Our First ED Offers Have Arrived!

Congratulations to our class of 2024 receiving their first ED offers to the US universities, including Boston University, Grinnell College, Northeastern University, New York University, Rhode Island School of Design, Vanderbilt University, and more will be updated in the following weeks.

Our Head of Counselling, Mr Mark Coyle commented that, “ED gives students the option to choose one 'dream' college in the US. 

“We have had so many amazing offers already - Economics in Hong Kong, Biology at St Andrews, Computer Science in Canada, several in Edinburgh and many others across the world! It's shaping up to be a momentous year of offers at DHSZ!”

How much advantage is there for students doing ED or EA applications? Mr Coyle explained that “for ED decisions it adds 10-20% to the acceptance rate, and EA about 10%. We strongly encourage students who are ready to apply early!

"For Art students, the universities often tell us that the Early applications get more Scholarship $$$ and more chance at being admitted. I really push my art students to apply as early as possible. This year we've already seen some SAIC offers with tens of thousands of dollars scholarship!"

Harry X, received our first ED offer from Grinnell College (2024 U.S. News Liberal Arts College ranking11), majoring in Biology. We caught up with Harry to hear about his decision to choose a liberal arts college and his insights into the application process.

Harry shared that he decided to apply to a liberal arts college because he aspired to a more efficient and compact learning environment. "Liberal arts colleges have smaller class sizes, the teacher-student ratio is much higher compared to comprehensive universities, and students can get more guidance from their professors. Since I prefer small classes to large classes with more than a hundred students, I thought the liberal arts college would be a better fit for me."

Harry then set his sights on the top 20 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. before filtering them based on his academic level and overall ability, "Grinnell was at about the 10th rank, which I felt was just the right level to be both insured but with some challenge."

Succeeding on the Grinnell College application is not easy, and in Harry's opinion, it was the unique personal statement, outstanding academics results and a wealth of activity experience that made him stand out.

Before coming to DHSZ, Harry studied in Australia for one year and returned to China due to the epidemic and other factors. During his study in Australia, Harry not only studied but also experienced a lot of local cultures, especially the Aboriginal tribes, he watched their dances and admired their masks... It is because of his personal experience of these unique cultures and customs, and his exposure to the local cultural heritage and artistic characteristics, coupled with the fact that he has a good understanding of the Chinese culture since he was a child, the intertwining of his understanding of the two cultures has made Harry's personal statement very informative and unique.

Harry said that his academic performance has also improved hugely since he came to DHSZ, and he has turned the peer pressure he felt at school into a self-motivation to keep pushing himself forward, "I'm surrounded by students who work hard, and working with them makes me feel motivated." The school's abundant resources have also helped him progress academically, such as cutting-edge competition information that has allowed him to take advantage of every opportunity to challenge himself, "The weekly Students Bulletin let me know about upcoming international competitions, and the awards I won from these competitions have added to my application."

He has also benefited from all the DHSZ teachers, "especially the Economics teachers, Ms Jessica Law at AS level and Ms Eileen Law at A2 level, who made it a great way for me to learn economics, which I've never done before." In his opinion, the mode of getting along with the teachers is also a mentor and a friend, "Being able to study in a relatively joyful environment is a dream place for me." In addition, the strict guidance of his counsellor, Mr Mark Coyle, kept him organised throughout the application process, "because I was always the last person to submit an application and Mr Coyle was always reminding me and pushing me."

With a keen interest in the pharmaceutical industry, Harry dreams of becoming a pharmacist in the future. Studying Biology at Grinnell College, which emphasises student development, will be the first step towards his dream.

For the lower school students who also want to apply to liberal arts colleges in the future, Harry advises them to carefully consider whether their goals and the unique learning environment offered by liberal arts colleges are a good fit, "liberal arts schools usually put more emphasis on the students, so students choosing those schools need to think about whether they prefer smaller classes and whether they can focus more on their studies. I think this model can help students learn more easily and more efficiently because the teachers are more helpful."

As Harry’s counsellor, Mr Coyle believed that Harry's choice for ED came from his mixed love of philosophy and biology, “Grinnell is a small town (9000 people!) and an even smaller university (2000 students) that prides itself on being multi-disciplinary so students study at "different angles" to traditional large-scale universities. Grinnell perfectly matches Harry's mixed interests across biology and philosophy.

“Liberal Arts students learn a mixed curriculum so they gain life skills and critical thinking skills - perfect for modern life and employment. They have much, much smaller class sizes and more emphasis on undergrad teaching than the traditional higher ranked colleges that focus on postgrad or research.”

For students who are also looking to apply to liberal arts colleges, Mr Coyle suggests that “Liberal Arts colleges are not in the QS World University Rankings - so firstly ignore these! Each liberal arts college will have a specialism or quality that all students will buy into. It's important to look carefully at their mission statement and purpose to make sure that you go to a place where you'll be happy.

“Whilst they might look at ACT or SAT scores, they are also likely to read your essays more carefully and check on your activities - this means that having a personal essay and a rich variety of activities is important. This normally means you'll have more depth in your activities - not many CCAs but doing one CCA for many years and becoming the leader, building your community.

“As one of the top ten Liberal Arts Colleges in the USA, Grinnell College is taking on an amazing young man! In the future I expect more DHSZ students to look at Liberal Arts Colleges  - even if they are not in the QS Rankings!

“As all of us who know Harry will say - Harry is a lively and thoughtful young man who will fit the spirit of Grinnell perfectly - good luck Harry!”