What Exactly Does It Take to Get Into a Great University?

Meet Lily, a 17-year-old from Chongqing who loves to read and has big dreams. She keeps herself busy with hobbies that show her well-rounded character. She loves to play mahjong and uses long-distance running to reduce stress and stay physically fit. Lily, like so many Chinese students, deeply wants an opportunity to study in the West after high school. When I met Lily on our first video call together, I could immediately see that she had a lot of potential if she could put together a strong and convincing application. But that isn’t easy to do…

Lily stands out amongst other Chinese students her age, especially for her love of reading. Her curiosity has led her to read a wide variety of books about history, philosophy, economics, and even poetry. Sometimes she even reads books that are controversial or that state opinions she disagrees with. By doing so, she has made herself a much more interesting person capable of engaging with future professors and classmates on many different subjects. She has developed her own inner wisdom, now she just has to demonstrate it with powerful essays and answers to questions.

Lily wants to study engineering. In a world searching for more reliable and renewable sources of clean water, she believes creative engineers will be the keys to success. She hopes to one day help design new dams and water treatment plants. But she knows a degree from a respected university in the West (along with the experience of working alongside the best students and professors in the world) is essential if she wants to fulfill her dreams.

Her exam scores are very good, but they could be better. If she wants to get into a top 50 university in the U.S., she’ll need to prove herself on her application with her personal statements, letters of recommendation, and CV. Lily is less than a year from the first day of school at her potential American university. She knows she can’t control past exam grades, or change her GPA very much. She can’t change the past.

Making universities see more than just your grades

What she can change is how she is perceived by university admissions officers looking for new students who have more than just the right SAT score or GPA. A little known truth about Western universities is this: exam performance is not everything. In fact, Western educators often prefer to focus more on “intangibles” that make a student more “well-rounded” and likely to succeed not just in school but in life.

This is especially true when admissions officers are considering Chinese applicants. Due to a growing number of exam cheating cases in China, it’s likely that the admissions officers viewing your application will give less consideration to your exam scores than they will for other students. This makes your personal statement and other application documents even more important to your success.

Let’s get back to Lily, though. She’s active, with a diverse range of interests including history, sports, and novels. Also, Lily, like many Chinese (including you, most likely), has a fascinating family history that would shock and amaze most Westerners. Her family history, the triumphs and tragedies included, are part of what makes Lily who she is today. As a Chinese student, this is one element of your background that you should not overlook! The family stories that might seem boring and mundane to you are emotionally powerful details that add context to your goals and ambitions as a student.

Even though she’s a talented student, the first draft of Lily’s main personal statement was dull. All her life she had been taught that her exam scores and school leadership titles were the most important thing about her. After reading the first paragraph detailing her accomplishments like a CV in essay format, I knew the admissions officer would be half asleep or too uninspired to continue. Lily wasn’t saying enough about herself and what makes her interesting and unique.

China is a big country—the biggest, in fact. With well over a billion people, you can be sure that there are more than enough Chinese students with straight As and high SAT scores to fill many American or European universities. But the key to getting accepted is to actually to demonstrate what you have to offer outside of academics.

Fortunately, all of the interesting details I mentioned about Lily’s life and personality provide a lot of great content to write moving personal statements and letters of recommendation that can win the hearts and minds of admissions officers.

Your dream school wants you

Fast forward to today. Lily is in her first semester at her American university. You might have heard of it: University of California Davis. In fact, Lily had her choice of several top 50 universities throughout the United States. Every university she chose to apply to sent her an acceptance letter, asking her to please join their student body. Of course, beautiful California with its pristine beaches and year-round perfect climate is tempting for anyone!

So how did she do it? Over the course of a little over two months, Lily and I discussed the best ways to answer specific essay questions and steadily completed essay after essay. In our weekly video chats, we talked about what needed to be edited in drafts of her CV or letters of recommendation, and how to do it. Lily discovered the most compelling details of her life and included them in her application documents. As is often the case, before working with Course West, Lily was unaware that many aspects of her life experience would be extremely valuable if she included them in her application!

Throughout the process, Lily was not only preparing a great application that came from her heart, she was learning how to be a great writer. Her improved writing and speaking skills she developed during her application coaching will help ensure she’s successful at her new university. That’s important to me as a Course West coach, because I know your future doesn’t end when you get accepted to a great school, it’s just beginning! Our entire team want to make sure you’re prepared for long term success, and we’re committed to doing all we can to make your future brighter.

Your mission starts now

So, now the challenge turns to you. How will you make yourself stand out and get noticed by your dream university? What creative methods can you come up with to show that you are a special student deserving of an opportunity to study at a great university. And what will your future life in the West hold for you?

You decide. As always, me and the rest of the Course West team are here to help!

What Exactly Does It Take to Get Into a Great University?

Arron Xu

Help

Follow Us

For English

For Chinese

Login on site

What Exactly Does It Take to Get Into a Great University?

Arron Xu

Help

Follow Us

For English

For Chinese