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Shawnigan Lake School

School rating 5 / 5 by

1975 Renfrew Road Postal Bag 2000 Shawnigan Lake BC V0R 2W1 Canada
Boarding
8th to 12th
Day
8th to 12th
Gender
Coed

Academic

Shawnigan Lake School review by .

Outstanding faculty. All of them have years of experience and often have been awarded for their talent. They are all required to be a part of schoo life in other areas, so they genuinely get to know students and care for their well-being. AP courses prepared me for university, as well as the scheduled study hours, because I was used to sitting down and working for an extended period of time. We did not have lecture type classes, they were small and interactive, which allowed development of interpersonal skills and enhanced classroom experience. This did not prepare me for university lectures, because I was not used to sitting and listening for hours. classes were no more than 21 students, teachers were extremely available, because they had tutorial time after classes every day, and were 'on duty' somewhere on campus regularly. Workload depended on classes. AP classes are heavy workload, and some are less, but as a general rule, teachers are supposed to give 20-25 minutes of homework per day, enough to fill the 2 hour prep period. Entering grade 11 and 12, this becomes more like 30-40 minutes per day depending. Help was readily available for students struggling and ahead. Tutorial hours and teacher availability extends past the classroom.

College Counseling

I had originally planned to go to US schools, and there were workshops as early....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

You should have high grades (high 80's or 90's) and be genuinely interested in extra-curriculars.....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

Housing is new and well-maintained. Cafeteria is very new, state of the art and delicious. The chef is talented and there is always a great variety of healthy foods. There is not much variety past what is served and salad bar, however. Facilities are all new and well-maintained with new technology and accoutrements. There is no crime in Shawnigan Lake. I grew up there. It is unbelievably safe. International week is one of the highlights of life at Shawnigan. It happens every 3 years and is a whole week of fun and exciting activities celebrating everyone's culture. Ski week, too is....

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