Applying for Universities? Ask Jodi!

Heyo Everyone! My name is Milagro and I am a Grade 12 student at Dr. Norman Bethune. I had the pleasure to attend Jodi Buckley’s Think Tank on “The World of University Admissions”. Jodi is a Recruitment officer at McMaster University, so she knows all about the application process. This was a part of the Associate National Lead program where I get to build and host my own conference! Here are my thoughts highlighting what I learned:

1. Jodi taught me all the different types of supplemental forms needed for different university programs, such as essays, interviews, portfolios, resumes, and auditions.

2. Perhaps the biggest takeaway I learned was the importance of starting my supplementals early. Looking back, I wished I started weeks earlier so I would have had time to polish my essays.

3. As an ice breaker, we got to practice our interview skills with a partner, which I found to be the most enjoyable part of the think tank, as I got to meet new friends and work together to improve our speaking skills.

4. The STAR method taught by Jodi showed me a new way to look at resume building. It is a concise way to give context, show the contributions you made, and conclusions you helped arrive at in a project. Looking forward, I will be using this method in all my future resumes and interviews, to show my employees my skillset in a short yet descriptive way.

Honestly, this talk was eye-opening, and I wish I had more help like it when I was just starting to apply for universities, it would have saved so much time. For any students applying to universities in the future, take notes! And if you're confused, just ask Jodi!