校友歸來：留學(xué)一年后，回望成長(zhǎng)中的起起伏伏

前不久，我們?yōu)樾前中菋寣W(xué)院家長(zhǎng)工作坊《啟明星校友分享會(huì)》聯(lián)系2023屆畢業(yè)生的時(shí)候，所有的校友都表示愿意參加。

他們樂于分享自己的大學(xué)申請(qǐng)經(jīng)驗(yàn)和大學(xué)的學(xué)習(xí)生活——無論身在哪里，無論要克服多少小時(shí)的時(shí)差。

最終，3位正在美國(guó)和加拿大讀書的同學(xué)成為工作坊嘉賓。他們分別在綜合性大學(xué)、文理學(xué)院、藝術(shù)專業(yè)大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)。

他們毫無保留地分享，誠(chéng)懇回顧自己的選擇和得失，更坦然面對(duì)生活中的高高低低，深深打動(dòng)了聽眾，引發(fā)家長(zhǎng)的熱烈回應(yīng)，原定1個(gè)小時(shí)的活動(dòng)整整延長(zhǎng)了1倍多的時(shí)間。

坦誠(chéng)、淡定，樂觀、韌性，3位學(xué)生的表現(xiàn)讓人不禁想用這句話來形容他們：你未必光芒萬丈，但始終溫暖有光！

對(duì)于考慮出國(guó)留學(xué)的家庭，啟明星校友們的寶貴分享具有重要的參考價(jià)值，我們扼要分享在此：

主持人 梁珊

啟明星學(xué)校

大學(xué)升學(xué)顧問

副主任

陳華霖（Nick）

加拿大麥吉爾大學(xué)

中學(xué)社科教育專業(yè)

增周加措（Jeremy）

美國(guó)阿勒根尼學(xué)院

未定專業(yè)

謝雨菲（Dora）

艾米麗卡爾藝術(shù)和設(shè)計(jì)大學(xué) 純藝專業(yè)

說說大學(xué)

梁老師：你們來自不同類型的大學(xué)，請(qǐng)分別介紹一下你們的課堂規(guī)模？和教授的互動(dòng)如何、校園活動(dòng)是什么樣的？

Nick：我們比較大的課堂是600人左右，最小的課堂是60人左右。教授和助教每周都有1小時(shí)的答疑時(shí)間，每個(gè)來訪者可以分到5分鐘左右，當(dāng)然，我們也可以利用上課前后的時(shí)間，和他們進(jìn)行簡(jiǎn)單的交流。我們也會(huì)上助教主導(dǎo)的課程。學(xué)校有200多個(gè)社團(tuán)，因?yàn)槿硕啵瑹o論參加什么社團(tuán)你都能找到朋友。

Jeremy：我們的課堂一般是5到6個(gè)人，如果到20人就算很大的課堂了。每堂課都是教授來教，助教只負(fù)責(zé)批改作業(yè)。我們和教授有更多的時(shí)間交流，一個(gè)人可以約到20分鐘到40分鐘的答疑時(shí)間，而且學(xué)校會(huì)有高年級(jí)學(xué)長(zhǎng)幫你免費(fèi)補(bǔ)課。學(xué)校社團(tuán)很多，足球、籃球、電競(jìng)社團(tuán)，我都參加了。校園生活是非常豐富的，讓人有很強(qiáng)的歸屬感。

Dora：我們學(xué)校也是比較小的學(xué)校，我通常上的課有20個(gè)人上下，也有大課，大約100個(gè)人。和教授約答疑時(shí)間也比較靈活，只要寫了郵件，一般來說一兩個(gè)小時(shí)內(nèi)就能和教授交流。

Nick的大學(xué)生活

梁老師：入學(xué)后的學(xué)習(xí)和你們之前的計(jì)劃相比有不同嗎？你們有為未來做什么規(guī)劃嗎，比如實(shí)習(xí)？

Jeremy：我原本想學(xué)傳媒專業(yè)，但上課后我發(fā)現(xiàn)，這個(gè)專業(yè)也許并不適合我。我就去選了其他一些課程。我發(fā)現(xiàn)，學(xué)校有很多很好的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)教授，我也在課堂上和他們建立了不錯(cuò)的關(guān)系，所以現(xiàn)在我有了學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)專業(yè)的想法。另外，我也在考慮利用學(xué)校的資源找?guī)追菁媛殻e累一些工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)，好應(yīng)對(duì)未來激烈的就業(yè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。

Dora：上了大學(xué)之后，我真正認(rèn)識(shí)到什么叫“人外有人，天外有天”。在大學(xué)里，我發(fā)現(xiàn)有太多的人畫的比我好，創(chuàng)意更好更深刻的人大有人在，所以我需要自主安排一些藝術(shù)技能的學(xué)習(xí)，比如練習(xí)動(dòng)畫插畫、繪本的創(chuàng)作技能，不能再像之前那樣被動(dòng)地學(xué)習(xí)。

梁老師：Dora的分享也提醒我們，在大學(xué)申請(qǐng)和入學(xué)后選課的時(shí)候，要選擇自己有優(yōu)勢(shì)的專業(yè)或課程，不然大學(xué)里的學(xué)習(xí)就可能比較困難。上大學(xué)升學(xué)輔導(dǎo)課程討論選課和選專業(yè)時(shí)，我們也都跟大家提示過，到了大學(xué)里，周圍的同學(xué)都是各自高中里和你擅長(zhǎng)同樣科目的人，不像在高中的時(shí)候，周圍的同學(xué)擅長(zhǎng)不同科目，你自己還是比較容易脫穎而出的。

聊聊申請(qǐng)

梁老師：你們都在自己喜歡的大學(xué)讀書，有沒有特別想要分享的申請(qǐng)經(jīng)驗(yàn)，為學(xué)弟學(xué)妹提些建議？

Jeremy：我有兩個(gè)建議。首先，IB學(xué)生的壓力很大，你不能在某一方面花太多時(shí)間，你需要balance（平衡）一下，做好時(shí)間管理。可能你在10年級(jí)感覺是很舒服的，壓力沒有那么大，但到了11年級(jí)就可能感覺很難很難，到了12年級(jí)，有了大考的壓力，你的壓力會(huì)更大。這個(gè)時(shí)候，你還得兼顧申請(qǐng)、準(zhǔn)備文書的工作。

我們的大學(xué)升學(xué)指導(dǎo)Ms. Warehall有過做大學(xué)招生官的經(jīng)歷。我記得她說過，每天招生官要看很多來自不同國(guó)家的申請(qǐng)者的文書，不會(huì)把全部?jī)?nèi)容都看完，申請(qǐng)者需要有些閃光點(diǎn)吸引到招生官。而這些閃光點(diǎn)，不是你一稿兩稿就能寫出來的，需要你進(jìn)行很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的思考來挖掘，然后和家長(zhǎng)、老師進(jìn)行溝通，讓自己脫穎而出。

另一個(gè)建議是，申請(qǐng)的時(shí)候要合理利用資源，多和老師溝通。比如準(zhǔn)備文書是需要很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的，不是一稿兩稿就能完成的。聽取了別人的建議后，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)能改的地方有很多。我準(zhǔn)備文書的時(shí)候就比較好地利用了學(xué)校的資源，我們的升學(xué)指導(dǎo)老師Ms. Warehall和梁老師老師都給了我非常好的輔導(dǎo)。

Dora：申請(qǐng)大學(xué)的時(shí)候，我要兼顧學(xué)校的課程、語言考試，另外還要準(zhǔn)備一個(gè)藝術(shù)作品集。對(duì)我來說最大的困難是怎么平衡好這些工作，克服心理上的緊張和焦慮。在很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間里，我都處于一種擔(dān)心中。我會(huì)愿意去和一些相關(guān)的老師多進(jìn)行溝通，可以獲得一些有用的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和一些精神支持。

關(guān)于藝術(shù)生要準(zhǔn)備的作品集，我的建議是，它的主題要更多地表現(xiàn)你自己想要表達(dá)的東西，最好是基于你的真實(shí)經(jīng)歷或是真實(shí)情感，一定要是最真實(shí)的。這樣做出來的作品才一定是有個(gè)人特色和“有溫度的”。

進(jìn)行作品集創(chuàng)作的時(shí)候，可以去看看你理想的學(xué)校的網(wǎng)站，翻翻被錄取學(xué)生的作品和案例，或者是學(xué)校的畢業(yè)展，這樣就能了解到這個(gè)學(xué)校的風(fēng)格是不是適合你。

同樣還要注意作品集的準(zhǔn)備時(shí)間，一定不要拖，因?yàn)橐恢睍?huì)有很多作品需要你創(chuàng)作。如果進(jìn)入錄取的第二輪，有些藝術(shù)院校還會(huì)給命題創(chuàng)作，會(huì)讓你耗費(fèi)很多時(shí)間。

在這里我還想特別提醒的是，在你決定學(xué)藝術(shù)之前，一定要反復(fù)思考這個(gè)專業(yè)是不是你愿意為之奮斗一生的。因?yàn)榫臀覀€(gè)人經(jīng)歷來說，做完作品集之后，整個(gè)人對(duì)于藝術(shù)的熱愛其實(shí)消減了一大截，因?yàn)檎麄€(gè)創(chuàng)作過程其實(shí)是很讓人疲憊的。所以，你一定要慎重考慮，是不是真正喜歡藝術(shù)。

Dora的校園生活

梁老師：申請(qǐng)過程中，你們覺得影響最大的活動(dòng)是什么？你們是怎樣找到這些活動(dòng)的？

Nick：當(dāng)時(shí)對(duì)我影響最大的活動(dòng)，就是在啟明星參加的社會(huì)創(chuàng)新項(xiàng)目。從10年級(jí)開始直到我們畢業(yè)，我們一直都在參加相關(guān)的活動(dòng)。這個(gè)項(xiàng)目幫助我們鍛煉了各種各樣的能力。比如說，我們?yōu)樽约旱纳鐣?huì)創(chuàng)新項(xiàng)目做路演的時(shí)候，鍛煉了展示方面的能力。舉辦社會(huì)創(chuàng)新日，我有機(jī)會(huì)去和低年級(jí)的學(xué)生互動(dòng)，作為臨時(shí)老師走進(jìn)課堂，和學(xué)生們分享我關(guān)心的事情。還有，社會(huì)創(chuàng)新項(xiàng)目是很獨(dú)特的，在我們的申請(qǐng)中是很特別、很亮眼的。

Jeremy：我覺得有兩個(gè)活動(dòng)。一個(gè)是Nick剛剛提到的社會(huì)創(chuàng)新項(xiàng)目。啟明星是全中國(guó)為數(shù)不多的、一直在做這個(gè)項(xiàng)目的學(xué)校。在啟明星最獨(dú)特的是，它不是只屬于高年級(jí)的項(xiàng)目，而是有不同年級(jí)和跨校區(qū)的合作。這個(gè)項(xiàng)目讓我意識(shí)到，我們的學(xué)習(xí)不是只停留在書本和成績(jī)上，而是可以有更多的問題可供了解并且采取行動(dòng)，比如聯(lián)合國(guó)可持續(xù)發(fā)展目標(biāo)涵蓋的問題。

第二個(gè)活動(dòng)也是我們的學(xué)校提供的參加哈佛商賽的機(jī)會(huì)。那是我第一次參加商賽，經(jīng)歷也是非常獨(dú)特的。我們?cè)谀莻€(gè)項(xiàng)目上花了很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間，團(tuán)隊(duì)合作的能力得到了很大提升。

Dora：我做的比較重要的活動(dòng)也是在社會(huì)創(chuàng)新項(xiàng)目里。在我們的創(chuàng)業(yè)項(xiàng)目里，我負(fù)責(zé)的是美工設(shè)計(jì)部分。在這個(gè)過程中，我可以更明確的體會(huì)到，當(dāng)我把藝術(shù)作為一個(gè)真正的工作或者說作為一個(gè)商業(yè)行為，我應(yīng)該注重哪些因素。在社會(huì)創(chuàng)新日活動(dòng)里，我也給學(xué)校設(shè)計(jì)了一些周邊，我也給學(xué)校設(shè)計(jì)了20周年的logo，這些都讓我對(duì)藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作的自信心更強(qiáng)了，對(duì)于我后續(xù)的申請(qǐng)也是有很大幫助。

梁老師：我還想請(qǐng)大家分享一下，怎么看待大學(xué)排名？你們是怎么篩選出來自己心儀的大學(xué)名單的？另外，我也要特別問下Jeremy，為什么后來放棄了QS排名前50的大學(xué)，而選擇去了一所比較低調(diào)的文理學(xué)院？

Nick：從10年級(jí)開始，我們的大學(xué)升學(xué)指導(dǎo)老師就一直告訴我們：排名絕對(duì)不是拿來衡量一所大學(xué)的唯一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。對(duì)我來說，除了考慮學(xué)校排名，我也要考慮城市的氣候、所在地區(qū)是不是我可以適應(yīng)的環(huán)境、獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金、申請(qǐng)的具體專業(yè)的排名、師生比等等。我有個(gè)同學(xué)還會(huì)考慮大學(xué)的食堂。

Jeremy：我原來申請(qǐng)到的大學(xué)QS排名是19，說實(shí)話大學(xué)的QS排名之所以高是因?yàn)樗慕淌诘目蒲兴剑€有它的研究生項(xiàng)目。我覺得這不應(yīng)該成為我們本科生擇校的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

Jeremy的大學(xué)生活

另外，申請(qǐng)現(xiàn)在這所文理學(xué)院的過程中，校方給我寫過很多郵件。漸漸地我注意到，學(xué)校對(duì)我很有誠(chéng)意，各種安排很妥當(dāng)。而且我在啟明星上學(xué)的經(jīng)歷，也讓我對(duì)文理學(xué)院這種小而精的教學(xué)很熟悉，很喜歡。這里師生比很低，讓我很有歸屬感。

還有，我想要體驗(yàn)不同的文化，這是我留學(xué)的原因，而我原來申請(qǐng)到的大學(xué)有很多中國(guó)留學(xué)生。這所文理學(xué)院的中國(guó)人非常少，包括我在內(nèi)只有7個(gè)，這也讓我結(jié)交了很多外國(guó)朋友，體驗(yàn)了不同的文化。

這些都是我決定來Allegheny college的原因。

談?wù)剦毫?/strong>

梁老師：我們也要談?wù)剦毫栴}，比如學(xué)習(xí)壓力大，早申沒有拿到夢(mèng)校錄取的壓力。還有，申請(qǐng)這段時(shí)間里，家長(zhǎng)是怎么支持你們的？

Nick：知道早申沒能拿到錄取的時(shí)候，我是花了段時(shí)間緩了一下的。當(dāng)時(shí)我不斷提醒自己說，大學(xué)申請(qǐng)是一個(gè)過程，我應(yīng)該還是能去入讀一所匹配我的期待、匹配我的能力的大學(xué)的。另外我也這樣分散對(duì)早申結(jié)果的注意力：就是去進(jìn)一步調(diào)查我正在申請(qǐng)的RD學(xué)校，進(jìn)一步去完善我給這些學(xué)校的申請(qǐng)，讓為自己再設(shè)定一所夢(mèng)校。

在這個(gè)過程中，我的爸爸媽媽會(huì)支持我的決定。他們相信我的學(xué)習(xí)狀態(tài)，也很相信升學(xué)指導(dǎo)老師給我的建議。

我建議家長(zhǎng)鼓勵(lì)學(xué)生自己做大學(xué)的調(diào)查，因?yàn)榧议L(zhǎng)向?qū)W生轉(zhuǎn)達(dá)自己的調(diào)查結(jié)果時(shí)，學(xué)生不一定能感覺到那些大學(xué)的吸引力。我覺得，自己親自調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)的吸引之處，是讓學(xué)生喜歡上一所大學(xué)的真正動(dòng)力。

Jeremy：一定要保持積極樂觀的心態(tài)。如果有情緒問題，一定要和老師、家長(zhǎng)溝通，調(diào)整接下來的申請(qǐng)計(jì)劃，他們永遠(yuǎn)是你的后盾。我也同意，大學(xué)是學(xué)生來讀，申請(qǐng)大學(xué)的事情應(yīng)該由學(xué)生來做，家長(zhǎng)要做的是支持和鼓勵(lì)。

Dora：我申請(qǐng)的都是加拿大的學(xué)校，所以沒有早申問題。我想分享的是，我爸一開始也不理解我的專業(yè)，擔(dān)心我未來就業(yè)會(huì)比較困難，但隨著我對(duì)專業(yè)方向越來越堅(jiān)定，他也尊重和理解我了。我覺得大學(xué)申請(qǐng)整個(gè)過程里，家長(zhǎng)的精神支持是特別重要的，我們的學(xué)業(yè)壓力、考試壓力、作品集創(chuàng)作壓力已經(jīng)很大了，家長(zhǎng)如果能和我們做一些溝通，對(duì)于緩解我們的壓力是很有幫助的。

兩個(gè)多小時(shí)的分享，我們只能節(jié)選最重要的信息。孩子們真誠(chéng)的分享，以及分享結(jié)束后的在線問答部分都值得完整回顧。歡迎掃描二維碼觀收看整體直播回放！

A little while ago we contacted three members of the Class of 2023 for a Daystar Parents Academy workshop where they would talk about their college application experiences and their lives at their colleges. They were happy to share with our community - no matter how many hours of time difference they had to overcome.

The three students who were the workshop guests are studying in the United States and Canada. They are attending a large, comprehensive university, a small, liberal arts college, and a medium-sized art-specialized university.

They shared candidly and without reservation, sincerely reviewing their choices, both positive and negative, and their ability to treat achievements and difficulties with neither joy nor sorrow, which deeply touched the audience and triggered a warm response from parents, such that the originally scheduled one-hour workshop was extended to twice the time.

For students considering studying abroad, it is helpful to hear from our recent alumni who shared valuable information. Here are some highlights of their talk:

Mc: Ms. Michelle Liang,Associate Director of College Counseling,

Daystar Academy

Nick Chen

McGill University, Major in Education

Jeremy Zeng

Allegheny College,

Major Undecided

Dora Xie

Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Major in Fine Art

About Universities

Ms. Liang:You are studying in different types of colleges, please tell us about the size of your class, how is the interaction with professors and did you attend any campus activities?

Nick：Our largest class has about 600 students, and the smallest class has about 60 people. Professors and teaching assistants have 1 hour of Office Hour per week, which is about 5 minutes per visitor. And of course, we can also use the time before and after class to have a brief conversation with them. We also have teaching assistant-led classes. There are more than 200 clubs in the school, and because there are so many people, you can find friends no matter what club you join.

Jeremy:Our classes have usually 5 to 6 people, and a big class goes up to 20 people. Every class is taught by the professors, and the teaching assistants are only responsible for grading homework. We have more time to talk to our professors, and a person can have a 20 to 40 minutes Q&A appointment. There are a lot of school clubs. Soccer, basketball, and e-sports clubs, and I'm in all of them. Campus life is very rich and gives one a strong sense of belonging.

Dora:Our school is also relatively small, I usually have a class of about 20 people, and there are also large classes of about 100 people. It is also flexible to make an appointment with the professor for a Q&A time, as long as you write an email, you can generally communicate with the professor within an hour or two.

Nick's campus life

Ms. Liang:Are your studies after enrollment different from what was previously expected? Have you made any plans for the future, such as doing internships?

Jeremy:I originally wanted to major in media, but after taking some classes I realized that it might not be the right major for me. I went ahead and took some other classes. I found out that there are a lot of good economics professors at the school and I've developed good relationships with them in class, so now I have the idea that I want to major in economics. In addition, I'm also thinking about using the school's resources to get a few part-time jobs and accumulate some work experience so that I can deal with the fierce competition for jobs in the future.

Dora:After I went to college, I really realized the tough level of competition in the classes. In college, I found that there are many people who can draw better than me, and there are many people with better and more profound creativity. Therefore, I need to work on my own learning of art skills, and I can no longer learn passively as I did before, but start to take the initiative to improve my own skills, for example, practicing animation illustration and picture book creation skills.

Ms. Liang:Dora's sharing also reminds us that when applying for college and choosing courses after enrollment, we should choose the ones we have strengths in, otherwise it may be more difficult to study in college. When we discussed course selection and major selection in our College Counseling class, we also reminded everyone that when you get to college, you'll be surrounded by students who are good at the same subject as you in their respective high schools, unlike when you were in high school, your classmates are good at different subjects, and it is easier for you to stand out.

About Applying

Ms. Liang:You are all studying at your favorite universities, do you have any particular application experience you would like to share and give advice to younger students?

Jeremy:I have two suggestions. First of all, IB students are under a lot of pressure, you can't spend too much time in one area, you need to balance and manage your time well. Maybe you feel comfortable in 10th grade and the pressure is not that high, but in 11th grade you may feel very hard pressure, and in 12th grade, with the pressure of the IB exams, your pressure will be even higher. At this time, you'll also have to juggle applications and preparing paperwork for that.

Our college counselor Ms. Warehall, had experiences as a university admissions officer. I remember her saying that every day admissions officers have to read a lot of essays from applicants from different countries, and that they don't read everything, therefore applicants need to have some hooks to attract admissions officers. The hooks take more than one or two drafts to write well, you need to think for a long time to dig them out, and then communicate with your parents and teachers to make yourself stand out in your essays.

Another suggestion is to utilize your resources wisely and communicate with your teachers while applying. For example, preparing your essays takes a long time and can’t be done in one or two days. After listening to other people’s suggestions, you will realize that there are a lot of things you can change. I made good use of the school’s resources when I was preparing my paperwork, and our college counselors Ms. Warehall and Ms. Liang, both gave me very valuable guidance.

Dora:When applying to university, I had to juggle school programs, language exams, and prepare a portfolio of my artworks. The biggest difficulty for me was how to balance these tasks and overcome the anxiety. For a long time, I was in a state of worry. In the end, I would be willing to go and communicate more with some relevant teachers, and I can get some useful experience and some support.

Regarding the portfolio to be prepared for applications, my suggestion is that its theme should be more about what you truly want to express, preferably based on your real experience or real emotion, and it must show your unique self. This way, your work will be personal and "passionate".

When creating your portfolio, you can check the website of your dream schools, the works and examples of accepted students, or the school's graduation exhibition, so that you can get a good idea of whether the school's style is suitable for you or not.

Likewise pay attention to portfolio preparation time, be sure not to delay because there will always be a lot of work for you to create. If you enter the second round of admissions, some art schools will also give on demand assignments to create, which will also cost you a lot of time.

I would also like to make a special reminder here that before you decide to study art, make sure you think over and over again if this is a major that you are willing to work for for the rest of your life. Because in my personal experience, after I finished my portfolio, my love for art actually diminished a lot because the whole process of creation is actually very exhausting. So, you must consider carefully whether you really like art.

Dora's campus life

Ms. Liang:Which activities influenced you the most in your application process?

Nick:The activity that had the biggest impact on me at the time was the Social Innovation Program that I participated in at Daystar. We participated in activities from 10th grade until we graduated. The program helped us hone a variety of skills. For example, when we did a roadshow for our social innovation project, we practiced the presentation aspect. Organizing the Social Innovation Day gave me the opportunity to interact with the younger students, go into the classroom as a teacher temporarily, and share with the students what I care about. Also, the Social Innovation Program is unique and stands out and shines in our application.

Jeremy:I think there are two activities. One is the Social Innovation Program that Nick just mentioned. Daystar Academy is one of the few schools in the whole of China that has been doing this program. What's unique about Daystar is that it's not a senior-only program, but there are collaborations across grades and across campuses. This program made me realize that our learning is not just about books and grades, but that there are more issues to learn about and take action on, such as those covered by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The second activity was also the opportunity provided by our school to participate in the Harvard Business Competition. It was my first time participating in a business competition and the experience was very unique. We spent a long time on that program and our teamwork skills were greatly enhanced.

Dora:One of the important activities I did was also in the Social Innovation Program. In our entrepreneurship program, I was in charge of the artwork and design part. In this process, I can more clearly appreciate that when I do art as a real job or as a business, what factors I should focus on. In the Social Innovation Day, I designed some materials for the school, and I also designed the 20th anniversary logo for the school, all of these made my self-confidence in art creation stronger, which was also very helpful for my subsequent application.

Ms. Liang:I would also like you to share how you think about university rankings? How did you filter out the list of your favorite universities? Also, I would like to ask Jeremy in particular, why did you later give up going to a top 50 university in QS ranking and chose to go to a liberal arts college which is not well known in China?

Nick:Since 10th grade, our college counselors have been telling us that rankings are definitely not the only criteria for measuring a college. For me, in addition to the ranking of the school, I also consider the climate of the city, whether the area is one that I can adapt to, scholarships, the ranking of the specific program I'm applying to, the faculty/student ratio, and so on. In fact, one of my classmates will also consider the food of the colleges.

Jeremy:The university I originally applied to had a QS ranking of 19, and to be honest, the university's QS ranking was high because of the research level of its professors and its graduate program. I don't think this should be the only criterion for us undergraduates when choosing a school.

Jeremy's campus life

In addition, during the process of applying to this liberal arts college that I’m attending, the college wrote me a lot of emails. Gradually I noticed that the school was very sincere in communicating with me and made all kinds of arrangements for me properly. Moreover, my experience of attending Daystar has made me familiar with the small and sophisticated teaching of a liberal arts college. The student-teacher ratio here is very low, which gives me a increased sense of belonging.

Also, I wanted to experience a different culture, which is why I study abroad, however the university I originally applied to had a lot of Chinese students. My current college has very few Chinese, only 7 including me, which also allowed me to make a lot of foreign friends and experience different cultures.

These are all the reasons why I decided to come to Allegheny college.

About Stress

Ms. Liang:We also need to talk about stress issues, such as the pressure of studying and the pressure of Early Decision and not getting accepted to your dream school. Also, how did your parents support you during the application period?

Nick:When I found out that I didn't get an Early Decision offer, I took some time to calm down. I kept reminding myself that the college application is a process, and that I should still be able to get into a college that matches my expectations and abilities. I also distracted myself from the results of my Early Decision by investigating the Regular Decesion schools I was applying to, refining my applications to those schools, and setting myself up with another dream school.

My mom and dad are supportive of my decision in this process. They believe in my academic status and trust the advice given to me by my college counselors.

I recommend that parents encourage their children to do their own college research because when parents relay their own findings to the children, the children don't always feel the appeal of those colleges. I think that the attraction found by doing their own research is what really motivates a student to like a college.

Jeremy:Be sure to stay positive. If you have emotional issues, be sure to talk to your teachers and parents to adjust your next application plan; they will always have your back. I also agree that since college is for the student to attend, and applying to college should be left up to the student, and all the parents have to do is be supportive and encouraging.

Dora:All schools I applied to are all in Canada, so I didn't have any Early Decision issues. What I want to share is that my dad didn't understand my major at first and was worried that it would be difficult for me to get a job in the future, but as I became more and more determined about my major direction, he respected and understood me. I think the support of parents is especially important in the whole process of college application. We are already under a lot of pressure from our studies, exams, and portfolio creation, and it is very helpful for parents to communicate with us to relieve our pressure.

With more than two hours of sharing, we can only excerpt here some of the most important information. The students’ sincere sharing and the online Q&A at the end of the workshop are worth reviewing in full. Feel free to scan the QR code to watch the entire live replay!

歡迎耶魯老友來訪，讓繚繞的阿卡貝拉溫暖你的耳朵！In Tune with The Yale Alley Cats

讓陽光灑進(jìn)來：?jiǎn)⒚餍菍W(xué)校D+劇院開建！Introducing D+, Daystar's Multi-function Theater