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College Admissions Workshop

September 28, 2014

College Admissions Workshop

On September 24th in the Annex Auditorium, Principal Ma hosted a workshop on the college admissions process. This informative lecture took place during lunch time, with many students actively and attentively listening. The workshop was divided into two parts: the Principal’s speech on tips for college application, and Mr. Lloyd Peterson, a former Admission Officer from Yale University, giving suggestions on how to write a good personal statement.

Principal Ma based his lecture on conversations he had had with admission officers. He mentioned that the selection criterion for admissions is eclectic and holistic. Students should be able to brand themselves, and show how they have contributed to their community. He also stressed the importance of the personal statement, which is the area where students can convey their voice, and a key factor for colleges in deciding whether a student is a good fit or not.

Mr. Lloyd Peterson drew upon his experiences as a Yale Undergraduate Admission Officer, where he focused on applications from China, India, Japan and New York City. The two distinguishing factors for an applicant were essays and activities. At a college like Yale, every applicant had great SAT scores and GPA, but not every applicant had great activities or essays. The personal statement should demonstrate the applicant’s personality traits, and should show traits including, but not limited to: perseverance, resilience and patience. Activities should show an applicant’s impact and leadership within the community. At the top universities in the USA, Mr. Peterson highlighted, these traits are highly desirable.

Although the workshop was geared primarily towards seniors, many sophomores and juniors also attended. SHSID students will use the knowledge taken on from this lecture to develop their applications.

(Essay: 12（1）Martin Guo；Chinese Translator: 12(1) Grace Zhou; Supervisor: ZHANG Nan; Photos: Tang Yinjun/ 12（1）Grace Zhou)