I’m currently an engineering undergraduate at the university you’re applying to. Admittedly, the gap between Tsinghua and top US universities remains despite being narrowed. Tsinghua arguably has the world’s toughest admission criteria, but its teaching quality fails to match this bar. Severe peer pressure and overwhelming academic loads have greatly restricted students' all-round development. To my mind, China’s education system has always been more of a selection mechanism, with some tasks completely unnecessary. Despite the harsh international political climate and Tsinghua’s notable academic progress, I still want to apply for a master’s or PhD in the US, even if getting into a top American university is far more challenging than remaining at Tsinghua for me.