The Unspoken Reality Behind the Harvard Gates | Alex Chang | TEDxYouth@SHSID

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Published 2019-03-21
Alex Chang is the founder and CEO of Ivy-Way Academy, CTO of a tech startup on skincare, a dance teacher, and a hacker. Back in high school, Alex was not exactly "Ivy League material." He did not finish top 5 in his public high school in New York, did not get a near-perfect SAT score, did not win national honors in math, was not a starter on his lacrosse team, and did not have rich and famous parents to get him into places. Therefore, after receiving his Bachelor's degree from Harvard and finishing his education at Harvard Graduate School of Education, his identity as an "ordinary student" served as the prime example for high school students to model and reach their dream schools. However, in addition to sharing his secrets to Ivy League admission, Alex feels the social responsibility to inform - and warn - students about the life behind those Ivy League gates. Things may not always be as pretty as they seem. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

All Comments (21)
  • @6shnuggle6
    My fav quote: "Don't let school ruin your education".
  • The worst is when your friends find success while you’re still looking and you feel less superior, it hurts man!
  • @manorotti
    I can feel his stress through the screen
  • @zadtrax
    I’ve met quite a number of people who attended prestigious colleges who still have no StreetSmarts or any common sense. Book learning only gets you so far in life.
  • @Winston_Nelson
    50 cent:” i didn’t study at harvard, but my employees did.” Think about it.
  • Me: I really want to go to Harvard! watches this video Me: actually I will just stick to just walking around the campus.
  • @hanji1041
    And here I am studying one day before exam 😂
  • @Londonergeek
    I graduated from Oxford university in 2005 and can relate to this video. I graduated top of my class in high school, but when you reach a top university you are all of a sudden surrounded by super high achievers which can be a bit demoralising. Several students (10-15%) in my year dropped out as well as they couldn’t cope with the intensity. Plus the worst part is having to spend evenings/weekends writing out application forms for summer internships/ jobs. Looking back, I’m still pleased to have gone to Oxford but I know it’s not for everyone.
  • I went to a small college, but even I dealt with some of the stresses discussed in this video
  • @godSPARDA1995
    Harvard was 4 tough years One commited suicide 50% show signs of depression. We talking about college or prison??😅
  • @cassydi8624
    I don't even attend such an important college but I still complain every day about my university.
  • @idadayah9336
    Once you go to a place where competition is everything, it's either you win or you lose. If you win then congratulations, you will be very comfortable throughout your years in college life. That means you have established your identity which people could look up on to. If you lose, things began to crumble since you will be living in a place where you dont have an idendity as an introduction of yourself. Let say when school needs a singer for an event, and people already know oh you could ask somebody somebody and it was not you. Even if you wanna try it might be too late by then only miracle at this point could help you since you have missed up the first chance. You dont have your own name in things and slowly you began to doubt yourself, insecurities eat you up slowly, then in the end you lose yourself. Some even thought they could never succeed or wake up ever again from that nightmare because it was too late by then. This is simply beacuse you can no longer be the ebst and comfortable with yourself. I truly agreed with everything that he said. It was painful, it was unbearable but when you realised it, you can't never go back to how you was before and ceryaunly you cant no longer live in your present.
  • @LagunaLeonhart
    The traditional education system is flawed. Everyone is different. I myself went from being in one of the worst schools in the country, to one of the best colleges (with low grades), to a sub-par university, and then to a great career. Anybody can make it regardless of your education. Sure, an education can open a door to something better or more senior, faster, but it doesn't guarantee anything. Finding good oppertunities where you can grow as a person is far more important to your success than landing in a great school.
  • @hauweii
    high schoolers watching this! despite what this man says, he is most definitely Harvard material. i don’t know why he’s saying he isn’t, likely thinks that way after being surrounded by more accomplished students at Harvard. college applications are far different now, more holistic, with many valedictorians and salutatorians getting rejected. i’m at columbia, have tons of friends at harvard, and i can attest that even this man had a more impressive application than a lot of my friends here. college admissions is vastly different than it was in 2017, especially with the impact of covid. don’t let his high stats and ECs deter you. apply, make yourself seem super passionate about your major with even just a couple ECs that back it up and an essay to complement it, and your chances are better. obviously strive to get the best grades possible, but my friends who had 3.5 gpas got into ivies after their passion shined through their apps (and come from average family backgrounds as well). you got it.
  • @Rien--
    smh all you need to get into harvard is 99 strength on runescape
  • @ronitmndl
    Harvard(looks at the thumbnail): " that's what she said "