"The dream school is separated by mountains and seas, and the mountains and seas can also be flat. ”
Getting into an Ivy League school is not as difficult as you think.
- Huang Zhongyang
This article was first published in Study Abroad Issue 01, 2022 (Issue 188)
Reporter | Qu Qi
Edit | Yang Dongni
Design | Li yang
Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge...... Now, with the help of Special A students, thousands of Chinese children have turned their big dreams into tangible goals and achieved them one by one.
"With high-quality liberal arts education and study abroad, Chinese children can enter the world's top universities. Huang Zhongyang said it and did it. In the past 10 years since its establishment, the Special A team has invited more than 130 professors from more than 40 majors in the United States to teach in China, cultivated nearly 3,000 graduates, and achieved a remarkable record of "100% of students apply to the top 50 overseas universities, 80% of the students enter the top 30 schools, and more than 30% of the students have won offers from the top 10 schools".
It's not a full A student
You can also get into the world's top universities
In late December, when the results of the early application to prestigious universities in the United States were released, Special A also released the 2022 undergraduate early application admission report. According to the good news, this year's Special A students have received admission letters from Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania-Wharton School, Washington University in St. Louis, Imperial College London, Brandeis University and other universities.
This result is not dazzling. Harvard University, for example, admitted 740 students out of 9,406 applications this year, and according to incomplete statistics, only eight of them were offered to Chinese students.
The same is true for other top schools. If Chinese students want to enter the world's top universities, they must go through the fierce competition like Shura Field and stand out from thousands of competitors around the world.
When it comes to the amazing early admission results, Huang Zhongyang did not show surprise. In fact, for Special A, such results are already "commonplace".
If you look at the history of Special A's, you will see Stanford University, Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, University of Chicago, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Northwestern University, Duke University, New York University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, ...... Almost all of the world's top universities have Special A graduates. As a result, Huang Zhongyang has won the reputation of "Grand Slam Tutor", and Special A has also become a veritable "famous school offer harvester".
Huang Zhongyang told the reporter of "Study Abroad" that these students did not achieve so top-notch results when they joined Special A. "The vast majority of my students are in the middle and upper middle range. They are not all A-students, but together we can reach a higher level through hard work. ”
What Special A is doing is to build a bridge to first-class schools for ordinary Chinese children by aggregating the world's top educational resources and helping them achieve a transformation in life.
The "Dimensionality Reduction Attack" of Knowledge
Dialogue with wise people, change lives
Why are you so attached to such a career? This is closely related to Huang Zhongyang's life experience.
Looking back on the past, he admitted frankly that his path to study was not a smooth one, but full of hardships and ups and downs. He experienced the blow of failing the college entrance examination and went to study abroad. As a sports student, he has gone through many detours, and he was once under pressure due to low grades.
The turning point in life comes from a chance chance. At that time, he listened to a lecture by a professor at the University of Cambridge on the emerging Internet and media economy. The penetrating explanation made him feel empowered and saw new possibilities in his life.
Inspired by this lecture, Huang Zhongyang turned to computer science and began to study the two-way integration of the Internet and media. With his professional knowledge, he achieved a magnificent transformation when he graduated, receiving 48 offers from more than 10 well-known companies including Toshiba, Mercedes-Benz, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Fujitsu, etc. After joining Fujitsu, he took over the position of system engineer within three months.
Huang Zhongyang took a group photo when he worked as a system engineer at Fujitsu Computer Company
Such a transformation made him understand for the first time that knowledge can really change a person's fate. It turns out that the inspiration from the wise can really affect the trajectory of a teenager's life. "Knowledge has the power of a 'dimensionality reduction strike', it can reshape your brain and elevate your cognition to a higher dimension. It makes you understand that you can be a better version of yourself. ”
In 2012, Huang Zhongyang stepped into the education industry and set out to establish Special A. The original intention of entrepreneurship is to pass on the power of knowledge to more Chinese children. To achieve this ideal, he traveled the world and invited professors from the world's top universities to teach Chinese children. Through nearly 10 years of accumulation, Special A's resource pool has more than 4,000 professors, covering sub-disciplines in many fields such as humanities, science and engineering, business, and law.
He hopes that these wise men from all over the world can influence more Chinese children, help them open their minds, broaden their horizons, and constantly improve their lives.
"People ask me why I invite so many Ivy League professors to China, and I tell them that I want my students to talk to the top teachers in the world. We didn't have this opportunity before, but I want my students to have. Huang Zhongyang said.
Alone and brave, he traveled all over the United States
Invite professors from prestigious schools by knocking on the door again and again
In the Special A class, students can carry out cutting-edge research under the guidance of Ivy League professors, and they are also escorted by tutors from the world's top universities on the road to study abroad. Such unique and high-quality resources are the key secret for Special A students to enter the world's top universities.
Many people are curious: Why can Special A invite so many professors? Behind the dazzling gold-lettered signboard is actually a "history of blood and tears" that ordinary people can hardly imagine. The first batch of co-professors were invited by Huang Zhongyang to visit the United States and knock on the door again and again. At that time, he had nothing, and all he relied on was loneliness and enthusiasm.
It was the winter of 2012. With a 60-kilogram brochure, Huang Zhongyang took a flight to the United States and embarked on the journey of inviting professors for the first time. At that time, few people in China had made such an attempt. Success or failure?
His wish is simple: "I want to move these professors so that they can really stand with us and help our students." ”
The first professor invited by Huang Zhongyang was from Hunter College of the City University of New York, a German and a judge of the International Emmy Awards. The initial invitation process hit a wall. It was during the Emmy Awards, and every visit was rejected because of the professor's busy schedule.
In Huang Zhongyang's memory, the winter in New York was particularly cold that year. "When I went, I only wore a light coat with a suit underneath and a single leather shoe. I stood outside the door and waited for him for 4 hours, and the whole person was already frozen. ”
Before that, Huang Zhongyang had had an in-depth conversation with the professor. He talked about how media and film can be combined, and how to help students have a broad vision and create a unique film medium. I was blown away by his views. I was thinking, I must invite him. ”
After four hours of waiting, the professor finally finished his work. When he saw Huang Zhongyang, he was surprised and asked, "Why are you still here?" Finally, the professor was moved by Huang Zhongyang's sincerity and finally agreed to teach Chinese children. In addition to joy, Huang Zhongyang also paid a personal price for this success: the next day he had a fever and was bedridden for several days.
Huang Zhongyang and Emmy Award nominated producer twice
Prof. Steven, Northwest University
And this is only the first step in the difficult process. Since then, he has begun to visit the United States, inviting professors from prestigious universities, but he has been constantly rejected, kept visiting, and has gone through many twists and turns, but he still persevered.
Professor Patricia Mainardi of Yale University is a well-researched expert in the field of art. Huang Zhongyang had the opportunity to have a discussion about art with her. She asked me why many Chinese children don't know much about Chinese art and pay more attention to Western art? In her opinion, a lot of Western art borrows from Chinese art, and art itself is also a mirror that reflects the exchange of history and civilization. These novel and profound views impressed Huang Zhongyang.
After 7 visits, Huang Zhongyang finally successfully invited Patricia Mainardi to be the mentor of Special A. In 2015, she made her debut in Special A's classroom, teaching art history. With her rigorous and humorous teaching style, her classes are described by her students as "the most enjoyable courses".
The top professor in the field of science and technology is also the object of Huang Zhongyang's visit and invitation. At that time, a well-known computer science professor at Brown University was leading a lab to study image recognition at the bottom of AI artificial intelligence. Previously, it took 5,000 images to identify animals, but with the help of his lab, only 73 images were needed. This made Huang Zhongyang very excited, and he decided to invite the professor at that time. After five or six relentless visits, the professor eventually became part of the Special A faculty team.
Huang Zhongyang and Dartmouth College
Brown University professor Brett
"Why do you have so many professors?"
The answer is "a little bit of persistence"
In the process of visiting professors in the United States, an unexpected situation even made Huang Zhongyang experience the test of "life and death".
At that time, in order to save money, he ate only one meal a day, which led to severe malnutrition in the long run. Once, after visiting three professors in Pittsburgh, he accidentally fell while picking up his luggage in the morning, causing a lumbar spine dislocation. According to the plan, he had to rush to Philadelphia immediately to sign a contract with three professors at the University of Pennsylvania.
In order to successfully sign a contract with the professor, he had to set off with an injury. Buses are six or seven hours away. Because of the severe pain, he couldn't move. "The car was very bumpy, so I tied myself with a scarf to the saddle to fix it a little, but it didn't work. Later, in order to relieve the pain, I had to lie on the floor of the bus, and I even fainted in pain twice in between. ”
After arriving in Philadelphia, Huang Zhongyang checked into a hotel. It was the middle of winter, the weather was freezing, the heater in the room was broken, and the quilt was very thin. "Because I didn't go to the toilet all day, my bladder was swollen. But because I couldn't move, I couldn't urinate, I had no choice but to urinate on the bed, and then the whole bed was cold, and I survived like that all night. ”
Looking back on that experience, Huang Zhongyang sighed, "If I had known the severity at the time, I wouldn't have tossed like that." Later, I learned that when the lumbar spine is misaligned, it will die. But he has no regrets about his efforts, and he has no complaints. He told the reporter of "Study Abroad" that that time was his experience, which allowed him to "get a lot".
Persistent dedication has given him fruitful rewards. In the first year of his visit, he invited more than a dozen professors. Later, he continued to visit American colleges and universities every year, and continued to introduce strong faculty to the resource pool of Special A. There are many professors who were originally invited, and after nearly ten years, they still maintain a good cooperation with Special A.
Huang Zhongyang and Greg, a top professor of mathematics at Stanford University
"A lot of parents are asking, 'Why do you have so many professors?'" Huang Zhongyang attributed the reason to his own "little bit of persistence". He believes that it is his persistence that has impressed these professors to share their knowledge and experience with Chinese children.
Behind this insistence is the stubbornness of the Chinese "Chengmen Lixue", the sincerity of "three visits to the Maolu", and the belief that "sincerity is the open". This original intention is also the spiritual support for the steady and far-reaching development of the Special A team.
Huang Zhongyang also hopes that his story can bring inspiration and inspiration to students. Many things in life seem to be difficult to get to the sky, but in fact, as long as you have perseverance and perseverance, there is nothing you can't do. The same is true for inviting professors, and the same is true for applying to dream schools.
Harvest and grow while studying abroad
Not to be an "excellent sheep"
The faculty of professors from world-renowned universities is a trump card for the Special A business. For Huang Zhongyang, the greatest significance of this trump card is not only the transfer of knowledge, but more importantly, to help students improve their comprehensive ability and lead them to better growth.
In the era of increasingly serious involution, what kind of abilities should children have, how should they expand their knowledge reserves, and how can they obtain true joy and happiness? These are the issues that people in the education field are concerned about.
William Dresiewicz's "Excellent Sheep" gave Huang Zhongyang a great inspiration. This book roughly describes the state of Ivy League students: they may know a lot of theoretical knowledge, but their practical skills are poor, they are anxious and confused, and they lack purpose in life. I don't want my students to be like this. ”
What Special A is doing is not just a simple application or counseling for studying abroad, but also an exploration and deep cultivation of liberal arts education and whole-person education. This philosophy is integrated into the curriculum and programs of Special A.
Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) is a research project carried out by the Special A team in collaboration with professors from Harvard University, which is still a frontier field that no one has set foot in China. Under the leadership of Harvard professors, Special A students are able to conduct research on brain-computer interface projects.
"Of course, it's a big challenge for the kids. One student had a lot of difficulties and couldn't hold on several times. We are constantly encouraging and supporting, and we are matching resources for him. Eventually, he overcame many obstacles and not only successfully completed his research, but also published a paper on BMI in a scientific journal. ”
Huang Zhongyang once led a student to complete an AI-related research in three years. During this time, the student experienced countless breakdowns, countless tears, and countless times wanted to give up, but still gritted his teeth and persevered. In the end, the experiment was successful, and the results were published in well-known journals in the field of artificial intelligence. The student also won an offer from Stanford University in 2020.
The British educator Whitehead once said, "Forget everything you learn in class, and the rest is education." "SpecialA's liberal arts education philosophy is in line with this.
For Huang Zhongyang, the most important thing is not the students' achievements, but the abilities they gain in the learning process. "Through these research projects, Special A children are able to truly improve their ability to innovate, think critically, lead, solve problems, and manage interpersonal relationships. These strengths will not be replaced by artificial intelligence. ”
On the "battlefield" of study abroad applications, these invisible soft powers have become the most powerful "weapons" for students. Special A aggregates global high-quality educational resources and integrates them locally to make them deeply compatible with Chinese children, and on this basis, creates a complete set of study abroad application service system. The help of Ivy League tutors and scientific and warm study abroad services are the secrets of Special A's repeated successes.
"Applying to study abroad is what we do best. Huang Zhongyang told the reporter of "Study Abroad", "I hope to send more Chinese children to the world's famous schools." At the same time, I also hope that after entering a prestigious school, they can grow into better people, find the best state of life, and realize their ideals. He will continue to explore this educational path.
The new trend of the study abroad industry in 2022
"The only constant is change"
The New Year's bell of 2022 is ringing. Looking back on the past year, the world situation is turbulent, and the new crown pneumonia is still raging overseas. But on the other hand, studying abroad, which briefly ushered in a cold winter at the beginning of the epidemic, has gradually shown a warming trend.
Whether it is the news of the long queue of international students at Shanghai Pudong Airport for check-in in August, or the data of "91% of the surveyed students do not change their study abroad plans" in the industry report, it shows that studying abroad as a diversified educational option still has strong vitality.
Talking about the phenomenon of unabated popularity of studying abroad, Huang Zhongyang believes that there are two deep reasons. First, countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States still occupy a large number of high-tech educational resources, including cutting-edge majors such as computer science and artificial intelligence, and second, the needs of Chinese parents for international vision and resources are becoming more and more clear.
In the mainland's "14th Five-Year Plan" and long-term goals for 2035, frontier fields including artificial intelligence, quantum information, life and health, brain science, and aerospace science and technology are listed as key development directions in the future. In these fields, the research results of Western developed countries do have a lot to learn from.
Huang Zhongyang believes that studying abroad is to "learn from experience" abroad through talent exchanges. In the future, students who have returned from studying abroad will have a promising future in the field of high-tech technology. On the world stage, they will also shine.
"At present, the education industry is in a new stage of great reshuffle. The prospects for the development of studying abroad are bright. "It is true that compared with the huge group of college entrance examinations and graduate school entrance examinations, international students are a relatively niche group. According to official data, the number of applicants for the college entrance examination in 2021 was 10.78 million, and the number of applicants for the master's examination was 4.57 million.
And even in 2019, before the pandemic, there were only 700,000 students studying abroad. In Huang Zhongyang's view, the audience for studying abroad is relatively narrow, but this demand is eternal, and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.
Looking at the changing trend of the industry, Huang Zhongyang made four conclusions: first, the parents of students are interested in specific majors, The requirements of specific schools will become more and more clear, and parents will increasingly hope that their children can find the most suitable choice for themselves in one step; second, there may be a continuous and stable increase in studying abroad at a young age; third, the number of Chinese students admitted by foreign universities will increase, and overseas famous universities will expect more outstanding Chinese students to join; fourth, the comprehensive ability of Chinese students will be greatly improved, and their competitiveness in scientific research and academic research will be stronger.
To the back waves
For students studying abroad in the face of the epidemic: "First of all, we must ensure our physical and mental health, always pay attention to the trend of the epidemic, and do a good job of personal protection; secondly, from an optimistic point of view, the epidemic is actually a double-edged sword, which brings a lot of inconvenience at the same time, but also provides a lot of convenience for international students, for example, online learning brings more free time to explore their favorite fields." ”
The only constant in the world is change, and it is very important for us to learn to accept change and grow in it.
Swipe to see the next one
Shortly before the interview began, the reporter of "Study Abroad" learned that Special A students with special honors won the only early application offer from Columbia University in Beijing in 2022. Speaking of this, Huang Zhongyang's words were full of pride. The sails of 2022 have been raised, and a new batch of international students will travel across the ocean to study and pursue their dreams. "There will be times when the wind and waves will be long, and the clouds will sail into the sea. Huang Zhongyang believes that on the world stage, these Chinese children will emerge and shine. What greets them will be a new era of thousands of miles.