High School and University:
How they relate
关于高中和大学
PETER XU AND HARRY YU
About Us
Attended:
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Grades 6 to 8: Cummer Valley M.S. (Gifted Program)
Grades 9 to 10: Marc Garneau C.I. (TOPS Program)
Grades 11 to 12: Don Mills C.I. (Gifted Program)
University: Yale University (B.S. in Computer Science)
你为什么想来听这个讲座啊？
Why are you here?
High school
“Community
college in
Boston”
???
Profit
高中 .
一个所在波
斯顿的大学
???
Profit
“Community
High school How? college in
Why? Boston”
???
Profit
What if you can’t?
上不了呢？
怎么上？ 一个所在波
为什么上？斯顿的大学
高中 .
???
Profit
High school
“Community
college in
Boston”
???
Profit
高中 .
一个所在波
斯顿的大学
???
Profit
High School
Goals
High School
Goals
Steps for getting into a good
university.
Learning a lot. Being curious.
Having fun. Developing your
character and becoming a better
person (actually!)
Learning a Lot: Academics
Harvard-recommended:
◦ 4 years of math
◦ MIT: Requires Calculus
◦ 4 years of science
◦ MIT: 1 year of each of the 3 sciences
(Grade 11)
◦ 3 years of history
Rigour
◦ Academic < Enriched = Gifted <
IB/AP
◦ Do not sacrifice more than 5% for a
more rigorous course, unless you
are actually learning.
◦ Highest level available.
◦ MIT: 2 years
◦ 4 years of foreign language
(French)
◦ MIT: not required
Marks
◦ Range: preferably >90
◦ Rank in top 10%
◦ Not declining
Learning a Lot: Academics
What?
Learn how to write! 学写作！
◦ Write something daily. Write a diary or blog (about
music, anime, video games, whatever). Write love
notes, emails to friends, anything!
Learn programming! 学编程！
◦ Do it. Seriously. Even if you forget everything else.
Learn math, especially statistics!
学数学，特别统计！
Learn sciences: find one you’re interested!
◦ Chemistry for us.
What My High-School Friends Do
职业
电脑有关 CS-related
商业有关 Business-related
医疗有关 Medicine
其他 Others
Learning a Lot: Academics
How?
◦ Learn on your own. 自学。
◦ Be nice to your teachers. They’re interesting people too!
对你的老师好一点：他们也是挺有趣的人哦！
Showing What You Learned
Do competitions
◦ Shows interest
◦ Shows academic ability (if you’re
good at some of them) Nice to do,
regardless of skill
Common: math
Other great options:
◦ Physics: CAP, OAPT, AAPT, SIN
◦ Chemistry: CCO, Avogadro & Chem13
◦ Biology: CBO, National BioComp
◦ Computing: CCC
Contest Participants
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Approximate
Competitions
If your school doesn’t have it and
you want to do it
◦ Do invest time in preparing
Others:
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French
Philosophy
English speaking
Science fair
Tournament of Towns
Linguistics
Arts
Design/Engineering
Being Curious and Having Fun
Extracurricular Activities:
In-School
You like the
activity
You actively
participate,
practice and
excel
Your efforts are
recognized, and
you get a
leadership role
你喜欢的活
动
你愿意多花
时间，自然
优秀
会自然当个
leader
Extracurricular Activities:
In-School
Sports!
Common clubs and activities
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Reach for the Top
DECA
Newspapers
Yearbook
Student government
Don’t have it? Make it!
Be willing to try new things
多试试新的活动
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Music and shows
Debate!!! (public speaking, logic)
Robotics
Model UN
Academic (science, language) clubs
Extracurricular Activities:
Out of school
Volunteering
◦ Hospitals/Health care providers
◦ Community organizations
◦ YMCA
◦ Toronto Youth Cabinet
◦ Cultural organizations
◦ Churches
◦ Camps
Extracurricular Activities:
Out of school
Being Curious and Having Fun
Do something interesting!
做件有趣的事！什么都行！
But Wait? What about Universities?
大学呢？
Universities mostly look for students who are:
◦ Academically capable
◦ Otherwise skilled
◦ Interesting
◦ Curious about the world
大学求：
◦ 会学习的学生
◦ 有特长的学生
◦ 有趣的学生
◦ 对世界好奇的学生
Why? 为什么？
Why? 为什么？
BECAUSE THOSE ARE GOOD TRAITS TO HAVE
ANYWAYS!
JE NE REGRETTE RIEN: NO REGRETS
Boo!
High school
“Community
college in
Boston”
???
Profit
高中 .
一个所在波
斯顿的大学
???
Profit
High school
Yale
???
Profit
高中 .
耶鲁
???
Profit
Why a Top University?
Why a Top University?
Reason 1: Resources
$4,500 per
student abroad
Resources on campus
Resources on Campus
Recent Master’s Tea Guests:
2011-2012
◦ Fran Kranz - Actor (and former Morsel)
◦ Gretchen Morgenson - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, writes Market Watch column for the
New York Times
◦ James Stoller - Physician, Cleveland Clinic
◦ Uta Werner - Chief Strategy Officer and VP of Xerox
◦ Jonathan Silverman - Biographer of Johnny Cash
◦ Carl Zimmer - Award-winning author on the topics of science, evolution, and parasites
◦ Steven Brill - Author of “Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools”
◦ Nicholas Christakis - Physician and social scientist, author of Connected: The Surprising
Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives
◦ David Dobbs -Author on the topics of science, medicine, and culture
◦ David Litt - Speech, op-ed, and joke writer for Barack Obama and senior White House staff
◦ Susumu Ito - World War II Veteran, biologist, & Harvard Medical School Professor
◦ Klaus Kleinfeld – CEO Of Alcoa Inc.
◦ Martina Gmur - Director of the Network of Global Agenda Councils, World Economic Forum
◦ Marina Belica and Julie Flanders - Musicians, October Project
Resources on campus
Resources on campus
Reason 2: Community
Community Diversity
Why it’s easier to build
communities
US TOP UNIVERSITIES
CANADA
Students often are required to live
on campus for multiple years
Students usually only live on
campus for one year
Classes are small even in early
years
Classes shrink in later years, and
often remain large
Meal plans are required or popular
Meal plans are optional
Student organizations have
incredible resources
Student organizations have decent
resources
More parties!
Yep, Canada has parties too
<2,000 students per year
>5,000 students per year
Reason 3: Reputation
Graduates’ Destinations
Meeting people
Finding jobs
Having options
… and more!
14.5%
3.1%
82.4%
In U.S. (including Puerto Rico, territories, etc.)
Outside U.S.
Undecided
It’s Fun!
Almost no one regrets going
to a top school in the US
Picking a University
大学选择
Why are you going to university?
你为什么上大学？
Picking a University
大学选择
CANADIAN 加拿大大学
◦ Choose major immediately
◦ Almost all courses in major
◦ Live on-campus only for freshman
year; little on-campus housing
◦ Large lectures
◦ Undergraduate business and
accounting programs; co-op
AMERICAN 美国大学
◦ Liberal arts: often first, second year
without major
◦ Can take many non-major courses
◦ On-campus housing (for all four
years for many top-tier schools)
◦ Mix of lectures and seminars
Picking a University
大学选择
Reflect on your goals
Know your academic interests (leave space for exploration)
Research, research, research!
Visit the campus early (strongly recommended)
◦ Look into overnight stays on campus (with friends or acquaintances,
admissions-office arranged)
◦ “A day in the life”
Aspects to Consider
必考虑方面
Brand name
Quality of life and culture
◦ Urban vs. rural
◦ Athletics and fraternities (“big
state school”)
◦ Extracurriculars (though most
schools have most things)
◦ Degree of self-segregation and
mixing
Resources
Career prospects
Applying
申请
Apply to lots!
More information to come.
Soapbox: American Universities
我的意见：美国大学
Yale is the best!
◦ Brand name, atmos., everything
Harvard
◦ Brand-name, but higher pressure,
lower quality of life, less
undergraduate focus.
Stanford: Great weather, tech
MIT: Many quirky and great aspects
Princeton: undergraduates; tough
grading, but about to change
Williams, Wellesley, Liberal Arts
Colleges
◦ Consider these!
Soapbox: Canadian Universities
我的意见：加拿大大学
Waterloo
◦ Great if you’re interested in nonmedicine, highly lucrative professional
◦ Accounting, Engineering, Software
Toronto
◦ Great for research, humanities
◦ Best-known
Business schools:
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University of Western Ontario: Ivey
Queens: Commerce
York University: Schulich
Toronto: Rothman
McGill
◦ Good, smaller well-rounded school
◦ Fewer research opportunities
LifeSci schools:
◦ Queen’s, McMaster
Making the decision to attend
Considerations, and:
◦ Compare aid offers (and inform schools)
◦ Special programs/scholarships
◦ Visit during visiting days
◦ Atmosphere is important
◦ Consider also visiting during low-season (January, February)
Talk to students, alumni, faculty, admin
◦ Friends, classmates can help a small bit too
CollegeConfidential.com
Advice on CollegeConfidential
Financial Aid
Financial Aid
Average Aid Given (USD)
Don’t worry: No one left behind in
45000
many schools
Cost: Max $58,000 for 1 years and
increasing
40000
Income
30000
◦ <40~60K = (Nearly) Free
◦ Between 60K and 100K = Cheap
(no more than usual Canadian
universities)
◦ > 100K = larger percentage of
tuition
35000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Princeton Harvard
MIT
Evaluation of Need
Financial Aid is purely based on your need
of funding, not your merit
You submit:
◦ T1 forms
◦ CSS Profile (CollegeBoard)
Offers are calculated using set formulae
◦ See online calculators
◦ # of children, etc. are considered
◦ Can ask for more in some cases
Need aware and need blind
Need blind:
◦ College does not consider how much financial aid it will have to give you
when making acceptance decisions
Need aware is the opposite
NB/NA is largely based on endowment
◦ Policy could change over years
Need-blind is fine
UNLIMITED
Yale
Harvard
MIT
Princeton
University of Pennsylvania (Canada!)
Amherst
Dartmouth
University of Chicago
LIMITED – DOES NOT ALWAYS GIVE
ENOUGH TO SATISFY FULL NEEDS
Cornell
Great need aware schools
Brown
Columbia
Williams
Stanford
California Institute of Technology
(Caltech)
Merit Scholarships
“What’s so good about the Ivy leagues? No merit scholarships and
crappy sports?”
– A CC’er
Non-ivy leagues offer merit based scholarships
Full ride for 4 years plus possible summer/research benefits
Best for:
◦ Students with large family incomes
◦ Athletes
Merit Scholarships
Morehead Cain
Duke Robertson
Duke Scholarships
UWSL (high school nomination)
Johns Hopkins Engineering (2)
Outside the US (discussed in choosing college section)
And more…
High school
“Community
college in
Boston”
???
Profit
高中 .
一个所在波
斯顿的大学
???
Profit
Before University
大学以前
电脑有关 CS-related
商业有关 Business-related
医疗有关 Medicine
其他 Others
After University
大学以后
电脑有关 CS-related
商业有关 Business-related
医疗有关 Medicine
其他 Others
After University (Yale)
大学以后（耶鲁学生）
http://oir.yale.edu/detailed-data
16%
23%
研究生/博士 Graduate studies
法学院 Law school
9%
医学院 Medicine
6%
教育 Education
商业 Business/Finance
政府 Government
14%
16%
16%
其他 Others
After University (Yale)
大学以后（耶鲁学生）
Top employers:
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Teach For America
JP Morgan
McKinsey & Company
National Institutes of Health
Bain and Company
Epic System Corporation
SATs
SAT
SAT I: Reasoning
Very important
Reading
Math
Writing
25%
690
690
690
75%
780
790
780
Reading
Math
Writing
25%
650
720
660
75%
760
800
760
Reading
Math
Writing
Harvard
◦ Goal: >2200/2400
Low scores will not prevent you
from getting in if your other
credentials are great
MIT
Reading
Math
Writing
25%
690
700
700
25%
660
660
670
75%
780
790
780
75%
760
760
760
Princeton
Amherst
How to Study
Grade 9 and 10:
◦ Read, read, and read
◦ Great for reading and writing, and
interesting
Use the books, do lots of
questions
◦ Contingency: do SAT classes
Study vocabulary: small
investments of time can pay off
Schedule
Grade 11 start
Grade 11 and 12
SAT II (Math II, physics):
◦ Do SAT I: late grade 10 or early November
grade 11
◦ Redo if needed(score choice) SAT II (Chemistry): January
Get the books
Finish before grade 12
Best: Do three at once
800s much easier to get
◦ Aim for 800
SAT II (Math II,
chem): April
SAT II (phys.): May
SAT II
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SAT I: November
SAT I: October (best)
SAT I redo: December
Grade 12 end
详解美国大学的
“Common
Application”
BY PING YU
多伦多教育研究会
WWW.IVYSTAGE.COM
统一申请主表 – Future Plans，
Demographic and Family
专业兴趣和职业方向，
是否申请奖学金或助学金
是否美国居民，国籍和种族
各种语言及熟练程度
父母姓名住址，年龄，职业，所上的大学或研究生学校；兄弟姐妹
姓名年龄以及在哪里读书
统一申请表
Education
就读学校和时间
学校升学指导姓名电话和邮箱
列出自9年级以来所有读过的中学以及暑期学校
列出曾经修过的所有大学课程
9至12年级的成绩单
统一申请表
Academics
在学校名次以及学校同年级总人数
SAT，TOFEL，IB/AP考试成绩和考试日期
列出目前在学的课程，注明是否AP 或IB等特殊课程
9年级以来获得的奖项，按国家级，省级，地区级或学校级几大类
分别标注
统一申请表
Activities
列出自9年级以来所参加的校内校外活动，包括义工和工作，内容
有
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活动所占用的时间
是学年还是暑期
你的职位和业绩
上大学后是否打算继续该项活动
统一申请主表
Writing
作文
◦ 一篇最多650字作文
各大学附表
Supplements
个人信息
是初次申请或转校
专业兴趣
家庭直系成员以及亲戚中有没有校友
申请人有没有附加材料，如艺术音乐作品或科学研究论文
额外作文
千奇百怪的问题
统一申请表学校专用表格
学校情况
学校升学指导老师的姓名，电话和邮件地址
学校毕业班总人数
学生在学校的排名以及排名方式
毕业生升入四年大学的百分比以及进入两年制大学的百分比
学校有没有开设AP/ IB课程
学生选课的难易程度，分为五个等级
通用申请表学校专用表格
学生情况
认识学生有多长时间
描述学生时所想到的第一个词
评价学生，分学业，课外活动以及个人品质三方面，标准为1%，
5%，10%至低于平均等七类
学生有没有违纪或犯罪行为
你推荐该学生的愿望是非常强，强，一般，保留或不表示意愿
学校升学指导老师的推荐信
统一申请表两位老师表格：
关于老师的信息
老师姓名，电话和邮件地址
认识学生时间和对学生的熟悉程度
形容学生所想到的第一个词
所教课程是在哪一个年级期间
列出课程的名称以及课程难度，注明是否AP，IB或强化课
通用申请表老师专用表格：
老师对学生的评价
给学生在下面各方面排名。排名顺序有1%，5%，10%，很好，不错，
平均水平或低于平均水平
Academic Achievement
Intellectual Promise
Quality of Writing
Creative/创意
Productive class discussion积极有效参与班级讨论
Respect accorded by faculty
Disciplined work habit
通用申请表两位老师专用表
格：
老师对学生的评价
Maturity
Motivation
Leadership
Integrity
Reaction to setback
Concern for others
Self-confidence
Initiative, independence
Overall
通用申请表两位老师专用表
格
推荐信
奖
校内外活动/暑期
个人综合表现（软件）
成绩（硬件）
成绩
4年
趋势
课程难易程度
排名
SAT
学科竞赛
综合表现
领导能力
奉献精神
尊敬他人
课堂参与
是否成熟
学习习惯
校内外活动和奖项
校内各种俱乐部
义工参与
暑期活动安排
竞赛
教育咨询服务
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