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Four-year plan Harvard Case

Zhang, a public high school student in the United States, has a strong interest in earth sciences. Grade 9 joined our service and was admitted early in 2017 to Harvard University. Service highlights:

  • Harvard Summer School twice

  • National Botanical Garden Volunteer

  • Volunteer at the Smithsonian Museum

  • Earth Science Research Internship at the Smithsonian Museum

  • A painting by a student of the Smithsonian Museum

  • School Earth Action Agency Water Bottle Recycling Event Receives Invited Speech by White House

  • Letter of Recommendation: High School Principal, Chief Scientist, Earth Sciences, Smithsonian Museum

  • SAT: 1500, SAT II: Math Level 1, Math Level 2, Biology and Chemistry

  • AP: History, Politics, Psychology, Biology, Data, Biology, Chemistry

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Guidance from the Walnut college team will ease difficult hurdles students confront while they prepare and apply for college.

 

The annual plan for grade 9 is as follows:

 

Focus on academics and grades

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  • High school is more rigorous and challenging than junior high school. In order to achieve excellent results, organizational ability, time management ability and learning ability are all critical.

  • Active participation in school clubs and activities

  • According to Zhang's situation, we arranged her Earth Action Agency in the school, and began to organize and participate in some activities in the community.

  • Set goals for your high school four years

  • Start by thinking about your original intention to study in the United States: what are your goals for the next few years, which universities do you want to apply to, and what do you want to know about the United States most

  • Start career exploration

  • After joining our service in grade 9, after passing our vocational assessment, the student determined his future career development direction and university major. The student's career assessment result is EI. E means entrepreneurial and pioneering talent, and I exploratory and research talent.Here and after: Is this supposed to be a case study? If so, it should be clear or of course, placed separately on the website or whatever materials. 

Make a summer plan

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  • Zhang's 9th grade Walnut team helped him apply for Harvard's summer school activities, and he experienced the learning and living situation of Harvard University.

  • After the summer school, we helped the student apply for a volunteer position at the Washington National Botanical Garden, so he can help local tourists to understand plants at the Washington National Botanical Garden.

The grade 10 annual plan is as follows:

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  • August and September-discuss with school counselors and Walnut Academy academic advisors

  • October-PSAT / ASPIRE mock test (PSAT: SAT mock test; ASPIRE: ACT mock test)

  • October, November-search and apply for summer activities

  • Summer vacation is a great time to help you explore your hobbies through a wealth of activities. During the 10th grade summer vacation, we further improved the professionalism and skills of the student, and helped him apply for volunteership at the Curious Museum of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Thanks to the outstanding performance of the student, the Smithsonian Museum allowed him to continue participating in its volunteer activities every weekend. 

  • June-Take the SAT II Subject Test

  • Actively participate in various community activities

  • Looking for organizational leadership opportunities in community events

 

According to Zhang, we arranged her Earth Action Agency in the school last year. The focus of this year is to run for leadership positions in Earth Action Agency, and organize and organize Earth Action activities in the school. With our help, Zhang was elected the deputy director of the school's Earth Action Agency and organized a plastic recycling campaign for the whole school. By organizing this inter-school plastic water bottle recycling event, they recovered a total of 20,000 plastic water bottles and transported them to the local recycling station . The event has received widespread attention from schools and communities, and student representatives were invited to attend the Summit of the Middle School Students' Environmental Forum held at the White House to discuss climate warming and other environmental issues.

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Year 11 annual plans are as follows:

  • Prepare for the SAT or ACT

       The student's August SAT test score is 1460, and it is determined that the 12 retakes will be scored above 1500.

  • November-search and apply for summer activities

        After accumulating volunteer activities in the curiosity museum for one year, Zhang successfully applied for an internship opportunity at the Smithsonian Museum's Earth Discovery Lab. He began to study the topic of earth sciences with the museum's researchers. At the same time, Zhang also participated in the organization and planning activities of the "Earth Artist" under 18 at the Smithsonian Museum.

       Her own oil paintings were selected by the museum and included in the collection. During the other two weeks of the summer vacation, Zhang continued to participate in a summer school event at Harvard University, studied university courses in earth sciences, and learned more about Harvard's admission requirements.

  • March / May-prepare for the SAT or ACT

  • Preparing for the SAT II Subject Test

Zhang took the SAT II Chemistry and Mathematics Level II subjects.

  • May-Preparation for AP Exam

  • Identify the list of recommenders

       Please start contacting your teachers and ask if they would like to write a recommendation letter for you. You can communicate further during the summer or after the fall. Keep in mind that the teacher you are looking for will be able to fully understand you and describe your personality, abilities, and performance. Zhang's recommendation list:

  1. High school principal

  2. Chief Expert, Earth Science Research, Smithsonian Institution

  3. Harvard alumni

  4. High School English Teacher

  • Writing college papers

       Please start writing college documents as soon as possible, and ask your teachers, friends, counselors, etc. to proofread your documents. They will provide constructive comments on your paperwork and will also check for spelling and grammatical errors. You need to write two types of instruments: personal statements and supplementary instruments. Making your application plan as early as possible is critical to allocating enough time to write your paperwork.

  • Complete Public Application Form

       The public application system was opened on August 1. Please try to complete everything you can fill in the application form in the summer.

  • Track school lists and application deadlines

  • Visit university campuses and gather information

       At the end of the summer, shorten your list of universities and make sure you join all the college application mailing lists that are considering applying.

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