It pains me to see families make college choices based on misinformation, like choosing what they can afford base on the advertised prices of colleges (instead of what a family would actually pay) or squandering great high school achievements by not using the application to tell the story that makes a student most compelling to colleges.
Now with PossibilityU there’s a way for every family to afford the expert support that will help them make the right choices, and find and get into the right college for them. It’s been my experience over and over that at the right college students are more successful, happier, and get more financial aid.
If you want to know more, please check out PossibilityU.com. Or let me know if you have any questions about whether or not PossibilityU is right for your family.
Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant and
Chief Advisor, PossibilityU
 
 

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I’m here right now on the campus of the University of Delaware.  It’s in the far north of the state of Delaware, not too far from Philadelphia but also close to Baltimore.  This is a wonderful public university, sort of a hidden gem, really, partly because Delaware is a small state.
I think about this school a lot when I talk to my Chinese students because it’s a large public university.  There’s a lot going on.  The DuPont building is right across the way, so, Chemistry is kind of big, certainly a comprehensive university.
The other thing that I like about it, it’s not so large.  It’s also close to several different urban areas, but not right in them, so, you can feel a part in sort of the Ivory Tower, if you will, but certainly can get into some of the major metropolitan areas in the United States by train.
It’s just not as well known as the Universities of Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina, Berkley, UCLA, the usual suspects when it comes to public universities in the United States.  So, if you’re looking for a comprehensive university that’s not overwhelmingly large but has a solid undergraduate education program, this is definitely worth a look.  It’s gorgeous.
Again, I’m here on a nice spring day around the time of finals, but there are students out on the lawn and the downtown area, the little main street with all the funky cafes, lots of people and a lot of people are studying too.  I see people going to the library behind me, so, a lot of people are heading that direction. A very nice university and I’m really glad I had a chance to visit myself.

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Several factors lie behind the shifting attitudes: China’s increased exposure to the West; concerns about how children will manage in a creative, knowledge-based economy; and studies indicating increasing mental health problems among children.

More than 30 million people younger than 18, or about 1 in 10, are suffering from depression and behavioral problems, according to the China Population Communication Center. Anxiety disorders among college students increased 8 percent between 1992 and 2005, and depression rose by 7 percent, Zhang Hanxiang, chairman of the center, said at a nationwide youth mental health meeting in December. Drug-taking, violence, Internet addiction and suicide are all on the rise.

Eighty-four percent of high school students reported feeling depressed and under stress. Nearly 50 percent of elementary school students said they felt anger and shame after being criticized by parents or teachers, the study found.

Compounding this, over one in three children are an only child, raising expectations sharply in a country where parents regard children as a key source of old-age security. In a survey at an elementary school in the city of Xian, conducted by Xian Evening News, 85 percent of 300 students said academic pressure was excessive. Still, 87 percent said they were happier at school than at home, where they said they felt lonely, unable to communicate with parents who cared about their studies but not their feelings or physical welfare.

I am finding that ambitious Chinese families who have the money are taking their kids out of Chinese schools and putting them in international schools or specialized programs that will prepare them for overseas study.  Many of my Chinese clients come from these schools.  Some of them have “Chinese mothers” of the type exemplified by Amy Chua.  Others have mothers who are Chinese who resemble American soccer moms.  Either way, these families are learning that doing things in the Chinese way is not always the best method of getting their kids into top American universities.
The admissions rules are different in the United States.  While it is true that the valedictorian may have some statistical advantage over the kids who is number 5 in his class, it is also true that plenty of kids who do not have impeccable grades and test scores are admitted to Ivy League and other top universities.  Within the American admissions system, there are many ways for a student to stand out besides having the best grades in the class.
The Chinese educational system, however, is a strict meritocracy that dates back to the imperial examinations system:  no matter who you are or where you live, if you pass the exam with a high enough score, you will earn entrance to the top university in the country.  Everything depends on that examination.
Cut and dried.  Clear.
One of my perennial duties as a counselor to Chinese families is to explain that preparing for American university entrance in the Chinese way is not going to work.  If you want to play the American admissions game, you have to play by American rules. So extracurricular activities become important to Chinese Tiger Mothers.  Community service is becoming more common as top-flight Chinese students seek ways to pad their resumes and demonstrate that they are more than a test score.  Bright and shiny educational centers are popping up all over China with the aim of grooming the academically robotic Chinese student to become a warm and fuzzy and chipper and perky American college applicant.
In other words, as Amy Chua argues that America needs more Chinese mothers, Chinese mothers in China are trying to adopt more American attitudes about education.  As the New York Times article points out, these moves away from the “Tiger Mother” model are slow:  it’s hard to break centuries of cultural habit.  But as anyone who has studied the Chinese economic miracle of the past 30 years knows, the Chinese are masters at adopting and adapting the knowledge and habits of others in order to achieve longer term goals.
So what is the trend?  Certainly, American colleges and universities (as well as boarding schools) can expect more and more applicants from China:  the pace of growth is truly staggering. More important, however, admissions offices everywhere can expect more and more applicants from kids who have grown up in some sort of a hybrid environment:  taking a more Western-style curriculum participating in more American-style extracurricular activities, and thus becoming more attractive applicants for American top colleges.
In fact, because so many Chinese students are frankly better prepared, academically speaking, than their American counterparts, and because so many Chinese families are able and willing to pay full price for an American education, some admissions offices may find it difficult to control the numbers of Chinese students they admit.  At the University of Colorado, for example, Chinese students make up well over half of all foreign students on the Boulder campus.  The university has decided to double its number of international students in the next few years:  with the flood of Chinese applicants, this goal will not be difficult to achieve.  However, international educators on campus worry that they may have to limit Chinese enrollments in order to encourage enrollments from Latin America, Europe, Africa and other parts of Asia.
As a student of Chinese culture and as a consultant to both American and Chinese families, I enjoy watching this sort of cultural rapprochement as more American parents pressure their kids to take every AP course available, and as  more Chinese parents encourage their kids to play and explore their extracurricular talents.
Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

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Presents

Mark A. Montgomery, PhD
Independent College Consultant

Lunch and Learn Presentation:

Choosing the Right College in the US: Strategies for Success

February 3, 2010 (Wednesday)
12:00 to 2:00 pm

AmCham Office
Conference Room
1904 Bank of America Tower
12 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong

Most conversations about college admission begin with “how can I get in?” But one’s chances of acceptance are closely correlated to whether the college is a good match for the student’s abilities, interests, and aspirations. This Lunch and Learn will explain why the college match is critical, and show participants how to compile a list of colleges that offer the best chances for admission.

Participants will learn:

• Why the college match is the most critical factor in college admission today
• What aspects of college match really are most important to the student—and the admissions office
• How to develop lists of criteria for college selection
• How to thoroughly research colleges to determine whether they match the student’s selection criteria
• How to create an application strategy to highlight the match between student and college

Participants will analyze several case studies to apply these principles. The aim is to empower participants to help their own students focus on the most important aspect of college admissions today.

Mark A. Montgomery, Ph.D., is a former high school teacher, college professor, and associate dean. His former employers include the University of Denver, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Harvard University. He earned his BA from Dartmouth College and his PhD from Tufts University. He was also a Fulbright teacher in France. He now guides high school students and their families through the college admissions process. His clients include students bound for selective colleges, as well as late bloomers, under-achievers, and students with learning differences. He is based in Denver, Colorado, but enjoys working with clients from all over the world.

Email Inquiries: cli [at] amcham.org.hk
Fax (852) 2810 1289

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The book, written in Chinese, aims to educate Chinese families about schools beyond the Ivy League and the large public universities that tend to be the only ones most Chinese families will consider.

Inside HigherEd offers an interview with the three young authors.  I’m going to have to buy the book!

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant in China

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