Special supplement: Scholarships at BCIS

This spring sees the second annual rollout of the Beijing City International School (BCIS) scholarship program. This is a process by which BCIS identifies academically outstanding students who wish to enter their senior grades. The school has a number of scholarships to award, which equate to between 50 percent and 100 percent of the total annual tuition fee at BCIS. These scholarships have a very high financial value.

Open to students of all nationalities, from any school, applicants must provide evidence of superior academic achievement in their current school and must sit a round of BCIS scholarship exams in mathematics, English and Chinese, as well as writing a scholarship essay on a specially chosen theme. Applicants must also come with a strong recommendation from their current principal or counselor and be prepared to interview in front of the scholarship panel.

Successful applicants will be students who are highly likely to excel in the BCIS academic programs. They will be students who will graduate from grade 12 with a high points total in the IB Diploma Program, and go on to further their studies in one of the more prestigious universities or colleges around the world. Just as important, they will be students who will make telling contributions to the BCIS school life outside the classroom - in the many sporting, community, cultural and artistic activities sponsored by the school. BCIS scholars will be leaders, and will be fine ambassadors for themselves, their families, their community, their school and China.

The value of a BCIS scholarship cannot be measured in financial terms alone. The prestige value is considerable; a BCIS scholar is someone whose profile will be drawn to the attention of university admission tutors and future employers alike.

The first group of applicants went through the process in April, and the successful applicants will be receiving news about the scholarship very soon. The popularity of the BCIS scholarship is such that it is holding another round of applications in May.

For further details of the scholarship and to receive an application package please contact the school's admissions department at admissions@bcis.cn or please ring 8771 7171 ext 5003 or 5004. The next round of exams will take place on May 17, 2008.

(China Daily 05/07/2008 page24)