Grade 10 Reflection
Everything went well this year. I am happy
with my school work so far. So it is hard to think of a challenge inside the
school this year. The only thing I find hard was applying for a summer
school/program in a university in the U.S. It was first my aunt suggested me to
do so since my cousin was also preparing the summer school/program at the same
time. She believed that both of us would succeed. She always has high
expectations for both of us. Now, we are going to study in the same university,
but for different subjects.
This was the first time for me work on an application by myself when nobody could help me. My aunt could only provide some basic information like choices of different universities with programs that have good reputations. She forced me to apply for a top university in US. This way, she added another challenge into my challenge. Moreover, seeing my cousin getting an Early Decision gave me more stress.
First, I had to search for the top universities with summer programs I was interested in. I did research for all top 30 universities lists online, but only 4 to 5 universities fit my requirement (I wanted to study Science or Art in a big city like Shanghai for at most one month). The next thing to do was to check if I fit the requirement of the universities. Sadly, my passport couldn’t get me into the programs that offer credits. Finally, I could start the application process for the left 2 universities, Columbia and Yale. Both of the universities have their own online application system. It took me a long time to get used to them and fill out the basic information. And I spent almost a month collecting all required materials: Financial Standing, Recommendations, and Personal Statement etc. Unfortunately, because my TOEFL score is only one point from the requirement, 100, my application couldn’t continue. However, Columbia sent me the admission letter one month later. My family didn’t have to worry for my summer plan. This wasn’t the end. I had to send more follow up materials to Columbia.
The application was more complicated than I thought, but this experience can help me get familiar with this process and prepare for the future university/college application.
This was the first time for me work on an application by myself when nobody could help me. My aunt could only provide some basic information like choices of different universities with programs that have good reputations. She forced me to apply for a top university in US. This way, she added another challenge into my challenge. Moreover, seeing my cousin getting an Early Decision gave me more stress.
First, I had to search for the top universities with summer programs I was interested in. I did research for all top 30 universities lists online, but only 4 to 5 universities fit my requirement (I wanted to study Science or Art in a big city like Shanghai for at most one month). The next thing to do was to check if I fit the requirement of the universities. Sadly, my passport couldn’t get me into the programs that offer credits. Finally, I could start the application process for the left 2 universities, Columbia and Yale. Both of the universities have their own online application system. It took me a long time to get used to them and fill out the basic information. And I spent almost a month collecting all required materials: Financial Standing, Recommendations, and Personal Statement etc. Unfortunately, because my TOEFL score is only one point from the requirement, 100, my application couldn’t continue. However, Columbia sent me the admission letter one month later. My family didn’t have to worry for my summer plan. This wasn’t the end. I had to send more follow up materials to Columbia.
The application was more complicated than I thought, but this experience can help me get familiar with this process and prepare for the future university/college application.