Undergraduate Admissions Tips - 英檢

If you are a high school student in Taiwan and are considering applying to a

western undergraduate program, there's a few things you need to understand

before you can be successful. Many high school students in Taiwan have been

so focused on their GPAs, SAT scores, and TOEFL scores that it's easy for

them to lose sight of the big picture. Today, I'm going to cover the top

three things that every single prospective undergraduate should, but doesn't

know about applying to undergrad programs in the west.


1. People Blend Together on Paper, No Matter How Impressive their Scores are.


What does this mean? Imagine, for a second, that you are an admissions officer

at Harvard or Yale. You are given the insurmountable task of reading

thousands and thousands of applications from students who are amazing,

overqualified, and all have perfect GPAs and test scores. You wake up every

morning knowing that you have to review x number of applications today, for

hours and hours at a time. Regardless of how much coffee you drink, or music

you play while you review, you are going to get tired.


People simply cannot read applications, resumes, or factual information about

people they've never met before without becoming tired.


When you do this day in and day out, over and over again every single year,

all of the 4.0 GPAs and 2400 SATs start to feel quite ordinary. The aspects

of an application which stand out to you are the personal aspects - the

aspects of the application which communicate the story, background, and

struggles of the human being behind the paper: you.


Keep your audience in mind when you write your application, and be sure to

write it in a way which will be - "sticky," and "stick" in the minds of the

people reading.


2. Your Values Matter as Much As Your Grades


What makes your story "stick" in someone's mind? Any details which

communicate the quality of person you are, and how you make your decisions.

Admissions officers reading through hundreds or thousands of applications in

a season love it when they get a genuine sense of the person they're reading

about, and they get that when they read about things like your personal

motivations and passions.


Is your family important to you? How has that influenced your life and

personal philosophy? Do you care about social justice and giving back to the

community? Do you care about making the world a better place, and how?


If you can write your application in such a way that you can convey what

truly motivates you as a person, the people reading your application will

much more likely remember you.


Note though, that you have to be careful when writing about personal values

and motivations not to come off as cliche or insincere.


3. It's OK to be Proud of Your Achievements


Taiwanese culture dictates that people should be modest. While you don't

want to come off as bragging about your accomplishments in your application,

it is important to emphasize your successes and not be shy about how

outstanding you are. After all, you've already made it this far, right?


If you are too modest and understated in your application, admissions

officers may not get a strong sense of what matters to you, and what you have

been able to achieve in your area of expertise.


Write about your achievements in terms of the values behind them and how you

have helped others, and you'll have a great way to discuss your achievements

without sounding like you're bragging.


Conclusion


Many young students in Taiwan are heavily focused on their grades, and

rightly so. What I want to drive home today is that you need to think about,

and write persuasively about more than your grades in order to be admitted to

a western undergraduate program. Your values, your extracurricular

achievements, and how you communicate your personal story will all be factors

which help your application "stick" in the head of the admissions officer

reviewing your case.


If you would like help crafting your unique story into strongly persuasive

writing, or thinking about the best way to communicate your personal values

through your application, don't hesitate to reach out to me, David,

at [email protected].





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Transcend Admissions Consultants





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