卷标化、卷AP、卷竞赛、卷活动，被“打卡式申请”裹挟的中国学生在爬藤路上硬生生把自己卷成了六边形战士，一眼望去全A的成绩是强悍学术能力的有力证明。但藤校仅偏爱学霸吗？那些拥有一腔热爱的鲜活个体能否突出重围呢？

狄邦教育集团升学项目总监、学校学生发展体系顾问唐珮颖老师举了个贴合的比喻：“（申请时）拿出来的照片不需要是统一的，它不是一张报名照，它是一张生活照。你说它有标准答案吗？”

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Chinese students, who have been wrapped up in the "punch-card application", have rolled themselves into hexagonal warriors on the way to the Ivy League, and the A grades are a strong proof of their strong academic ability. But do the Ivy League schools only favour the academically gifted? Can those individuals with a passion for what they do stand out?

Ms Karen Tang, director of Dipont Education Group's college counseling programme and advisor of the school's student development system, gives an apt analogy: "The photo you take out [when applying] doesn't need to be uniform, it's not an application photo, it's a picture of your life. Do you think it has a standard answer?"

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12月15日，狄邦华曜创校生Sara W.斩获美国康奈尔大学动物科学专业Offer。对她本人而言，爬藤成功实属意外之喜，康奈尔是经过唐老师的极力推荐在最后一刻才成为ED首选的；旁人同样疑惑，她不卷标化、AP和竞赛的“极简式申请”究竟是如何在一众学霸里大杀四方的？

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On 15 December, Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan founding student Sara W. was awarded an offer to major in Animal Science at Cornell University in the U.S. For herself, the success of her journey to the Top was an unexpected blessing, as Cornell was a last-minute ED first choice after Ms Tang's strong recommendation; Onlookers also wondered how her "minimalist application" without papers, APs and competitions managed to make it through the crowd of top students.

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但在几位升学指导老师的眼中，三年来Sara在狄邦华曜蜕变为真诚、坚定、韧劲且自信的姑娘。在重视学生自主性的美式教育氛围下，她成功寻找到热爱，激发出自驱力，加之狄邦教育集团科学的升学指导体系和动态生涯规划助力她展示了一条最为真实且独具个人特色的成长轨迹。当极为鲜活的形象呈现在招生官眼前，一切水到渠成。

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However, in the eyes of several college counsellors, over the past three years, Sara at Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan has transformed into a sincere, determined, tough and confident girl. Under the American education atmosphere that values students' autonomy, she has successfully found her love and inspired her self-drive, and Dipoont Education Group's professional college counseling system and dynamic career planning have helped her to show a real and unique growth trajectory. When an extremely vivid image is presented in front of the admissions officers, everything will come to fruition.

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Sara还记得申请时递交的文书如何令她纠结与挣扎，只因校内的指导老师和校外给到的是全然相悖的两条建议：后者在Sara的文书上大改一通，堆砌了她在高中阶段获得过的所有成就——似乎就是投藤校所好而去；前者却仅希望Sara能够真诚地说出自己与动物的故事。

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Sara remembers how she struggled with the paperwork she submitted as part of her application because she was given two contradictory pieces of advice from her  counsellor on-campus and off-campus: the latter changed Sara's PS by piling on all the accomplishments she had received in high school - seemingly in the interest of the Ivy League schools - and the former simply wanted her to tell her story with animals honestly.

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“活动的堆砌并不能够让申请者脱颖而出，和活动列表的信息也比较雷同。”Sara的升学指导老师周稀静说。狄邦教育集团在每年8月都会对旗下4所创新型K12学校和所有国际课程合作学校的毕业季重点学生进行集体专家会审，针对申请时需提交的所有材料给到最全面、最权威的建议。在看到Sara的文书后，升学指导专家评审们一致认为需要重新修改。

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"The stacking of activities doesn't make the applicant stand out, and the information on the list of activities is rather similar." Sara's college counselor, Ms. Zhou, said. Dipoont Education Group conducts a collective expert review of the key students for the graduation season from its four K-12 schools and all of its international curriculum partner schools in August each year, giving the most comprehensive and authoritative advice on all the materials that need to be submitted for the application. After reviewing Sara's essay, the expert reviewers agreed that it needed to be reworked.

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对于怎样的文书算得上一篇好文书，唐老师有着深刻看法：“许多学生的文书都只想说‘我成功了’，但故事通常不是这样子的，很重要的一点是你可能跌倒了，但你能够从跌倒的状态爬起来，它对于你的下一个决定产生何种意义，这一意义有多真实多确定。”唐老师将其称之为“反圣母文书”。

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Ms Karen has a profound view on what makes a good personal statement: "A lot of students just want to say 'I've made it', but that's not usually the story, what's important is that you may have fallen down, but you're able to get back up from that fall and what significance does that have for your next decision? Decision what significance it produces and how real and certain that significance is." Karen calls this the " anti-sacramental PS."

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她想起过往指导经历中的一个生动案例。曾有一位学生在文书中写到自己在炎热夏天的旧金山教堂为流浪汉分发食物，即便对方行为粗鲁，他却仍报以微笑的故事。这样与现实不符的文书根本无法引起招生官的情绪共鸣，任何人面对这种情况都应该感到害怕。

Sara的故事异曲同工，因热爱小动物而尝试动物保护，但在真正踏入收容所的那一刻，肮脏的环境与目之所及的千余只流浪动物令她心生退怯，事实上，头两次来到收容所，Sara什么事都没有做。

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She recalls a vivid example from her past coaching experience. One student wrote a story about distributing food to homeless people in a San Francisco church in the summer heat and smiling even when they behaved rudely. This kind of reality-defying writing simply doesn't resonate with admissions officers, which should terrify anyone faced with such a situation.

Sara's story is similar: she tried animal protection because of her love for small animals, but the moment she actually stepped into the shelter, the squalid conditions and the thousands of stray animals as far as the eye could see deterred her; in fact, the first two times she came to the shelter, Sara didn't do anything at all.

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将和动物越发亲近的过程中产生的那些真实情绪倾诉在文书里，相比写第一稿时挤牙膏的痛苦，这一稿Sara仅用了两天时间完成。不仅充满记忆点，还呈现了从胆怯到坚定，从纠结、挣扎、怀疑到逐渐自信的那份独属于青春期孩子的真实成长轨迹，真诚且动人。毫不意外地，Sara选择了将这版文书提交给康奈尔。

以美式育人体系丰富资源做支撑的动态生涯规划，为学生发展点亮一个个路标。

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She poured out her true emotions as she grew closer to the animals in her writing, which took her only two days to complete compared to the pain of squeezing out the first draft. Not only is it full of memories, but it also presents the real growth trajectory of an adolescent child, from timidity to determination, from entanglement, struggle and doubt to gradual self-confidence, which is sincere and touching. Unsurprisingly, Sara chose to submit this version of the PS to Cornell.

Dynamic career planning supported by the rich resources of the American education system lights up a signpost for students' development.

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在寻找到真正的热爱前，从小学习美术与音乐的Sara本想将艺术作为第一选择。

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Before finding her true love, Sara, who grew up studying art and music, would have liked to make art her first choice.

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对于学生交出的“生活照”，狄邦华曜的升学指导们会有自己的预设，但Sara给到的答案显然与预设不符。学校如何帮助她逐步找到未来方向？

相较于绝大部分人认为的“规划=标化+夏校+文书+竞赛+活动”这套以申请成功为目标的机械组合，狄邦华曜显然着眼于更长久的时间维度，允许学生在高中阶段可能发生的变化，在动态中不断调整焦距，倾注关注、陪伴，走近学生，理解学生，给予及时指导，必要时进行纠偏，直至最契合时刻的到来。从最初的迷茫到最终的尘埃落定，其独有的动态生涯规划陪伴以Sara为代表的学生始终，给予最精准的把控：

狄邦华曜拥有仅美国顶尖私校才配备的1:30豪华升学指导师生比，且每位老师所负责的申请季学生不超过15人。从11年级起，升学指导老师就不再更换，这意味着学生至少会和同一位老师相处两年的时间。平日里，早会、一对一咨询，甚至是大大小小的校园活动，升学指导老师们均全程参与，从而能够多维度挖掘学生的不同面。

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Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan's college counsellors have their own preconceptions about the "life pictures" students submit, but the answers Sara gave clearly did not match those preconceptions. How did the school help her find her future direction?

Compared to the mechanical combination of "planning = standardised + summer school + PS + competitions + activities", which most people think is the goal of successful application, HC obviously focuses on a longer time dimension, allowing for possible changes in high school, adjusting the focus in the dynamics, paying attention, accompanying, getting close to the student, understanding the student, giving timely guidance, and providing the necessary guidance, until the most suitable moment arrives. From the initial confusion to the final settlement, its unique dynamic career planning to accompany Sara as a representative of the students all the time, to give the most accurate control:

HC has the luxury of a 1:30 college counselor-to-student ratio that only the top public schools in the U.S. have, and each teacher is responsible for no more than 15 students during the application season. From the 11th grade onwards, there is no change in college counselors, which means that students will be with the same teacher for at least two years. During the day, the teachers are involved in morning meetings, one-on-one counselling, and even large and small campus events, so that they are able to tap into the different facets of the students in multiple ways.

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正是在学校与苏州动物保护协会合作的活动中，周老师发现了Sara真正的热爱；

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It was during the school's co-operation with the Suzhou Animal Protection Society that Ms. Zhou discovered Sara's true passion;

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同样是在周老师的建议下，Sara将目光跳出原本在收容所做的浅尝辄止的基础护理工作，着眼于更具深度和学术性的实践，最终关注到了“小动物皮肤疾病调研”的命题；

在往后Sara从事动物保护事业的过程中，她曾因自己的势单力薄而灰心，也因“升学”才尝试的初衷和动机而陷入自我质疑，那些日子均是周老师指引着，教她做些有关动物保护政策的调研，以更高维度看待事物、开拓眼界，她于是慢慢从互联网上铺天盖地的动物虐待事件中走了出来，并立下用理念去唤醒众人动保意识的志向，最终决定将原先的“兽医”专业改为“动物科学”，以期在未来涉足动物法律、动物权益等领域。

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It was also on Ms. Zhou's advice that Sara looked beyond the superficial basic care work she had been doing at the shelter to more in-depth and academic practice, eventually focusing on the topic of "researching skin diseases in small animals";

In the course of Sara's career in animal protection, she was once discouraged by her own powerlessness, and also fell into self-questioning because of her original intention and motivation to try to " enter college", but in those days, she was guided by Ms. Zhou, who taught her to do some research on animal protection policies, and to look at things from a higher perspective and to open up her eyes. She then slowly got out of the animal cruelty incidents on the Internet, and set the ambition to awaken people's awareness of animal protection with her ideas, and finally decided to change her original major of "Veterinary Medicine" to "Animal Science", with a view to getting involved in the future in the fields of animal law, animal rights and so on.

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校内的升学指导老师能够如此贴近学生生活，不间断地陪伴至少两年之久，便不难理解为什么绝大部分校外机构只能看到学生取得的成果，而校内的老师们却能看到一个个生动活泼、有血有肉、有热爱有个性的人。

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As the on-campus counsellors are so close to the students' lives and stay with them for at least two years, it is easy to understand why most off-campus organisations can only see the results of the students' achievements, whereas the on-campus teachers can see the lively, flesh-and-blood, loving, and individualistic people they work with.

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狄邦华曜重视学生自主性的美式教育氛围为身处其中的学生追求热爱提供了得天独厚的优秀条件：从学生社团、Life Block延展课到校园里大大小小的一切活动，学生们能够在这些学校特意为其留白的时间内肆意探索兴趣爱好，并在紧密的社群联系中得到充分支持。

学校致力于为学生提供多样化的社会服务活动，Sara正是在学校与动物保护协会合作的活动中首次踏足动保领域，并找到自己的志向所在；

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Our American educational environment, which values student autonomy, provides a unique opportunity for students to pursue their passions: from student clubs, Life Block, and all the activities on campus, students are able to explore their interests in the time that the school has set aside for them, and are supported by a close-knit community.

The school is committed to providing a diverse range of social service activities for its students, and it was through the school's partnership with the Animal Protection Society that Sara first got her foot in the door and found her calling;

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随着探索越发深入，她希望能在校内扩大影响力，学校的特色之一Life Block延展课成为了契机。这本是由老师发起的课程，以供学生挖掘感兴趣的领域。Sara主动寻求生物老师Mr. McCathy的帮助，提议创立一门动物相关的Life Block延展课。老师欣然接受，以一周理论输出、一周动手实践的有趣形式，吸引了众多学生的目光。比如在老师讲解完骨折后，Sara就和老师设置了一场以玉米棒当动物骨头、以打湿的纸巾模拟石膏的骨折处理体验；

当Life Block积累了一定人气，Sara终于创立了自己的“猫狗百科”学生社团，成立之初共有四位成员，Sara与一位同学进行动物疾病研究，另外两位同学负责提高文本可读性，并通过美工制作成册分发给师生和动物保护机构的志愿者们。校内拥有宠物的师生们都成为了Sara的采访对象，以发生在身边的真实病例警醒读者；

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As she explored more and more, she wanted to expand her reach within the school, and one of the school's specialities, the Life Block, became an opportunity to do so. Originally a teacher-initiated programme for students to explore areas of interest, Sara took the initiative to enlist the help of her Biology teacher, Mr. McCathy, and proposed the creation of an animal-related Life Block. The teacher gladly accepted, and the interesting format of one week of theoretical output and one week of hands-on practice attracted many students. For example, after the teacher explained broken bones, Sara set up a fracture management experience with the teacher using corncobs as animal bones and dampened paper towels to simulate casts;

When Life Block gained some popularity, Sara finally founded her own "Furry Carnival" student club, which began with four members: Sara and one student conducted research on animal diseases, while the other two students were responsible for improving the readability of the text, the booklets are distributed to students, faculty, and volunteers from animal protection organisations through artwork. Students and faculty members who own pets on campus are interviewed by Sara, alerting readers to real-life cases that have happened to them;

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社团发动着同学们定期去动物收容所帮助流浪狗洗澡、剃毛、遛狗、打扫犬舍，渐渐的，全校师生加入了动物保护的队伍。学生发展部曾多次宣传社团在校园内组织的义卖，募集善款，捐给动保机构。许多老师加入其中，用自己手工制作的陶瓷、发簪、手链等工艺品换取善款；

这学期，小学部的“救助流浪动物”跨学科项目制学习（PBL）还与社团建立合作，策划了剩菜计划、二手产品收集、制作狗窝和被子、制作狗粮肉丸等一系列师生家长共同参与的活动，并在最终的成果展和校园集市上带来了流浪宠物领养、迷你拍卖行、二手商品抽奖等慈善活动，善款尽数捐给动物保护机构。

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The club mobilised students to go to animal shelters regularly to help stray dogs to bathe, shave, walk and clean their kennels, and gradually the whole school joined the animal protection team. The Student Development Department has repeatedly publicised the charity sales organised by the club on campus to raise money to donate to animal protection organisations. Many teachers joined in and exchanged their handmade ceramics, hairpins, bracelets and other crafts for donations;

Last semester, the Elementary School's interdisciplinary Project Based Learning (PBL) programme on "Rescuing Stray Animals" also collaborated with the clubs to plan a series of activities that involved teachers, students and parents, such as a leftover food project, a collection of second-hand products, the making of dog kennels and quilts, and the making of dog food and meatballs, etc., the final exhibition and school bazaar brought stray pets for adoption, a mini auction house, a raffle of second-hand goods and other charitable activities, with all the money donated to animal protection organisations.

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全校师生家长的支持帮助以Sara为代表的学生在自身热爱的领域深入探索。当下，狄邦华曜的校园内活跃着多样的学生活动，不乏因热爱摄影而创办摄影社的同学，最终还在学校的支持下举办了影展；也有因减肥而爱上健身，创立社团带着同学一起践行健康生活方式的学者；更有学者在全校发起卫生巾互助行动，为打破生理期偏见，表达女性力量……

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The support of the whole school helped the students, represented by Sara, to explore the field of their passion. Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan's campus is now home to a variety of student activities, including students who started a photography club because of their love for photography and eventually organised an exhibition with the support of the school; scholars who fell in love with fitness because of weight loss and created a club to lead their classmates to practise a healthy lifestyle; and scholars who initiated a sanitary napkin mutual aid initiative across the school to break down prejudice against the physiological cycle and to express women's power. ......

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尽管即将成为康奈尔大一新生，“爬藤”却从不是Sara的目标。

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Despite being a soon-to-be Cornell freshman, "going into Ivy League" has never been Sara's goal.

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不同于十门全A的学霸，Sara并无疯狂卷AP，在十年级确定未来学习动物相关专业后，她便将学科探索聚焦于自身兴趣点，学得恰到好处：从10年级开始她始终对实验室科学保持相当强度的投入，且在11年级就完成了AP化学和AP生物两科的学习，并在统考中取得了不错的成绩。在12年级，她还继续学习AP物理。数学方面，Sara在11年级完成了AP微积分，并在12年级学习AP统计，打下未来在生物学科上继续探索的重要基础。与此同时，Sara还选择了中文、英语、西班牙语等能有效提升文科素养的科目，搭配艺术和体育技能，呈现的便是文理兼修、全面发展的形象；

“爬藤”也从不是狄邦华曜的育人目标。

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Unlike the 10 A's, Sara didn't take APs in a big way. After deciding in 10th grade that she wanted to major in animal science, she focused her exploration of the subject on her own interests, and she got it just right: she stayed committed to lab sciences throughout 10th grade, and completed AP Chemistry and AP Biology in 11th grade, where she did very well on the exams. She also continued with AP Physics in 12th grade. In Maths, Sara completed AP Calculus in grade 11 and took AP Statistics in grade 12, laying an important foundation for further exploration in Biology in the future. At the same time, Sara has chosen Chinese, English, and Spanish as subjects that enhance her liberal arts literacy, and paired them with art and physical education skills to create a well-rounded picture of herself;

"going into Ivy League" has never been the goal of HC.

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拥有丰富升学指导经验的老师们对Sara在动物相关领域所做的活动极为印象深刻，当发现Sara各方面发展均衡，无明显短板后，才强烈建议在ED轮冲刺康奈尔。步入藤校只是双方在不经意间促成的大圆满结局。从九年级转学之初的那个讨厌理科、不善言辞、只想在人群中做小透明的女孩，到如今的学生会策划部部长、校排球队队长，并继续深耕于动物保护领域的康奈尔准大一新生，这一切进步均是源于热爱。在升学指导老师们看来，相较于学术成绩惊艳的全A学霸，反而是一条如此真实的青春期成长路径，更能让大学招生官直观地看到学生因热爱所拥有的潜力。

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Teachers with rich experience in college counseling were extremely impressed with Sara's activities in animal-related fields, and when they found that Sara had balanced development in all aspects and had no obvious shortcomings, they strongly recommended that she should apply to Cornell in the ED round. Stepping into the Ivy League was just a happy ending inadvertently facilitated by both parties. From the ninth grade girl who hated science, was not very talkative, and just wanted to be transparent in the crowd, to the Cornell freshman-to-be who is now the head of the student government, the captain of the volleyball team, and continues to work in the field of animal protection, all of this progress is born from love. In the opinion of the college counsellors, the path of adolescent growth is so real that it allows college admissions officers to see the potential of a student's love for what he or she does, as opposed to the academic achievement of an all-A student.

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Sara的成功无疑是美国高校不仅重视学术优异的有力证明。狄邦华曜重视学生自主性的教育氛围滋养了个性化土壤，科学的升学指导体系助力其发芽结果，而Sara仅仅是狄邦华曜众多学者们的缩影。更多的孩子在这座充满活力的校园里探索热爱，寻找自我。去年的首届毕业生Doria也曾在采访中说出如下金句：

“文书的写作以及大学申请，是从‘我’出发的。如果输出的内容并不符合我的主见或经历，存在一些浪漫化的修改，即使有用，我也无法照做。从大学的角度来说，这样的我是失真的。所以我宁愿以真实的自己被拒绝，也不想因虚假的自己被接受。”她最终在校外机构和校内升学指导老师的意见中采纳了后者。

藤校从来就不是狄邦华曜的育人目标。在以自主性为导向、不功利的教育之下，学者们能够知道自己想要什么，在中意的领域执着付出，并勾勒出清晰明确的未来。在绝大多数人随大流浮沉的当下，这份不被大环境左右的清醒和自我才是狄邦华曜最终的育人目标。在摸爬滚打着向梦校前进的过程中，狄邦华曜的学者们不曾忘记，追求卓越，重点不在“卓越”的结果，而是“追求”的过程。

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Sara's success is a testament to the fact that American colleges and universities value more than just academic excellence. Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan's emphasis on student autonomy nourishes the soil of individuality, and its college counseling system helps it germinate and bear fruit, and Sara is just a microcosm of the many scholars at HC. Many more children are exploring their passions and finding themselves on this vibrant campus. Doria, one of last year's first graduates, also said the following golden words in an interview:

"Writing applications and applying to universities starts from 'me'. If the output doesn't match my opinions or experiences, and there are some romanticised changes, even if they are useful, I can't do them. Such a me is distorted from the university's point of view. So I would rather be rejected for my true self than accepted for my false self." She ultimately adopted the latter of the opinions of her off-campus agencies and her on-campus college counselor.

Ivy League schools have never been HC's educational goal. With an autonomy-oriented, non-utilitarian education, scholars are able to know what they want, dedicate themselves to their preferred field, and outline a clear and definite future. At a time when the majority of people are floating with the tide, this kind of self-awareness and self-confidence without being swayed by the environment is the ultimate goal of us. In the process of advancing towards the dream school, Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan scholars never forget that the pursuit of excellence is not focused on the result of "excellence", but on the process of "pursuit".

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