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Biggest Risk, Best Outcome (Essay C)
By Fannie (Qijiao Fan)
IS IT A WISE DEICISION TO STUDY ABROAD AT THE AGE OF 16?
It all happened right after I just attended high school. The CHI program representatives came to our school and had the information talk. I signed up and took an exam. Fortunately, I got accepted and had the option to choose to study in the USA for 10 months as an exchange student. I was super excited because it has always been my dream to study in a foreign country for a bit. But meanwhile, I will leave my friends and family to embark on this journey on my own when I just turned 16. Should I seize the opportunity?
DECISION MAKING PROCESS… …
I really value this opportunity and I want to take my chance.
But you are just 16, you can study abroad later when you are a little bit older.
You are a very talented student and I hope you take more considerations on our decision.
How Much Risk involved?SWOT Analysis
Strength• Have the chance to
immerse in different culture by staying in an American family
• Great opportunity to make friends all over the world and improve my English
• Prepare myself to study in a foreign country later
Weakness• Relatively high expenses to
participate exchange program
• Lack of enough freedom to pick the host family and the student will stay in a small town instead of a city
SWOT Analysis
Opportunities• Have the opportunity to
immerse another culture and establish contacts in the long run
• Have the advantage to apply for any US undergraduate schools
• Establish effective network
Threats• Defer my graduation from
high school
• Potential danger that may incur while staying in a foreign country
After almost 12 hours flight….
Beijing-> Sacramento (CA, USA)
Final Destination:Grass Valley, CA
DURING MY EXCHANGE YEAR…Frankly to say, staying in another country for 10 months was more
challenging than I anticipated. When I first came to Grass Valley, I faced languagebarriers that I could not communicate at deeper level with my host family. WhenI attended high school at first , I could not fit in with anyone at school. I can stillrecall I was crying for the first week I arrived in the states and wondered if Imade the right decision to leave my friends, my family and everything I was spfamiliar with behind to come here. Meanwhile, I knew that I must do somethingfor myself to change the circumstances. So I tried my best to overcome my self-consciousness and insecurity to start talking to people first. I learned to be moreoutspoken and talked to more people. As time went by, I began making friends atschool and talked more in classes. Without this experience, I would never pushmyself out of my comfort zone and know how much potential I have in order tosucceed. After I finished the program, I returned back to China and applied forundergraduate in the US. Then I got accepted by Knox College, a small liberal artscollege three hours ‘ away from Chicago. And I adjusted to college life so quicklydue to the exchange year experience I had.
FIRST TIME…
First- time Road Trip…
First time camping …
First time attending business competition
Knox College-ACADEMICS•Economics/ Statistics Tutor (Lower Left)
•Simon Case Competition(Upper Right)
• Off Campus Study: Business, Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Lower Right)
PERSONAL GROWTH
• Volunteer to help out for Knox’s 175 Birthday. Happy Birthday Knox!! (Upper Left)• Representing China for International Fair (Lower Left)• Founder of Oriental Hipster -Knox College Belly Dance (Upper Right)
Conclusion
• Throughout the exchange year, I not only improvedmy English skills, but also learned to becomeconfident, outspoken and mature. I learned tobecome a good listener and a communicator to getalong with people from different backgrounds.
• Because of what I have learned in my exchangeyear, I adjusted to my college life very quickly andaccomplished my goals at Knox.
•Knox is the place where I found out my passion ofmarketing research through my independent studyabout consumer psychology.
• It is a risk to study in a foreign country at early age,but the rewards are amazing. This experiences builtmy character and was a solid foundation for me tosucceed in the future.