Several students have been receiving university offers recently.
Quite a few have been accepted to universities in the United States.
But these students have not put down their pens.
They are continuing to study because they want to get into an even better university.
Universities seem to be offering quite a lot of scholarship funding this time. Many students are receiving offers
with scholarships of more than US$20,000. For international-school students, though, high-school tuition can be comparable to university tuition,
so perhaps the scholarship is not the main issue. Getting into a prestigious university seems to matter more.
I have heard students say that, after being accepted, they lose some motivation and set a scholarship as a new goal.
That seems to give them a reason to keep studying.
Personally, I wonder whether I would have the energy to study once I already had an offer.
In fact, one student accepted to the University of Toronto is now overseas, shopping and enjoying a break.
They sent me photos. Haha.
For students whose goal was the University of Toronto,
an offer is satisfying. Students accepted to universities that were not their real goal, however,
seem to keep studying.
I asked a student accepted to the University of Hong Kong and HKUST why they were still working so hard.
They began their answer with, “I’m not planning to go to HKU…”
That student is steadily studying with KAIST and prestigious US universities in mind.
With a predicted IB score of 43 already, I think they may get into an even stronger university.
Their HKU offer requires 32 points, so it seems fairly secure, does it not?
A lot of students seem busy preparing SNU applications now.
They are often consulting their school teachers, and their mothers seem to be seeking advice in various places while preparing the applications.
For the overseas-admissions route I am discussing here, SNU is an option for students with all 12 years of schooling overseas. Even students accepted elsewhere seem to apply because SNU remains their first choice.
Getting into SNU through that route does not necessarily require an IB final score right at the top of the scale.
I have seen plenty of students accepted with fewer than 40 points when they had substantial activities and experience.
Having seen that often, I tend to feel that mothers play a big part in putting together the application’s story.
Students with three years of overseas schooling are also studying without a break to try to get into better universities.
Some of those students are aiming for medical school, but it seems to be a path open to very few. For medicine, students
seem to need experience and volunteer work as well as academic effort. It appears difficult to get in without considerable help
from parents. Still, I have seen several students I taught get into medical school and thought that was remarkable.
Those students were excellent academically from the outset, though. Their mothers also seemed to have considerable experience.
For example, an older brother may already have got into a good university. Families can use that experience and knowledge
to help the next child aim even higher. Haha.
I have been very busy lately. Students preparing for IB finals come to the academy every single day, without missing a day.
Teaching them is not a problem for me, but…
lessons are not particularly cheap, and attending every day must be a burden on parents. That makes me uncomfortable.
I sometimes deliberately tell students not to come. But they come anyway, so it ends up being an empty remark.
While students often try hard to avoid extra lessons, the students here are so eager that they try every possible way to attend.
It has made me think that I am surrounded by students who truly want to study hard.
I hope many of them get into good universities.
I have also been receiving AP and SAT Chemistry inquiries again recently.
In my experience, the best way to build a score is to work through a large number of questions.