Hi everyone, I'm Krystal from the A3 group of the second division of the middle school. On March 23, not long after my eighteenth birthday, I received an admission letter from the University of California, Santa Barbara-UCSB. Because the United States is not my main application direction, and I also applied based on pure A-Level system data, this offer from the top 28 schools in the United States undoubtedly surprised and excited everyone. In just one morning, I received congratulations from teachers, parents, classmates and relatives and friends.
Looking back at my application process, I can only use the word "difficult" to describe it. My dream school is UCL-University College London. It is also known as G5 colleges in the UK with Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and London Economics, which is the top five universities in the UK. The major I applied for is management science, which is an interdisciplinary subject that integrates technology and management, and has relatively high requirements for students' comprehensive ability.

Looking back on the six years I spent in Hankai, the rich curriculum design, the training of various activities, and the accumulation of experience as a student leader have gradually given me the courage to believe in myself, challenge myself, and achieve myself.

In the spring semester of the first grade, I transferred to Nanjing Hankai. As a newcomer, I was very uncomfortable with the almost entirely English-taught curriculum system, and I was not too afraid to take the initiative to answer questions in class. At that time, Dean Chris was our science teacher. There was a rule in his class: those who couldn't answer the question had to run around the teaching building and then go back to the classroom. This was the first time I experienced the original science. The class also requires a lot of physical strength, so that even today I still remember the fear of being dominated by the formula of Photosynthesis in his class. Such an interesting teaching method was a very novel experience for me at that time, which also greatly stimulated my interest in learning.

Only excellent academic performance is not enough when applying for colleges. Foreign colleges and universities attach great importance to the comprehensive quality of students: critical thinking, leadership, inquiry and so on.

First of all, when we study, we need to learn to combine the knowledge in class with hot current affairs. For example, when the new crown epidemic first broke out, my classmates and I did a group study on the impact of the epidemic on the micro-economy, and we also made an online report on the research results.
Secondly, it is necessary to have the awareness of independent inquiry learning, such as reading some books related to the subject, and thinking and debating some viewpoints.
I used to learn Chinese dance for many years. After coming to Nanjing Hankai, I created my first dance club, combining my interests with the school's ASDAN curriculum. In various performances inside and outside the school, everyone can see the figure of the dance club. In December last year, I initiated and organized the first 101 Dance Competition, which was very rewarding.

As I got older, I started to turn my attention to some social issues. In the study of the GP Global Perspectives course at the IG stage, I learned about many inequalities in the society through some cases in the classroom: racial discrimination, gender inequality. I feel that as a future HKA student who will walk around the world , I am obliged to do something. So when I was a sophomore in high school, I established the HER club with several other classmates, calling for raising awareness and concepts of inequality between men and women. Now our HER is also one of the largest and most influential societies in the Second Secondary School.

Next, let's talk about the language test. British universities generally require students to apply with IELTS scores. At present, I have reached the highest IELTS score of 7.5 for UCL applicants. Looking back on my IELTS journey, it wasn't all smooth sailing. The first time I took the IELTS was in the third year of junior high school, and the score was 6.0. As far as I know, many international high schools had language requirements for students who finished their first year of high school, but it was far from enough to apply to top universities. I took the second IELTS test while preparing for the IG exam in the first year of high school and scored 6.5. This has actually met the entry standards for some majors in most universities in the UK, but my requirements for myself are more than that, and I hope that I can climb higher. So in my third year of high school, I started preparing for the third IELTS test. The exam experience this time was very rough. Due to the outbreak of the epidemic, I signed up again and again in Nanjing, but in the end all the sessions were cancelled. So in the end I went to Changzhou to complete the final exam. Different from the previous two times, this time I have a clearer goal and study plan for myself. During the summer vacation, I got up early every day to memorize words, brush questions, and practice oral English, and finally achieved the ideal score of 7.5.
Finally I want to sum it up in one sentence: Even though the process is struggling, but the result makes everything worthy. Sometimes I also wonder how I will feel when I say goodbye to my alma mater after my senior year of high school. Here is a record of my green years and my great transformation. Every day at HKA is so fulfilling and happy. The teachers of the Second Secondary School have diverse styles but are very tolerant and attentive to the students. I think these days and beauty have been imprinted in my genes. No matter where I go in the future, I will never forget my HKAer identity, nor will I forget the huge Grit spirit on the school wall. Although there are thousands of people, I will go. I am ready to embrace the future, and I hope that my story sharing can bring some inspiration to the younger students.