Kevin L.: Knocking on Tufts’ door with his 430,000 words of notes!

Tufts University is distinctive for its success as a moderately sized university that excels at research and providing students with a personal experience in the world. This year, one of our Dulwich International High School Suzhou (DHSZ) graduates has been admitted into this US elite university for the first time. Here is Kevin L.’s story.

Reading and Note Taking

Kevin loves reading. He has managed to keep up a habit of taking notes while reading since Year 12 at Dulwich. Initially, he found himself easily forgetting what he read, so he made a decision to write things down, and his notes are now over 430,000 words, which is equivalent to the word count of “Gone with the Wind”.

His note are his thoughts about what he has read. He does not copy, instead, he summarises the chapters.

Even his wish list for books is in logical order. He never picks books randomly, but from his favorite authors, recommendations from book authors he had read, or browsing book fairs. The "Characteristics of Chinese Culture", "Eternal Rivers", and "Earthbound China" are all his trophies from the Shanghai Book Fair.

Kevin’s appetite for reading has contributed to his application to Tufts. Francis Fukuyama, who wrote the book of “The End of History and the Last Man”, is one of Kevin’s favorite authors. The Tufts admissions officer coincidently was one of Francis’ students. As a result, a supposed rigid interview turned out to be a relaxed book club, Kevin, therefore, gained confidence in outperforming in that interview.

Choosing Tufts University is another gift from reading. After reading history books, Kevin found that lots of America’s important events occurred in Boston, which inspired his curiosity about the city. Located just outside of Boston in the town of Medford, Tufts University became Kevin’s top choice.

Dulwich Life

Kevin said his father is a highly self-disciplined man, who runs 10 kilometers every day. The running gene seemly seems to pass down to Kevin as he is also a runner.

However, at first it took him almost one year to manage running 5 kilometres. "The process of running is very tiring. I insisted on it for nearly a year before I gradually got used to it", Kevin said.

Running once every two days on campus, the young guy has figured out the fence of DHSZ measures 1.06km on each side. He feels relaxed while running, and doesn’t want to stop.

In summer, Kevin runs under the burning sun. On rainy days, he runs with an umbrella in hand. "It looks silly to run with an umbrella in the rain. Fortunately, no one watches me when it rains", he smiled.

At Dulwich, Kevin met his good friend John Z., they share common interests in social sciences, aesthetics and photography art, their topics seem endless. “Interacting with friends broadens my knowledge and opens my mind”, said Kevin.

In his studies, his geography teacher helped Kevin a lot. Kevin has always admired his profound knowledge, even small talks after class with the teacher made him learn new things.

Kevin also loves traveling, he has been to the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland as well as other European and Asian countries. He was captivated by the beautiful nature of Switzerland and the Swiss tram, attracted by the open and energetic culture of East Coast of USA, as well as touched by Filipinos’ friendly attitude and enthusiasm. Travelling not only helps him breaks stereotypes but also helps him perceives the real world.