It’s college acceptance season and senior students at Beijing’s high schools are collecting their admissions decisions and deciding their next steps.

Schools themselves collect and often publicize these admissions decisions, but parallel tradition is for the seniors themselves to make more personalized announcements via public Instagram pages.

Here’s a few of these pages where you can see where Beijing’s brightest are headed next:

Beijing City International School
British School of Beijing Shunyi 
Dulwich College Beijing
International School of Beijing
Western Academy of Beijing 

Please note that in most cases these accounts are student-run, and data is
voluntarily submitted by students themselves. Thus, they are not official representations of all of the school’s college acceptances.

Do your school’s seniors operate a public Instagram account to celebrate acceptances? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Pexels

After visiting Williams, I had to stop by its rival, Amherst College, which is ranked just one place beneath by U.S. News & World Report. Williams and Amherst’s rivalry has a long history. The latter’s first president, Zephaniah Swift Moore, was a former president of Williams College. In simple words, he stole half of the students at Williams and ran to North Hampton to form an equally impressive school. Almost to protect itself, Amherst is part of a five-college consortium that shares classes, resources, and extracurricular activities. The members are Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts. However, Williams is still a strong competitor on its own, especially in varsity sports. In a Division III football game, Amherst lost by 21 margins, and for revenge spray-painted a gigantic purple “A” on Williams’ field. Williams students defended their school spirit by driving to Amherst in a ramshackle car at midnight to spray-paint a purple “B+” on Amherst’s campus. Not only do the two schools share a signature color, purple, but they are similar in terms of sports ranking. Amherst falls behind Williams by one slot.

My experience at Amherst, though, was brilliant. Admissions officer Will gave visitors the most honest, fair, and transparent speech I have ever seen about the application process, which, as we all know, is translucent to say the best. First, he understood that all liberal arts colleges in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) are somewhat similar (Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Connecticut, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan): small, selective, preppy. Each one has its individual flair, and Will wanted to make Amherst stand out. Here is what I learned:

Like Hamilton College, another NESCAC gem I reviewed in a previous article, Amherst has an open curriculum. That means two things. One, everyone in your class actively chose it. They want to be there, so discussions will be heated and creative sparks will fly. The high school days of only three teacher’s pets raising their hands too often in a class are gone. Two, you can take only classes you want to and stop taking those you despise. That said, your VIP service academic advisor will encourage you to explore fields outside of your comfort zone and fulfill an unofficial distribution requirement. If you really hate math, calculus might be too much, but how about statistics?

Amherst’s position in the five-college consortium is also unique. Some students never take a class at another member college, but in their classes might be one or two students from the consortium, and that is both an eye-opener and fuel for a diverse perspective. Sports teams and extracurricular activities also benefit from cross-campus interaction. For example. theatre groups flourish among the five colleges, providing five times the original opportunities for auditioning and performing.

Now on to the campus tour. Amherst actually doesn’t have the most impressive design, despite the USD 3.32 billion endowment – most of it used for academic resources and hardware. Many of Amherst’s buildings are modern and undergo construction during summer break. In my opinion, the red brick buildings on green grass paled in comparison to Williams College. The inside was rather conventional, too. The old yet simple aura reminded me of Peking University, close to home. The one and only dining hall on campus, Valentine, cannot hold all 1,898 students at once, but no one ever struggles to find a seat because different people have different dining schedules. The other three cafés each cater to different types of snacking. Science Center Café is reportedly good for late-night cravings, Grab-n-Go is free and good for morning and afternoon snacks (some students hoard yogurts), and Frost Café is good for pastries, smoothies, juices, and coffee.

Let’s talk academics. Amherst is very collaborative rather than competitive. A little story from Covid times: At first, only freshmen and seniors returned to campus. The seniors became friends and mentors for their little counterparts and left everyone shocked. When asked, seniors said they wanted to support freshmen and make them feel at home because when they were first-years themselves, the now graduated seniors did it for them too. It’s a longstanding tradition. Studying abroad is also popular. You pay the tuition plus the abroad fee. Be careful, because not all credits transfer and not all major requirements are fulfilled. Students usually consult their academic advisor before choosing a study abroad program that is the best for them. My tour guide, an economics major with a sociology minor, is going to Korea. Amherst’s most notorious major is English and Creative Writing. It’s usually the class students will say “changed my life” or is “my favorite class ever” or has the “best professors ever” about. Many of Amherst’s shiniest alums were once English and Creative Writing majors. Speaking of alums, most are willing to help current students. As long as they keep their emails up to date, writing a simple letter will earn you genuine, useful advice.

Amherst fun facts:

• Amherst’s location is interesting. It is not only part of a consortium, plenty of famous boarding schools and private preparatory schools are also located in that particular rural area of Massachusetts
• Like Williams, Amherst doesn’t care about demonstrated interest. It doesn’t even have an interview.
• Around 36-38 percent of classes are filled by early-decision applicants. The regular decision acceptance rate is around nine percent. Early decision bumps the acceptance rate to 25 percent.
• The percentage of admitted international students is around ten percent. So, the school is definitely hard to get into
• Like Williams, students can also trade the supplement essay for a 3-5-page academic paper that is NOT a lab report. A tip from my tour guide – don’t do that. Choose the supplement essay and make it so unique that you are sure no one else is writing the same thing
• Professors are so caring, helpful, and encouraging. It’s very difficult to make them think you are stupid, even though they are very accomplished scholars and industry leaders with multiple prizes and publications and research results. They think you are in Amherst already, so you are smart.
• Some professors have side interests beyond their jobs that benefit students in unexpected ways. My tour guide was Chinese, from Southern California, so she often practiced Chinese with Professor Cheng, one of her favorites.
• There are 34 residential halls in Amherst. Almost all students live for four years on campus, and housing is always guaranteed. King Hall is apparently the smallest, and students can hold hands when they sleep.
• President John F. Kennedy gave his last speech on the steps of Johnson Chapel. Most of us choose not to think about it.
• There is a natural geology museum in Amherst. It’s an actual museum that is open from 8am to 5pm

Images: Helen Wang

Today my first destination is Tufts University, the only research university in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), a collection of selective liberal arts schools in northeastern states of the U.S. I go to Beijing City International School, and one of our past graduates, who was also a recent jingkids intern, currently attends Tufts university!

Let’s get into the weeds of Tufts. Located right outside of Boston in Melford/Somerville, Tufts has a collection of conventionally attractive red brick buildings that can be found in most universities with a long history. Despite being a R-1 research university (these qualified universities receive federal funding for academic research), Tufts has an emphasis on the undergraduate body, as there are more undergraduates than graduates. Professors are accessible and keen on giving younger students research opportunities. Ninety-six to 97 percent of the classes are taught by professor themselves, and down to each student, probably one class throughout their college experience is taught by a PhD candidate or a teaching assistant. All of this characterizes Tufts as a private, small research university. It is just large enough to feel like a university but small enough to feel like a liberal arts college, much like Dartmouth College.

Tufts has multiple campuses – one is even in France. It is very difficult to transfer schools though, and the majority of students are at the Boston campus. Consider Tufts as an umbrella with different branches beneath – the school of engineering, the school of arts and sciences, and the school of fine arts. The school of arts and sciences is very much like a liberal arts college, except it has an open curriculum, which means “no distribution requirements.” Students don’t have to take a few classes in each field, such as math, science, and English, but can take any classes and combinations of classes they want, or in simpler words, never take the classes you hate in high school again. Students aren’t held to the major they chose when they applied to Tufts, and do not need to declare on until the end of sophomore year. Changing majors is incredibly easy – the process is simply filling out a piece of paper and giving it to your academic advisor. The schools of fine arts and engineering have a more rigid class setting, as those colleges already have designated majors that require certain classes to succeed. Students cannot transfer schools in their freshman year.

Tufts Tips:

• Tufts is a predominantly white school, but it places a huge value on social justice, equity, and inclusion. It is open towards many first-generation students and historically marginalized groups.
• Tufts sees itself as an adventure and exploration. The university values process and progress more than results, so keep that in mind. Learning and growth are key themes.
• Linda Huang, a past jingkids intern and BCIS alumn, attends Tufts university. She is passionate about making a different in the world, socially stirring it towards good progression, and making everyone feel valued and counted in. Outspoken, outgoing, and absolutely kind, she is the perfect fit for Tufts.
• Tufts has the tradition of having freshmen light candles in an illumination ceremony on their first night on campus to begin their journey. The sense of romanticism and community is apparent. Tufts alumns are also incredibly eager to help current students.

KEEP READING: Visiting the School Named After Alexander Hamilton

Images: Helen W

Driving in the countryside of New York State, I never thought a school would be hidden in the world of trees and highways. But there I was, in Clinton, visiting Hamilton College.

Most of us probably know it as the school named after the infamous statesman Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of America for whom Broadway created an entire musical. Mr. Hamilton is one of the founders and trustees of the college, but there is no further connection between the liberal arts college and the politician. That said, Hamilton College has an interesting backstory. Samuel Kirkland is actually the chief founder, and he originally made Hamilton an all-boys school. Across a bridge, he founded the Kirkland college in 1968, an all-women college. Perhaps a wave of hippie culture and a degree of institutionalized sexism plagued Kirkland College with marijuana, drinking, and cults that prevented girls from studying, and hence, graduating. The curriculum was also questionable – apparently, no grades were awarded. Thankfully, Hamilton College and its sister college merged in 1978 to become co-ed. To this day the division exists, resulting in good-natured jokes and stereotypes among students. Kirkland is called “the dark side”, because it used to have no electricity nor heating system, and the buildings were modern, concrete, dark, and reminiscent of Californian hippie architecture. Hamilton is “the light side”, residing in bright grassland, tall trees, and European Gothic architecture with traditional, prestigious sensibilities. Interestingly, the social sciences, humanities, arts, and literature classes are located in Kirkland, while STEM, business, pre-medicine, and pre-law programs are located in Hamilton. Freshmen have a 50% chance of being randomly allocated to either. Don’t worry, there are no longer academic disparities between the two. In fact, English is one of Hamilton’s best majors.

Hamilton College has an emphasis on written, verbal, and any form of communication. Alexander Hamilton was an intelligent speaker and fine writer himself, so the college continued his legacy. Hamilton graduates are known for writing in concise yet persuasive styles, using elegant yet understated language, and speaking with logic and passion.  Creative Writing is especially strong and popular, a notorious major Hamilton College is known for. Students of all majors take advantage of creative writing courses, describing them as the “ultimate all time favourite for self-exploration, self-improvement, and self-direction” that not only stand tall on its own but also makes other classes stand taller.

Hamilton College also consciously incorporates technology into its curriculum to adapt to the constantly evolving world. It is one of the first schools in the U.S. to accommodate ChatGPT and computer science into classes in all majors. Students are especially encouraged to learn a little bit of computer science, video editing, and image altering even if they don’t plan to become engineers or coding geniuses. Hamilton College simply believes these are useful skills for self-expression and navigating all workspaces in the 21st century.

Yet one of the most unique features of Hamilton College is its open curriculum – not many liberal arts colleges in the U.S. do this! If you’ve been to high school, you probably encountered distribution requirements. For example, you must take a few math classes, a few science classes, a few English classes, and so on. Open curriculum means you can take any class you want, and stop taking those you don’t want. The freedom is both liberating and daunting, so Hamilton College pairs each student with an academic advisor to navigate course selection. The advisor not only overlooks your choices but also learns about you as an individual to recommend new classes and spark unprecedented interest in fields outside of your comfort zone. Your class list will probably end up fulfilling an unofficial distribution requirement, but you have more voice and agency over the decision-making process. Ultimately, freedom plus ample guidance equals a solid liberal arts foundation for any career or further studying.

Hamilton College Fun Facts:

• Hamilton College’s motto is “know thyself”. Keep that in mind if you apply.
• As a legacy institution of Alexander Hamilton, the college is known for its oratory tradition: Each year a number of world leaders from all industries come to give speeches to students.
• The alumni of Hamilton College shines brighter than the school name. Paul Lieberstein, the successful television screen writer and director who played Toby in The Office, is an alum. B.F. Skinner, the founder of psychology alongside Freud who popularized conditional experimentation as the professor of psychology at Harvard university, is also an alum. Interestingly, he graduated with an English major. There are also a lot more in the finance, business, medicine, and law field for networking.
• Study abroad programs are extremely popular. Two thirds of the student do it. Besides studying in Spain, China, Greece, Denmark, and France, domestic study away is also popular in New York City and Washington D.C. If you can’t find one you like, the office of global learning office is happy to help you find your own. One student who struggled to fulfill his computer science major requirements went to Japan in the end to polish his Japanese and got his credits in the end.
• Most students who get into Hamilton college have a GPA near 4.0. Once in Hamilton, though, their GPA might drop to 3.5. History majors have the lowest GPA on campus. Trust me, just like the IB history class, Hamilton’s history class is a grueling, hard choice.
• Some professors are quirky. For example, one professor might dislike the passive verb form so you’ll have to write an entire essay using active verbs. A history professor loved to crawl on the ground to spice up his lecture, for some reason.
• I had a conversation with the international student dean of admissions, and she was the nicest most genuine caring person ever. The students were kind, humorous, and easily impressive.
• There is a feathered pen on the roof of one of the buildings. Photo here:

Images: Helen W

On a semi-sunny morning. The car passed by groups of running girls and dog-walking professors and stopped behind a Georgian style building, the admission hall. This is it, I thought, the smallest Ivy League university – Dartmouth.

First, let’s unpack its name and reputation. Dartmouth calls itself a college but in reality, it is a university. It has a world class graduate school for law, medicine, and business. However, it is just small enough to focus on undergraduate education, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1 and 62% of classes under 20 students.

The introductory courses have around 60-70 students, but professors will definitely know your names and invite you to dinner or pet-sitting sessions once you complete their credits.

Speaking of semesters, Dartmouth has 10-week terms, which are fast and rigorous. Students call their schedules the “D-Plan” and customize it with quite a bit of flexibility. There is a free term for trying new extracurriculars, sports, internships, and alumni connections. Finally, Dartmouth is not the “slacker” of the 8 Ivy League schools. Most students are admitted through early decision – a binding commitment that truly shows interest and loyalty. Flourishing in business, finance, engineering, pre-medicine, and law, Dartmouth has a well-connected alumni often looking to specifically hire Dartmouth graduates. Think New York City, Washington D.C., Goldman Sachs, Kirkland&Ellis, John Hopkins Hospital. However, the social sciences and humanities are not a hit-or-miss either. Latin, Anthropology, History, and Literature stand just as tall.

Let’s talk about campus culture.

Dartmouth is beautiful. All prestigious liberal arts colleges and universities in New England tend to be beautiful, but Dartmouth has its own flair. It is mostly pedestrian, and people love walking because everyone says “hello” to everyone, and if you have a 9 a.m. course, you better save time for chatting to schoolmates on the way. Fortunately, most courses are much later and students sleep in just fine.

Dartmouth architecture is old-style British Georgian, with luxurious grass lawns for picnics and afternoon walks. Dorms are co-ed and single-gendered, with a small number of one room singles, many more single room doubles and two room doubles. Greek Life is popular but not stereotypical Southern School Greek life, with wrist bands and frat boy naming ceremonies. Rather, it is whacky and weird in a good way. Students do not ‘rush’ until sophomore year, so they can investigate all social groups before choosing one. Varsity and Club Sports are even more popular, with 60% of the student body being athletes. Best of the best, though, Dartmouth is collaborative rather than competitive. Students are so passionate about helping each other it seems strange at an elite Ivy League Institution. If you are sick enough to leave class, someone will find your email and send their notes to you. If you need homework tutoring, some students do it for free.

Dartmouth Fun Facts:

• Before orientation week, freshmen are randomly grouped together for First Year Trips, usually an outing trip that help students bond. There will be a survey to detect the levels of ‘nature’ students are comfortable with.
• The religious groups in Dartmouth sometimes just allow people who aren’t religious in for dinner and free food
• The science center uses sustainable energy!
• If you want to apply: Don’t take an easy course to get an A. Don’t take a hard course and get a B either. Take a hard class and get an A.
• For applicants: Dartmouth has a special recommendation letter – a peer recommendation. Someone who is not a teacher or an adult in a position of power, ideally a teammate or sibling or classmate or friend should write a reference letter for you. Basically, are you a kind person to those around you?
• Dartmouth values community and kindness alongside with academic excellence, so its student body is la créme de la créme
• My tour guide was a clever, outgoing, and refreshingly candid New Yorker who went to a college feeder high school. I still can’t get over how nice and honest she is.
• A little side note, it is a slightly preppy school with traditional white, elite New England culture. It values diversity and inclusivity, but traditions play a huge role as well (good traditions, of course).

As an English major, Dartmouth isn’t the school for me, but if you are sporty, smart, social, extraverted, kind, caring, collaborative, and math, STEM, business, law, or medicine oriented, Dartmouth is absolutely perfect.

Images: Helen Wang

I found myself in the middle of Middlebury, a small college town in Vermont next to copious skiing mountains. I heard a lot about Middlebury College from college tours and TikTok videos done by older students: It is in the middle of where it is supremely cold during the winter, and is white and preppy (filled by kids who all went to boarding school), and it is ranked #11 by US News for national liberal arts colleges and has an admission headquarters in Beijing but is impossible to get into. Giving Middlebury a well-rounded tour myself, I can vouch for the truth of some of these stereotypes and debunk some myths.

First things first, the geographical stereotypes are quite correct. Middlebury College does look like it resides in the countryside, with large green landscapes and white stone buildings covered in ivy. It is a village, not a city. Current students will also tell you how cold it gets during the winter, down to -15 to -20 degrees Celsius.

Besides abandoning fashion for proper winter gear, some upperclassmen try to never leave a building for one month, typically the Ross building, which includes a dining hall, classrooms, and dorms. Rumor goes that one student tried to complete this “Ross Challenge” for one week and the professor moved her classes out of the building because he was concerned for her health. To combat seasonal depression, Middlebury College has a 4-1-4 calendar. The “1” is called a “J term”, which is the month of January reserved for just one class. Students can be anywhere instead of holed up in Vermont, studying. Some students do the latter anyway; they aim to be a doctor and take one month of organic chemistry, breathing, and sleeping in laboratories to get an A, while others ski in the mountains, do yoga, travel, take internships, and so on.

Let’s discuss the white, preppy boarding school culture Middlebury College is known for, which sometimes scares away a few international students who are weary of fitting in. Middlebury used to be a lot more homogenous than it is now, with the majority of students coming from a white Anglo-Saxon protestant background that denotes a series of similar interests: academic excellence, elite sports, outdoor activities, and gatekeeping traditions. Slowly Middlebury branched out for more diversity. Maybe it is not at an Ivy League or Californian university level, but throughout my visit there, I felt very welcomed, valued, and well taken care of. Maybe it is an effort at re-branding, the tour guides were relatively diverse, with one coming from a U.S. public school, one from Nepal, and another student of color from Maryland. The admission officer was relaxed, witty, good-humored, and exceptionally kind. I loved the social ambiance and atmosphere, which felt collaborative rather than competitive. Every student was academically motivated but also community-driven, helpful, and caring. According to my own anecdotal data, Middlebury College’s culture was open and comfortable.

Finally, Middlebury College is difficult to get into for a reason. Its curriculum was originally modeled on Yale University in the 1800s before adding its own flavor and flair. Fifteen percent of the student body hold a non-American passport or grew up outside of America, so I wouldn’t say a student’s identity holds him or her back, but let’s take a look at the “best fit” for Middlebury College:

It has one of the best foreign language training programs with the highest standards in the United States, and all admitted students can utilize it fully. French, Spanish, Italian, German, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese…you name it, as long as you take it very seriously. During Summer Immersion Programs and in language school residential and dining halls, students only speak the language they are studying. Students are GUARANTEED to reach the proficiency level of studying abroad using that language in their Junior year. Around ten years ago, Middlebury took over the Monterey Language Training Institute, the ranked #1 school for language training. That said, if you are not interested in languages, you don’t have to learn them to fit in. Middlebury has a core distribution across eight fields and students must take seven. Drop languages if you will, or science, or the arts, or philosophy and religious studies, or whatever you choose.

Middlebury College is also known for its Environmental Studies. The campus runs on completely sustainable renewable energy and protects nature at all costs, a proposal made by a group of graduate students from the environmental studies department. Students with a strong sense of initiative for the biodiversity and environmental sciences will feel at home here. Other popular majors include computer science, economics, and as predicted, English, with emphases on creative writing and literature. What I love about Middlebury College as a liberal arts institution is that every major has unprecedented potential. For example, a theatre major was hired at Goldman Sachs for finance, likely because his education provided him with solid foundations for communication, creativity, and confidence. Most graduates do attend graduate school in the end, though many choose to work for a few years first to gain experience before committing to quaternary education.

Middlebury Fun Facts:

• The 8 core distribution requirements I mentioned are literature, the arts, philosophy and religious studies, historical studies, physical and life sciences, deductive reasoning and analytical processes, social analysis, and foreign language. You can drop anyone you choose, as only 7 are required
• Sadly, you must complete 2 PE credits to graduate. Don’t worry, these are quickly earned. My tour guide joined a yoga club and went to 8 meetings a semester to earn credit.
• Skiing, skiing, and more skiing. Middlebury offers students free skiing passes and classes, so take advantage of the beautiful snowy mountains on campus
• If you enter Middlebury, there are two options. Enter during September (Seps) or February (Febs) to allow students a gap semester for self-exploration, and both groups integrate well as friends. Febs graduate later than Seps in the middle of winter, so they ski down the mountains for a grand ceremony. If you don’t know how to ski, no need to feel pressured, just find a way to get down there. Walk, roll, get pushed by your best friend…you know the drill.
• Middlebury is a division 3 sports team school, competing with the New England Small College Athletic Conference, called the NESCAC. Schools in the NESCAC are all top academic liberal arts institutions.
• The outing club is excellent!
• like every liberal arts college Middlebury has a well-connected, powerful, and extremely helpful alumni to help students find jobs, internships, and figure out their career. The attitude isn’t, “Now you’re here, what are you going to do once you leave”, but “What are you interested in, let me help you find that”. The career and alumni center is a lifelong resource. If you lose your job, they are here for you. If you are fifty years old and having a mid-life crisis, they are here for you. If you are considering retirement, they are here you. You are always welcomed with loving, open arms.
• The dining hall is unlimited. Meaning, that there are no such things as swipes and dollars for you to keep track of your meal plan and not spend extra money. As long as it’s open, you can go in and eat as much as you want. That is a good thing or a bad thing depending on how much self-control you have. Varsity sports teams pile their plates with mountains of meat, while some students melt a bowl of chocolate chips during exam season. No one is judged. The desserts are amazing, by the way.
• Freshman housing is randomly assigned through a survey about living habits. Upperclassmen can choose their own roommates. Single-gender housing only exists for the first years, then everything is co-ed. There are also suites and small houses for those who want to practice independent living.
• Middlebury has a beautiful library to study in. It’s Harry Potter in real life. If I’m lucky enough to be admitted I will stay there for hours.

Middlebury is one of my favorite schools I visited so far, besides the location. Academically, socially, and culturally, I have no complaints.

Images: Helen Wang

A rainy morning car ride to Gambier, a small town in Ohio – I thought, God, if only it was London. Suddenly the endless country blurred into a beautiful Harry Potteresque college campus. Before I knew it I was at Kenyon College.

I know what you are thinking – who on earth wants to go to school in Ohio? Not even Columbus, the biggest city in the state – but still a small town – is an hour and a half drive away from it. Surprisingly, Kenyon College is one of my favorite schools I ever visited in the United States.

We all know Oxford is the filming place for Hogwarts in Harry Potter, but did you know the filming crew almost chose Kenyon College? Every building on its campus is a testament to European architecture – mysterious, academic, and poised. The Old Kenyon residential hall is the oldest standing Gothic erection in America. The libraries and dining halls are a combination of Hogwarts, a stained-glass church, a 19th-century historical mansion, and a tasteful art gallery. Kenyon is also spacious and luxurious, occupying 1,000 acres of nature that encloses Gambier. A road called “the middle path” runs through campus from beginning to end. Lining it is lush green trees and trim grass meadows that look like a vacation forest in summer, an oil painting with bright red, yellow, and orange leaves in autumn, and a silver snowy photo in winter. Undoubtedly, Kenyon is one of the most aesthetically pleasing campuses in the US.

Kenyon College is also known as the writer’s college. English, public speaking, foreign language, and creative writing infuse its curriculum. Every niche of writing can be found here, from science and nature writing to poetry, each taught by accomplished and caring professors. Even biology courses force students to listen to a tree and launch a creative writing piece about what they heard. This intense amount of writing is usually challenging for freshmen, who often get a C on their first paper and pages of feedback longer than the paper itself. They will learn the Kenyon writing style, improve their draft, and watch it regraded. After four years, graduates become the most uniquely well-read, well-versed individuals to grace the world.

You probably guessed it, but Kenyon is a feeder school for prestigious media or publication companies and literary journals, such as New York Times and Penguin Random House. The powerful and passionate alumni are often handing lucrative jobs exclusively to Kenyon graduates. According to my tour guide, “nepotism sucks, but it gets you really far. It’s scary how everyone wants to hire Kenyon students”. Best of all, The Kenyon Review, one of the most exclusive literature magazines in the US, was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, a literary critic and professor at Kenyon College. To this day it remains on campus and offers students associate and paid internship positions (more than half who apply get in).

My personal favorite, though, is how close Kenyon professors are with their students, and with it comes the students’ personalities. Many students are on first-name basis with professors and call each other lifelong friends. They visit for casual conversations, dinner, advice (academic and non-academic), and pet-sitting or babysitting. Sometimes they sit on a playground in the sun to talk about life for three hours. Other times they get top-tier paid research opportunities that graduate students can only dream of. It’s precious and heartwarming to see the small community truly care for its members. Students, well, are all a little weird – in a good way! They are authentic, genuine, and unapologetically themselves. There is charm and flair in that. They are also kind and collaborative despite the rigorous curriculum. You will see biology students spending hours explaining their experiment to a lost classmate and English students overlooking every essay you turn in to eliminate grammar mistakes.

Kenyon Fun Facts:

• Don’t step on the circular gold emblem in the dining hall. If you do, you won’t graduate!
• Friends, don’t walk on both sides of the stature on middle path. If you do you will stop being friends. That’s why large crowds of people wait to cross one side.
• In the science building there is a basement library. There are three floors, each one more quiet than the last.
• There is also a biology, archeology, anthropology and geography curation. Latin labels included.
• Other than writing, science is a population major because of the wonderful research opportunities. Psychology is classified as a natural science. So, less memorization, more experimentation.
• Introduction creative writing courses are graded on bravery, not performance. Even if you are not the best writer and are nervous about sharing your work with a 8 people class, it’s still A+ for effort – as long as you are willing to learn and turn assignments in on time.
• One of the best study abroad programs in the U.S. – students can go to London to take any courses in Oxford University and visit literary landmarks in Exeter. All credits transferred. Most who apply get in. If not, all other foreign exchange programs are lovely.
• Theaters are huge and beautiful and full of performances that never end there are quite a few on campus
• Housing is guaranteed and paid for all four years. Upperclassmen can live in Gambier town apartments – cue independent living.

For some bizarre reason, Kenyon’s deep British academic roots and whimsical students made me think of a quote from Marilyn Monroe: imperfection is beauty. Madness is genius. It’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.

Images: Helen Wang

Morning rain pitter-pattered down the windshield glass and a cloud of fog rose quietly before my eyes. As the car ceased in the parking zone of Bates College, I think it is important to mention the Maine weather. Rain is a scene in New England – perhaps the reason for calling America’s northeastern states New England has to do with climate. Winter is cold and snowy without wind. Summer is either unshielded sun or grey skies, but never too hot. Does this sound like London? Well, it is New England, after all.

Bates has a well-connected location. Although it cannot be described exactly as ‘urban’, it is next to Lewiston, the second most populated area in Maine. It is about thirty minutes away from Portland, the largest city in Maine. A number of small towns also circulate Bates. As a small liberal arts college within the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) association, Bates is ranked #25 by US News, its regional competitors being Bowdoin College (ranked #6) and Colby College (ranked #24).

I have a coincidental connection to Bates College. I go to Beijing City International School, and quite a few students here get accepted every year. In fact, a notable alumni who I remember as the warmest, kindest senior with too many extracurricular achievements to count, Chris Lu, is a history major at Bates. He would gently remind you that SAT scoring and GPA aren’t the defining factors to Bates admissions, They are important, but a strong sense of community is the ultimate ‘fit’. For example, bettering your own surroundings with activities that reflect commitment and care, collaboration and diversity, service, and adventure.

Bates’ emphasis on community threads through its history. Inclusion is the trademark. Considered radical for its time, Bates was one of the first liberal arts colleges in the 19th century to educate both black and white students, admit both men and women and later, offer financial aid to both domestic and international school students.

Bates also makes an effort to engage with the blue-collar towns around it. Students frequently teach in primary and secondary schools there to help others whenever they could. In return, these institutions often live broadcast Bates’ basketball games and other activities, illuminating the college’s reputation in small, unexpected ways. The Purpose Internship Program is another way for students to not only gain working experience at prestigious, leading institutions in their respective fields but also find out where their interests come from, why they are interested in certain things, and in the end, ignite the sense of purpose that leads to success in all careers. Students keep their own missions close to their chest and truly wish to make an impact in the world.

While Bates is a special place, its campus isn’t exactly special, It is small and quaint, located on the corner of Maine, and clearly nothing grand. The dining and residential halls are typical of liberal arts colleges and the student body is miniature in size. The summer is mostly quiet and short terms, a 3-week program in May that allows students to just take one class and explore it in depth, is even quieter. There are theatre groups designated just for throwing together performances during short terms, but it will feel like a tiny home, won’t feel like a buzzing city crowd. Many students come from Maine and most come from Massachusetts.

Bates Fun Facts

• Bates especially value demonstrated interest. It tracks which of the emails it sends you actually open, and records a student’s list of engagements with the school. That should say something about Bates. A very intentional college
• Bates is a Division 3 sports school that competes in the NESCAC
• It has 12% of international students
• After the supreme court decision, Bates is still trying to maintain racial balance and work around it with legal advisors
• Do not simply judge Bates by its website. It’s better to visit and feel the ambiance yourself before applying
• Definitely take Maine’s weather and location into account
• I believe you can get exceptional lobsters and oysters and all kinds of seafood in Portland, Maine, which is not too far away
• Bates feels like a school in the middle of a vacation
• Bates is a predominantly white school but by no means exclusive. It has an interesting combination of tradition and openness

Next up is Mount Holyoke and Smith College.

Both are members of the Seven Sisters, a group of women’s liberal arts colleges established as counterparts for the eight Ivy League research universities back when they only admitted men.

The seven sisters include: Radcliffe, now absorbed into Harvard University, Vassar, now a co-ed, Mount Holyoke, the first and oldest, Wellesley, the most competitive, Smith, Barnard, still affiliated with Columbia University, and Bryn Mawr, once affiliated with Princeton University. I paid Mount Holyoke a visit and went to a creative writing program at Smith, where one of my favorite writers Sylvia Plath graduated from.

Mount Holyoke is one of the most beautiful schools I have ever seen. Each building is freshly renovated without losing its old gothic charm. The campus is very similar to Hogwarts from the Harry Potter movies, with added steeples and wood flower patterns on windows. The interiors include statues and art pieces commissioned in the 19th century. My favorite part is the coordination of departments and their theme. For example, the science building has neuron paintings on the floor and stairwells shaped like chemical compounds. The dorms are an antique dream. The first floor includes a common room filled with old portraits, grand pianos, and historical furniture. Windows run from floor to ceiling. Just imagine reading and socializing there.

Mount Holyoke’s founder imagined the school to be an “oasis for learning”. Professors want to engage with students and vice versa. It is one of the first schools to support first-generation, low-income, queer students and to have a high number of the student body with these labels. The rest are often international students and legacy. Aside from being gender-diverse and equity-focused, Mount Holyoke loves tradition. If your grandmother attended, your mother likely attended too, and you’ll want to attend. Your father probably teaches there, too. It is also incredibly collaborative. Students form a tight-knit community and support each other with strength and boldness. A few notable alumni include poet Emily Dickenson, Frances Perkins (the first woman to serve in the president’s cabinet), Chloé Zhao (director of Nomadland and the first Asian/Chinese woman to win an Oscar for directing), and a few others.

Smith and Mount Holyoke are best friends. Both are members of the five-college consortium with Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts. The two all-girls Ivy Leagues share similar values and beliefs, but Smith students are slightly more social, outspoken, and outgoing. Smith also sets itself apart by offering an open curriculum. That means students do not have to fulfill any distributional requirements; they choose any combination of classes they like under the guidance of an academic advisor. That means all students in a class want to be there, and so do the professors. Smith also has its collection of shiny alumnae, from Gloria Stenim to Julia Child. The summer program I attended was magical – I did not meet one professor, teaching assistant, and student I didn’t like. Everyone was open, welcoming, and filled to the brim with good humor. The writers I encountered were talented and high achieving, while the classes themselves were transformational and eye-opening.

The only disclaimer to make is the social ambiance. Smith and Mount Holyoke are very liberal, queer-friendly and emphasize political correctness on sensitive issues. “Taking down the patriarchy” is often a mantra used by many guest speakers. Social justice and equity threads are big topics. If that makes you uncomfortable in any form, then perhaps Mount Holyoke and Smith aren’t for you.