Over the summer, 29 students from Montverde Academy Shanghai went to Montverde Academy in Florida, in the US, where they spent more than a month studying to get credits for parts of their curriculum.

Founded on September 23, 1912, the Montverde Academy now educates nearly 1,000 students, including more than 300 boarding students from 48 countries.

In June 2013, the school opened a branch in Shanghai, where they sought to recruit high school students who intended to go to university in the US. Now there are 40 students in the ninth and 10th grades there. The school expects to recruit 50 to 60 more students this year.

As an international, coeducational, independent college preparatory school for grades three through 12, Montverde Academy has a good track record. Its students have a 100-percent college acceptance rate, including to prestigious schools such as Harvard, Yale and MIT. Thus, Montverde Academy Shanghai is confident it can help its Chinese students get into US universities.

Montverde Academy Shanghai is funded by Shanghai Qicheng Education Consulting Co Ltd, which is an educational corporation that helps students go to the US to study. "We were founded in 2007 and we have helped more than 500 Chinese students go to study at US universities, 100 percent of whom are admitted by top-50 US universities and 85 percent of whom are admitted by top-35 US universities," said Cheng Hao, Qicheng's boss.

When he was working at Qicheng giving students advice about applying to US universities, Cheng figured out that he could do more if he established a senior high school to give students an American-style education and all-around preparation for their future study in US. So he cooperated with Montverde Academy to create Montverde Academy Shanghai.

"Our US partner has a strong background," said Wang Yundiao, the principal of Montverde Academy Shanghai. "We share their teaching program and resources. Our Chinese investor is an expert in studying abroad in US, so we promised our students that if they study well here, they will be admitted into a top-50 US university."

"Unlike normal schools, we are quite goal-oriented. Our goal is to ensure our students get into top US universities. When students come to our school, they will be given a personalized plan so they know what they need to do to achieve their goal to get admitted into their dream US university," Wang said.

Normally, US universities pay close attention to a student's high school grade point average and scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). The universities also consider letters of recommendation, school references and extracurricular activities, such as science projects or charity work, Wang said. The Montverde Academy Shanghai aims to make sure students fulfill every requirement one step at a time.

From grades nine through 12, students have to pass core classes like English, Western culture, math, IT, speech and communication, as well as selected courses like physics, chemistry, economics, biology, painting and music, according to the syllabus of Montverde Academy Shanghai.

Like its US partner, Montverde Academy Shanghai also offers its students Advanced Placement (AP) courses starting in the 11th grade. AP courses are pre-university courses in the US. Scoring high on an AP exam at the end of the course gives the student a leg up when applying to certain programs at US universities.

There are 12 AP courses in total, all of which are available at Montverde Academy Shanghai. "As long as one of our students is willing to take a course we will arrange it for him," Wang said.

For Chinese students who wish to study at universities in the US, English is always their stepping stone to success and all of them have to have a good TOEFL score. "To help students earn a good score, we start TOEFL training when they come to our school in the ninth grade," Wang said. "Every one of them is required to pass the TOEFL before grade 10. Then we move on to SAT preparation."

Because a student's extracurricular activities are such an important part of the admissions process for US universities, Montverde Academy Shanghai has set up student clubs and activities. "Firstly, we have different academic projects to trigger students' interest in research and to demonstrate their academic capabilities. Secondly, we have school clubs like photography, dancing and golf to let students show off their talents. Thirdly, we work with different NGOs to help our students take part in volunteer projects," Wang said.

Carmen Ding is a 17-year-old 10th grader at Montverde Academy Shanghai. Both her parents work for a foreign trade business in Japan, so she studied in Tokyo when she was young. Because she thinks the US is the most prosperous and developed country in the world and has the best universities, she chose to return to China to prepare to apply to US universities.

There are many international schools in Shanghai, many of which offer international courses to help Chinese students go abroad. Ding has studied at several other international schools, but was unsatisfied with the management there. "Students talk to each other or play cellphone games in class and do not listen to the teachers. It's hard to push oneself to study hard in this kind of an environment."

When Ding transferred to Montverde Academy Shanghai, she was surprised by the effective management and felt at ease to study.



 

Extracurricular activities are an important part of a student's education at Montverde Academy.

Montverde Academy's campus in the US

Photos: Courtesy of Montverde Academy Shanghai