At California’s competitive Lowell High School, many students are from working-class Asian families, and they’re struggling to get into Ivy League colleges.
Premieres Monday, May 2, 2022 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / On demand with PBS Video App. San Francisco's Lowell High, one of the best public schools in the country, draws high achievers from across the city into a fiercely competitive universe. Follow seniors as the pressure to impress admissions officers at elite universities intensifies.
Debbie Lum talks about filming Try Harder!, what it's like to "return" to the hallowed halls of Lowell High School for longer than it takes to actually go through high school, and how these students break free from stereotypes about Asian Americans.