两个主题：

1. 寄宿学校的生活
2. 如何申请高中

寄宿学校的生活

首先你会发现美国高中和中国高中有很多不同之处。很多寄宿学校看起来像小型的大学。教室分布在不同的教学楼，那里有运动中心，独立的餐厅，学生中心，科学楼，图书馆等，有些学校甚至还有博物馆。这些设施为学生提供了一个相当好的学习环境，同时你会有一种置身在大学里的感觉。

你将会有很多具有挑战性的课程。美国高中是小班授课，每个班约10-20个学生。你不能简单坐在教室后排，一言不发。老师会不断向你提问，让你发言，要求你表达自己的观点，但你不能只是说：“我不知道”。这种教学方式对于国际学生来说也许是比较难适应的一个巨大挑战。

当你进入寄宿高中后，你将有从未遇到过的多种选择。例如选择上什么样的选修课， 参与什么运动，加入什么俱乐部，做什么社区服务等等。这是高中美好生活的重要组成部分。寄宿学校并不只是关注课堂学习，它实际上是你整个高中阶段的生活经历。

时间管理很重要。你需要严格要求自己做好每天的计划：什么时候学习、用餐、参与课外活动、和朋友们玩耍、睡觉、洗衣服等等。这些会让你变得更加独立。你是否将时间浪费在玩游戏、看电视和在线聊天上呢？没有人会告诉你应该怎么样安排时间，所以你必须要管理好自己的时间，否则你将很难获得成功。

你将遇到很多困难和挑战。老师和朋友们将会在你克服困难过程中提供帮助，但你需要自己解决其中很多问题。如果你还不是一个很独立的人，寄宿学校的生活会让你学会独立。你需要了解自己的实际情况，例如自己的学习习惯等。没有人会每时每刻督促你。如果你的学习习惯不好，你需要尝试一些新的方式。也许身边有人可以帮忙，但最后你还是需要自食其力。而解决这些问题可以让你变得更自信。

你将会遇到很多不同个性的人，这些人来自世界各地，富人穷人都有。他们当中有擅长运动、音乐和艺术的，也有痴迷科学或者写作的。学校有意录取有各种天赋的学生。和这些人交朋友可以让你更清楚了解自己的个性和特点。你需要多交朋友，从而发现你和哪一类的朋友在一起感觉最好，同时也认识到你最想成为怎样的人。在优秀的寄宿高中里最有价值之一的事情就是能在老师或者学生当中找到学习的榜样。

你将会住在学校的宿舍里，你也将在那里交到人生中最要好的朋友。
当我还是在中学的时候，我的父母会问我的学习时间有多长。大多数人认为学习时间越长越好。但是在高中时期我发现学习时间长并不重要，最重要的是学习的效率有多高。我还学到了正确做事比长时间做事更加重要。

你会找到一些自己喜欢做的事情，而且这些事以前从来没做过。我加入了管弦乐队，也学会了攀岩。这些都是我以前没有做过的事情。它们对于我来说都是新的挑战。

你将体会到作为一位平凡学生的感觉。即使你一直是校内最优秀的学生，但到了高中你很可能不再是最优秀的那一位，尤其是因为英语是你的弱势。这其实也是一件好事，因为它会教你在困难的时候如何取得成功。你将会找到新的方式和其他人竞争并取得成功，而且你也可以变得更加自信。

当我上大学的时候，我想大学第一年的学习将会比高中的更容易，那些从来没有离开家的同学遇到的困难比我多。

成功申请寄宿高中

首先你需要了解你自己。你还年轻，如果你还不知道自己长大后想做什么、最想学什么科目也没关系。如果你找到自己喜欢的科目，那很棒。高中阶段你可以学习和尝试很多新的东西，如果还没有找到自己的最大兴趣点是可以理解的，但你需要知道自己在什么样的环境下可以做的更好，最重要的是你的成熟程度，还有你将与什么样的同龄人在一起能学到最多。有些学校要求你很独立，其他学校也许会提供更多指导和帮助。你和你的父母需要考虑清楚什么样的环境对于你的成长是最有利的。

多花点时间深入了解目标学校。并不是每个学校都是一样的。地理位置和学校的大小也是其中的考虑因素。规模小的学校条理性比较强，也许会比较适合需要更多纪律指导的学生。对于规模比较大的学校，例如我的学校，比较合适那些能够掌控自由时间而且比较成熟的学生。

你需要有足够好的标准考试成绩，当然你还需要有好的在校学习成绩。学校需要了解你是否能很好的完成课程并取得不错的成绩。这是招生官们第一个考虑的因素。

然后你需要想想是什么令你与众不同，你如何为学校带来价值。每所学校只能录取一定数量的学生，所以学校希望每个被录取的学生能在某些方面能给学校带来价值。例如有些学生在某个领域出类拔萃，而更多的学生只是表现平平，当然也有一些学生有过独特的经历和故事。

你有潜质吗？请让目标学校看到你的潜力。寄宿学校知道你还年轻，很多学生还不知道自己是怎么样的人，学校也一直在发掘学生的潜力。他们需要学生能做出杰出的事情，这也意味着学校需要那些有着巨大发展潜力，敢于提问题，敢于挑战同学和老师，具有创新思维和强烈好奇心的学生。

向学校展示你的成熟。对于在美国长大的孩子来说，到寄宿学校学习是一个大挑战，那么对于国际学生来说就更难了。学校需要知道你是否已经在心理上做好准备，你是否已经足够成熟能够离开父母独立学习和生活，你是否能够举例说明你具有独立生活的能力。

他们需要了解你是否有强大的支持。那些和家长有着亲密关系或者身边有一位导师的学生比较容易获得更大的成功。学生需要很多指导，学校需要了解学生是否在生活中有着积极正面的影响，学生是否有好的行为模范。

选择真正了解你的老师写推荐信。这意味着你要尝试与至少两位老师联系。课后积极与老师见面交谈，在课堂上多发言，让老师有更多机会去真正了解你是一个怎样的学生和什么样的人。

写一篇优秀的个人陈述。这对于高中学生来说是其中一件最困难的事。这是一次向学校展示你自己的好机会。选择一段难忘而特别的经历，一些能真实反映出你的与众不同，独特性和坚强性格的事情做为题材。这个环节对于国际学生来说尤其困难，所以需要额外辅导和帮助，不局限于学生自身的英语能力，更重要的是如何写出真实而有内涵的文章。

向学校证明你不仅只会考试。美国学校担心中国学生只会考试，没有创造性。所以你要说明自己除了学业以外还有其他方面的特点，例如你在社区里很活跃，经常参与运动锻炼，弹奏乐器，你对课堂以外的事情也很好奇，希望能多学点东西等。

Two topics:
1.Life at boarding school
2.How to apply to school

Life at Boarding School

The first thing you’ll notice is how different the school looks from schools in China. Most boarding schools look like small colleges. Classrooms will be in separate buildings, there will be a sports center, a separate dining halls, a separate student center, and art center, a science building, a library, and some even have museums. This makes for a really nice academic environment and gives you feeling of being in a small college.

You will have very challenging classes. Classes will be small, 10-20 students. You can’t just sit in the back and not talk. You’ll be forced to talk. You’ll be forced to have an opinion. The teacher will ask you questions, you can’t just say “I don’t know.” This teaching style may be hard for international students, but it’s a great challenge.

When you get to boarding school, you will have choices. More choices than ever before. What elective classes to take. What sports to play. What clubs to joins. What community service to do. This is one of the best parts. Boarding school is not just about the classroom, it’s about the whole experience. It’s about life at school not just life in the classroom.

Time management. Forces you to prepare your daily schedule. Make your own schedule; when you study, eat, do extra-curricular activities, play with friends, sleep, do laundry, etc. It forces you to be independent. Do you waste time playing video games, watching TV, talking online – no one will be telling you how to spend your time. So you must manage your own time, or else you will not succeed.

You will meet many challenges. Teachers and friends will be there to help, but many you will have to solve on your own. If you aren’t a very independent person now, boarding school will force you to become independent. You need to be aware of your own situation. How are your studying habits. You won’t have someone checking you all the time. If your study habits are bad, you’ll need to try new things. There will be help, but at the end of the day you need to help yourself. Solving these problems will give you confidence.

You’ll meet people unlike you’ve ever met before. You’ll meet people from different countries. Rich people, poor people. You’ll meet people good at sports, good at music, good at art, good at science, good at writing. Schools purposely accept students with a wide range of skills. This is one of the best ways to figure out who you are. Make lots of friends. See who you are most comfortable with. See who you most want to be like. Finding role models from teachers and other students is one of the most valuable things about good boarding school.

You’ll get to live in a dorm, where you’ll make some of your best friends for life.

When I was in middle school, my parents would ask me how long I studied. The more hours I studied the better. But in high school, I started to realize, the number of hours I studied was not that important. Most important was how efficiently I studying. I learned that doing something for a long time was not as important as learning to do something right.

You’ll find something you like to do that you’ve never done before. I joined an orchestra and learned how to rock climb. These are things I never had the chance to do before. They were new challenges.

You’ll also learn what it feels like to be mediocre. Even if you’ve been the best at your school, there is a strong chance you will not be the best at your high school, especially because you have a disadvantage with English. This is a good thing. It will teach you how to succeed even when things are very hard. You’ll find new ways to compete and succeed. And you’ll gain confidence from knowing you can survive a difficult situation.

When I got to college, I thought the first year of college was easier than high school. Other students who hadn’t lived away from home had more trouble than I did.

Successfully Applying Boarding School

The first step is to understand yourself. You are young, so it’s okay if you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up or what subjects you like the best. If you do have some subjects you like, then great. But if you don’t know, that’s fine too. High school is about learning new things, trying new things, so it’s okay if you don’t really know what interests you the most. But, you do need understand yourself in terms of what kind of environment you’ll do better. What matters the most is your maturity level and the type of peers you will learn best with. Some schools require you to be very independent; others offer more guidance and structure. You and your parents need to think about what environment will be best for you.

Take the time to really get to know the schools. Not all schools are the same. Location and size matter. Small schools that are very structured might be better for students who need more discipline. Whereas larger schools, like mine, are better for students who can handle more freedom who are more mature.

You need the test scores. The test scores have to be good enough. Then you need the grades. The school needs to know you will be able to handle the classes. This is the first question for admissions officers.

Then you need to think about what makes you special. What makes you different? How do you add value to the school? Every school can only admit so many students, and they want to fill every spot with a student that adds to the school. That means each student needs to bring something that adds value to the school. Some students will be very good at one thing. Other students will be okay at many things. Some students will have unique histories.

Do you have potential? Let the school see your potential. Boarding schools know you are young. Many students have not yet figured out who they are. So the school is investing in potential. They want their students to go on to do great things, so that means they want students who have a high potential to grow. That means they want curious students. They want students who ask questions, who challenge their students and teachers. They want to see creativity and curiosity.

Show you are mature enough. Boarding school is a big challenge for kids who grew up in the US. It’s an even bigger challenge for foreign students. The school wants to know you can handle it emotionally. They want to know you are mature enough to live away from your parents. They want examples of how you’ve been independent.

They want to see that you have strong support. Students who have close relationships with their parents or with a mentor tend to be more successful. Students need a lot of guidance, so schools want to know that this student has positive influences in their lives. They want to see that the student has good role models.

Get recommendations from teachers that really know you. That means you need to try to connect with at least two teachers. Make an effort to meet with the teacher after class. Talk during class. Give the teacher the chance to really learn who you are as a student and as a person.

Write a good personal statement. This is one of the hardest things for a high school student. This is your chance to show the school who you are. Pick an experience that will stand out; something that is an honest representation of what makes you special, unique, or strong. This is particularly difficult for international students, so this is an area that you should get some help with. One issue is English – but the bigger problem is writing some with real meaning.

Show that you’re more than just a test-taking machine. US schools worry that Chinese students can’t think creatively. That all they know how to do is to take tests. Show that you are more than that. Show that you do other things besides schools. That you are active in the community. That you play sports or an instrument. That you are curious about things outside of the classroom.