Studying Skills of American Students

How We Study
by Rachelle Seabolt, Jennifer Kim, Jenna Chang, Arjun Wenerawatthage, edited by Amy Lee

• In America, colleges look at grades, SATs (the college admission test), types of classes we took (since we can choose what class we can take; it looks better on our college applications if we took harder classes), community service, and extra-curricular activities
• Teachers are very willing to tutor students (for free of course) after school. Any student who needs help just simply has to ask his/her teacher for help
• Most students do not purchase extra review books (문제집 because it is not neccessary. However, students who are taking challenging college-level course like AP, IB, or CLEF, might purchase some for review.
• Depending on what type of foreign language is available at the school, students can choose which language they want to learn.
• Our texts book are thick and is hard cover. We borrow it from the school library and return it after the school year ends. The same text books are reused for about six years.
• Students study in groups at the library, at cafes like Starbucks, or at a friend's house. Students meet to study for tests, or just to work on the homework together.
• We do not get a lot of private tutoring outside of school. Many people will learn musical instruments through school band, and sports from school clubs or activities. Some people pay take private tutoring for things they desperately  need help with, but unlike Korea, it is not as common among students in America.
• Even the students in middle school and high school are assigned special projects from their teachers. For example, we might be asked to invent something, make posters about a topic, do research, create videos, powerpoints, and such. America demands studying skills that are outside of just "book work"