planning

YCIS regularly hosts career talks, classes, and information evenings so that our students can better plan their future. Students also actively enrol in our college counselling programme, which helps them identify their passions, goals, and directions for university studies and future development.

University Offers:
Each year, our culturally diverse and diligent students achieve outstanding results in admission to top universities in Hong Kong and worldwide. Universities and colleges that have offered access to our students include:
- United Kingdom
  
  University of Cambridge
  
  University of Oxford
  
  University of St Andrews
  
  London School of Economics and Political Science
  
  Imperial College London
  
  Durham University
  
  University College London
  
  King's College London
  
  University of Warwick
  
  The University of Manchester
  
  Royal Veterinary College
- United States
  
  Stanford University
  
  University of Chicago
  
  University of California - Los Angeles
  
  University of California - Berkeley
  
  Cornell University
  
  Johns Hopkins University
  
  Northwestern University
  
  University of Pennsylvania
  
  Purdue University
  
  Northeastern University
  
  Wellesley College
- Hong Kong
  
  The University of Hong Kong
  
  The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  
  The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  
  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  
  City University of Hong Kong
- Canada
  
  University of Toronto
  
  McGill University
  
  University of British Columbia
  
  University of Calgary
  
  Simon Fraser University
  
  Quest University
  
  Ryerson University
- Australia
  
  University of Adelaide
  
  University of Melbourne
  
  University of Sydney
  
  The University of Queensland
- Spain
  
  Universidad Europea Madrid

To know more, please click here to download our University Guidance Service Brochure with University Acceptance Profile.

Ms Grace Poling

Careers and University Guidance Counselling Coordinator

Ms Poling graduated with a Master degree in counselling. She was in US university admission for nearly 20 years. She was the Associate Dean and Director of International Recruitment at Ohio Wesleyan University before joining YCIS Hong Kong. She has over 10 years experience in university guidance counselling and is very familiar with world higher education systeMs She has seen many changes in global higher education trends and has helped her students find universities and programmes that are good fit to them. She is the Head of CUGO at YCIS Hong Kong.

Contact email: gracep@hk.ycef.com

Ms Grace Poling

Dr Alvin Kwan

Careers & University Guidance Counsellor

Dr. Alvin Kwan obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Manchester. Prior to joining YCYW, Alvin was an associate professor of Biomedical Science at Cardiff University, responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research. His experience in medical research and higher education spans over 30 years. He was also responsible for undergraduate admissions at Cardiff for 15 years before retiring in 2020. In addition to guiding YCYW students to align their academic interests with future universities and subject choices, he is the coordinator of the Advanced University Preparation (AUP) Programme Group, which assists students in meeting new global academic challenges by fostering a questioning and analytical approach to learning.

Contact email: alvin.kwan@hk.ycef.com

Dr Alvin Kwan

Mr Anthony Dang

Careers & University Guidance Counsellor

Serving the YC/YW Foundation for over 20 years, Mr Anthony Dang has held various Careers and University Guidance roles in YCIS Hong Kong (IB Curriculum), YWIES Guangzhou (A Level Curriculum), and the Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education. Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Anthony is very familiar with the US style of education, earning a BA in Business and Management Information Systems from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and holds a Master of Education (MEd) in Educational Leadership and Management from The University of Hong Kong. He is also currently the SAT Test Coordinator for the YCIS Hong Kong Test Centre.

Contact email: anthonycy.dang@hk.ycef.com

Mr Anthony Dang

Ms Chew Ling Seet

Careers & University Guidance Counsellor

Seet Chew Ling co-liaises with parents and Year 10, Year 11 and IB Pathway students. She joined the CUGO Hong Kong team as an administrative officer in 2010. She had the special opportunity to interact with university admissions and academic staff from around the world, and was uniquely positioned to learn about their universities and the various education systems during their visits to YCIS and other events in Hong Kong. In 2015, she became a university guidance counsellor, working closely with students on their university application journey. Originally from Malaysia, she graduated from Monash University, Australia, with a Master of Counselling.

Contact email: chewlings@hk.ycef.com

Ms Chew Ling Seet

Ms Ingrid Luk Van

Careers & University Guidance Counsellor

Ms Ingrid Luk Van graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (MPhilEd, MSEd) and the University of Virginia (BA), specialising in mental health counselling and psychology. She co-authored a scientific literature review for Current Diabetes Reports with the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine. Ms Luk Van has worked at international schools, helping students get into top universities around the world. Testimonials of her previous work are mentioned in SCMP Good Schools Guide, Hong Kong Living, and Sing Tao Daily. She is now a Career & University Guidance Counsellor at YCIS Hong Kong and enjoys helping students reach their aspirations.

Contact email: ingrid.lukvan@hk.ycef.com

Ms Ingrid Luk Van

Ms Mariko WATANABE

Careers & University Guidance Counsellor

Ms Watanabe studied in Japan, New Zealand, Hungary and the UK. She received Master of Education specialising in higher education at University of Bristol. After spending three years as Education Attaché at the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco, she was responsible for launching double degree programmes and taught-in-English undergraduate degree programmes at universities in Japan. She began to work at YCIS Hong Kong in 2022, making a full use of her experience of being an admission tutor on the university side. She finds it fruitful when she helps students find something they really wish to pursue in the future, while encouraging them to explore various university and career options available beyond national borders.

Contact email: mariko.watanabe@hk.ycef.com