Chung spent the early years of her education in traditional Chinese schools where, she said, from first grade on students deal with the pressures of midterms, finals and class rankings that were used as opportunities for parents to boast about their children’s success…

“It wasn’t about going to school and finger painting. It was about studying,” she said.
Recreational activities were not emphasized the way they are in U.S schools. During exam time, the few recreational outlets students had, such as physical education, would be “sacrificed” in favor of studying sessions, she said…

In contrast to traditional Chinese school, where there was “no time to slack off,” and the atmosphere was intensely competitive, Chung said her school in Canada was relaxed and more about trying out various areas of study and extracurricular activities…

Chung also faced a situation familiar to many new students, international or not: discovering that she was no longer the smartest student in class.

“I didn’t expect UCLA to be so challenging,” she said. “I have to work really hard just to be mediocre.”

Source: Daily Bruin
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?id=38562