CheersYou（清柚教育） student Liu Yangyingyi graduated from Nankai University with rich activity experience, including volunteering and youth leadership programs. With the help of CheersYou（清柚教育）, she received offers from four prestigious universities—University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, New York University, and Vanderbilt University—during the admissions season. Below is her experience sharing on cross-disciplinary application to Education.
Liu Yangyingyi
Class of 2014 International Politics undergraduate
Standardized Scores: GPA 87.37; GRE 320 (Writing 3.5); TOEFL 107 (Reading 29, Listening 26, Writing 26, Speaking 26)
Applied Major: Education
Offers: University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, New York University, Vanderbilt University
Experience Sharing
1. Which countries' institutions did you mainly apply to and why?
I only applied to schools in the United States. It is not that schools in other countries like the UK are not good, but the choices in the UK and other places are not as wide as in the U.S., because there are many well-known American schools, and some, like Ivy League schools, have higher recognition after returning to China.
Besides, a master's program in the U.S. typically lasts at least one and a half years. Compared to programs in the UK or Hong Kong, it is slightly longer, so the study pressure may not be as intense.
In short, I chose the U.S. because of its extremely rich educational resources and strong faculty. However, if a student is more interested in British culture or its humanistic background, choosing the UK is also a good option.
Regarding school selection, you need to fully assess yourself before making a choice. I picked three tiers of schools: reach schools, match schools, and safety schools.
Layering your applications rationally helps ensure you get an offer while still having a chance to reach your dream school.
2. Did you hesitate about the major and schools you ended up applying to? Why did you choose this major?
I did not hesitate at all about my choice of major or schools. Because before applying, you must figure out what you will learn in this major and what your career path will be, and then apply based on that understanding, rather than feeling dissatisfied after applying.
I chose Education because during college I was exposed to training-related knowledge in a club, which sparked my interest. That is why I chose Education—I find it more fun than International Politics and it better fuels my inner drive, so I decided to switch majors.
3. Did you use an agency during the application process? How much help can an agency provide?
I did use an agency for my applications. Actually, whether to use an agency is a matter of personal preference. Initially, I did not plan to use one. But as the application season approached, I realized I had no clue how to prepare essays and resumes and needed guidance. So I found an agency. I signed up for their semi-DIY service. This allowed me to submit all my materials before the deadlines smoothly.
Now the study-abroad market is vast, with many agencies, so it can be overwhelming when choosing one. First, be clear about what you want the agency to help with.
If you want a simpler process and just focus on exams, then I suggest finding an agency to handle the entire application process for you. However, if you enjoy searching for information yourself, you can learn about the program you are applying to through forums, various applicant groups, and free study-abroad lectures held by agencies.
At the same time, you can go to each school's official website to review their admission requirements.
But if you lack confidence in your writing skills—essays, resume, etc.—you can also find an agency to help you with these specific services.
4. How important are GPA and language scores in the application process? Or are social practice and internships more important?
They are all important.
Comparatively, UK schools focus more on whether your undergraduate degree is from a 985/211 university and your grades. The U.S., however, evaluates a student's performance more holistically.
Many schools have a minimum application standard—for instance, your GPA must be at least 3.0. Without it, you may not even be eligible to apply. Additionally, many schools publish the average GRE and TOEFL scores of previously admitted students. So generally, for Ivy League schools, the requirement is at least a TOEFL of 100 and a GRE of around 310.
For humanities students, research may not weigh as heavily. Schools tend to look more at internship experience and leadership development in school. You can easily make up for this by applying for internships in your intended field during your junior year, so time-wise, it is completely adequate for preparation.
5. Is it easy to apply for scholarships? What is the specific process?
There are two types of scholarships. One is the national-level scholarship from the China Scholarship Council. This is relatively less difficult to obtain, but it comes with more restrictions for the student.
The second type is scholarships set up by the school itself, which are harder to get. They may require you to fill out a special form, explaining why you want the scholarship, your family's financial situation, and perhaps a personal growth experience that sets you apart from others. Therefore, international scholarships are quite hard to get unless your English proficiency and overall soft and hard skills are very strong.
6. How should you prepare during your undergraduate years for application? (For second-year students)
For second-year students who have decided to study in the U.S., the first thing you can prepare is the GRE exam. Once you take it, the score is valid for five years, so there is plenty of time to use it for your application. This is one early preparation you can make.
Besides standardized tests, you should first think about your future career plans and interests. For example, if you are still interested in International Politics, you can continue studying something like MPP or international politics abroad.
However, if you find that you are not interested in your current major, there are many channels—clubs, student organizations, family and friends—through which you can learn what other fields are about and what you truly want to do.
Suppose you decide to change majors, say to Law. Then you must check the U.S. law school requirements for prerequisite courses and double major or minor in Law to meet those requirements, filling in the necessary coursework first. After that, you can participate in related volunteer activities, and in your junior year, do internships. That way, step by step, you will have prepared both your grades and your social and internship experiences.
7. Could you tell us about your strengths and weaknesses during the application?
Strengths:
The first strength was my standardized TOEFL score, with all subscores at 26 or above. Some schools have minimum subscore requirements, like speaking 23, so this score basically meets the requirements for any major.
If you can't meet a particular TOEFL subscore, you can apply for score combination. For example, if on your first TOEFL, listening was 29, but on the second attempt it dropped to 26, you can ask the school if they accept combining the best sub-scores from both tests—that is a potential solution.
Second, my GPA was decent at 87-plus. While not as high as 90+, it translates to about 3.6 on the U.S. 4.0 scale, which is still quite good.
Third, once I decided on Education, I actively supplemented my experience in the field, such as teaching at a middle school and participating in an education volunteer program in India. I incorporated these into my resume and essays, which added significant value.
Weaknesses:
First, my GRE math score was a bit low, and the writing score was also a little low. But note, unless you are applying to programs like data analysis or statistics, a perfect math score is not critical. GRE scores are reported by section, not as a single total. For Education, math may not be as important; when schools see a verbal score of 157 that is already high, they may be satisfied. So don’t obsess over the total; focus on the sections that matter most for your intended major.
The second weakness was being a cross-discipline applicant. For Education, which is a special field, about 70% of master's students are cross-discipline. So as long as your scores are high and you have ample internship experience, you can still outperform students from relevant majors.
