 She is the number one trendiest academic coach on YouTube, getting millions of views, telling you how to get straight A's. We got Wayme in the house. Yeah! Thank you for joining us today. You're also a product of hyperacademic focused Chinese parents. Yes, indeed. But now you're giving free game out to the world, right? Mm-hmm. That's what I do. Tell us what you do. Okay, sure. So I'm Amy. I'm a YouTuber. I graduated from Caltech, where I study chemical engineering. And after graduating, I worked a couple years in business management consulting, but now I help students and, you know, just young people in general help reach their potential to succeed in academics and beyond. Wow, Amy, you are doing everything I want my kid to do, except you are doing it for free. Why? Why do you do this for free? You could get paid so much money consulting for college essays. Yeah. For sure, for sure. So I've considered, you know, selling this kind of things, but YouTube, I think, is probably the best platform to reach the most people without people caring like who you are to start. And I actually started YouTube because I wanted to share about Caltech, which is an extremely unique school. It's like Hogwarts, but you don't see day in the life of a Caltech student like for Stanford. So I started that first and I got tons of good feedback from students like, help me with this, help me with that. And to feel that fulfillment and direct impact, that was like a positive feedback loop. No, that's dope. I mean, you know what the funny thing is in Asia, there have always been like superstar like college consultants or like these academic tutors or like famous mathematicians. But in the U.S., there are absolutely none. Yeah. Oh, we that's not cool, bro. Out here, we don't care about if you're a tutor, bro. Do you feel like the U.S. in a way is like kind of like a it's weird. I always thought the U.S. was weird because they really value smart people to run industries here and like come up with new technologies to boost the stock prices and make all these products. But on a pop cultural level, it's kind of like anti intellectual. Yes, for sure. I think it's only cool if you can make money and they use you to make money, right? Right. Right. Right. But yeah, I can't even name a famous nerd like a famous academic like other than Neil deGrasse Tyson, you know, but like really, who else can you name? That's like a famous nerd after Bill Nye the science guy, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Who? Oppenheimer. But even Oppenheimer, he only was cool after they got Killian Murphy to play him. He didn't look like Killian Murphy. Nobody knew. Nobody was talking about Oppie until the movie dropped. All right. Oppie. Yeah. I guess I want to talk about like, are you teaching kids? How important are grades nowadays? Like, are you or do you think you're teaching kids how to be the best student because being the best student is the most important thing in life? Or what is your whole view on it? Because obviously you value academics. You achieved a lot on your own without with minimal help, you know, outside help. But like, are grades the most important thing that people need to think about? Where does it ring? Yeah. So the bottom line is that grades are definitely not the most important thing. I am a strong believer that with the right work ethic, mindsets and techniques, you can achieve anything you want in life. But the avenue by which I bring these concepts and stories is through academics because those are what students latch onto because they're desperate for these tips. And I think that's how I can actually reach the people who need that. Right. So do you feel like a lot of your viewership is kids who want to get scholarships, go to elite institutions, get into Ivy League schools? Will it work if they're just doing it for their parents? Or do they have to be intrinsically motivated? Because like, for example, you yourself, you're saying that you have a lot of self-discipline, right? And I don't know if I guess can you get into that? Like the intrinsic motivation versus I'm just doing this because my parents told me too. I don't actually want to do it. Yeah. There's definitely a lot of people who do well because they're forced to. You know, a lot of kids who go to Caltech, they might be forced as well. But I think that overall, my audience is not only people who want to go to elite institutions, they're also just kids who want to please their parents to do what they think is right in life, which as a kid, that's probably academics outside of being cool. So that's why I think that by giving more of the perspective of intrinsic motivation, kids feel less forced and probably happier overall to maybe chase their own dreams with the work ethic. Is there some sense that like, if you're helping this person get into the best college possible, whether it be Ivy League, maybe it's not, whatever, even if it's just UCLA, or even just their state school, right? These things still matter. That you're also just trying to be like a non-weird, awkward tutor-consultant. You know what I mean? You're trying to show that you can be normal and have gotten a 4.0 GP and done all this on your AP tests and stuff like that. Yeah, exactly. So it's kind of ironic that I'm making academic videos like a nerd, but what I'm trying to do is show that you can be anything you want to be. Being a nerd doesn't mean that you get a 4.0. Having 4.0 can also mean you play sports. You can be a YouTuber. You can potentially later become someone in media or anything like that. And again, it just comes from, you know, like who you are instead of what you do. Did you get the idea from Asia at all, where like there are like superstar tutors and like mathematicians and stuff like that? Yeah, I did not. Okay, share with us a little bit of content for the people who haven't watched through all your content. What are some secrets or some tips quickly that people should be thinking about more when it comes to like applying for colleges? Like this is for all the people out there who are like, you know, didn't go to college yet. Okay. Yeah. So what I made the mistake of doing is that I was focused too much on what I thought I was good at, which was math competitions. And I didn't embrace the parts of like being creative like I am now. So I think that if I had tried more things and discovered that sooner, my life would be on a completely different trajectory and potentially gotten into an Ivy League per se. And yeah. You would have went to Harvard and then been in the creative writing or written for the Harvard newspaper versus like going to Caltech, which is like a hyper stem school. So you doubled down on math club, essentially, when you could have showed that you had a creative side as well. And then maybe because you you're a Stanford reject, correct? Yes, I was. Yes. No, that was the first video I've seen of yours a couple years ago, right? That went really viral, right? Yes. I guess like do what is why why? Hold on. I had a question. Oh, three, two, one. Being a model minority, let's talk about that real quick, because I feel like your channel in a comical way, I would say is like very model minority, right? You're teaching kids like the tips and tricks to be to get into the best college, which is one of the things that model minorities care about. What do you think about the model minority myth? Do you think it's a myth? Do you think it's true? Do you think it's misunderstood? How do you feel about it? Because you made like a video about it. Yeah, so it's actually more of a concept I learned recently and how I understand it is that it's categorizing all Asian Americans as a stereotypical successful academically sound person. So the question was like whether it's harmful or like how harmful is it? Yeah, so I think that the harm comes from putting all Asian Americans together and not looking at us as individuals and related to that. The second point would be to make, especially young Asian Americans feel like they're boxed into this, this stereotype that if we don't do well in math, then we have not met anyone's expectations. But it kind of goes with like my story where I want to show that our work ethic and our mindsets on all these things and who we are can be more than the stereotype. What do you do you think that, but doesn't it feel like that the model minority, a lot, there are a lot of Asians that fall under the model minority? Yeah, yeah, I agree. Where you would have to say you fall under, even my family, I would say the trajectory of what we could have been would fall more into that. But I guess like it's true for just a large number of people, right? Yeah, yeah, stereotypes all have some truth to it. So I wouldn't say it's like a myth completely, because a lot of Asians are good at math, a lot of Asians go to top schools and things like that. So I think it's all about how we use that to still be our own person, but to realize that, you know, as a culture, we have these kinds of things we value. No, for sure. I mean, I think it's interesting, like, I guess, do you feel like it's just being Chinese? Just Chinese people, I'm not saying that other Asians don't value it as well, right? But they might be at a seven out of 10, six out of 10, eight out of 10, nine out of 10. But I feel like Chinese parents, they value the elite academic institutions at a 10 out of 10. Yeah, for sure. Chinese are the most hardcore out there, man. Yeah, why why do we think that is? Like, I mean, I think we've talked about on this channel a number of times, but like, I guess your perspective, like, why do you think Chinese seem to be a not all Chinese is not all China. We know Chinese who did not grow up thinking about academics as much. So it's not every Chinese family, of course, but it does seem like that as far as the numbers wise, Chinese care the most. So I don't know like all the history behind, you know, like Chinese, Korean, Japanese, but I do think that's because of the like government and culture in China. That's it's a little more restrictive such that they can't develop as much autonomy. And that autonomy comes from, you know, believing that other things should also be valued in life outside of academics, right? So my parents, when they came from China, they kind of were frozen in time with that mindset. So they didn't adapt to China growing and they didn't adapt to the US culture. And that's why immigrant Chinese parents are so like hardcore about academics and Harvard and all that stuff. Yeah, I mean, I think it's they what they see it as the only way because that's all that they know. If it's the only thing you know, then I guess logically speaking, you are going to push your kid into it. Yeah, for sure. They see it as the only way to really build a stable life for yourself. Because they didn't think about being an entrepreneur when they were growing up in China. So do you have a lot of Chinese parents being like, Oh my gosh, thank you. Wayme, you are making it cool and you're doing my job for me and you're like saving me a lot of you're saving me a lot of money on college consultations. Chinese parents must love you right now. Because they're like, Oh, hey, Charles, I just saw this new YouTuber. Wayme, you should check her out. She is my favorite. There's definitely some kids that got Wayme videos on loop right now. Like they're like six years old. Yeah, no, I think some kids probably hate me because their parents put it on in the living room because I've heard some parents have called me up and be like, Hey, like we play your videos on the living room TV and we take notes and stuff and then like other Chinese parents and I'm like, the kid wanted to watch like the Avengers or anime. It's just way me on the screen. I'm like so embarrassed. I'm like, bro, that's not what I want on my screen. He's like, Mom, I studied six hours so I could watch YouTube. Yes, this is YouTube. Wayme is on YouTube. Watch YouTube. That's the whole reason I got the YouTube premium. I think that you know what? I always wish that I had and I think this would have helped me get into more elite institutions. I ended up getting a small partial scholarship to my state institution, but I think that had I had a group of friends that were well rounded, that also cared about being cool and fashion and stuff like that, but also were really locked into every rep, you know, treating it like a sport varsity, getting into good schools of varsity sport. I didn't have that at my high school. My score, I think you're in a similar situation. My high school was like super blue collar, hyper sports centric. The richest guy I ever went to school with went to the NBA. Like there's no like Jeff Bezos or like private equity guys or like even like obviously all the crypto guys are in jail now, but like even anybody from the crypto genius world or Zuckerbergs that came from my high school, you know what I mean? So I just don't feel like I had that crowd that made it acceptable to me. I was like always fighting my parents because I just saw that it wasn't cool at my high school. Exactly. And that's all kids care about was being cool at that age. So like to have an example to look up to someone I try to be and we can see that also in like the media now, like with more Asian actors, I feel definitely a lot more pride in that. Yeah, I'm also feeling like, yeah, basically if you feel like your community will ostracize you for doing something, you are so much less likely to do it. So like if you feel uncool at school, you're talking about tribalistic social norms. Yeah, because within your immediate environment and immediate tribe, if you feel uncool when you do something, you are going to be less likely to do it, right? Every community has this dynamic but with different things. That's a good point. Did you have that group at school or were you just the outlier that was like hyper motivated where you didn't need that around you? Because I needed the gang. I needed the Ivy League nerd gang and I didn't have it. Yeah, man, I wish I had a gang in high school. My high school is very, very white. My two best friends were Asian and I think they were very studious but I was also involved in sports. So I feel like I worked hard knowing that that's what I wanted, but I had to hide that from my peers. Like I wouldn't say I was doing math competitions on a weekend and things like that. Right, you would not tell that to your other teammates. Yeah, what sports did you play? I played basketball and tennis. Oh, so you know when you're on the basketball team, you can't tell them you're also going to the math competition. Did that ever conflict your math competitions and basketball season? Honestly, they didn't conflict that much, but I think I would actually go to the basketball games over math competitions. Right, right. I'm shocked that you picked basketball over math competition. I got a funny story. Disgrace. My National Forensics League debate coach, I left my final round of impromptu at the state competition. Essentially I left, I ended up not making it, but I left before it even got announced if I made the final round or not to go to the state championship basketball game. And my debate coach never forgave me ever. Of course not. But I wasn't on the team. I played on the sophomore basketball team, but I was still watching my friends on varsity compete for the state championship. And I remember I left and Ms. DeMell, shout out to Ms. DeMell. She never forgave me for that because I was obviously choosing to be cool over being a nerd. Right, right. I guess did you know that you weren't going to make it? Is that you had a strong feeling? So basically I purposely did bad my final round to not have to go to, wow. Because first of all, it was just impromptu. That is considered like the most BS. Like it's not like Lincoln Douglas. Within the debate world, it's like a very low ranked activity, but she was like, so she was like anti jock. You know what I mean? Like some of the teachers at school are like super jockish and some of them are like, the only teacher who believed in you, David, you disappointed it is true. The basketball coach has never believed in me as much as my debate coach believed in me. And you just went over there to watch your friends. I'm just speaking to this like push and pull of what I knew was cool and what I knew was like they ain't got TV cameras at the that state championship basketball game was on TV. Oh, they ain't got the debate championships on TV. Yeah, it was a big game. It was a big game. You know, as a lover of sports, I think people would understand. But yeah, I mean, geez. Well, how'd you do it, David? But yeah, overall, I guess like, how do you feel about now being a full time creator when you were a consultant, you might go to MIT for MBA, right? And so are you being a creator just in this in between time? Or do you think it's actually going to be a career? Are you just like, this is like a fun phase in my life? I got to do this. Or or you're like, Hey, hold on, like this could lead to other things. Yeah. So for context, I do have an offer from MIT for an MBA. So I'm in the period where I have a full time job. And being a full time creator has honestly been amazing so far. I've met so many amazing people that I think I vibe with more. And I think that I'm using this deferral period as the chance to grow as much as I can, because ultimately, I would love to make this a career, because I love impacting people directly. I'd like to, you know, expand my brand into potentially more traditional forms of media. With that being said, when I first started full time, it was a lot of inner conflict because I'm like wasting all my tech skills and experience. And I'm disappointing my parents. This is not stable. But I came to terms with that everything in life has struggles, but it's about what struggle you're willing to pick. And so it's a lot more stressful than my consulting job, actually, but I enjoy it way more. Has anybody asked you to start the more modern Gen Z Kaplan? They're like, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wayme, you could be the CEO of a new Kaplan. Oh my gosh. Yeah. You know, I saw the valuations for this educational learning company in China. It's worth billions. Yeah, definitely some crazy comments like that. Your parents would be like, Wayme, you know, if you start that Kaplan's competitor, we will invest in your company. If you continue to be a YouTuber, I cannot say that I will support you. Is there some vibes like that? I don't know. Shout out your parents. But you know what? I gotta give you kudos though, because your videos are engaging. They're Gen Z coded. It's gonna make it like the information that's out there more fun to watch. And you put a lot of unique stories in it, right? Because you want people to actually enjoy watching it, right? Versus picking up a book and it's dry and you hate it. Exactly. Thank you. And yeah, I didn't watch study videos myself. So when I watched one just out of fun, I was like, this is kind of boring, you know, like, why would we want to watch this? We already study enough in our textbook. So I was like, I have a lot to say, but I have more fun ways to say it. And yeah, I want to, we'll probably close it up soon. But I do want you to give some basic advice to a kid. Imagine you're talking to a kid who's from a similar situation in like Virginia, like a non fully Asian area, doesn't have a big, strong community, has parents who expect a lot from them academically. Maybe at times feels lonely. One of the few Asian kids still a common story nowadays, even in 2024 still happens. I guess, what is some advice to them on how to, I guess, maintain focus or, you know, to live a balanced life? I think a lot of it comes from seeing other people like you, whether it's in the media or on YouTube. So I grew up watching some like Niga Higa or like you guys, the fun grows. And that made me feel a lot less alone and more proud of, you know, my background. And in terms of staying focused and keeping an eye on what you want, what your parents want instead of being pressured to be cool. I think at the end of the day, you want to think about the person you want to be in 10 years because the cool high school people will not be that cool down the road. Like I can promise you that. So it's like, would you rather spend 10 years grinding and trying to find out who you are and then live a more comfortable life? Or would you rather, you know, be cool and be pressured by other people now and then later be struggling a lot more for way more years down the road? So I think that's how I think about it. What about advice for a kid? This is a funny exercise advice for a kid who doesn't want to focus on academics, but their parents are pressuring them, but they just know it's not for them. And they just it's it's it's eating their soul right now to pretend like they want to be a doctor or go to Caltech or go to MIT. And I think sooner or later it's going to blow up because you want to live your life as you, right? So even if you become a doctor later, you're going to want to quit no matter what because you already see it's not you. So, you know, it's hard to confront your aging parents, but it's going to happen sooner or later so you can try sooner. And if you're not putting your energy in academics know that you have a lot of potential doing something else. Everyone has their own strengths. So find that other thing yet that you can be really good at. And once your parents see that you're really good at that thing, then they'll probably be excited. As long as you're not wasting your time, I think that's that's what I would recommend. No, I think that's really true, man. Like not everybody is going to be successful in the way their parents envision, but it's not necessarily that you're not going to find your own path. And whatever you can do where you feel like it's not grueling, then you can just keep attacking it and just ride that path up the mountain, even though it's not one of the three or four paths that your parents set in front of you. Yeah, it's always like I always say compared to being like a robot vacuum, you know, like if the robot vacuum is really like set on its mission, it doesn't matter how many things it hits, it's going to find its way and it's going to end up cleaning the room or achieving its mission. And it's just like your parents might may or may not understand it, depending on like how old world they are. Yeah, exactly. If you do something you like, you're probably going to be better at it anyway. So yeah, that's true. All right, everybody, check out Amy's videos down below. Some of your big hit videos or what, how to get straight A's, why you got rejected from Stanford. Yep. There's also you made a video about fair admission. So you can see a perspective on that because that was obviously a big issue for a lot of Asians. But yeah, check it out. Shout out to Wayme. If you were in Asia, your face would be like on billboards everywhere. Oh man. That's how they do it. That's how they do the all star tutors. Wayme, you are automatically Chinese parents favorite YouTuber. My dad's going to watch this and be like text me. Hey, you know that Wayme girl is she single? Andrew, you should. All right, everybody, thank you so much for watching. Leave it in the comments down below. And until next time, we out. Peace.