The Portfolio is crucial in ensuring candidates are holistic, skilled and desirable in the eye of the interviewers. The students need to identify weaknesses in the Portfolio and direct efforts to develop activities that will complement the interests. For example, community service, research attachments, internships, essay competitions can be included.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Anything that demonstrates your motivations and interests
Your ability to develop an idea from concept.
Your potential to experiment, imagine, and explore ideas and techniques.
Show that you are trying things out and experimenting, not too rigid.
3 key points before you prepare your portfolio
1. Understanding the criteria
This is an important step to make sure you include everything that the Portfolio requires. Try planning your pages/slides of your Portfolio so that your headings or subheadings have terms from the criteria. Keep in mind the page limit and plan accordingly.
2. Delivering your ideas and intentions
Concept is in other words the meaning behind the work and intention is what you wish the viewer to feel or to gain from your work. Make your concept and intention clear, then move on to brainstorming, idea development and more.
3. Review, refine and reflect
When you have completed your work and explained the process, reflect and review your work. Are all the intentions you previously wished for there? Blowing your own trumpet will not get you marks here and therefore you have to be very objective and critical. Show your brainstorming on the same page if you think you can do better. If necessary, show some experimentation and critical investigation. Re-make your work and reflect on it. Reflection does not need to be very long – a small paragraph will work. Have at least 1-2 works that you have re-done completely, and 2-3 pages of reflection with resolved work.
There are 8 elements that should be in your portfolio:
External competition(Local and International)
Olympiads, Science competition, hackathons
Attachment
Jobs, internships, Clinical attachments( For example, if a student is interested in neurology. We would advise her to write to the Alzheimer association to do volunteer work and write to NNI for a research attachment.)
Research projects
Extended essay, independent essay competition(Essay writing (Law or Economics- Marshall Society Essay Competition, Royal Economic Society UK)
Community projects/Volunteer work in related industry
School activities
Clubs and society
Personal Interests
Hiking, Martial arts, external societies
Leadership roles
Executive committee, organising committee
Academics
Relevant research papers for individual subjects (internal Assessments or Extended essays)
