招生官看中申請人身上哪些特質

What Admissions Officers Look For in Ideal College Students

After it was recently released that Harvard rated Asian-American applicants lower on personality traits than applicants of other races, many started to raise questions about how college admission officers evaluate intangible criteria, such as personality and fit. How do they determine “likeability,” “courage,” or if someone is ‘widely respected?”

哈佛大學(Harvard)最近發布的一份報告顯示，亞裔申請人在性格特征方面的得分低于其他種族的申請人。此后，許多人開始質疑大學招生官員如何評估無形的標準，比如個性和契合度。他們如何判斷一個人的“好感度”、“勇氣”，或者“是否受到廣泛尊重”?;

Previous admissions officers and education scholars have come forward to further explain the use of personality traits in the admissions process, and we are realizing more and more that it’s not science.

以前的招生官員和教育學者已經站出來進一步解釋在招生過程中使用個性特征，然而我們越來越意識到這是不科學的。;

To evaluate soft traits in college applications, most admissions officers perform what is called a “holistic admissions process” that takes personality traits as well as hard facts, like test scores, extracurriculars, and grades into considerations. Other factors, such as letters of recommendation, college essays, and school rankings are considered as well. However, the main thing that differs between schools is which personality traits are considered and how they are ranked and evaluated. The hardest part is that most school admissions officers don’t want to reveal the criteria that is being used since once it is a measurable it becomes “gameable.”

為了評估大學申請中的軟特質，大多數招生官都會進行所謂的“全面錄取過程”，既要考慮性格特質，也要考慮硬條件，比如考試成績、課外活動和學校成績。其他因素，如推薦信、大學申請文書和高中學校排名也被考慮在內。然而，不同學校之間的主要區別在于考慮了哪些性格特征，以及如何對它們進行排名和評估。最困難的部分是，大多數學校的招生官員不想透露正在使用的錄取標準，因為一旦它是可測量的，它就變成了“賭博”。

Some schools will look at traits such as kindness, courage, and emotional intelligence, while other schools will value self-efficacy, creativity, and leadership. In general, schools tend to look or traits that reflect the college’s values or that make a student a good fit for a specific institution.School’s also consider what traits may help to predict success in both college and later career. Most college admissions officers believe that if retention rates are strong then the criteria they are using to evaluate applicants is working.

一些學校會注重諸如善良、勇氣和情商等特質，而另一些學校則注重自我效能感、創造力和領導力。一般來說，學校的外表或特點往往反映了學校的價值觀，或使學生適合某一特定學校。學校還考慮了可能有助于預測大學和未來職業生涯成功的特質。大多數大學招生官認為，如果留級率很高，那么他們用來評估申請者的標準就會起作用。

For example, certain Ivy League schools, such as Columbia, take a very holistic approach to understand what motivates students most. They consider what contributions a student could make to a Columbia classroom and also what that candidate might offer their Columbia classmates. Within this holistic approach, Columbia considers curriculum and grades as well as context (like family circumstances, secondary school, community, interests and access to resources), extracurricular activities, character, fit, and finally, recommendations from others that provide evidence of intellectual curiosity and promise, classroom and school and community participation, and overall potential for the candidate to make an impact at Columbia in the classroom and beyond.;

例如，某些常春藤盟校，如哥倫比亞大學，采取一種非常全面的方法來了解學生的最大動力是什么。他們會考慮：一個學生可以為哥倫比亞大學的課堂做出什么貢獻，以及這個候選人可能會給他們的哥倫比亞大學同學提供什么。在這個整體分析中,哥倫比亞大學認為課程和成績以及其他背景(如家庭環境、所在中學、所在社區、興趣和資源豐富程度),課外活動,性格,健康,最后是推薦信都非常重要。推薦信提供證據來表明申請人的求知欲和言而有信,課堂和校園活動及社區活動參與力度,最終表明候選人即將在哥倫比亞大學產生重大積極影響的潛力。

However, subtle differences in criteria reveal differences in college’s values, and some of these differences can even be noted amongst admissions officers at the same universities. Colleges hold meetings every year to ensure that the admissions rubric is being applied the same way by all admissions staff. They aim to find concrete examples of the desirable qualities as they relate to various components of the application, like the personal statements, letters of recommendations, and interviews.

然而，標準上的細微差異揭示了大學價值觀的差異，其中一些差異甚至可以在同一所大學的招生人員中發現。大學每年都會召開會議，以確保所有招生人員都能以同樣的方式對待申請入學的學生。他們的目標是找到與申請的各個組成部分相關的理想品質的具體例子，比如個人陳述、推薦信和面試。

Most importantly, admissions officers say they look for a “hook” in an applicant’s file, but just what that is, is hard to define and it varies between different schools. The key for students applying to universities is to try to connect with the admissions officers in the best way they possibly can. This means portraying relatable and likeable traits that show mature thinking and actions beyond most of their peers. Highlight individual personalities and uniqueness and connect with readers by opening up and avoiding trite phrases and wording.

最重要的是，招生官員表示，他們會在申請人的檔案中尋找“掛鉤(即最吸引人的因素）”，但具體是什么，很難定義，而且在不同的學校之間也有所不同。對于申請大學的學生來說，關鍵是要盡可能地與招生人員聯系在一起。這意味著要描繪出能讓人產生共鳴、討人喜歡的特質，這些特質比大多數同齡人表現出更成熟的思維和行動。突出個性和獨特性，打開思路，避免陳詞濫調，文書要與讀者建立聯系。

The admissions process is always developing and evolving in order to help give students that deserve it an advantage. Of course, the process will never be perfect, but the aim of the holistic approach is to ensure that all aspects of the college application are considered fully, fairly, and equally

招生過程一直在發展和演變，以便幫助那些理應獲得優勢的學生。當然，這個過程永遠不會完美，但整體方法的目的是確保大學申請的所有方面都得到充分、公平、平等的考慮。;

最后，小編總結一下2020FALL入學申請季已經拉開序幕，早批錄取最早截止日期是10.15號，首先希望參加北美8.24 SAT考試的學生旗開得勝，另外各位正在努力配合文書的同學們繼續堅持哦，讓我們進入申請遞交倒計時，期待各位同學在四個月后錄取通知書拿到手軟。