中英双语 关于美国大学的招生流程,你必须要知道的四件事

又到了一年一度的期末+申请白热化阶段。上周小编发了五个关于申请转学的小知识。今天，小编就带着各位苦苦等待offer的同学们看看美国高校招生流程中几个不为人知的facts~总的来说，早申请，个性化文书是申请的绝佳利器！祝各位同学期末愉快！申请顺利！^_^ 有问题可以随时留言给小编，或者加术妹微信联系她哦！（微信ID: may-xia）

International students should submit a diverse admissions portfolio and weigh early application options at U.S. colleges.

国际学生申请美国学校，要尽早提交具有个性化的申请资料。

As a prospective international student, maybe you’ve been thinking about studying abroad for some time, but haven’t decided yet which country to go to. There are, of course, many countries with top-notch universities. However, there are some ways that U.S. universities differ from those in many other countries, especially when it comes to the undergraduate admissions process.

作为一名视野超前的国际学生，你可能已经在考虑花时间出国“镀个金”，但对于去哪个国家仍旧举棋不定。当然，世界上许多国家都有顶尖的大学，但如果你心仪的大学在美国，那么在申请美国学校，尤其是申请本科时，以下一些区别于其他国家的差异是需要特别注意的。

一丶美国大学没有统一标准的录取流程
The U.S. does not have a centralized admissions process. As you may already know, you can apply to any university you want, and to as many universities as you want, in the U.S. Unlike many countries, the U.S. does not have a centralized admissions process, which can be both a good and bad thing.

It’s a good thing because it gives you more liberty and freedom in choosing which schools to apply to, but it also means much more work on your part, because you then need to prepare different applications for different universities.

If you are looking to study somewhere with a wider variety of opportunities, then the U.S. could be the right place for you. Not only do you get to meet people from all around the world, but you also can become a well-rounded person.

众所周知，一个学生可以申请任何一所他/她想去的美国大学，不限地点，不限数量。不同于其他国家，美国大学的录取流程是相对“随意”的，不统一也无标准。这种“随意”可是一把***，对学生而言，未必值得欢呼雀跃。一方面你对学校的选择可以更自由，另一方面也意味着要在申请上付诸更多的精力：因为要申请多所学校，就需要准备多份不同的申请材料。美国不会限制学生的选择与机遇，如果你热爱尝试，偏好挑战，那么美国就是你的首选：在这里不仅能够结识来自世界各地的朋友，更重要的，是可以成为一个全面发展的人。

二丶谨慎使用你的优先考虑权（ED）
Many colleges give the ability to apply early decision. Applying early decision is another concept that is pretty foreign to students outside of the U.S. Basically, if you really like a university and are set on that university as your top choice, early decision gives you the opportunity to apply and be accepted at an earlier date to that university.

However, there are certain restrictions. You can typically only apply early decision to one university, and are required to attend if you are admitted.
The chances of getting accepted through early decision are higher than applying through the normal admissions processes, and getting accepted through early decision helps you avoid a stressful spring waiting for admissions decisions.

优先考虑权在大家脑海中可能是个比较陌生的概念。它的意思是：如果你很确定某所大学将会是你的第一选择，那么你可以向该大学申请优先考虑，这样学校的招生部门就会优先审核你的材料，提**虑是否录取你。优先考虑这意味着，你被该大学录取的概率会比经过普通申请流程下录取的概率更大，同时还可以省掉漫长的等待时间。但是使用优先考虑权也有弊端，因为一旦被该学校录取，就必须入学，不可以再考虑或对比其他更好的学校了。

三丶分数不是唯一，你才是唯一！


U.S. colleges employ a holistic admission process. Unlike that of universities in some other countries, the admissions process for U.S. universities is rather difficult. Students need more than just good grades to get accepted into top-notch universities.

Most U.S. college admissions committees believe that students need to do well academically as well as participate in extracurricular activities. And even if you are a chemistry major, you will still need to take classes in subjects like history and sociology.

This requirement to be well-rounded means that U.S. college admissions offices typically ask students for a number of things as part of an application, including SAT or ACT scores, TOEFL results, recommendation letters and personal statements and essays.

The personal statement is a type of essay where applicants can highlight traits or information that might not be expressed on a transcript. It’s a chance to show a different side of yourself, and a chance to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

Although this makes the application process somewhat more difficult, it can also make it easier. Maybe you didn’t do as well in terms of academics, but showed passion and dedication through related activities outside of the classroom. There is still a possibility that the university will show interest in you and give you a chance.

随意并不以为着降低要求，相反，美国大学的录取流程相较其他国家更为严格。想要进入顶尖大学，优异的成绩是远远不够的。大部分美国学校都要求学生在保持好分数的同时，知识更全面，课余活动更丰富。哪怕你是化学专业的学生，仍然需要选修历史丶社会学这些课程。在这种鼓励学生全面发展的思路下，招生办公室对学生多方面个性化的材料要求更高，除了SAT丶CAT丶托福成绩，推荐信丶个人陈述和范文也是相当有分量的。其中学生需要在个人陈述充分展示一个独一无二的“你”，突出那些成绩单上无法显示的闪光点。个人陈述相当重要，和你考相同分数的人也许很多，但个人陈述就要向招生官证明你不同于其他人的地方，为什么招生官要录取你，而不是别人。

看到这你也许压力山大，但是换个角度分析，申请其实变得容易了。因为没有对考试分数的严苛要求，没有对学习成绩的极高标杆，通过个人爱好丶课外兴趣丶其它活动来弥补成绩的短板，向别人展示自己的特点和不可取代之处，也是申请成功的绝佳办法。美国大学非常欣赏富有个性的学生，珍惜他们的方式，就是一张宝贵的录取通知书。


四丶专业选择？你可以再等一等……



U.S. colleges offer a variety of majors and don't require students to declare immediately. I personally found it very interesting that students at many U.S. colleges can attend university as an "undecided" major － up to the end of their second year, in some cases. In contrast, the education system in my home country asked that applicants most definitely have a concrete idea of what they want to study and what they want to do with their lives by the time they apply.

In fact, applying to universities in my home country means applying to a specific program. However, in my experience, U.S. universities give students the first two years to experiment with different courses and see what they are most interested in － which means students are less likely to waste money doing things they don’t enjoy.

There is also an incredibly wide range of courses and majors to choose from at U.S. colleges. This can be overwhelming at first, but on the other hand, it lets you explore many more fields. It also gives you the opportunity to learn things you would never have the opportunity to learn outside the U.S., and how to think through different perspectives.

我个人认为，在美国大学，新生入校时不强求立马决定就读专业，学生经过两年的学习后再选择感兴趣的方向，是一项十分聪明的规定。反观不少国家的学校，都要求学生在申请时就决定好自己未来几年的专业方向，甚至是这辈子赖以生存的谋生领域，对于初出茅庐的高中生来说，难度会不会也太大了？如果考虑不够全面，选择并不成熟，一段时间下来发现这个专业自己并不了解不喜欢不擅长，那可就是“一失足成千古恨”了！

美国大学的专业设置多种多样，一开始学生很可能会挑花了眼，但学校会给大家充分的时间和自由尽可能接触更多的课程，然后再慎重决定自己最感兴趣的方向，从而避免时间和金钱上的浪费。而且美国大学的课程五花八门，遇到僵尸该怎么办？想提升LOL游戏技能？……你们国家的大学恐怕不会教这些吧。而在美国大学，想你所想，学你所爱，永远鼓励学生从不一样的角度思考与学习！