Ivy League colleges are synonymous with "tall" and are "unattainable" in the hearts of many students. Although they are small in number and the application conditions are very strict, there is no shortage of applicants every year. After thousands of troops and horses cross the canoe bridge, there are only a few Chinese students who can finally be admitted. However, in the hit drama "Xiao Min Jia", it seems that as long as the money is "in place", the Ivy League colleges can choose at will, is this really the case? Is it really so easy to study at a prestigious school?
The TV series "Xiao Min Jia" is adapted from the novel of the same name, is a modern urban family ethics drama, with the middle-aged love story of Chen Zhuo (played by Huang Lei) and Liu Xiaomin (played by Zhou Xun) as the main line, interspersed with plots such as remarried life and children's further education, the tone of the whole drama is warm, warm and interesting, and it quickly reached the top as soon as it began broadcasting, and it was permanently on the hot search list.
What recently triggered the Internet hot spot was a sentence by Chen Zhuo's ex-wife Li Ping (Qin Hailu) in the play, "As long as the language can pass, which school in Hayeps (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford) is not what we can pick at will?" In order to give Chen Jiajia, the daughter of the "Second World War" who failed the college entrance examination, have a guarantee, Li Ping relied on her "banknote" ability to open up interpersonal relationships and light up a green light for her daughter's study abroad career. Some netizens believe: "This is obviously a satire on international students, how can these famous schools be able to go to school with money?" And some other netizens said that this is the reality, and there is nothing wrong with the TV series.
Art comes from life
"If you have money, you can enter a prestigious school" is not an empty storyline of a TV series, and there are indeed relevant cases in real life. As early as 2019, the United States has broken out a series of scandals in college admissions, involving Harvard, Yale, Stanford and other well-known colleges and universities, accusing about 50 movie stars, Wall Street financiers and other well-known social figures. Harvard Professor Deschuwitz says that's just the tip of the iceberg.
In a fraud case at a prestigious school, a Chinese girl, Yusi Zhao, was fired from Stanford by a Chinese-American parent who paid $6.5 million (about 44 million yuan) to package her as an athlete and enrolled her in Stanford. In October, former U.S. casino executive Aziz and private equity firm founder Wilson paid $1 million (about 6.5 million yuan) to enroll their twin daughters in Harvard and Stanford universities, and will be sentenced in February 2022 on suspicion of fraud and bribery.
On the one hand, the emergence of these enrollment fraud cases confirms that the phenomenon of "spending money to go through the back door to enter famous schools" does exist, on the other hand, it also tells everyone that crooked doors and evil ways are absolutely not advisable, and down-to-earth struggle is the long-term solution.
Plan early, prepare early, admit early
According to the data of New Oriental's "2021 White Paper on Studying in China" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper"), 42% of the students come from ordinary workers' families, and only 22% of the students' parents are unit heads or business executives. It can be seen that small probability events do not have to be entangled, and ordinary families are still the main body of the intended study abroad group.
Source: 2021 White Paper on Studying in China
According to the survey of the "White Paper" in the past three years, the proportion of people applying to universities outside the top 100 in the United States has decreased significantly, and the application of high-ranking universities has become more intense. In the case of Harvard, the total number of applicants to study at Harvard reached 57,000 last year, an increase of 43% year-on-year, but the total admission rate of Harvard University this year has fallen sharply compared with it. It can be said that in the future, with the impact of the global epidemic, it will be more and more difficult to apply for a study abroad.
In addition, applying for a prestigious university does not mean that as long as the grades are good and the language is passed, you can "once and for all" and "enjoy it", the trend of studying abroad in recent years tells us that in addition to meeting the hard requirements of the applicant institution, students also need to have a certain "soft power" to enhance their competitiveness, such as whether they have rich internship experience, volunteer experience, campus practice and scientific research projects, etc.
It can be seen that it is not easy to apply for a famous university, and only by working hard to achieve "early planning" and "early preparation" can we get closer and closer to our dreams.
Without accumulating steps, there are no thousands of miles
Last year, the 18-year-old Shenzhen Middle School bully Huang Feiyang was admitted to Harvard University, he not only ranked first in GPA and SAT scores, but also the champion of the Shenzhen Middle School Debate Tournament, the regional outstanding debater of the National Debate League, won the first prize of the National Prize of the Middle School Physics Knowledge Application Competition and other awards, and also served as the student ambassador of Shenzhen Middle School, the captain of the School Team of Young Physicists in the United States and other student positions... It can be described as a decathlon. Behind these achievements and auras, it is not an overnight achievement, it must be his unremitting efforts and efforts.
Opportunities are always left to those who are prepared, and there will be gains with hard work. Everyone has their own different life choices, and everyone's future is unknown. Once you have set a goal, you should strengthen your faith and strive and move forward towards your dreams. Not uncertain, not opportunistic, down-to-earth, steady and steady, step by step to take their own path of study, I believe that in the near future students will definitely harvest their favorite offer!