16 years old children's way to study in the United States

In the summer of 2003, 16-year-old Jeff started his study abroad career with his father who went to work in the United States. From American high school to "American College Entrance Examination", Jeff experienced the distance between American education and "College Entrance Examination".

Go straight to American high school.

Jeff, who is not bad at English in China, went directly to Secaucus High School, an ordinary public high school in Secaucus Town, New Jersey, and attended grade 10. This school is very small, and the high school and junior high school add up to 1000 students. However, the school has complete facilities and good management. When he first entered the school, the tutor asked Jeff to choose a one-year course. Jeff, who is completely inexperienced, can only choose biology, physical education, economic foundation and ESL (English as a second language) as the courses in the first half of the semester under the guidance of two teachers. ESL is an intensive English course for immigrant students from non-English-speaking countries in American high schools. Because there are few local immigrants, there are only four or five students in ESL class who study American language and culture with Jeff.

Headache: double negation

When I first arrived in the United States, the biggest headache for Jeff was the double negation in spoken English. Once, an American student asked Jeff, "You don't want to be friends with him, do you?" He is a bad man. " What he means is: You don't want to be friends with that bad student, do you? Jeff said yes according to the logic of China people, but the original intention was: I don't want to be friends with that person. As a result, American students were surprised and said, "Do you want to be friends with him?" Jeff realized that the secret of this antonym problem is that it is contrary to the thinking of China people. As a result, the two of them gestured there for a long time before they figured out their original intentions.

Solve the language barrier in half a year

Jeff quickly integrated into this big group, began to make new friends, and watched movies with everyone on weekends. When you encounter words you don't understand, actively ask your American friends around you; He will spend 10 minutes asking the waiter for ingredients on the menu that he doesn't understand. Jeff said that Americans are very helpful and won't get angry because you keep them for a few minutes. Because of this, Jeff's English has made rapid progress. In this way, after getting along with white students for half a year, Jeff successfully entered the normal English class and studied Shakespeare and other famous works with Americans.

The domestic knowledge of mathematics is impressive.

After breaking through the language barrier, Jeff's solid mathematical foundation in China began to appear. In several state-level math leagues, Jeff got the second best result. He also participated in various mathematical science competitions on behalf of the school, and got a good ranking, and entered AIME twice, which is the Olympic preliminaries that only 2% competitors in the United States can enter.

American high schools emphasize physical education.

American high schools attach great importance to physical education. The purpose of physical education is not only to keep fit, but also to cultivate students' perseverance and ability to overcome difficulties. Jeff joined the school tennis team and Varsityteams in senior three and senior four, and advanced to the state semi-finals in the tennis team. Jeff also said that learning and sports are inseparable. Exercise can improve people's physique and perseverance, so as to better play the state in learning.

The attempt to apply to an American university failed.

After taking the SAT, SATII and TOEFL exams, Jeff started his journey of applying for university. Applying for the American college entrance examination is purely a personal act, and you can apply to several schools at the same time. Jeff filled in new york University (NYU), University of Virginia (University of Virginia), UCLA, Pennsylvania State University and Rutgers State University in New Jersey. Every university has different requirements for registration, such as grades, participation in activities (sports teams, public welfare activities, etc.). ), the teacher's recommendation letter and his own composition. In Jeff's view, it is not enough to get into an American university with excellent grades. Many people with perfect SAT scores are rejected by Harvard and others because they don't pay attention to all-round development and are not keen on social activities. A person who deserves to be admitted to a university should have good SAT and TOEFL scores, outstanding leadership, athletic talent and enthusiasm for actively serving the society. The admission notice of American universities is a thick envelope, while the "rejection letter" is just a small letter.

Jeff was rejected by UVA. In retrospect, Jeff thought this question was a paper. Jeff submitted an excellent article about family to UVA, so it is difficult to stand out among a group of excellent students.

It is very important to go to college, AP.

American high schools offer some advanced courses called AP.