Since its birth, the United States has been a shining beacon of
Since its birth, the United States has been a shining beacon of hope for foreigners looking to get ahead. Immigrants willing to pull up their roots and sail across the ocean could come to “The Land of Opportunity” and improve their lot in life.
Well, the American Dream lives on.
Thirteen high-school students have all abandoned (at least temporarily) their friends, family and country in hopes of a brighter future.
Eight are from China, four from Taiwan and one from Vietnam.
So why are foreign students choosing Country Day? The reason is that ever since the establishment of the school in 1964, the school has offered an I-20, a document required for foreign students to study abroad.
Being an independent high school in the Sacramento region known for academic excellence and offering the I-20, the school has attracted many foreign students.
The Flood
According to Lonna Bloedau, director of admissions, the school has been receiving an even larger number of enrollment applications from foreign students than in the past.
“We are flooded,” she said, explaining that a growing number of families throughout Asia want their children to attend high school in the United States so they are better prepared for American universities.
Most students found the school through friends or relatives.
Junior Wind Wu was introduced to the school because she studied at a Chinese private high school whose acting principal, Nancy Zhou ‘01, was an alumna.
Of the schools that junior Wanning Liu, also from China, was considering, only SCDS gave him the opportunity of an interview via Skype.
Normally, a prospective student has a shadow day—where the student tours the campus, attends some classes and takes an entrance exam. However, foreign students such as Liu can’t just drop by.
Therefore, Bloedau, Sue Nellis, head of high school, and English teacher Jane Bauman used Skype to interview Liu. The same was done for several other students who couldn’t visit.
According to Bloedau, the individual interviews are superior to an English proficiency test such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) because they tell the school more about the students than does the test.
Why They Come
So, with all this extra work, why is it worth it for Asian students to come to America?
“Asian families notice and value the American emphasis on problem solving, critical thinking, discourse, dialogue and debate,” Bloedau said.
But students mention other reasons.
Sophomore Daniel Kong gave a common one—to escape from the rigorous Chinese education system.
“In China, there was too much homework,” he said. “We have tests at least twice a day. There are nine classes with seven to eight subjects.” He said his school in China starts at 7:20 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m.
Liu echoed Kong’s complaint.
“The whole education is about tests, tests and tests,” he said. “We don’t have other activities. It’s boring.”
Kong was also attracted by the less-competitive American system of college education.
According to Chinese junior Johnson Ma, only about 100 students in as big a city as Shanghai actually get into Peking University, a top university in China. This is because priority admission is given to the residents of a university’s specific region—so applicants from Peking have a better shot at getting into Peking University than those from the Tianjin Municipality.
In China, students take a two-day national test which covers every subject thus far covered in school. And this test alone decides a student’s college future. Each university and college has a set score—you are in only if you meet the required score.
According to senior Gordon Ho the Taiwanese college admission process is basically the same as China’s, and Ho favors the American admission system.
“You are allowed to show your personality to the schools and include the extracurricular activities that you do,” he said.
“It’s more than just a flat sheet of paper with your score on it.”
Also, Ho enjoys the fact that he has the ability to choose his own college in America. Ho, who was recently accepted to seven American universities, would have had the option of going to only one university, whether he liked it or not, if he had stayed in Taiwan.
Homesick
None of the foreign exchange students live with their parents; some live with relatives while others live with a “homestay” family.
For example, Liu lives with math teacher Patricia Dias.
By living with Dias’s two children, Kaitlyn and Marco, Liu can further perfect his English—something he couldn’t have done if he’d lived with his Mandarin-speaking legal guardian in Elk Grove.
Liu also experienced being the elder sibling for the first time, something most children miss out on in China due to the one-child policy.
“We didn’t know how to share, and some people were spoiled and self-centered,” Liu said. “Here, I’ve learned to be patient and kind.”
Freshmen Rio Liu, Lulu Wu—both Chinese—and Ma also live with a homestay family. In fact, they all live together with one family.
Living in the home of Ting and Stanley Hung, parents of a graduate from a Country Day School in New Orleans, the students find themselves in a blend of Chinese and American culture.
Though Wu, Rio and Kong knew Hung’s family before coming to the United States, Ma had no previous relationship with the Hungs or his other three “housemates,” and had the school establish his living situation with them.
The two-story house they live in looks American on the outside, but as soon as one takes a step into the house, a subtle Asian feel takes over. The house is decorated with flower pots, Buddha statues and lots of paintings.
Ahead But Behind
For these students, Country Day academics can be both difficult and easy. In subjects like English and history, the language barrier proves challenging. Yet in math and science, the fast-paced teaching of the Chinese education system puts the foreign students ahead of the curve.
For example, Chinese sophomore Shi demonstrated her talent for physics during freshman year.
In order to challenge herself and pursue her passion, she decided to selfteach herself Physics B in the middle of the year with help from physics teacher Glenn Mangold.
“Physics is my favorite subject, and freshman physics was a little easy for me,” Shi said.
Shi said that she had already learned about 50 percent of the materials covered in Physics B from her school in China. She went on to receive a 5 on the AP Physics B test.
Bloedau is impressed with the dedication and hard work that the foreign students put into school.
“They not only come from another country, but are also able to compete with the native speakers,” she said.
She listed several Asian foreign alumni who have gone on to prestigious colleges such as Washington University in St. Louis (David Han, ‘06), University of Chicago (Brooklin Mao, ‘09), College of William and Mary (Jiwon Oh, ‘11), New York University (Soya Sung, ‘10), University of Washington (Quyen Uong, ‘08), Temple University, in Japan (Amelia Phouiphanith, ‘09) and University of Pennsylvania (Minji Kim, ‘09).
Bloedau added that despite so many applications flowing in, the school has not published a single advertisement targeting foreign students. In fact, the school has turned down several applications from foreign students to maintain proper academic and social balance, she said.
Bloedau said that the school, ideally, will accept only three or four foreign students per year starting next fall.
The school is looking for mainly freshmen and sophomores who are willing to complete the rest of high school at Country Day because, not staying “doesn’t give them quite enough time to reap the full value of a Country Day education,” Bloedau said.