講座實錄 | 美籍白人哥倫比亞大學畢業生為你講述美國留學申請的那點事兒

轉自Global Dreams

背景

上周，我們舉辦了一次微信群的免費講座。

這次講座由我們公司專業的留學咨詢師Chris Pecaro進行線上分享！Chris先生畢業于美國哥倫比亞大學，是地道的美籍白人，此次講座他主要來給大家講述了申請學校過程中需要注意的一些細節問題，并且詳細的介紹了什么樣的學生才是招生官心目中理想的申請者。

內容分享

Hello everyone, this is Chris Pecaro, I made graduate of Columbia University where I was part of the Columbia University's Scholar's Program which is a fellowship for the top 10% of College Applicants.

大家好，我是Chris Pecaro，我是哥倫比亞大學的畢業生，入校時我在所有的申請者中排名前10%，我也因此獲得了哥倫比亞大學的獎學金項目贊助。

In this session, I will explain the college admission’s process and also answer any question you may have about the application process to elite universities like the Ivy League schools as well as the elite high schools in America.

今天的講座，我會為大家講解美國中學及大學的申請流程，同時回答大家關于美國名校申請的各種問題，尤其是美國常春藤名校的申請流程，我都會一一解答。

Whether you are applying to high school or to college, the process involves 4 or 5 main things, your GPA in terms of grades, your SAT scores or other standardized test scores like ACT or TOEFL, your extracurricular activities, your teacher recommendations, and finally, your essays, a lot people asked me, what is the most important thing here, well, it is hard to really say which is more important than the others, what I would advise is that this is a holistic process where all these aspects are as important as the others.

學生申請美國高中或大學的流程大致包括四到五點：每年的在校成績（GPA）、SAT或者其他標準化考試（ACT、托福、雅思）成績、課外活動、老師推薦信，最后是文書。

很多人問我：這些當中哪一個是最重要的呢？我想說并沒有哪一點一定比另外幾點更加重要，因為美國學校申請是一個注重全面的過程，所以這里提到的每一個方面都是同等重要的。

What I will say is that great SAT scores and great grades can get you into the door, it can get your application onto the desk of the admission office of great universities like Harvard or Yale.

But all of us hear stories every year about students who have perfect SAT scores and 4.

0 GPAs, but they still are not admitted into a top university.

That’s where the more qualifying sides of your application matters once you get on the desk.

The admission officer typically takes 5 min to read your essays and another 5 min to look over your recommendations and extracurricular activities, so that’s where you need to show them that you are interested in and engaged in part of the community.

我想說，出色的標準化考試成績（如SAT、托福）和優異的在校成績可以作為你申請時的敲門磚，形象來說，它們能夠讓你的申請足夠被擺上哈佛、耶魯等名校招生辦公室的臺面，但是我們也都聽說過這樣的故事：有著4.

0滿績點、完美SAT分數的學生依然被名校拒之門外，這說明什么呢？說明好的分數幫助你的申請上了臺面之后，接下來就是你的其他方面來決定你是否能夠被真正錄取。

學校的招生官一般會花費五分鐘的時間來閱讀你的所有文書，然后另畫五分鐘來閱讀你的老師推薦信以及課外經歷，所以文書、推薦信以及課外經歷才是你能夠拿來做文章的點，通過這些方面，你能夠向招生官展示你對于所申請的學校有著極大的興趣，也能夠體現你非常愿意成為這個集體的一份子。

So when you are preparing for a college or high school application, what I would recommend is to begin, obviously taking your grades seriously throughout the process, and work hard to achieve well academically, but also start very early in the standardized tests prep process, what you don't want is to have a test that you have to take maybe a month before the deadline and it’s going to totally alter your application plan based on what score you get.

I really recommend for students to start early, maybe a year to even begin the first test, and really make sure they know the best score they are really capable of achieving.

所以在準備美國大學或者高中的申請時，我會建議學生們：首先認真對待在校分數，努力學習以達到漂亮的成績，同時提前開始準備標準化考試。

我并不提倡拖到申請截止日期前的一個月才進行標準化考試，因為這樣考出來的考試結果非但不會很理想，更會因為不理想的成績影響你整個申請的計劃。

我強烈建議學生們早做準備，甚至可以提前一年開始準備第一次的標準化考試，因為這樣的話，學生就有充足的時間來盡其所能，沖擊心儀的分數。

While the student cannot forget about achieving great grades and also achieving excellent standardized test scores, they must also make sure that these processes aren’t overweighing what maybe the most important part of the application, which is the qualitative side: they need to find some extracurricular activities that they are passionate about, that they are interested in, and show that they are not only going to be someone who is good to have around class, not just someone who is smart and can do well on test.

But someone who is going to make an impact on their community, someone who is going to be able to build a group or community of people around a common interest or a particular passion.

學生們在考慮保證好的在校成績以及標準化考試成績的同時，也需要把握好度，不能純粹因為追求頂尖的定量分數而顧此失彼，疏于打理申請中最重要的“定性部分”：學生需要找到自己所熱衷、感興趣的課外活動，從而證明自己并不只是在課業和考試上表現出色，而是能夠同時為整個集體帶來積極的影響，更能夠凝聚身邊志同道合的人來促成一個集體。

What I would recommend parents is to encourage your student to follow their passions and dreams.

That may sound a bit contrived, but through my experience working with the admission officers, they can usually tell when a student is taking part of an activity because they love it and that is a passion of theirs, or when they are only taking part of it because their parents are making them doing it every week.

That kind of difference comes out in your essays, in your recommendations, and also in your interviews with colleges.

So, it’s very important to find a student is passionate and curious about what they are doing in the world and what they are learning about.

我建議家長們要多鼓勵孩子積極追求自己的愛好和理想。

這可能聽起來有些矯揉造作，不過根據我與名校招生官打交道的經歷來看，他們往往可以輕易的看出一個學生到底是真的對于一項活動有著發自內心的激情，還是被父母強迫著去機械式地發展一項自己所不認同的愛好。

這種區別是能夠從申請文書、老師推薦信以及與學校的面試中可以看出來的。

所以非常重要的一點就是：學生對于自己所做的以及所學的事情有著絕對的熱情和好奇心。

As far as essays they are very few topics that I would discourage off the bag, any topic can make a great essay, but here is what I will say makes a particularly effective essay, an effective essay is obviously going to use story-telling technics, but it does not have to be the most amazing story anyone has ever thought of, what it can be is making extraordinary observations about one’s ordinary life.

One of the best essays I read this year, for example, was about a student who had been going on jogs for over ten years, jogging itself does not sound like the most interesting topic, in fact, it’s quite ordinary.

But he talked about the process of jogging for years and noticing the ways in which the buildings around him, the skyscrapers in Shanghai were expanding.

And he started to talk about the ways in which technology has a good or bad impact.

就文書來說，沒有什么不可以寫的話題，任何一個話題都可以寫出一篇完美的文書。

到底怎樣寫出一篇膾炙人口的申請文書呢？我想一篇好的文書，當然要將故事娓娓道來，但并不一定要挑一個驚世駭俗的話題來寫，最樸實有效的方式反而是透過獨到細致的眼光來觀察平凡的日常生活。

我今年讀到的最好的申請文書之一，是一位來自上海的學生描寫自己堅持慢跑十多年的故事。

誠然，慢跑本身并不是一件很奇特的事情，相反的，它可以稱得上是非常平庸了。

但是這位學生描寫了在自己堅持慢跑的這些年里，他發現隨著時間的推移，每天慢跑的固定路線周圍逐漸開始升起摩天大樓，由此他深入探討了科技的發展如何給人們的生活帶來好的與壞的影響。

由平凡處發微，論述自己獨立的見解，實為好文書的典范。

So what college admission officers want to see is they want to see the student is feeling and thinking, and can extract strong analytical thoughts and opinions out of the ordinary day, that is going to be the kind of students who are going to be successful in the classroom environment when they pick up the book of Plato, or Ovid, some of the ancient Greek techs, the people are able to see the transcendent aspects, the extraordinary aspects of everyday life, that is what really, for me, sets apart the good essays from the great.

因此，學校招生官希望透過文書看到學生真實的所感所想，從平凡的日常生活中提煉出耐人尋味的深刻見解，因為這說明該生有著犀利的眼光，能夠幫助他們在未來的課堂環境中出類拔萃。

就像古希臘的思想家柏拉圖、古羅馬的詩人奧維德一樣，這些人能夠發現尋常日子的不尋常之處，我認為這是讓一篇文書脫穎而出的關鍵。

Again, what you have to keep in mind when writing your high school or college essay is, the admission officers are only going to take about 5 min to read your essay.

So, what I recommend to the students is, do anything you can to stand out and appear unique, whether if you are funny, be funny, if you have an interesting story to tell, telling an interesting story.

But it’s very very important that in this brief amount of pages we have, you show yourself as unique, and as thoughtful, and as emotional as possible, those are going to make you the kind of student that they want to be around classroom, and in a dorm and in a college community.

同學們在寫美國高中或大學的申請文書時，需要時刻提醒自己的是：招生官只會花五分鐘左右的時間來閱讀你的所有文書，所以我建議大家“不擇手段”地來打造吸引眼球的文書，如果你是詼諧幽默的人，那就以幽默的口吻來寫；如果你是一個“有故事”的人，那就講一個有趣的故事。

但是最重要的一點是：在有限的篇幅里融入你所有的真情實感，以感性的話語塑造一個獨特的自我形象。

因為這代表著你無論是在教室、宿舍還是校園，都將是一個不可或缺的存在。

When considering a potential college or high school applicant, an admission officer is asking these things: 1, is the student smart enough to attend the school and get good grades and perform well academically; 2, is the student only there to take test and get good grades or, are they actually curious and passionate about what they are learning, are they going to be the kind of person who is challenging others in the classroom, who is asking important questions, who is trying to expand the sense of what we call “Collective Wisdom”, the question being are they going to be good to have in the classroom.

招生官在拿到一份申請時，往往會考慮以下方面：一，學生在硬性方面需要達標，證明該生能夠學有所成；二，學生不應該是所謂的“考試機器”，而是真正熱衷于鉆研所學的知識，他們能夠在課堂上提出質疑、引發討論，同時帶動大家集思廣益，簡單來說就是因教招生。

A potential applicant is not only applying to be a part of classroom but they are also applying to be a part of community, they will be living in the dorms, taking part in the club, starting club, they are going to be active parts of the community.

So, the admission officers want to see that you have leadership abilities, and that you are interested in being positively engaged in a larger community.

More and more, big schools like Columbia and Harvard are pushing this idea of a “Global Citizen”, you are not only interested in making your campus community better, but you are also interested in making a positive impact to the global community.

誠然，一個合格的申請人不單單是在課堂上表現出色，也應該是集體的一份子。

學生將會在宿舍進行集體生活，參與各類社團，甚至是自己創建社團及組織，每個人都應該是集體的一名積極分子。

所以招生官希望申請人有一定的領導才能，時刻準備著參與到更大的集體中去。

現如今，越來越多的名校，如哥大、哈佛等，開始注重推廣“世界公民”的概念，一名世界公民不單單能夠讓“學校”這個集體不斷提升，更能為“世界”這個大集體帶來積極的影響。

If you can prove these few things that you are smart, curious, passionate, that you are going to be a person to have around the classroom, and a good person to have around the community, who wants to be a leader, and wants to make a positive difference in the campus community and beyond, you are the ideal college applicant.

So, pursue ways in which you are giving passion and you are giving experiences that can lead to a vision of you who expresses these attributes.

如果你可以證明自己良好的學習能力、強烈的好奇心以及源源不斷的熱情，那就說明你是每一個課堂、每一個集體所需要的一份子，能夠為學校甚至是以外的集體做出貢獻，這樣的學生，稱得上是一名理想的申請人。

所以請同學們以飽滿的熱情去打造一個獨特又重要的你。

I think the last thing that I want to talk about is the major selection.

We touched upon this with our essays, but remember, there are thousands and thousands of people applying for each space that is being granted in top universities like Ivy League schools.

So, when you are choosing your majors, I think it’s important to show, to express the version of you that is unique to a college admission officer.

So, everyone is trying to be a lawyer, everyone is trying to be a doctor, everyone’s going to do research, are their ways that you can present yourself to separate yourself from the average applicants, that’s going to allow you to stand out.

最后和大家分享一下關于專業選擇的建議。

我們在寫文書時也會涉及到專業的選擇，但是大家要記住，名校的每一個專業每年都有成千上萬的申請者，所以在你選擇專業時，應著重向招生官體現你與該專業獨特的契合度。

在美國，每個人都想成為律師，每個人都想成為醫生，或者是做研究，但時刻謹記，你要找到一種契合，來讓你在茫茫多的申請者中脫穎而出。

Most colleges either allow you to declare your major as undecided or change your major once you get to college.

I changed my major 4 times when I was in college, so when you apply for a major, you are not essentially held to that.

For example, whenever I have a student from a Catholic school, I tell them to say that they are interested in studying Latin because Latin departments at schools are notoriously under-staffed and there are more professors than there are students that are taking the classes.

So, I always encourage you to express your interests in less popular majors, and once you get into the college, you can actually pursue Biology, English and whatever major you are interested in initially.

It’s about being strategic with your application admission.

另外，大多大學（本科教育）允許你在申請時暫時不選擇特定專業，或者是在進入學校后轉專業。

我個人來說，在校期間轉了四次專業，所以當你在申請某個學校的某個專業時，并不代表你未來就無法改變了。

舉個例子來說，我遇到過一些學生來自天主教高中，我讓他們在申請大學時表現出自己對于拉丁語專業的強烈興趣，這是因為美國大學的拉丁語專業出了名的“教授比學生多”，也就更容易進入。

所以同學們可以從不那么熱門的專業入手，進校之后再考慮轉到自己喜歡的專業（如生物、英語等）。

這是申請時可以運用的一種策略。

That's the advice that I want to present initially.

If there are any comments or questions about anything about I've said, I would be happy to continue talking about different aspects of the process.

Thanks.

以上就是我想與大家分享的信息。

如果大家對于我所講的有任何的問題或者想法，可以隨時提出，我很樂意與大家深入討論。

謝謝大家！

提問環節

主持人: Hi Chris, thank you so much, it was a great summary of U. S. school admission process.

Can you please give us some advice about——I believe there are a lot of parents who care about this question——how do their kids find a job after graduation from U. S. universities like Ivy League school?

主持人：謝謝Chris的分享，有關美國學校申請過程的敘述非常的詳細。

如今很多家長關心的問題之一是：剛剛從常春藤畢業的學生如何在美國找工作呢？換句話說，如今，每一位家長都希望孩子進入美國頂尖的學校，而我們也知道，并不是所有的學生都能夠適應頂尖如常春藤學校的環境與節奏。

所以是否就讀于藤校就一定意味著畢業能找到一個好工作？如果不是，那么決定性的因素又是什么？請你為大家講解一下。

Chris: Because to me, I think a lot of parents want their kids to go to the best schools, but at the same time, we all know not every kid can go to the best school, and even though the kids get into the Ivy League schools, they may not survive.

So please explain, what is actually the best for the kids? Are Ivy League Schools the only solution to landing a successful job in the U.

S? Or are there more important factors that can allow a student to find a job after graduation?

I do have some advice about jobs.

What I would say in the current American job market is, especially at school like Columbia or Harvard, pretty much any Ivy League schools besides Cornell, there are actually very few professional majors, some of them have business, then they all have engineering, but otherwise you can be in Latin major, you can be in French major, you can be in English major, you can be in philosophy or anthropology major.

You have to recognize that those are institutions of higher learning and it's an academic program that you are taking part in.

首先我想為大家補充一下這方面的背景知識。

像哥大、哈佛等除了康奈爾之外的藤校里，（本科）大多專業并不是一味為了讓學生找到工作而設立的，這句話可能有點抽象，舉個例子來說：有一些學校確實設立有商科專業，也有一些有工程專業，這些專業在職場中有相對應的職位設置。

但是也可能有些學生是拉丁語、法語或者英語專業的，更有些學生是哲學或者人類學專業的，像這樣的專業就是以“深入研究對應知識”為核心的學術性項目，而不是所謂的“職場”專業。

That's not to say that attending Harvard, Columbia is not going to prepare you to have a job, what typically happens is, if you are in a humanity, you can get a job in business, consulting or education, but the expectation now in the job market is that you are going to be using your opportunities to pursue internships while at school or over the summer, or then also attend graduate schools that specialized in industry or higher learning, and that will allow you to home your professional skills.

這也并不代表，在哈佛、哥大等學校就讀這些非職場性專業，就無法在畢業后找到一份工作，事實上，如果你是從人文類專業畢業的，也能夠在商務、咨詢或者是教育行業找到一份工作。

現如今的美國職場更加要求學生運用在校期間或者寒暑假的時間進行實習積累經驗，或者是在本科畢業后繼續就讀于更加針對職場的研究生項目，因為在這類項目中學生可以學習如何培養專業技能。

This is a really good question Gia thank you for asking.

I know students who didn’t even go to colleges and now they are millionaires by the time of their thirties, and I also know students who had great grades at Ivy League schools, graduated with honors from Columbia and they still don’t really know how to make money and still live with their parents.

So obviously part of this is going to be about your own personality your own ambition and your own ability to network and make a living for yourself, and pursue the skills and talents you have, and utilize them in a way to make a good living.

So, what I would say is, no, not going to an Ivy League school does not mean that you are destined to failure or you are not going to get a good job.

回到主持人問的問題上來，這確實是一個好問題。

我知道很多僅有高中學歷的學生在三十多歲的時候成為了百萬富翁，也見過很多藤校高分畢業生畢業后很多年依舊無法獨立謀生，以至于還在啃老。

所以從某種意義上來說，其實更多的是與你的性格、志向，以及你擴展人脈的能力有關，這能決定你如何運用這些能力和天賦來獨立謀生。

所以我的回答是否，不就讀于藤校并不代表你就注定失敗，更不代表你不能找到一個好的工作。

What I will say is that attending an elite school like an Ivy League school or a top 20, 30 schools will make things easier.

Doors are open for me because I went to Columbia that isn’t open for someone if they went to Ohio State in the same way.

Furthermore, just the people that I’ve met throughout my time at Columbia, the friends I’ve made, the professors that I’ve had, the people that I’ve contacted with have been the most valuable aspects that I’ve had in the process.

Because the people that I’ve networked with are highly talented, highly connected and highly successful.

So, I always encourage students to go to schools with the best sense of prestige, because those are where the community will help you succeed academically and professionally.

我想說的是，上常春藤聯盟這樣的精英學校或者說前20—30的學校，會讓你的生活變得更容易。

因為我去了頂尖學府哥大，我可以享受到很多其他學校學生所接觸不到的資源。

大門對于我來講是開放的，然而如果相同的條件下去了俄亥俄州立，那么這些大門將不會開放。

此外，我在哥大上學期間遇到的那些人，我所有的朋友，我的教授，我接觸到的所有人都是我所擁有的最優價值的方面。

因為他們都非常有才華，在各自的領域都非常成功。

所以，我總鼓勵學生去名校，因為好的圈子會使你變得更學術，更專業。

Q: 請問孩子在美國布蘭迪斯商學院學的金融，本科國內上的，專業是人力資源。

是不是在美國很難找到工作？

A: Here is what I will say: American economy is doing very well right now, we have some of the lowest unemployment (rates) in the past 30 years, especially in financial sectors and places where HR major could be an asset, those industries are expanding and growing very rapidly, Brandeis is a very good school and it has an excellent business program, so no I don't think it will be difficult for your child to find a good job in America, especially in the realm of finance, when you use your marketable skills and HR skills.

So, I got it won’t be a trouble for your child to find a job in America.

我要說的是：現在美國經濟非常好，現在是美國近30年來失業率最低的時候，特別是在金融領域和人力資源主要可以成為資產的地方，這些行業正在迅速發展壯大。

Brandeis是一所非常優秀的學校，并且它擁有出色的商學院項目，所以我認為您的孩子在美國找到一份好工作不會很困難，特別是在金融領域，當你使用你的市場技能和人力資源技能。

所以，孩子在美國找工作不難。

Host: Thank you Chris, can you also give some tips of the optimal timeline for the application season, especially the advantage of starting early?

謝謝Chris.

你能否給些建議在理想的申請時間線上面？特別是早做準備的好處。

Chris: Sure, for the timeline, whether applying to high school or college, standardized tests should be completed by the Spring before the application whether it's an Early Decision in Nov, or whether it's a regular season around Jan 1st.

I really think that those should all be completed by the Spring before the application season or at latest Summer.

You don't want to be preparing or applying to a college on Nov 1st and you are still taking SAT in early Nov.

You are not going to have an accurate assessment of what your scores and what your potential is as an applicant.

And you need time to be able to make those decisions.

So, what I say is, start in the fall of your junior year taking standardized tests and complete them by the Spring or Summer, and from then on you can work on thinking about your college application choices and your essays.

What I would recommend for essays is, I would have five pages of writing done in different kinds of essays by the end of Aug, that way you will have two months to polish your Early Decision essays for Nov and more months to prepare for regular season essays around Jan 1st.

If you have those 5 pages completed by the end of Summer, you can use a lot of those writings as a baseline or platform, from which you can do a lot of your other writings.

Many of the essays kind of repeat questions, or they focus on similar topics, and there is no reason to write a unique essay for every school, if you already have writing that is applicable, obviously you have to answer the problems as specifically as possible, but what I found as a writing consultant, you can recycle and reuse a lot of the writings so long you have prepared them early, that will make the application process much more easier.

無論是申請高中還是大學，標準化考試都應該在申請前的春季完成。

不管你打算申請提前錄取還是常規錄取，我真的認為這些考試應該再申請季前或者最近的夏天之前完成。

你一定不希望你11月1日準備申請大學，但是11月你仍然需要參加SAT考試。

這樣，你不會準確的評估你的分數和你作為申請者的潛力。

因為你需要時間來做出這些決定。

所以我的建議是，從大三的秋季開始準備標準化考試，并在春季或夏季完成。

從那時起，你就可以考慮大學申請的選擇和文書工作。

關于文書，我的建議是在8月底之前，我會用五種不同類型的文章來完成寫作，這樣你將有2個月的時間來為11月的提前申請潤色文書，同時還有更多時間來準備我們的常規申請。

如果你在夏天結束前完成了5頁文書的寫作，你可以從中作為基點，同時創作出很多其他作品。

因為許多文書的話題都是相似或者重復的，并且沒有理由為每所學校寫一篇獨特的文章，如果你已經有了合適的文書，顯然你的整個申請過程也會變得簡單許多。

Q: 各位老師好，我孩子今年高考，之前沒想出國，但就成績來說很一般，這種孩子懇請老師給個建議，感謝！

主持人: 相信這也是很多家長所關心的問題，沒有誰想讓孩子進差學校，但是如果孩子目前成績一般化，該如何做來申請一個好的學校，并足夠在美國立足呢？

Chris: This is a very important question.

I think there is a school for everyone.

There are a couple of different routes you can take, the student can either apply to a lower tier university when they turn 18 and they can perhaps transfer after a couple of years, or there is also a community college route where a student can take classes a year or two at a very inexpensive but normally very fairly good quality local school and gain college credits, and use that experience to apply to a much higher tier college.

I’ve had students who graduated from high school and didn't really have good grades, but they were very motivated to spend efforts working hard in community colleges and were able to make a transition to a higher tier university after a year or two.

What I want to say is that if you are willing to work hard, you can attend a good college at any point of your life, it might not be when you are 18, but it could be when you are 20 or 22, I went to school with 30-year old who went to Columbia for their first time.

So, as long as you are willing to work hard, the opportunity will come to you, you just need to keep trying and keep pushing.

這是一個非常重要的問題。

我認為每個人都有一所學校。

你可以采取幾條不同的路線，學生可以在18歲時申請到較低層的大學，也可以在幾年后轉學，或者也有社區大學路線，學生可以上課在一個非常便宜但通常非常高質量的本地學校學習一年或兩年并獲得大學學分，并使用該經驗申請到更高層次的大學。

我有過高中畢業的學生，但成績并不好，但他們非常愿意花費精力在社區學院努力工作，并能在一兩年后轉入更高層次的大學。

我想說的是，如果你愿意努力，你可以在你生命中的任何時候就讀一所好大學，可能不是你18歲的時候，但可能是20或22歲的時候，我上哥倫比亞大學的時候已經30歲了。

所以，只要你愿意努力付出，就會有機會來到你身邊，你只需要繼續努力并不斷前進。

主持人: 感謝Chris今天的演講，我們從八點半開始到現在九點半，一個小時的時間，Chris帶給了我們很有幫助的信息，我相信很多家長也從中受益了。

再次感謝Chris的講授！

Chris: Thanks so much everyone, please let me know if you have any further questions.

感謝所有人！如果大家還有任何問題，歡迎與我聯系。