破译世界名校申请

最近几年，我国每年有接近20万学子出国留学（据业界专家估计2009年将超过20万）。在留学申请的过程中，申请文书占有举足轻重的地位。目前，国内关于如何撰写申请文书的指导书籍并不多，那些没有被各种考试难倒的同学有时候却为了一篇个人陈述搜肠刮肚，无奈之下，只得东拼西凑，交出一些陈词滥调的文章，从而无法引起招生办官员注意或青睐，最终导致自己的申请材料石沉大海。为此，我特别编译了包括美国哥伦比亚大学、宾大、杜克大学等世界名校成功申请者的申请文书以及这些名校招生办主任的点评和忠告，供大家参考。我相信再没有什么比成功的范例更能够说明问题了，也再没有什么比招生办主任能够更权威地告诉你什么样的申请信才能脱颖而出。我现在把过去译介的一些材料略加整理，分成十几个部分介绍给大家。每个部分由“申请写作常识”、“优秀范文”和“专家忠告”三部分内容组成。但愿这些材料对广大的留学申请者有所启发，帮助大家撰写出真正能够展示出独特个性和思想的申请信。申请写作常识：申请信常见题材和问题大学申请材料上的大部分问题与“美国中学校长协会”（NationalAssociationofSecondSchoolPrinciples）推广的标准申请表——《通用申请表》(theCommonApplication)上的四类问题非常相似。《通用申请表》为申请文书的写作提供了一个大致的模式，该模式被大约数百所大学和学院采用。《通用申请表》中的个人陈述部分内容如下：个人陈述帮助我们了解你，这种了解不同于课程、分数等客观数据，它能展示你组织思想和表达自己的能力。我们所要的申请信，要帮助我们更好地了解你作为学生和个人的各个方面。请你自拟题目，或从下列题目中任选一个写一篇250-500字的短文。你可以将短文写在几张纸上附加到申请表里（注意：请使用相同规格的纸张），当然你也可以通过网络上传你的申请材料，这一点因校而异。1，Evaluateasignificantexperienceorachievementthathasspecialmeaningtoyou.（评价一段对你有特殊意义的重要经历或成就。）2，Discusssomeissueofpersonal,local,ornationalconcernanditsimportancetoyou.（谈论一桩与你个人，你所在的城市或你的国家有关的事件以及它对你的重要性。）3，Indicateapersonwhohashadasignificantinfluenceonyou,anddescribethatinfluence.（指出一位对你有过重大影响的人，并请描述这种影响。）4，Describeafictionalcharacter,ahistoricalfigure,oracreativeworkinart,music,science,etc.thathashadaninfluenceonyou,andexplainthatinfluence.（描述一个曾经影响过你的小说角色、历史人物，美术音乐作品或科学发现等，并解释这种影响。）5，Topicofyourchoice.（自选题目）即使有些学校不使用《通用申请表》，他们也会经常用到和上述类似的题目。然而，有些学校的申请材料上还是会出现大量其他的题目，这些题目涉及的范围很广，千万别想把所有的题目一网打尽或者对题目进行归类。另外，也不存在针对某一类题目的所谓最佳答案（不管其他的书上是怎么说的），关键是遵循一条基本的思路，同时发现一种你可以在所有题目中运用的风格。优秀范文：展示真我型（ARevealingLookattheRealMe）Ican’ttellyouinwhichpeergroupI’dfitbestbecauseI’masocialchameleonandamcomfortableinmost;IwillinsteaddescribemyownsocialsituationandthevariouscliquesIdriftinandoutof.Myhighschool’sstudentbodyisfromapartoftownthatismuchmorediversethantherestofthecity,andthecityasawholeismorediversethanmostofthestate.Thelocationofmyschool,onlyafewblocksfromtheUniversityofOregon,isgreatlyresponsibleforthesocialatmosphere.Whereastheotherhighschoolsintowndrawmainlyfrommiddle-classwhitesuburbanfamilies,minesitsinthedivisionbetweenthepoorwestuniversityneighborhoodandtheaffluenteastuniversityone.Eastuniversityishillyandforestedwithquietresidentialstreetsandpeaceful,largehouses.Afewblockswest,usingtheuniversityasthedivider,thehousesbecomesmallandseedy.Onthewestsideofmyschooltherearemanydirtyapartments;crimeishighandsocialstatusislow.Theresultisthepresenceoftwoverydistinctsocialscenesintheschoolitself.Whatisironicalthoughnotcrucialtothisessayisthattheschool,asquat,gray-stainedconcretesprawl,isdividedrightthroughthemiddle,justasitssurroundingneighborhoodis.Thewestwingendsinagym,asymboloflower-classrecreation,andlowaspiration,whiletheeastwingholdstheauditorium,thestrongholdofsophistication,highbrowmusicalandtheatricalachievement.Ontheeastsideareartsywallmurals,onthewestsideonlygraffiti.Thewestparkinglotholdsmostlydirtypickuptrucks,low-ridergangstercarsanddilapidated,inheritedlittleHondas.TheeastlotisthehomeofnumerousMercedesandChevySuburbans,thegas-guzzlersandthelate-models.TheA.P.classesarestronglyrootedintheeastend;theremedialonesareclusteredaroundthewestathleticfacilities.Iburdenyouwiththisdescriptioninordertodisplaythesplit,bothsocialandgeographic,thatcharacterizesmyacademiclife.Myclassesarealmostentirelyontheeastendofschool;I’mattractedtotheminapolarfashionasifIwereapositivelychargedlittlescholasticparticle,happilymagnetizedtothecenteroflearning.However,despitethefactthatIamfullyintegratedandcomfortableintheintellectualeast-endsociety,thestereotypicaleducationrobotissomethingIamnot.Myprimarysocialsceneisacontrasttothenerd-set.UnderstandthatI’masnowboarderandthattheOregonsnowboardcultureisnotsomeobscureathleticfringegroup;onthecontrary,itisquitedefined,almostestablishedinthemainstream.Itiscompletewithitsowndialect,styleandcustoms.Therestofthesnowboardersinschoolareundeniablymembersofthewesthallsandtheirhousesareonthewrongsideoftheuniversity.Ispendmyluncheswithmyfellownerds.Wegotocoffeeshopsanddelis.I’macceptedasoneofthem.Mylarger-than-normalpantsandsimilarstatementsofsnow-stylearerecognizedassuperficial.However,Ispendmyweekendswiththeothercrew.Wegotopartiesanduptothemountain.Wesharethesamediscolorationofourfaces,tanandleatheryonthecheeksandforehead,palearoundtheeyes.Ourfacesbearthescarsofwearingsnowboardinggogglestooofteninthebrightsun,andareproofofourmembershipinthesnowposse,asindelibleastheornatetattoosthatshowgangalliances.Ourtansdemandrespectfromthekidsinthewesthalls,fortheyareoursocialcredentialsinthatendoftheschool,equivalenttostandingonthevarsityfootballteam.Onceassociatedwithgrungyskateboarders,thesnowboardculturehasfounditsownniche,justassurfingdidbeforeit.Wenowshowmuchmoresimilaritytojocksthantoskaterpunks.WhenI’mwithmyclassmates,I’moneofthem-acultivated,upper-classyoungman.I’minvitedtotheirhousesandspeaktotheirparentsonapolitefirstnamebasis.WhenIhangoutwithboardersandjocks,I’minvitedtotheirrefugesandspeaktherapidlyshiftingsocialect.VeryfewofthestudentsinmyschooldriftsociallyasIdo.AsaresultoftherecentAmericaninfatuationwiththealternativesub-cu