❤️ Written in advance:
Tom is a student I have been teaching from the second year of middle school to the second year of high school. We don’t chat much, but the most memorable conversation was after he took the TOEFL multiple times in 2023 without achieving a satisfactory score. It was during this in-depth conversation that I discovered this seemingly quiet and introverted science student is actually very sensitive and nuanced inside. After my last article was published, he sent me a message:
His writing style was as formal and calm as ever. I said, “Why don’t you write an article for me?” He replied, “Sure, but it might take a while since I’m not very good at writing such articles.”
I said it’s okay, I’ll give you some ideas. After that, he wrote a little bit every now and then, sometimes a paragraph, sometimes just a few sentences. A month later, I checked the shared document and saw that he had completed the entire article.
To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations before opening the article. But after reading it, I felt a significant emotional impact—within this seemingly calm narrative, I read about the quiet yet determined growth trajectory of that science boy.
Rather than being a sharing of application experiences, it is more of a deep dialogue between him and reality, self, and the future. As he himself said, applying to American universities is just an outlet; more importantly, he completed a reflection on the past and a reconciliation and choice with himself during this process.
👋 My Basic Information
Hello everyone, my name is Tom, and I am currently studying at the International Department of Renmin University Affiliated High School (ICC) AP system.
In the 2024 application season, I was admitted to Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) through ED2, with an intended major in chemistry. It should be noted that WashU admits students by college, and the major is only an intention at the time of admission; the actual decision is made after enrollment.
-
TOEFL: 109 (R30 L26 S27 W26)
-
SAT: 1540
-
GPA: The school does not rank, all A/A+
-
Extracurricular Activities: Mainly chemistry + environment, as well as pure humanities research leaning towards environmental studies
📌 The Deepest Insight from the Application Season: Connecting Fragmented Past Experiences into “Who I Am”
For me, the most valuable part of the application season was not the moment I received the offer, but the process of preparing my essays, which allowed me to seriously reflect on my life over the past decade for the first time.
For example, I had pets when I was young, and I did a chemistry-related project in high school—these two things seemed unrelated, but the essay required me to connect these experiences and answer a question: What has happened over the years that has made me who I am today?
This introspective process made me realize that applying to American universities is far from a mere “competition of materials”; it is a deep review of “who I am”. This sincere self-analysis is more important than any glamorous packaging.
Of course, no one can provide a completely standard answer to what American universities value in admissions. According to the ICC’s guidance and my observations, the admission results are not strongly correlated with just high GPAs, and sometimes there is no discernible pattern at all. Therefore, rather than getting caught up in the results, it is better to focus on solidifying the process.
🎯 Reasons for Choosing WashU: Flexible, Practical, and Suitable for Me
I applied to Johns Hopkins University during the ED1 phase and was rejected, but I remained calm—because JHU was indeed my “reach” choice, and I clearly knew it was a relatively high-level attempt for me.
After that, I applied to more than a dozen American universities, and during the ED2 phase, I received an offer from WashU. Compared to some classmates who aggressively applied to all Ivy League schools, my application strategy was more conservative and focused on the fit between the school and myself.
I prefer to choose schools that are more practical and emphasize personal development, such as JHU, Cornell, and WashU. In contrast, I find it hard to adapt to schools like Yale and Columbia that emphasize grand narratives of “changing the world”.
What attracts me to WashU includes:
-
Flexible major settings that allow undergraduate students to freely choose courses across colleges
-
A large number of interdisciplinary projects, especially for freshmen
-
Over 80% of undergraduates graduate with double majors/minors
-
A practical and low-key campus atmosphere that does not emphasize “prestige”
I chose chemistry as my intended major because I have had a sustained interest and some academic accumulation in it during high school. But to be honest, I am not completely sure about my future direction; I actually don’t need to decide on my major right now, which is what I like about WashU—it allows for uncertainty and lets you gradually clarify your path through exploration.
After all, most high school students like me do not have many opportunities to deeply explore the fields they want to study in the future, and it seems premature to finalize decades of life during high school.
📚 My English Learning: Those Days When the TOEFL Scores Didn’t Come Out, I’ve Been There Too
I started learning TOEFL with Teacher Xu at XES in the second year of middle school. The first few months went well, and I made some small progress. However, after the pandemic began, my learning state took a sharp downturn, and I gradually became lax. I remember my first mock exam score was only in the 60s. By the third year of middle school, I realized I couldn’t continue like this and re-engaged in my studies. But at that time, my progress was still slow, and my score only improved to 81.
The real turning point came during the later intensive one-on-one and one-on-two classes, still under Teacher Xu’s guidance. With her help, I gradually figured out strategies for each part of the TOEFL and slowly established my own study rhythm. Through high-intensity practice and constant adjustments, I finally achieved a score of 109 (Reading 30+, Listening 26+, Speaking 27+, Writing 26). Reading has always been my strong suit, while the other three sections fluctuated over time. During each mock exam, I was quite anxious, but I had to grit my teeth and persevere. Fortunately, the final result justified the effort I put in during that time.
If you currently find the TOEFL particularly difficult or have been waiting a long time for your scores, I understand that feeling—I too was stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, even doubting whether I was suited for studying abroad. Looking back, I realize that the so-called “scores” rarely come all at once. What truly matters is whether you can keep moving forward after each disappointment. Scores may not come quickly, but those moments of silent perseverance will eventually change you at some point.
In contrast, the SAT went much more smoothly for me because it is more of a reading-based exam, which is exactly my strength.
🧭 About Studying Abroad and the ICC International Department
I decided to study abroad in the third year of middle school and chose to join ICC. The main reason for studying abroad was that I believed it would be more beneficial for my future learning and research. My reason for choosing ICC was actually very simple: I had already spent four years at the main campus of Renmin University Affiliated High School, was familiar with the environment, and naturally transitioned to the international department.
I don’t think the choice of “which international department” has a decisive impact. For me, the biggest difference between the international department and the regular system is not “what to study”, but “whether anyone is supervising you“.
I’m not sure how other international departments are, but at ICC, the overall level of students has always been polarized from the first to the third year. Some students start preparing for applications in the first year, while others only gradually get into the swing of things in the third year. The price of freedom is self-discipline; if you lack intrinsic motivation, you might really just “coast through three years” at ICC.
🧩 How I Evaluate My Three Years at ICC: Freedom, Uncertainty, Growth
-
Freedom
ICC has very few “mandatory requirements” and supervision for students (at least in my year; the current first and second years are reportedly much stricter, and the activities reported to the school can even affect grades), to the extent that when I mentioned my arrangements to friends in the college entrance examination system in the second year, I was teased about whether I was in college.
This means you can choose to be lazy, but you might also walk a very personalized path without any intervention.Freedom is a risk. Fortunately, I finally took my studies seriously in the second semester of the second year; otherwise, coming to ICC would have been a wrong decision for me.
2. Uncertainty
Applying to American universities is full of uncertainty: not only at ICC, but if you want to aim for American universities, you must be prepared for all possible outcomes.
Effort does not necessarily yield visible results; a person who stays up late to practice standardized tests may not achieve better results than someone whose agency helps them add a few words to their essays. There are no unified evaluation standards for everything, and in some cases, it’s hard to say whether there are any standards at all. The same standardized test scores and project backgrounds can lead to vastly different application results, so utilitarianism is basically useless in the face of the uncertainty of applying to American universities.
Therefore, what we learn during the application process becomes so important. We cannot determine that a certain activity will definitely be recognized by admissions officers, but we can strive to learn from these activities, even if it is for utilitarian purposes, to enhance our applications. It is this uncertainty over the years that has made me realize that the process is far more important than the result.
3. Growth
I have never been a “gifted” student; my grades in elementary school were not outstanding, and I almost always fell behind after entering the early training program in middle school. However, this long-term frustration has shaped my ability to endure pressure. I have learned to coexist with anxiety and that “not being so excellent is still okay”.
⚡ About Pressure and “Falling Behind”: Not So Excellent, But I Persisted
I entered the early training program at Renmin University Affiliated High School in elementary school, and in recent years, each early training class has basically been composed of half gifted students and half students who are not particularly gifted, surrounded by “genius” peers, while I am basically “the other half without outstanding talent”: unable to keep up, always in the bottom quarter in physics and math.
There are many examples of falling behind around me; there are three students in my class who have taken a leave of absence, and the atmosphere is very “competitive”. However, at that time, I was still quite carefree and didn’t care much about my academic performance.
I’m not sure how things are at the main campus of Renmin University, but I feel that the early training program is not suitable for most students.
The early training program is generally more competition-oriented and does not cater to the different needs of each student, which is not suitable for someone like me who does not pursue competitions.
If you are not particularly outstanding in competitions, coming to the early training program may not be a suitable decision. Therefore, transitioning to the international department was a direction I considered early on.
After coming to ICC, although there are still excellent people around me, the pressure has noticeably decreased because everyone in the international track has different directions of effort. My anxiety at ICC comes more from my dissatisfaction with myself, rather than from comparisons with others or external pressures from ICC.
To be honest, I believe I am not very good at relieving pressure. When under pressure, I find it hard to concentrate and cannot regulate my emotions. Honestly, my way of coping is just to tough it out—but it is precisely these moments of perseverance that have shaped who I am today.
❤️ Words to My Parents: Thank You for Your “Silent Support”
During my high school years, I didn’t communicate much with my parents, as they have always been busy. I am the kind of person who easily becomes anxious over small matters and has poor emotional control, which once created a tense atmosphere at home.
But looking back now, I am very grateful that my parents never used “other people’s children” to criticize me, but have always silently supported all my decisions.
I know that in the coming years, we may not see each other frequently, and there may still be disagreements, but I hope to use this last time in high school to create some gentle memories with my parents instead of continuing the cold war.
However, I don’t think the reduced communication due to my parents’ busyness and studying abroad is entirely a bad thing. After all, I will eventually move to another country and face many unknowns on my own, which will help me gradually adapt to handling various matters independently.
🎯 Final Thoughts
The application season is exhausting and chaotic. But if it has taught me one thing, it is:
Not every step needs to be a win, but every step must be taken honestly.
More than the results, I cherish the fact that through seemingly meaningless efforts, I began to understand myself, accept myself, and learn to move forward with “the not-so-perfect me”.
If you are also caught in the whirlpool of the application season, I hope this sharing can give you a bit more confidence. If you are willing, feel free to share it with friends who are also struggling ❤️.
Think Alike Summer Course Schedule:
