UNIVERSITY BOUND
Expert Advising.
Admissions Success.
Are you University Bound?
We are.
And we believe that higher education should provide students the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive. Our company was founded by independent educational consultants and international high-school guidance and careers counsellors who, as professionals and parents, have worked extensively inside a university admissions system that is complex and constantly changing. And for international students, the challenges are multiplied. Choosing the right school is a lifetime opportunity and investment. Let us help your student explore, prepare, and apply with knowledge and confidence to achieve great choices and admissions success.
Click here to learn about our services.
Admissions Notes
7 April 2025
Study in the Netherlands!
International students looking for excellent educational options should consider studying in the Netherlands. Ignore the rumours about restrictions on international admissions: these universities want you and have amazing programmes to offer. There are research-focused courses that prepare you for a Masters degree and hands-on practical courses designed to launch you into the job market. They are narrow and focused or broad-ranging and multi-disciplinary. They offer opportunities to study elsewhere in the country, study abroad, or elect a minor. They are in towns and near the beach, or in cities like Amsterdam, Maastricht, Rotterdam, and The Hague. They will teach you how to ride a bicycle if you don't know how, and train you in AI and aerospace engineering, global justice, or urban studies. They are affordable, student-centred and globally aware, and offer the experience of a lifetime! Talk to us for more information.
What Does 'Deferral' Mean?
What is an MMI?
MMI stands for Multiple Mini-Interviews, a format that universities are increasingly using to evaluate applicants for medical and dental courses. The MMI involves a series of four to eight “stations,” each normally eight minutes in length and presenting a scenario to which the applicant must respond. Scenarios may include a discussion with an interviewer, or a request to complete a task or role-play a situation. They are designed to showcase intelligence, problem-solving, reasoning, ethics, and interpersonal skills like communication and teamwork. The resulting assessment measures a multitude of skills and qualities that could be difficult to assess in a traditional interview. The format is challenging, but its proponents say because it is broad and multi-faceted it removes the potential bias of a single interviewer and so is likely to yield a fairer judgement of an applicant than a standard interview can. Practice is essential. There are loads of tips online.
Comms 101: Beyond the Eye-Roll
High school students are always told to develop their communication skills. But what does that actually mean?? Yes, the phrase relates to the ability to speak or write effectively, but it also refers to an ability to interact with another person or audience to make one's meaning clear. This post explains some of these interactive and interpersonal aspects of the communication skillset. Students can work on these skills inside, outside, and beyond the classroom, in every conversation, every day. After all, what good is an important opinion or an interesting idea if you can't communicate it effectively? It's what makes us stronger students, applicants, and colleagues, and better humans.for future employment.
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How China Educates for STEM
Together with artists, it may be engineers who save the world. So, it’s helpful to recognise that China’s prowess in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — starts with its education system. Here are a few fun facts: each year, China produces some 3.5 million STEM graduates, reportedly about the same number of students that graduate with any degree in any subject in the US. It has 39 universities with programs to train engineers and researchers for the rare earths industry, an area that unis in the US and Europe are exploring only sporadically. And, in a sign of its global ambitions, by the end of 2030 it is expected to educate more high-school students in English than all of Europe combined. To fathom its impact as a function of its sheer numbers, remember that China has a population of 1.4 billion people. That means, to quote a prominent commentator who did the maths, "if you’re a one-in-a-million talent, there are 1,400 other people just like you.” That’s critical mass.
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Breaking the Language Barrier
The number of students around the world choosing to study foreign languages at university has been declining for years. In the UK, the field has shown a 33% drop since 2020; at the same time, enrolment in STEM-related courses continues to grow. Factors in this shift include concerns about post-graduate jobs and earnings and the inroads threatened by AI. But numerous studies show that graduates of languages, along with other fields in the humanities and social sciences, are just as likely to be employed as their STEM counterparts, who have their own challenges of redundancy in the face of automated work and rapidly obsolescing skills. As a vocational tool, language skills are crucial to facilitating international trade and business, transnational cooperation, and global security and law. On their own merits, they are crucial to understanding human culture and society, engaging in global dialogue, and navigating change. Sapere aude!
Seizing the Summer Advantage
Summer is a crucial time for students to get a break from school and give their brain a rest. But it can also provide opportunities to explore an area of curiosity, which can enhance self-knowledge and help students develop life skills that support well-being in high school and beyond. For example, students who have summer jobs or volunteer report developing resourcefulness and self-reliance, improved people skills, and increased confidence in coping with "real-world" challenges. Independent projects and online courses are a terrific way for students to pursue an interest or fill a gap in their learning. Job-shadowing or even short internships can help students identify skills and ambitions they have or might seek to develop (or not). For students seeking admission to selective universities, being strategic about the summer can help build an admissions profile that sets them apart. And deadlines for some summer programmes come as early as March, so start researching and applying now.
Russell Group Scoops Up Students
Figures from UCAS show that the Russell Group took a hefty 27% of all UK undergraduate university applicants in 2024, up a point from 2023, with the University of Birmingham (up 22%), Durham University (up 20%), and University College London (up 20%) increasing acceptances most. International students accounted for some of the growth, as a record 51% took places at Russell Group schools, up from 41% in 2015 and 32% in 2006, although these enrolments slipped at Bristol, Exeter, Queen Mary, King’s, Leeds, Oxford, Southampton, York and others, and fell significantly at Newcastle(down 26%), Sheffield (23%), and Liverpool (15%). At 69,905, the total number of international undergraduate students applying through UCAS fell to its lowest level since 2016, with Oxford Brookes, the University of Bradford, and the University of Aberdeen accepting their lowest numbers among the cohort since 2006. Wrexham University (up 27%) and Portsmouth (up 23%) were big winners, showing the greatest growth in the undergraduate sector overall.
We provide advising by the hour to address the needs of every family and student.
We also offer targeted packages, described below, to provide extended support and savings.
An initial consultation is free.​​
Building the Profile
Students considering selective schools or foreign study destinations benefit from early planning. The goal is to avoid surprises and missed opportunities, and build a profile that is competitive when application season arrives. Advising can begin pre-IB, pre-A levels, or in sophomore year to guide smart subject and extra-curricular choices and ensure a student is on-track to fulfil entry requirements down the line. This package starts with an assessment and includes several consultations at strategic points during the year to set the foundation for admissions success.
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Junior Year Prep
University preparation for many students starts in junior year (G11, Y12). Students are ready to reflect on their strengths and goals, and starting to plan now will build knowledge and confidence and reduce senior-year stress later. This package provides for a sequence of consultations beginning in the fall or spring. It starts with an assessment to identify goals, and then helps the student develop an application strategy with a focus on ''fit.'' Depending on a student's needs, advising can be targeted to help define a focus and identify a course, select subjects and extra-curricular activities, explore destinations, understand entry requirements, begin research and compiling a list, brainstorm essays, and plan summers and senior year.
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Building the Uni List
​The list is the thing. Whether for medicine, art school, engineering, the UK, the Netherlands, the US, or elsewhere, university admissions are competitive and unpredictable. A ''smart'' list is a hedge against risk and ensures good outcomes. Building the list usually starts in the spring of junior year. It is time-consuming and tedious and demands reflection and research. It also requires strategy, since admissions trends are constantly shifting, and there is so much more to choosing a school than the name. This package is meant to strengthen student confidence by guiding effective research and delivering a tailored and "smart" set of choices.
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Senior Year Check-in
Senior year (G12, Y13) is a balancing act. It starts with a bang and the demands can pile up. Organisation is everything. This compact package provides essential oversight and support to help the student stay aware, on track, and ahead of deadline throughout the application process. It starts with an assessment and checklist, and is followed by a tight sequence of consultations to produce a to-do list and target guidance in the areas where the student needs help most. These may include course or major selection, research, country-specific entry requirements, financial aid, admissions strategy, list-building, gathering supporting materials, writing essays, and reviewing applications.​
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Senior Year Comprehensive
This robust package starts at the beginning and continues until applications are done. It provides tailored advising and support on the entire discovery, research, application, and admissions process, from A to Z.
Essay Coaching
Whether it's 4,000 characters, 650 words or 50, and whether it's a personal statement, a motivation letter, or for the Common App, the essay challenges the student to write for distinction and impact. We offer basic or advanced support because brainstorming a topic, finding one's voice, selecting evidence, and writing effectively are key. And every writer needs a coach.
About Us
Expert Advising. Admissions Success.
Our Mission
University Bound believes that higher education should offer students the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive. In a constantly changing university landscape, we aim to help students increase knowledge, build confidence, manage risk, avoid stress, and make healthy decisions. We believe in mobility, access, and opportunity for every student. We are avid researchers who are alert to the latest admissions developments and careers trends, and equipped with experience and expertise to help every student maximise choice and gain admission to a
''right fit'' school.
Who We Are
Joanna Levison is an American expat in Prague, where she has worked as a university admissions and careers counsellor at an international IB school. She has also worked as an adjunct reader of international applications for the University of California. She launched University Bound to help international students and families navigate an increasingly complex and global university application process. She trained as an independent education consultant with the University of California/Irvine, and recently received her counsellor accreditation from Times Higher Education/UK. She has over 20 years of experience in human rights advocacy, international relations, and strategic communications.
Our Approach
University Bound offers individualised one-to-one consulting to help students and families navigate higher education pathways. Our approach is student-centred, research-based, and ethical. We put fit and well-being at the centre of our process. We provide strategic guidance and planning for every step of the research and application process, coaching and feedback on personal statements and essays, and insight into financial aid. We help families assess admissions offers and we celebrate results. We work by the hour and offer customised packages to address every student need.
University Bound Acceptances
UK
Brunel University, London
Cambridge University
London School of Economics
Oxford University
King's College London
University of Aberdeen
University of the Arts London
University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Durham
University of Edinburgh
University of Hertfordshire
University of Leeds
University of Reading
University of Sheffield
University of Warwick
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US
Bentley University
Boston University
George Washington University
Northeastern University
Parsons School of Design
Pratt Institute
Purdue University
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Michigan
University of Rochester
University of Southern Florida
U.S. Airforce Academy
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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EUROPE & ASIA
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Brussels School of Government
Charles University
EHL Hospitality Business School
European School of Business
Hong Kong University of Science & Tech
IE University, Spain
Jinan University, China
Leiden University
Prague School of Finance & Economics (VŠE)
University of Amsterdam
University of New York in Prague
Vrije University, Netherlands
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