Advice to EPTS Students · 2014. 8. 15. · college (knowing what you want to major in and what college(s) you would apply to would here a lot here!). Then, I would go ahead and formulate

Advice to EPTS Students

by EPTS12

What bring(s) you motivation and inspiration?


“I guess I'm going to sound nerdy (and perhaps a bit cliche) but my answer would be that having a goal keeps me motivated. My motivation completely goes away when I'm going through life without knowing what I want/what I want to strive for. Plus, reading about people who succeed in life keeps me going too.

I get inspiration from a wide range of areas -- to name some, I like to browse Tumblr (there are blogs that literally cover every interest - my personal favorites are blogs with quotes), read novels and listen to TED talks (I got a lot of ideas for Amnesty International projects from this especially).”

- Pimvipa Kunanusorn (Fon)

Math-Science

Business Law at Thammasat University


“My sister played a big part in my college application process. She was the first member in my family to ever go to study in the United States, and she managed to do so in a very short amount of time. She became my guide, my assistant, and my model.”

- Raksarat Vorasucha (Roong)

Math-Science

Architecture at Cornell University


“My primary source of motivation is my ambitious and eager personalities. I have desired to be a successful working woman ever since I was young, even though I didn't know what I really wanted to do in the future. This problem leads to my secondary inspiration, my father.

My father can be called a “life fighter”. From a scanty traditional Chinese family, he drove himself by studying medicine and followed his dream by being a prosperous businessman. Not only does his life inspire me, but also his thoughtful and visionary perspectives. He is the one who strengthens my identity and brightens my future by giving many useful advices about academic life and career path. No matter how much the time has passed, he will always be my strong and inspiring motivator.”

-- Wanwares Boonkong (Pippin)

Math-English

BBA at Chulalongkorn University


“I am a person who is rarely ever happy with myself. There are always things I can be doing, new skills I can acquire, and loose ends I can perfect. I realize that the kind of perfection I’m always chasing is neither reachable nor attainable. But knowing that I’m inadequate in many ways motivates me to work hard and be responsible. I find that putting a lot of pressure on myself forces me to really push my limits, which leads to achieving things I may not have thought I could do. Set high bars. You’ll likely fail to reach them, and that’s okay. Don’t get complacent.”

- Nussaba Visatemongkolchai (Nuss)

Math-Science

Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University

How do you manage your time?


“To be honest, I was not at all perfect in the area of time management during my time in high school. In fact, I messed up here and there so this is sort of a warning that things get really hectic during M4 to M6 because of the increased workload at school and (scary) college applications. But from my experience (basically what I learned as high school progressed), what really helped me get through was just clearing my schedule for an entire day and just sitting down to plan ahead in order to get an overview of whawt I needed to do.

How I would do this would be thinking about the extra classes I needed to take - either for school/for standardized tests -- as well as the college application process + tests I needed to take to apply for college (knowing what you want to major in and what college(s) you would apply to would here a lot here!). Then, I would go ahead and formulate an action plan for each semester. So long--term wise, you'll avoid freaking out often :) ...


...Other things that helped me: Getting a planner/calendar to jot down important dates, Having a to-do list for each day (extremely necessary considering the massive amounts of homework you get each day in high school + this helps with planning for study sessions)

The most important advice I can give though is to have a goal. I know that it's tough to realize (and be completely sure of) what you want to study/what field you want to work in during high school --- trust me, I've been through periods of deep thought about my future --- but just having a general idea of what you like or what college you want take classes at will make your life so much easier. This is because it means that you will be able to prioritize things at a more efficient rate. For example, it means that you will be able to know what extracurriculars you need to do to in order to study your dream major/study at your dream college - and this would prevent you from deviating from things that would really help you get closer to your dream future..” - Fon


“Managing time has never been my thing. I always work last minute, and that, of course, keeps me from getting enough rest during the night. But one thing I do (seems like this method could not help me much, but every now and then, it did relieved some burden and stress) was work during breaks at school. Work during lunch break, work during 10 minute breaks, and work during free periods. These times are precious, especially for senior year, so spend them wisely! It might not significantly spare you more time when you get home, but at least you feel like you have already accomplished something.

Also, try to find your maximum work efficiency time of the day. If you think you work best during the night, maybe take a short nap right after you get home, so that your brain is fresh when you start the work later. If you work more effectively early in the morning, plan ahead and make sure to wake up early enough to complete the work in time without being late to school.” -- Roong


“My definition of time management is not merely getting homework done on time but also doing well at both activities and studying by letting them have minimal effects on each other.

Don't let your activities disturb your grade. Don't let your grades hinder your chance to show your potentials as a leader or as an activities enthusiast. Knowing your limit is the most important thing. If you know that you would not make it if you do too many activities, leave it to other people who may be more available to do that work. If you think you don't have enough experience, go and find diverse activities to do.

For myself, when I came home, I always did the homework so that it would be done and not bother me anymore. After that I would do some extracurricular works such as my duty as the student president and tutoring class works. During a tiring time, I often gave myself a break and recollected my energy and strength to continue my work.” -- Pippin


“Do a quick cost--benefit analysis every time before you make a decision on how to spend your time. Will you be better off working on that math homework, or it is time to start on that English essay, given how much time you have left and how important a task is? Get three extra hours of sleep, or do exam revision? Exercise or chat with friends? Prioritize. This way, you can maintain some sense of balance among the various aspects of your life.

Other than that, I use Google Calendar and a to--do list application to remind me of things I need to do. Without this combination I would have missed out on many, many important things.” -- Nuss

Any study tricks?

Any study tricks?“For school:

1) Know your strengths and weaknesses -- this would make you become more efficient in exam preparation as you could then allocate more time to subjects you don't really like/are less proficient in

2) Make review notes -- I'm not sure if this applies to everyone BUT what I found useful was making review notes for subjects during exam period - writing things down + summarizing information in my own words made me understand the coursework more. Plus, personalizing your review material makes studying much less boring (for me, making colorful review notes was the key to avoid dozing off whilst studying)

3) Study with friends -- This is a huge must! From my experience, getting together with friends during exam preparation makes you more well prepared for the exam as they can point out bits and pieces of information that you might've missed or tell you what they found was important...

Any study tricks?...For standardized tests:

So I took a large number of standardized tests during high school (SAT, SAT Subject, TOEFL, IELTS...) and for me, taking extra classes isn't a definite key to success. The burden is mainly on you to make those extra classes real productive. My advice would just to keep practicing -- do practice tests every day so you won't forget the material and become more used to the test layout in general.” -- Fon

Any study tricks?“Pay LOADS of attention in class. On exams and quizzes, most teachers ask about things they do talk about in each lesson. Even though some of them might encourage us to read textbooks and state clearly that exams will be based on information on them, it will still be much easier to go over the ideas on textbooks when you already hear some of them explained in class.

Another effective trick is study with friends. If you manage to really study and not end up talking nonsense, you will find that your friends are, in fact, a huge source of wisdom. Keep asking each other questions, and you will be amazed as you all come up with details that you’ve unknowingly missed out (there will always be some).” -- Roong

Any study tricks?“My study trick is simple, "DO THE HOMEWORK!" This may sound like a cliche coming from teachers, but it works. Homework always gives us the opportunity to review class lessons and solidify our knowledge. Additionally, you should give more time to revise on your weak subjects. For me, it is mathematics. I always prepared my own study notes a week earlier to review and got ready for quizzes and exams. Studying a night before the exam never works for me in math subject.” -- Pippin

Any study tricks?“1. Talk to your teachers and try to get to know them as people. They are really knowledgeable and have all sorts of interesting stories to tell. It makes school and classes more enjoyable for me, and I regret not doing this more.

2. If you’re like me, you might find yourself caught in one of those terrible days when you feel really down and there’s so much work to do but you don’t feel like doing anything but you can’t not do anything because there are things to do. When this happens, I drag myself out of the slump I’m in, take a nice cold shower, and grab a glass of green tea. Then I feel better and ready to move on with life again. It doesn’t have to be the same thing for you, but sometimes small things like that help push me through tough times.

3. Listen to Roong and pay attention in class. Saved me so much time on exam revisions.” -- Nuss

How did you figure out what you want to study in university?


“The realization process isn't instant. So don't worry if you don't emerge from M3 with a clear goal in your mind.

For me, I wanted to be a doctor during M1 to M3. But then I switched to wanting to be a lawyer in the end. I realized that this was I actually wanted because of the extracurricular I was passionate about --- debate (which is really similar to the field of law because it revolves around arguing). Plus, getting an law internship made me more interested in being a lawyer AND talking to roon p's and people who work made me know more about careers in general (and this helped eliminate careers that would bore me). My advice: Find "outside" experience -- experience you can't find in school -- for example, an internship, an extra curricular activity or just a conversation with someone older -- this would help shed light on what you like.

Another piece of advice: Know your personality -- each career has a stereotype associated with it (and those stereotypes are usually true). So if you like socializing, perhaps you will like PR? Or if you like high--stress + high--risk environments, investment banking, law or medicine might be what you're looking for (just throwing random thoughts in!)” -- Fon


“I am very fortunate to have discovered my interest very early (compared to others). Most of my passions and talents all point out to the same field of study. Ever since I was young, I have always been good at drawing. I can also do math, and I enjoy the effects of building designs on human emotions, so after I realized what architecture is all about, I knew this is what I am doing for college. So basically, try to find things you love to do or things that make you happy. Anything can lead to your potential major in the future. Just take time, explore new things, and narrow down your interests.” -- Roong


“Due to my personalities and interests, I chose to study Finance at Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University. Before I concluded my decision, I often talked to my father, social studies and math teachers (math and social studies are what I am interested in the most!), seniors, and particularly myself. After listening to numerous perspectives and ideas, I had to ask myself whether I like it or not. After years of thinking and researching, I desire to be a financial analyst.” -- Pippin


“I like science and mathematics. I love how they can make sense of things we know by intuition (books feel less heavy when you hold them closer to your body. Why? Find out in A.David’s physics class!) AND completely disprove of other things we may also intuitively believe are true (see the Monty Hall problem, for example).

I think almost everybody can appreciate this. But I realized I could move on to university doing something involving this when I constantly found myself willing to tolerate the more tedious parts of science and math education (I mean, classes aren’t easy) so that I can understand and be fascinated by what I’m learning later. I’m doing Chemical Engineering in university. Won’t go into specific details here as that might make this a bit long, but I think the point I tried to make can be useful to everyone -- science nerds or not.” -- Nuss

Other words of wisdom?


1) Plan in order to avoid freaking out last--minute

2) Try to be efficient as much as possible . Time is very valuable because you have so many things to do and the feeling of regret is a huge bummer

3) Read a lot. Be it a book, a newspaper column, an online blog post, or a label on a soap bottle. Especially in English. This is really useful for EPTS students because while English isn’t our first language, most of the learning is done in English. It isn’t a secret that reading improves your English skills. When English becomes easier, everything becomes easier.


4) Don’t forget to sleep. I used to be the kind of person that would boast about how little sleep I got last night, and how much work finished because of that. Don’t. It’s not cool. Chronic sleep deprivation will mess up your life more than you may think: it killed my ability to think clearly, made me moody all the time (which harms my relationships with people. I’m surprised I still have friends and my family tolerated me), and hurt my health. By the end of M6, I was feeling generally horrible everyday. Sleep, please.

5) Stick in there guys --- look forward to summer post--graduation. I know that me and a couple of my classmates had our own individual bucket list in order to keep us going when we were stressed out with school+college applications :D

Final note: Our opinions, like most opinions, should be taken with a grain of salt. We try to be as helpful as possible, but what worked for us might not work for you!

Contributors Fon - Pimvipa [email protected]

Roong - Raksarat [email protected]

Pippin - Wanwares [email protected]

Nuss - Nussaba [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]








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Advice to EPTS Students · 2014. 8. 15. · college (knowing what you want to major in and what college(s) you would apply to would here a lot here!). Then, I would go ahead and formulate