Nation's teenagers gear up for the gaokao

I don't need to take the exam

I am not going to take the gaokao, because I have received an offer from the University of Waterloo in Canada to study for a bachelor's degree in mathematics.

The summer after I graduated from junior high school in 2016, my mother took me to Canada and the United States for two months.

I visited many famous universities.

At Princeton University, I stood outside a classroom and watched a professor deliver a lecture.

The professor's voice was so loud that it carried all the way outside the classroom.

The students discussed problems together, and the scene was harmonious.

It impressed me, because I hadn't seen that in a Chinese school.

After entering high school, I planned to take the gaokao after the traditional three years of study, like most Chinese students.

However, after a year, I realized that traditional education was not what I wanted.

I am not saying whether Western or Eastern education is better, only whether the methods suit me or not.

I didn't like to keep doing homework, which is heavily oriented toward exams.

I don't want to limit my thinking, so I prefer to study via free discussions, like I saw at Princeton.

As a result, I decided to abandon the gaokao and apply to a university overseas.

When I finished the first year at Wuhan No 6 High School, I transferred to the international department of the school.

It uses Western educational methods, which helped my university application.

Of course, my time in the Chinese education system helped a lot, too. The first year in high school gave me a very sound and complete educational foundation.

Now, I am doing some reading for university study.

I have a good friend who will take the gaokao this week, and we meet often to share our ambitions and dreams.