Greetings from the counsellor’s desk.

Kaustubh Kaushik is widely recognized as one of the leading experts on career guidance and university admissions in the Delhi NCR region. He is the Head of the University Guidance and Admissions at The Ardee Group of Schools, and with over 12 years of experience. In his career, he has helped students gain admission to top-ranked colleges across the globe countless times over. Kaustubh earned an MSc in Psychology degree from Middlesex University London and has international counselling and psychometric testing certifications from leading federations and psychological associations. Taking a psychometric approach for analysing students’ interests, strengths, and academic inclinations, he starts with the counselling process and assessments right from Grade 8 students and specializes in documenting their profiles and portfolios that are fit for applications to the IVY league and Russell Group Universities. Every year many of Kaustubh’s students receive appreciative feedback on their college essays, portfolios, and research work from the colleges. His hands-on approach to careful profile crafting is the most unique tool in his counsellor’s repertoire.

When selecting courses for higher studies, we find that all of us, the students, their parents, and their mentors are at a critical juncture of making an important decision. But in my experience, | have seen that the communication between all the stakeholders gets the foundation of the student’s journey established right. The shaping up of a student’s career begins with their initial subjects of choice, coupled with a variety of essential activities such as sports, extra curriculum, projects, volunteer ship, and so on. Each student possesses a unique character and to pull that out students need a mentor or a counsellor. These days life is becoming full of challenges, and with so many career opportunities, students are getting confused and puzzled about making the right decision. Therefore, it becomes crucial for a counsellor to delve deeper into the ever-dynamic learnings and careers available to students. | believe that counseling goes further as advice, analysis, and research play a pivotal role in making the right decision for students.

In the senior school, the students at the Ardee Schools are guided to make their university and career choices at large through psychometrics and aptitude testing. The psychometric reports become the tool to open discussions with the student, their mentors, and their parents for a better understanding of the child since at times con- versations can just be the tip of the iceberg. The students are also exposed to various kinds of global and experiential learning opportunities that help them in self-exploration and at the same time help in building their profiles for varsity admissions. Many Seminars, Webinars, Workshops, Community service, and training sessions for students are arranged for the students at Ardee making them equipped with authentic educational and labor market information while igniting their intellectual curiosity. These students in their senior years at the school are ready to experience the learnings through internship guidance and placement programs, giving them the edge for their academic profiles.

I firmly believe that to be happy and prosperous adults, we must first be provided with encouragement and guidance at our educational institutions. Quality education combined with quality-assured guidance at the right stages is part of the recipe for young adults to step out in a world full of opportunities, that they are confident to find their place in. At Ardee, we make this phenomenon a daily practice with each child being the centerpiece of all our deeds and efforts.