Jennifer, a natural light co artist and former RISD enrollment consultant, once explained the preliminary research and time planning of applying for foreign art colleges in detail in the open class on undergraduate study abroad. She mentioned one thing that most students and parents have not considered: three years of high school is the most important time for students to choose a school. Why do you say that? Today, we will give you a detailed introduction about International High School, American High School, Ordinary High School, and American Transfer.

As we all know, personal CVs should be submitted in the documents of undergraduate students applying for overseas art schools, including professional background, research content, academic achievements, and experience gained in learning, internship, work, competition, charity, etc. These contents are not prepared after the application is decided, but need a long time of practical accumulation. Secondly, art education in different countries has different advantages and disadvantages. Foreign colleges and universities have two choices: comprehensive colleges and art colleges. If you really want to know whether a college is suitable for you, the best way is to take advantage of the winter and summer holidays in three years to participate in winter/summer camps of ideal colleges, or open days and other activities that can be experienced on the spot. In this era when everything should be taken as early as possible, art study is no longer a matter of sliding the skin of a watermelon, one step at a time. In order to have a higher starting point, many parents of students began planning from junior high school.

Which is most suitable for undergraduate study abroad application: international high school, American high school, ordinary high school, and US based transfer

So, in the face of international high schools, American high schools, ordinary high schools, and American based transfer, which is the best "shortcut" for art study abroad? Let's take a look at the specific situation of these ways today.

　　 International High School Application

When it comes to international high schools, everyone's stereotype is that the students are free every day and can easily go to top overseas universities. But in fact, many of the students in natural light come from international schools. After contacting these children more, we will find that they are actually low-key and hard working, not as everyone thinks.

The admission conditions of international schools are very strict. After admission, students not only need to get a high GPA in order to get a good grade for offer, but also need to face the pressure brought by language and various extracurricular activities. The overall pressure is not less or even greater than that of ordinary high schools. However, high investment also brings high returns. International high school students have certain advantages over ordinary high school students in the application of overseas colleges and universities.

First of all, international colleges and universities usually adopt bilingual or full English teaching. Students of international schools have been immersed in such a language environment for a long time, and their English listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities have been comprehensively improved. The language achievements at the time of application and the future communication problems after going abroad naturally need no more consideration. Students can focus on improving professional English for art and design.

Second, many international high schools offer international courses such as IB, AP and A-Level.

IB (International Baccalaureate Diploma Program) refers to the IBDP high school diploma course, which lasts for two years and requires students to complete a complete set of curriculum system including science, humanities, foreign languages, social work and other comprehensive subjects, which greatly exercises students' ability to think across disciplines, and is considered to be the most valuable course.

AP (Advanced Placement) The AP course is equivalent to the level of American university courses, which is more in-depth, complex and detailed than ordinary high school courses. If students have good AP exam results, they can play a role in adding to the icing on the cake in the application.

A-Level is a required high school score for applying to British colleges and universities. It is also a mainstream course in international high schools. There are more than 70 courses for students to choose from. It is easy for domestic students who enter international high schools from junior high schools to adapt.

Natural Light has obtained A-Level art course qualification one year ago. In the past year, many students majoring in pure art, visual communication, fabric design, three-dimensional design, photography, etc. have obtained A-Level official certification in the collection process, saving a lot of time.

The high school transcript is one of the necessary materials for application. Students of international schools can provide scores of the above international courses in the application of overseas colleges and universities. On the one hand, it can save the time and money spent in translating transcripts; on the other hand, it can explain the difficulty and academic ability of the courses read in high school, which is easier to be recognized by colleges and universities.

Third, the international high school classroom has a variety of forms, including group discussion, debate, presentation, as well as a large number of sports, community, practice and other activities. The learning atmosphere is also relatively relaxed, but it does not mean that students can be free and lawless, but that they have more free time and the right to choose. Teachers are relatively open-minded, so students can do things they are really interested in. At the same time, students' independent learning ability can also be exercised.

Natural light had an application last year Study abroad in British industrial design In the collection of works, students not only received guidance from art tutors, but also received advice and help from high school computer teachers on programming and SCM. Finally, they worked with students to help the disabled. These experiences allow students to gain a lot of progress and thinking, improve the depth of the collection of works, and to some extent, enrich CV and PS when applying.

　　 American High School Application

In order to improve the probability of children entering top universities and adapt to the foreign education model in advance, many competent and qualified parents want to send their children to study abroad from high school.

Many parents said when chatting with me that if they decided to let their children go abroad to study in college, after all, the younger they are, the stronger their ability to contact new things, and the higher their adaptability. So we can see that the number of young students studying abroad has become more and more, and studying abroad at a young age has gradually become a mainstream trend.

　　 What are the differences between American high schools and international high schools that copy and paste overseas teaching models in China?

First of all, we have to admit that the admission rate of Meigao is indeed higher than that of mainland high schools. Natural light entered CMU last year KAMEI Interactive Design A student of the major told me in the later feedback that she was the only student who entered the project that year. Although there was another Chinese student in the same period, this student was also from an American high school. The reason is that many universities will also know the school and curriculum system of students when they enroll students. In this case, Meigao applies to top colleges and universities, of course, with some advantages.

Secondly, as a country of immigrants, the United States naturally enters into a diversified environment when it enters Meigao. In such an environment, students can better understand the equality of races and the rules of survival in society. In a high school that embraces diverse cultures, students in Meigao are more likely to realize the meaning of tolerance, equality and love than domestic students. These pure and beautiful qualities are just the characteristics that are very necessary for the art of pursuing truth, goodness and beauty.

Choosing to study abroad in high school helps students to understand foreign culture in advance and be familiar with foreign education mode. On the other hand, in line with the principle of "first come, first come", students also have more opportunities to contact colleges and universities and college professors. You can use your spare time to participate in activities such as Campus tour or Information session.

Third, if students decide to study art for undergraduate study from the very beginning, there are not few art high schools in the United States. There are two options: public and private. These colleges have rich educational resources, rigorous teaching, and good art atmosphere. American Art High School is a good choice for those who clearly hope to engage in art and design majors in the future, such as graphic design, costume design, oil painting, architecture and other majors that need a certain professional skill foundation.

　　 American Undergraduate Transfer

Different from other major categories of study abroad, art undergraduate study abroad applications need to prepare a collection of works, so the application cycle will be long. Especially for some students studying abroad with zero basic art, there is not only a collection production cycle, but also time for preparation of basic courses.

Therefore, in our previous cases, there are usually three situations to apply for an ordinary US version first. The first is to temporarily decide to study abroad, which misses the application time of many colleges and universities. The second is that the application time is very short, but I don't want too many gaps in time. I want to seamlessly link to the undergraduate. The third is that the English achievement is not enough, and I hope to comprehensively exercise my English ability in the foreign language environment.

Many of the students in these situations will apply for an American undergraduate degree, and then improve their English in Foundation year, learn about colleges and universities, and prepare their works.

Last year, there was a classmate in Natural Light who wanted to be admitted to Yangmei because he liked traditional Chinese painting, but could not adapt to the weather and air in Beijing due to physical reasons during the pre exam training, so he listened to his family's opinions and temporarily decided to go to the United States to study.

However, due to the sudden decision, many schools missed the application date, so they chose to study at a school whose application time was rolling first. During my freshman year, I kept brushing TOEFL scores. During the summer vacation, I came to Beijing and completed my portfolio in three months. Finally, I completed my application before the end of my freshman year Parsons School of Design Offers of pure arts majors from Parsons, SVA, SAIC, MICA and other universities.

The situation of this student is that he has made good use of the springboard of Meiben to save time, adapt to the foreign environment and the teaching mode of the school in advance, obtain replaceable credits, and improve his English level to the level of barrier free communication in advance.

In addition to the cases of applying for Meiben for transferring to art schools, there are many students from philosophy, education, engineering and other majors in Natural Light who like to do things and draw after study. They even won prizes in some design and art competitions, and have some experience in related practical projects.

But in the end, they were limited because of their lack of basic skills. Many ideas could not be reflected in art forms, so they hoped to go to art schools to study. Last year, Jia, a student of Natural Light, had reached the third grade of marketing in the UK, and found that he had a talent for design and loved it very much. Although she could graduate after two more years, she still hesitated for a long time to come to the natural light to do a collection of works, decided to apply for Lunyi, and started from the preparatory course again. Her two years of undergraduate learning experience and learning achievements have also played a great role in the collection of works and later learning after entering Lunyi.

　　 Regular high school application

Most Chinese children, in high school, have been receiving exam oriented education at school. They are assigned homework by the school teacher, and then completed under the supervision of their parents. There are even tutors in cram schools who track and guide them remotely and in real time. After a large number of domestic art education based on sketching and copying, they generally have very solid basic skills in painting. At the same time, because of the exam oriented education of the school, after the achievement transformation is completed, you can get a very high GPA.

However, the application of ordinary high schools is one of the most problematic situations among the four.

First of all, students need to brush up their TOEFL and IELTS scores without a language environment. In the past, our students were rejected by American colleges and universities because of insufficient language scores.

Secondly, students' creative thinking will be limited by the long-term domestic cultural atmosphere and passive education model. Many students who have just come to work with natural light have a problem, that is, they are conservative and regular, very concerned about what others think of themselves, and are unwilling to express their true thoughts. When the teacher gives the homework and lets the students play by themselves, the students will feel very confused. They have no clue where to start, and do not know what to do next without the guidance of teachers and parents.

However, in the process of recruiting students, overseas colleges and universities attach great importance to students' creative thinking and personal characteristics. Therefore, for such students, the natural light constantly summarizes and explores the improvement needs of domestic students. The curriculum starts from "I" and trains creative thinking and critical thinking. At the same time, it is in line with the innovative education mode of international art colleges and universities, and constantly introduces domestic and foreign well-known brands, designers and artists. Starting from the industrial chain, it provides students with more practical opportunities from the forefront of the industry, exercises their comprehensive ability from the landing projects, and unlocks their innate creativity.

Based on the analysis of the above four situations, we can draw the conclusion that each way of applying for undergraduate study abroad has its own advantages and can be a "shortcut" to art study abroad to some extent. But for young adults, art study abroad is a great test of maturity, independence, adaptability, language and self-management. When students and parents make choices in these situations, it is suggested that they should consider their own situation: what is the purpose of going abroad? What are your personality characteristics? Are you prepared for setbacks? Can I exercise my ability in the process of studying abroad?

Whether you choose international high school, American high school, ordinary high school or US based transfer, we hope that each student can integrate the above situations and choose the most suitable way for yourself. Don't follow the trend blindly and forget to set clear goals.

Natural light can share with you many topics:

Undergraduate Art Study Abroad | What is the Foundation course in British art study abroad education?

High school students studying in preparatory courses, high school students directly studying in British preparatory courses, and A Level art study abroad in one step

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