Facing the Future: An Interview With Two Grade 12 Students

Written by Juliane Guo
Edited by Kathy Lu
Cover Image by Angelina Tseng

College applications, grades, extracurricular activities… have these things ever brought you stress, anxiety, and a sense of uncertainty? One certain thing is that we all experience this at some points in our lives. The grade you will receive on an assignment that you just submitted is unknown, the college you will attend (if that’s in your plans) is unknown, and so are other things in the future.

If you have started considering applying to colleges, the Grade 12s, who just completed (or are about to complete) their application process might provide answers to some of the questions you have. Two Grade 12 students, Kerry L. and Daphne Y., kindly shared their insights about their college application process, managing stress, choosing schools and majors, and more. Everyone has different thoughts and experiences, so what they say might not apply to your situation, but their experiences are personal, valuable, and definitely worth a read.

1. Coping with Stress

Stress takes up an aspect of life that no one could permanently escape from, but there are many different ways to lessen, prevent, and thrive in it. What is important is to try a few and find the ones that are best suited for you. For Kerry, it is Notion, a productivity app, that helps her stay organized and efficient. “It is really productive,” said Kerry, “there is a calendar in the app where you could put your project deadlines on, and the daily planner function also clearly tells me that, okay, these are the tasks that I’m supposed to do today.”

Other than the plethora of apps and tools conveniently provided by modern technology, developing a positive mindset and an attitude that fits different situations is equally important. For Daphne, the stress she felt in Grade 11 motivated her to work hard in school and do the best she could for her extracurriculars, despite COVID-19. After moving to Grade 12, Daphne said she “had a feeling that everything has almost come to an end, and there’s not much I can change… If I tried hard, my hard work hopefully will pay off; if not, I indeed deserved the result.” This shift in attitude relieved her stress. Still, Daphne added that “the application [process] is long, and if there’s a last chance, I will not hesitate to work my [butt] off for it.”

2. Choosing a Major

Deciding what you want to do in the future might be the toughest out of everything. Not having or having a clear direction are both normal, but staying flexible wouldn’t be a bad choice. Kerry started with a clear goal in mind: going into business, just like her other family members. But as a continuation of her childhood dream, “I only recently discovered my true passion - to start a bakery… I found out that everything I do seems to be drawing towards this dream, and now I plan to build it into reality.” This motivates her to go further on the route of pursuing business, more specifically, supply chains.

On the other hand, looking into various areas of study might take people to the place they need to be. “I nearly thought of every possible study,” says Daphne. “...Visual arts, architecture, psychology, neuroscience… paying every thought with the resolution of pursuing it for the rest of my life.” Now, she intends to study human biology, and learn more about computer science in university. She gives her piece of advice: “It’s ESSENTIAL to skip around in order to dig deeper in your  subject of interest.” Four years of high school gave her more than enough time to discover her preference for biology, but not for her to venture into computer science. “So seize your time and start exploring!”

3. Choosing Schools

Deciding which schools to apply to is always terrifying and exhilarating. It potentially determines many aspects of life for future years, making it an especially important choice to make. Kerry believes that the schools she applies to “depends on where I want to work and live in the future.” She was deciding between China, Canada, and the U.S., and applied to universities in all three countries. “Then I would narrow down my choices depending on where I want to go specifically,” she added. Furthermore, Kerry suggests that college lists should be matched to the applicant’s level: “if you can’t really get [into] these types of schools (Harvard and UPenn), then just apply to a few of them.”

When it comes to specific schools, college research is particularly important, especially in choosing schools that provide the best programs for what you want to learn. “To figure out my dream school, I first decided which disciplines I want to pursue for the next four years,” said Daphne. “[Johns Hopkins University (JHU)]  is famous for its science courses, and I’m interested in STEM.” Additionally, intuition and the school’s “vibes” also cannot be overlooked. “I fell in love with their website at first sight,” said Daphne regarding JHU being her top choice, “[i]t looks advanced, high-tech, rational, with [a] blue and white colour scheme and easy navigation.” Even if Baltimore is not as safe, she believes that the campus has an ideal environment and atmosphere for learning.

4. Other Tips

Finally, there are always some tips and tricks for surviving high school and college applications. For Kerry, it is sleeping and waking up early. “Really, this actually helps a lot,” she says, explaining how she used to both stay up and wake up late, and how she realized it is affecting her health and proactivity in the morning. “Then, I discovered if you sleep at eleven and wake up at, for example, six-o-clock, you might feel exhausted at first, but then you wouldn’t be for the entire day.” Being physically healthy and mentally active is the key to success.

Reflecting on her high school life, Daphne talks about how high school “is a perfect place to grow and develop yourself.” She suggested to “cherish your free time,” take the compulsory courses, and do whatever your heart desires in Grade 9. In Grade 10, “start paying attention to extracurricular activities” and “step out of your comfort zone;” in Grade 11, “work the best you can within and outside school; challenge yourself.” And finally in Grade 12, “persevere till the end; have fun at last.”

Graduating high school is a step towards a new stage in life. The future might be uncertain and daunting. But with the lessons, memories, and, of course, the amazing advice from others who have been there before, there will be less to worry about and more to hope for.