“I used to be a clumsy bird and failed one of my courses. I then followed the teacher’s advice and strove to be an ‘early bird.’ In fact, many students fail not because their IQ is low but because they lack the needed executive force.”“I suggest that you delve deep into your hobbies and do some industry research. It will benefit you tremendously.”
“You must have a good command of English and at the same time lay a solid foundation for Chinese, math, and computer applications. When you come to the United States, you will find that while they are helpful for your studies, they are more helpful for your daily life there.”
On January 3, 2018, straight A students studying at Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Berkeley, and other well-known American institutions of higher learning gathered at KWA and shared with KWA students their experience in pursuing further study abroad.
These students all had something in common in that they were students of Wang Shi, KWA academic principal, and were graduates of Tsinghua University High School and Beijing No.4 High School. At this meeting, the KWA Overseas Mentors System was officially launched. As the first student mentors, they will advise KWA students on college applications based on their own experience.
This experience-sharing meeting was conducted in two forms—personal experience sharing and forum—with speeches and interactions. As someone who has gone through it all, these mentors shared their experience based on their own or their classmates’ situations. The experience is invaluable for KWA students, especially those who are about to enter Grade 12, in pursuing further study abroad.
“In fact, each school has its distinctive style. It is very important to find the most suitable one,” said Shen Yaoling, a Yale student. Cai Ke from Macalester College believes that learning is a slow process of progress. KWA students should be patient and build a solid foundation rather than being anxious for quick success because for students at this stage, “hard work is more important than choices.”
When discussing hobbies and professional choices, Wang Tianzheng from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania said, “While it is important to have a specific goal, you must not let it confine you because as we grow, we may have interest in many things. Going to college and choosing a specific major does not mean that you must work in this specific field when you graduate. We need to learn more extensively to constantly enrich ourselves.”
Yu Zhiyang, a student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, majors in Electronic Engineering because he likes music very much and hopes to do some research in electronic musical instruments. After sharing his opinions in “Interest Development and Academic Planning”, he performed a wonderful piece of B-Box at the scene. Sharing the same interest as Yu Zhiyang, KWA 11th grader Xie Xiaoyi approached this mentor for college application advice immediately after his performance.
“Nothing gives a teacher a greater sense of accomplishment than seeing his/her former students come back and help their junior fellow students realize their dreams,” said Principal Wang Shi, a former admissions counselor himself. “What is even more commendable is that although these student mentors graduated from different high schools, followed different growth paths, and received education under different curriculum systems, they have all come to help KWA students wholeheartedly. KWA students are lucky to have these excellent mentors, and I, as a teacher, feel very proud of them!” stressed the principal. 
“While we cannot replicate other people’s success, we can learn from it,” said Teresa, the admissions counseling director at KWA. “KWA provides personalized one-on-one admissions counseling for students in 9th grade and higher. We invite overseas universities to give lectures and hold fairs at our school so that our students can communicate with foreign admissions officers at close range. The launch of the mentor system is like icing on the cake for KWA students as the student mentors will be able to share their latest experience more directly.”
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