Source | Gentleman Whisper
Even if you don't have the conditions and talents that Gu Ailing has, you may still be a classmate of her at Stanford — this article systematically introduces awards that can help you enter a prestigious American school.
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Stars and prestigious schools
Several American-born athletes who became popular at the Beijing Winter Olympics have "American famous universities" backgrounds: Gu Ailing - Stanford University, Zhou Jiaying - Princeton University, Chen Wei - Yale University, Chen Kaiwen - Cornell University.
There is no doubt that with sports expertise, you can enter famous schools in the United States through the car!
Cultivating sports expertise requires not only the family's economic foundation and sports environment, but also the physical and psychological qualities necessary for congenital necessity. It is not easy to reach the level of "sports students" that can be favored by famous schools and take the road of sports special recruitment.
The "American College Admission Bribery Case" that was exposed in 2019 involved a number of American celebrities and Chinese families. The core of the case is to fake sports expertise, bribe the coach of the university sports team, and enter a famous school through illegal means, which shocked American society!
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Opportunities for high school varsity athletes
If your child is already a high school varsity athlete, what are his or her chances of getting into a college sports team? Let's take a look at what Dan Betton, a former admissions officer at Princeton University, had to say.
Mr. Dan Betton
It's impossible for the average high school athlete to continue playing college sports in college: After graduating from high school, an average of 7 percent of high school athletes are able to enter college sports teams; but only about 3-4 percent have substantial playing time in their four years of college.
Don't expect to be able to pay for college tuition by joining college sports teams: Sports-related scholarships are available, but they are very rare (the Largest division of the U.S. College Athletes' Union, Category III Sports Teams College, does not have sports scholarships). About 15 percent of people receive sports-related funding, mostly "partial grants," with an average funding of up to $10,000; only 1 percent receive "full scholarships."
If the college coach doesn't initiate contact with you, your chances of being admitted as an athlete are greatly reduced: Most college athletes are contacted by the college coach before the 12th year of high school, and the college coach initiates and encourages the application, usually providing a guarantee of admission.
There are some college athletes who succeed by self-recommendation: however, if the college coach doesn't connect with you, it's not for nothing. You can choose to volunteer, in which case, write an email to the college coach with an academic and athletic resume, provide the name and email of the coach you know, and ask to visit that college sports team. By reaching out proactively, if a college coach says he will "support" your application for admission, your chances of being accepted to that university will be greatly increased.
Athletes are usually given priority admission to competitive universities: other non-athlete students with similar conditions and passing grades are rejected.
Grades, Grades, Grades: If you are a good athlete, I believe you can continue to play on the university team of The I, II or III sports teams, and be sure to ensure that your academic performance does not drag your feet.
Minimum score requirements: The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) has minimum performance requirements for all athletes, and different regional leagues will have higher academic performance requirements for athletes than the NCAA. Even though the college admissions office may "lower" the requirements a little to accept you as a recruiter, you have to prove that even if you don't play sports during your four years of college, you're a qualified student and an asset to the university (not a liability).
In addition to sports expertise, highly recognized and prestigious academic competition awards are no less helpful for entering prestigious universities. In order to let everyone understand the "gold content" of each award, we will make a systematic introduction to the various awards here.
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The gold content of various awards
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Congratulations, elite schools are rushing to get you
➤ D1 athlete
➤ IMO/ IPHO/ ICHO/ IBO/ IOI/ IOAA/ IOL gold/silver medals
➤ Regeneron STS Top 10
➤ Google Science Fair age group winner
➤ History Day National Winner
➤ Single/First Author in High Impact Factor Journal
➤ Special performance/Solo at Carnegie Hall
➤ International Competitor in a Sport
➤ Boys Nation President
(1) D1 Athlete
Sports is a stepping stone for prestigious American universities, and many American universities have a preference for sports students. In the United States, more than 1,200 universities are looking for varsity athletes to represent their schools in competitions or prepare for the Olympics. As a result, sports students are generally more likely to be admitted to universities than the average student, and they also have the opportunity to receive partial or full scholarships.
D1 Athlete is an honor under the top NCAA sports leagues in the United States. The league was founded in 1938 as the American College Athletic Association, which is made up of Community College and Junior College. Similar to the NCAA, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is divided into three divisions, with D1 being the highest-ranking student-athlete and offering full scholarships, D2 offering partial scholarships covering tuition, tuition and fees, and book fees, and D3 not. The competition for student-athletes who can enter the D1 level in the United States is quite fierce, and only about 1% of student-athletes can reach this level.
(2) IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO/IOI/IOAA/IOL gold/silver medals (Medal winners of the International Mathematics/Physics/Chemistry/Biology/Computer Olympiad)
Events with high gold content include the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), the International Chemistry Olympiad (IchO), the International Biology Olympiad (IBO), and the International Informatics Olympiad (IOI). These five projects are known as the International Five University Discipline Competition for Secondary School Students. The national team in each discipline has 4-6 participants, and is the last member to win the medal. These are the top-notch Orsay events. Generally speaking, it takes several rounds of screening in large competitions to select international Olympian athletes.
For example, the American mathematics competition system is as follows:
AMC (American Mathematics Competition)
AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Examination American Mathematics Invitational)
USAMO (United States of America Mathematics Olympiad)
MOSP (Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program Math Olympiad Summer Camp & IMO National Team Training)
IMO (International Mathematics Olympiad)
(3) Regeneron STS Top 10 Regeneration Dollar (former Westinghouse Science Award, Intel) Genius Award Top 10 (limited to US height)
Regeneration STS is the oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school students in the United States, designed to unearth future leaders in the field of science. About 147,000 students have participated in the competition over the years, and most of the winners have won Nobel Prizes, Fields Medals, National Science Prizes and many other honors in their later academic careers.
Regeneration Dollar STS is the largest academic scholarship available to U.S. high school students. All Regeneron STS entrants who submit their applications before the November deadline each year will be eligible for a T-shirt, laptop sticker and a year's free subscription to Science News magazine to recognize their rigorous application and to support and encourage their interest in the scientific discipline.
After layers of screening, 40 student finalists were invited to Washington, D.C., to participate in the final judging, present their results to the public, and meet with prominent scientists and government leaders. Based on the review of the jury and their research reports, the top 10 winners were selected. Finalists who make it into the top ten will receive prizes ranging from $40,000 in tenth place to $250,000 in first place.
Official website:
https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/sts-awards/
(4) Google Science Fair age group winner (Google Science Fair age group champion) (global)
Google Science Fair (GSF) is a global online science competition created by Google, Lego, CERN, National Geographic, and Scientific American. The competition is open to students aged 13-18 around the world. The contest is very valuable for the U.S. application and has the opportunity to receive a wealth of awards. The winner of the highest award can receive a $50,000 scholarship from Google. There are also National Geographic Awards, Scientific American Awards, LEGO Education Awards, and Virgin Galactic Pioneer Awards.
GSF is a highly competitive competition project, for students applying for science, engineering students have a great help, GSF award winners are usually some of the world's top engineering school targets. For the winners, this is not only an honor, but also a strong proof of academic depth;
Official website: https://www. googlesciencefair. com/
(5) History Day National Winner
National History Day® (NHD) is a non-profit educational organization in the United States headquartered at the University of Maryland Park. The History Day National competition is one of the NHD's biggest events. It is a year-long academic event designed to provide opportunities for historical research, interpretation, and creative expression for students in grades six through twelve.
Every year, more than 500,000 middle and high school students from all over the world participate, and only more than 50 students can win the award. They conduct original research on historical topics of interest. In this process, each participant gaines first-hand experience in conducting historical research and analysis by producing documentaries, exhibitions, articles, performances, or websites.
Official website: https://www.nhd.org
(6) Single/First Author in High Impact Factor Journal
Journal high-impact journals are considered the most influential evaluation indicators in the scientific community. A journal's impact factor is a measure of how often a journal's average article is cited in a given year. In the United States, some universities insist on publishing at least one publication in a highly rated journal (i.e., a high impact factor) before becoming a professor.
(7) Special performance/Solo at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall in New York is considered the temple of music in the United States, the oldest music hall in the history of American architecture, and the highest hall of music performance in the world. It has featured works and performances by some of the world's best artists.
(8) International Competitor in a Sport
(9) Boys Nation President
The American Legion Boys Nation is one of the most highly regarded government educational programs for high school students in the United States. In this activity, each student representative plays the role of a senator in his state. The young MPs hold a caucus meeting at the beginning of the meeting, and then organize a committee to hold hearings on the proposals submitted by the project representatives. U.S. states select 2 male students as representatives to attend and receive education on the structure and functions of the federal government.
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Almost equivalent to the entrance ticket of a prestigious school
➤ USAMO Winner (T12) (9.5)
➤Google Science Fair Finalist; Regeneron STS Finalist; ISEF Best of Category
➤MOP, USAPhO/ USNCO/ USABO/ USACO T20/24
➤ NSDA Nationals winner
➤ Tournament of Champions Winner
➤ NCFL Nationals Winner
➤ RSI (Research Science Institute)
➤ Published in a relatively prestigious journal
➤ National Student Poet
➤ Jimmy Awards (musical theatre)
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Amazing achievements; great help for applications
➤ Perfect AMC Index (AMC12 Perfect Score + AIME perfect score)
➤ Google Science Fair Semifinalist;
➤ Regeneron ISEF 1st-4th place category;
➤ Regeneron STS semifinalist; Davidson Fellow; Presidential Scholar; MIT PRIMES; MITES
➤ FIRST Dean's List winner; top 5 at FIRST World Championships
➤ Google Code Jam Round 2, 3 Qualifier (Vast majority of Competitors are College students and professionals)
➤ Facebook Hacker Cup Round 2, 3 Qualifier (Vast majority of Competitors are College students and professionals)
➤ International Public Policy Forum Top 32 team
➤ TASP; Writing Portfolio Gold Award; Presidential Scholar of the Arts; Scholastic Art;
➤ All National Band or Orchestra performer
➤ Boys Nation Participant
➤ Clark Scholars
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Significant achievements, great help
➤ AMC 12 Perfect Score (7.5-8)
➤ ARML Tiebreaker Round; USAMTS Gold Medal; HMMT top 50
➤ SSP; Simons; CMU SAMS; NIH Research; SUMAC; ROSS; PROMYS; Mathcamp
➤ State governors schools with acceptance rate <15% (PGSS, NJGSS, most other science governor's schools)
➤ USACO Platinum Division
➤ USAMO qualification
➤ US Olympiad High Honors/Top 50/USAPHO Gold etc
➤ ISEF Finalist
➤ Top Team, YES Competition (Young Epidemiology Scholarship)
➤ History Day National Level
➤ Scholastic Art & Writing National Gold Medal. NFL Nationals (speech and debate) "breakers" (elimination rounds), Tournament of Champions (debate) "breakers," Congressional Award Gold Medalist,
➤ International Public Policy Forum Top 64 team
➤ Foyle Young Poet
➤ US Senate Page
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Pretty good achievement; helpful
➤ (6.5) Google Code Jam Qualifier (Vast majority of Competitors are College students and professionals)
➤ (6.5) Facebook Hacker Cup Qualifier (Vast majority of Competitors are College students and professionals)
➤ USACO Gold Division
➤ AMC 10 Perfect Score
➤ Less competitive governor's schools (Acceptance rate between 15% and 25%), any other scholarship summer programs not aforementioned
➤ Congressional Award Silver Medalist; NFL Nationals; Tournament of Champions Qualifier, FBLA Nationals
➤ Science Bowl/Ocean Science Bowl/NAQT winners; Technology Student Association Nationals
➤ FIRST Dean's List finalist; Top 5 FIRST Super Regionals (FTC)
➤ Scholastic Art & Writing National Silver Medal
➤ Academic Decathlon State (CA) Honors Top 3
➤ University-run poetry contests (Patricia Grodd Prize, Lewis Center at Princeton Prize, etc)
➤ Very selective summer programs (acceptance rate 10-15%: UC Davis YSP, IOWA SSTP, BU RISE, UCSB RMP, HCSSiM, HSMC, MIT Launch, ……)
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Very good and able to strengthen the application materials that are already very good
➤ USAPhO/ USNCO/ USABO/ NAO semifinals
➤ National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests,
➤ All-Eastern/all-regional music, State History Day top 3 place
➤ Top 5 FIRST State Championship (or Regionals for FRC), JETS TEAMS National Finalist, Skills USA Nationals
➤ State Science Fair Winner/Top Award
➤ Academic Decathlon State (AZ/ TX/ MA/ WI),Nationals Top 3 Honors & California Event Golds
➤ Selective summer academic programs (acceptance rate 15-25%: UC COSMOS, UF SSTP, ……)
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There are quite difficult achievements
➤ AIME qualification ( American Mathematics Invitational Finalist ) , with 6,040 entrants worldwide in 2018.
➤ USACO Silver Division
➤ Science Fair Regional winner
➤ Science Bowl National Qualification (National Science Knowledge Competition Finalist) (US High Only), one in each division, 70 in total.
➤ Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin/Spanish/French Exam State awards (all-state music, etc) (excellent results on Latin/Spanish/French tests in the United States over the years)
➤ Academic Decathlon State (AZ/TX/MA/WI) Event Golds (Academic Decathlon U.S. National Team and Individual Champion) (U.S. High Only)
The national championship includes 9 team championships and 27 individual champions, and the number of participants in the United States should be relatively large, but the specific number is unknown. The gold content of USAD's international competitions in China is currently difficult to judge.
➤ MUN Gavel (Model United Nations Judge)
➤ AMC 10/12 school winner (depends on your school) (AMC 10/12 school winner)
Art and Writing Regional Gold Award
➤ Top 5 FIRST Regional (FTC) (TOP 5 in the FIRST Technology Challenge)
➤ Position in Local Government
➤ National AP Scholar (National AP Scholar Title Winner) (LIMITED TO)
It takes effort, but it's not a rare achievement
➤ Student Body (Student Council)
➤ Winning at local/regional science fairs
➤ All-County music (county level and above)
➤ Eagle Scout (participated in the highest level eagle Scout Scout Scout)
➤ Gold Awards (with prior Silver and Bronze Awards))
➤ National Merit Finalist (U.S. or Green Card only)
About 1.5 million participants in the PSAT and NMSQT exams, about 16,000 high-scoring students entered the semi-finals, of which 15,000 semi-finalists will enter the final list, and about 8,000 will be selected.
➤ Head of a competitive club that you did not found (ex: Mock Trial, Model UN, Science Olympiad)
➤ Editor in chief of award-winning school newspaper
➤ Head of a club with large membership and substantial activities
Compare the average achievements
➤ Bank of America Awards
Presidential Service Award Volunteering Gold
➤ Other honorary awards for local awards/trophies of local (county, city, county or territory).
Essay Contests
Regional History Day
Ordinary activities
➤ National Honor Society
➤ Beta Club
➤ School Departmental Awards
➤ School Honor Roll
➤ Key Club; CSF; Interact Club
➤ National Merit Commended (internationally acclaimed)
➤ Member of a club with no distinctions earned
Grabbing a handful is meaningless
➤ Who's Who; National Honor Roll; National Society of High School Scholars
The weight of the award
Awards (academic awards) are only one consideration for university admissions judges. In order to select suitable students from a large number of applicants, the Admissions Office of the United States university uses a quantitative scoring system to evaluate applicants in terms of academic performance and character.
Simply put, the admissions office of a prestigious school conducts a comprehensive assessment of the applicant's performance in all aspects based on the information on the application materials, from the lowest two points to the highest eight points. Overall, academic performance is valued more than character, between four-to-one (average schools) and two-to-one (elite schools).
Academic Performance Assessment Form
Academic performance is relatively easy to measure (as shown in the chart above), including the average score of the four years of high school (GPA), the difficulty of choosing courses, and standard test scores (SAT/ACT, SAT-II), TOEFL test scores (international students), the number of AP courses, the level of academic awards, etc.
The evaluation of personality is a comprehensive assessment of many aspects (as shown in the following figure), including: talent (sports, music, painting, dancing, etc.), personal character, teacher's impression, reputation in school, wisdom and potential, creativity, work attitude, maturity, autonomy, ability to cope with setbacks, care for others, self-confidence, independence and so on. In addition, the image, leadership position, and service to others in the application materials and application essays are also very important.
Character assessment form
Essays and letters of recommendation
Excellent university admission essays and letters of recommendation can also increase the chances of admission!
The writing of an essay for an admissions essay is also a key. How do I write an essay? What to write? What kind of person are you expressing to the admissions officer in your essay? This is especially important for Chinese students, who do not have as many reference coordinates as American students.
Your essay must be your own, which is crucial! Admissions officers can easily find out whether the essay was written by an agent, and you can't be admitted to see such an essay.
Avoid below-average essays so as not to leave a bad impression. Poor essays may be poorly written, too long, non-answering questions, and so on. Those neutral essays don't actually do much for the application, they may tell a good story, but they don't say what kind of person you are.
Make your essay give you extra points, tell the admissions officer something interesting about you, write an impressive essay, and increase your chances of being accepted.
Strong additional references can also help! In your application you need to know what American universities need.
To increase your chances of being admitted, in a nutshell, you should make a practical high school plan, try to choose a difficult course, and achieve the best usual results as possible; adopt an optimized test strategy to achieve high scores in standard tests; focus on development and cultivate personal character, avoid a long list of extracurricular activities, highlight your "two strengths"; try to write a good essay, ask teachers of two different subjects to write a strong letter of recommendation, and the last link is to prepare for the interview!
Going to college is not a win
Going to college is about finding the "object" you like, not winning an award. Going to college is four years, but a good education and a satisfying experience will benefit you for life.