Among 400 students, a graduating student from a key middle school whose academic performance is only ranked around the hundredth place, what kind of university can she enter? Tsinghua, Peking University or Fudan University? Well-meaning people will certainly tell her that if you can enter a national key university, it would be your good fortune.
But do you believe this? This classmate Tang Mei Jie from Shanghai Fudan Affiliated High School received an undergraduate admission notice from Harvard University on Christmas Eve along with a full scholarship worth $45,000 per year. According to the "News Morning Post", such early admission honors are rare - China has only one and Asia only two. It means that Harvard, one of the world's top universities, views her as the student who best embodies the Harvard spirit and is most needed by them urgently.
Interestingly, this student who is regarded as a treasure by Harvard, is evaluated by her school as "she is not the top student in our school in terms of academic performance." She has never won gold or silver medals in various mathematics, physics, and chemistry competitions, and she hasn't even taken advanced math courses. So, what did Harvard see in her?
Let's take a look at the Harvard application form first. In addition to familiar test scores, there is also a pile of academic background information including social work experience, interests and hobbies, teacher recommendation letters, plus two short essays. Tang Mei Jie has served as the president of the student council and a member of the debate team at her school. She also spent a year studying at the famous American private school Sidwell Friends School as an exchange student. Even there, she was praised by outstanding American students as a "student leader type of talent."
Harvard does not need students who are just exam-taking machines; those who catch their eye are students like these: with distinct personalities; with academic spirit; with leadership skills. What Harvard cultivates are the future elites of the country, those who will excel in politics, law, finance, management, and academia...