When applying to colleges, Weinberg freshman Shimin Hao said he not only stressed out about trying to write an effective college essay, but he also struggled to transcend a cultural barrier.
Hao is an international student from China.
“When I wrote application essays, I feared that what I wanted to express might not match what was expected by the colleges,” Hao said. “If I had had a chance to learn more about American culture, it would have helped me.”
To help ease his application process and that of others like him, Hao created a network of students called the Republic Overseas Chinese Undergraduates (ROCU) in 2004.
He said the network began informally when he talked with “friends and friends of friends,” including Chinese students already studying at American universities.
Hao said the nonprofit organization’s primary goal is to help Chinese students applying to American universities get information about college life in the United States.
Hao created a message board at www.rocu.cn, which he says is similar to College Confidential (www.collegeconfidential.com) because it provides a wealth of information on college topics.
ROCU’s Web site helps answer questions some Chinese students may have when preparing their applications, Hao said.
“The main purpose is to help students in China get an overseas education,” he said. “We also want to unite students all over the world.”
Hao said about 400 students who used ROCU have gained admission to U.S. colleges since the organization’s founding.
ROCU plans to expand its operations by launching a program called Global Chinese Education Mission (GCEM) from July to August.
Through GCEM, undergraduate and graduate students at American universities will go to China for the summer to teach Chinese students how to become more competitive in the American college application process.
Hao said he prefers students who have been in the United States for some time and can teach Chinese students about American culture and college life.
The student teachers will help expose Chinese students to American culture by organizing American-style games and parties, Hao said.
“We will hire experienced students and they will teach the (Chinese) students language skills,” he said. “They will also teach cultural skills.”
Hao said he wants to hire teachers with high SAT scores so they can give Chinese students tips on how to improve their standardized test scores.
“We don’t have official test-preparation courses or guidance counselors,” Hao said. “We need some pioneers in the United States to help us.”
The teachers will be paid $6,000 for the summer, according to the organization’s advertisements. The funds will come from local schools in China and from tuition fees the Chinese students will have to pay, Hao said.
Hao said he has received 10 applications and plans to accept four teachers.
McCormick freshman Zijian Zhang, who is from Shanghai, China, said she did not encounter as big of a cultural difference as she expected when she applied to American schools but that she still agrees with ROCU’s mission.
“Shanghai is a big city,” she said. “We have some knowledge of what’s going on, but we don’t know the little things.”
Weinberg freshman Da Lu said he used ROCU when applying to American colleges in 2004 and found it very helpful.
“It gives people a platform to communicate with each other to get information they would otherwise not get,” he said. “You get to make friends with (the site’s users), so it’s a very nice experience.”
Reach Ketul Patel at [email protected].
