Zhou Fangyuan called Cameron and asked Cameron to help connect with a school.

With the reputation of Lao Ka's international director, it is no problem to find a good school, if he lets the wind out, I don't know how many universities want to take the initiative to sell him face.

Among them is his alma mater, the University of California, although Lao Ka dropped out of school that year, but as long as he wants, the University of California will definitely be willing to take the initiative to issue him a degree certificate. After all, a super celebrity like Lao Ka is basically what all universities want to strive for.

But instead of choosing the University of California, he chose Princeton, because Zhou Fangyuan said that his sister wanted to study finance, and Princeton's finance major was well-known all over the world.

Therefore, the world does not know how many students want to join this school, in previous years, Princeton University recruited domestic students, at most two or three, and considering the terrible results of domestic students, you can imagine the difficulty of joining this school.

Many people may not know much about this school.

Princeton University, abbreviated as "Princeton", is a world-renowned private research university, located in Princeton, New Jersey, on the east coast of the United States, and is one of the 14 founding institutions of the Association of Universities of the United States, and is also a member of the famous Ivy League.

Founded in 1746 in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, the Church of the Dawning Presbyterian Church was the fourth institution of higher learning established during the colonial period of the United States, and was named "College of New Jersey" at that time. In 1747 the school moved to New Jersey, and in 1756 to the beautiful city of Princeton (between Philadelphia and New York), and in 1896 it was officially renamed "Princeton University".

Among the "Ivy League" universities, Princeton University has a small number of students, including about 4,600 undergraduates and about 1,800 graduate students, compared with 7,494 students in 2013. The school's students come from all 50 states and 55 countries in the United States, of which 5% are overseas students, mainly from Canada, China, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Germany, and the school has more than 620 teachers. Princeton students are automatically eligible to apply for the IvyPlusSociety elite organization, which invites students from 28 of the nation's most prestigious universities and liberal arts colleges to participate.

Princeton University has three major schools: the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the School of Architecture and Urban Design, and the Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, as well as 32 departments, namely the Department of Anthropology, the Department of Art and Archaeology, the Department of Astronomy, the Department of Biochemistry, the Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Classical Culture, the Department of Comparative Literature, the Department of East Asian Studies, the Department of Economics, the Department of English, the Department of Geography, the Department of German Chinese Language and Literature, the Department of History, the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Molecular Biology, the Department of Music, the Department of Near East, the Department of Physics, the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Political Science, the Department of Psychology, and the Department of Psychology. Faculty of Religion, Romanesque and Languages and Literatures, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Sociology, Statistics, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanics and Aeronautics, etc.

The most intuitive reason why this school is very difficult to get into is that the number of students applying is increasing every year. This year alone, first-year students have seen a 7% increase in applications compared to last year, a 1% increase in transfer student applications, and an average of 13% more applications from international students. This growth trend shows no signs of abating, as universities ramp up their recruitment efforts through a variety of channels, and with an increasing number of students applying through the common and coalition systems.

Although the overall number of high school students in the United States has stabilized, due to the increase in the average number of colleges and universities that students apply to, and the emphasis on international applicants in the country's universities, all these factors will only have one result, and that is that the number of applicants to universities in the United States will continue to skyrocket, and the applications will become more competitive.

Second, the application essay and "interest" become important soft factors.

In the past life, according to the 2017 report, after standardized tests and school grades ("hard factors"), the "strong interest" shown by the application essay and the applicant will become the most important "soft application factor", because the application essay not only helps admissions officers understand the student's personality characteristics, but also can judge the subtleties of whether a student will actually attend the school after being admitted. That's why more and more colleges are setting up "why school" questions in online applications, because these questions can give admissions officers a better idea of how students know about the school, whether they have spent a lot of time determining how the university is a good fit for them, etc.

As a result, actual enrolment ratios are even more difficult to predict, especially in recent years, when the average actual enrolment rate has fallen again, from 36.2 per cent to 35.1 per cent, and the average enrolment rate for international students is 32 per cent. With more colleges students applying to than ever before, they also have more options, making it difficult for colleges to predict whether certain admitted students will eventually enroll. For universities, the actual enrollment rate is very important because it determines the school's budget, financial aid, departmental needs, and many other factors.

The school's focus on transfer students is also increasing, with the average enrollment rate of transfer students being higher at 65.2% at colleges and universities that offer transfer opportunities, which is much higher than the enrollment rate of freshmen. As mentioned earlier, the number of high school students in the country has stabilized, and universities will have to seek more students if they want to recruit more students. Last year, universities focused on international students to expand their student base, but now in addition to recruiting overseas students, universities are also stepping up their efforts to recruit transfer students. Transfer students can help universities balance their student population, such as filling places for students who may have transferred to other schools, gone on an overseas exchange, or are taking a leave of absence.

When it comes to college admissions, applying early is one of the best tools for colleges to predict fall admissions. According to NACAC's report, the average enrollment rate for ED applications is 87%, which is much higher than the overall average enrollment rate of 35.1%. The ED or EA application format is also an incentive for students, as they tend to have a higher acceptance rate than the RD and receive the results of their applications earlier.

That's why some universities with low enrollment rates are gradually implementing more early application policies. Some schools, such as Colgate University, allow students to transfer their RD application to EDII before a certain date, which is also a way for the school to increase its acceptance rate to a certain extent. Many colleges and universities are now encouraging students to apply for ED or EA in order to increase their own admission rate.

While more and more students are applying to more universities, colleges and universities have not significantly expanded their class sizes as the number of students increases. Since enrollment is paramount, universities do not want to reject students who are competitive but not enough to be admitted all at once, so these students will be placed on a waiting list.

According to NACAC, "From Fall 2015 to Fall 2016, the number of students on the waiting list increased by an average of 11 percent, and the number of students who were eventually regularized increased by 31 percent." "Universities are not only getting more students on the waiting list, but they are also giving more offers to students on the waiting list.

However, the chances of getting off the waiting list are slim, but not impossible. As universities utilize wait-list students to manage enrollment, this is increasingly possible in the current admissions environment. It can be seen how fierce the competition for studying abroad in the United States is, and the simple standardized scores can no longer meet the requirements of admissions officers. For the top universities in the United States, it is normal for TOEFL scores to be about 7-8 points and SAT scores to be about 30-40 points.

Therefore, when I applied to the university, I not only had to have a solid basic knowledge, but also some unique personal qualities, such as: curiosity, the ability to show myself, and passion outside the classroom.

Although it is very difficult for a seventeen or eighteen-year-old student to be passionate about music, extracurricular activities, arts, volunteering, etc., some students do it, and that is the lucky ones who are accepted. In order to prevent such a situation, we should arrange extracurricular activities in addition to busy studies to improve our comprehensive strength, so as to win the favor of the top universities in the United States!

Studying abroad is not just about applying at the right time, if you want your child to study abroad smoothly, it requires detailed analysis and planning. It is not only the time planning, but also the psychological preparation of the students.

When Cameron discussed the school with Zhou Fangyuan on the phone, he said that he had his considerations for choosing Princeton University.

First of all, at Princeton University, every professor has a very good resume, and there are many well-known professors who have won the Nobel Prize. For many undergraduates, the opportunity to study under a Nobel laureate is really rare.

Secondly, Princeton's foreign language classes are excellent, and many students are already quite fluent in a foreign language after only one or two years of learning. So for a lot of students who want to go to other countries, coming here to learn the language is a great choice. Xiaohui's English test score is good, but her spoken English is obviously the same as most domestic students, very average. Therefore, choosing Princeton is good for Xiaohui's future development.

The third is the school's hardware facilities. Dormitories, gardens, gymnasiums, swimming pools, Gothic buildings, restaurants, convenience stores, cafes, bars and other hardware facilities on and off the campus are very complete, and the Princeton campus is also known as one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States.

Fourth, by the time students reach their junior year, the total number of students in many courses will not exceed 12. Professors usually use a seminar format to teach, where students can discuss, debate, ask questions, and so on. Such a small but excellent small class education model is of course good for learning.

Finally, there is the issue of tuition. Princeton's tuition fees are ridiculously expensive all over the world, but don't panic, first of all, there is Zhou Fangyuan, and tuition fees are not a problem at all. Then Princeton University ranks first in the world in terms of the number of scholarships per capita, and the admissions system is relatively fair. Except for the children of some famous Wall Street tycoons or celebrities of the United States, Princeton's admissions department first looks at each applicant's academic qualifications, not the family's financial situation, and only after the student is admitted will the scholarship be allocated according to each student's financial situation.

Under China's examination-oriented education system, most universities are public, and tuition fees are relatively reasonable, so there is no need for prestigious universities to provide a large number of scholarships. However, under the private education system in the United States, the annual tuition fee of elite schools exceeds 50,000 US dollars, which is a huge cost that even the average middle class cannot afford. However, Princeton University is more merciful to poor students in the United States, and the applicant's financial status has nothing to do with the likelihood of being admitted. After the student is admitted, the rich second-generation family needs to pay the full fee, but the other students do their best, according to their needs, and do not need to take out loans.

In the United States, such private universities are really uncommon. And compared with other universities in the United States, Princeton's admissions system is indeed fairer, although the rich second-generation students are still the majority in Princeton, but this phenomenon is mainly determined by the solidified social class, because rich families can provide their children with a good private education from an early age, and their children can easily get high scores on the SAT when they grow up. Parents can even pay tens of thousands of dollars to find a professional counselor to write an application for their child, but in any case, compared to other prestigious schools in the United States, Princeton is really fair.

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of Princeton are obvious, and the disadvantages are equally obvious.

The first is that there is a lot of pressure to study, and the competition among students is very fierce. It is not uncommon for college students to commit suicide, don't think it's a good thing to be able to join, all students who want to enter this university, first of all, they must have a strong psychological quality, otherwise the terrible study pressure can really drive a person crazy.

Secondly, it is inconvenient to travel. Princeton University is located in rural New Jersey. With a population of less than 30,000, Princeton has poor public transportation, making it very inconvenient to go out of school to play or buy groceries.

Then there are the limited teaching resources. There are usually more than 150 first- and second-year students who sign up for the introductory course, but the professors give lectures in the hall. Although undergraduates have to go to remedial classes twice a week, remedial classes are taught by graduate students, who are not experienced enough to teach and have insufficient teaching capacity. In addition, undergraduate exams, assignments, and essays are assessed by graduate students.

There are at least three graduate students assisting the professor in each introductory class, but each graduate student is assessed differently, which is very unfair to undergraduates. Graduate students are still relatively young and immature, and some graduate students like to give very low grades to undergraduates just for competitive purposes.

In addition, some of the Princeton professors are narcissists. They look down on undergraduates and don't like teaching them very much. Compared to other private universities in the United States, Princeton has less one-on-one interaction time between faculty and students. While each professor is obligated to define 90 minutes of tutoring time per week, during which all students can casually go to the professor's office for study help, some professors are very impatient with their students.

Finally, it is still a cliché, that is, the living and learning atmosphere of the United States, many of which domestic students cannot get used to. For example, the most common party, Lao Mei likes to have parties, and there are similar activities almost every day, and domestic students are often unable to adapt to it, so that they can't "fit in", and then they are regarded as "nerds" and are discriminated against. Coupled with the horrific pressure of studying, student suicide has become a less uncommon thing.

So Xiaohui wants to go to the United States to study, yes, Zhou Fangyuan is also ready to help her, but after all, she is abroad, and Zhou Fangyuan can't take care of her twenty-four hours a day, so he can only hope that Xiaohui can withstand the pressure and not let her family down. But before that, he had to go to the second uncle's house and have a good chat with the second uncle and aunt.