五個(gè)步驟讓你的申請(qǐng)文書被美國名校相中
Every year, many international students get into their dream U.S. schools or are accepted to colleges and offered decent financial aid packages. This is not solely because of their academic performance or the extracurricular activities they have participated in, but also because of the way they presented themselves in their personal statements.
Your SAT or ACT scores and high school grades are only part of your admissions portfolio. Your application essay is a much more telling sign of your unique personality and qualifications.
With that in mind, here are five tips that will help you create a better personal statement.
每年都有許多國際生如愿進(jìn)入了自己理想的美國大學(xué)，有些學(xué)生在被學(xué)校錄取的同時(shí)還獲得了相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)的大學(xué)助學(xué)金。這并不只是因?yàn)樗麄儗W(xué)業(yè)成績優(yōu)異，或者參加了許多課外活動(dòng)，最后能取得成功，還離不開他們?cè)谧晕谊愂隼锖芎玫叵蛐７秸故玖俗约骸?BR> 你的SAT和ACT分?jǐn)?shù)，又或者你的高中成績只是你取得錄取通知書的一部分條件。你的申請(qǐng)文書更能展現(xiàn)你的個(gè)人特色與個(gè)人品質(zhì)。
一下的五個(gè)建議或許能幫助你寫出一份更好的個(gè)人陳述，得到學(xué)校的青睞。
1. Start the process very early: This is not your typical homework assignment or school project. It can be a turning point of your life. A decent essay can help get you into a prestigious institution and change your future.
What I mean by early is that you need to start writing at least three months in advance of college application deadlines. Only by doing so can you have the chance to change topics, revise your essay, read it over, have someone criticize it and polish every word.
Moreover, for those applying to multiple schools, there may be supplemental essays depending on where you apply, which also require a substantial amount of time. In addition, many high school seniors around the world will be overwhelmed by all sorts of pressure, including graduation exams, so tackling essays early will give you a great advantage.
1、盡早提前開始你的申請(qǐng)文書寫作
這份文書既不是一份典型的家庭作業(yè)，也不是學(xué)校留下的項(xiàng)目。這份文書是你人生的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。一份優(yōu)秀的文書可以幫助你進(jìn)入一所名校，改變你的未來。
我所說的盡早是你得在遞交大學(xué)申請(qǐng)截止前至少三個(gè)月開始準(zhǔn)備。只有這樣，你才有機(jī)會(huì)有時(shí)間更改題目，修改文章，反復(fù)閱讀它，打磨它。
而且，有些同學(xué)申請(qǐng)了好幾個(gè)不同的學(xué)校，你申請(qǐng)哪個(gè)學(xué)校就要相對(duì)應(yīng)地寫一份文書，這也是需要很多時(shí)間的。另外，大部分高中的高年級(jí)學(xué)生得面對(duì)來自各方面的壓力，包括很重要的畢業(yè)考試。所以提早考試文書的寫作更有保障。
2. Write many drafts and try a number of topics: The majority of successful applicants that I know wrote multiple essay drafts before submitting their favorite. The reason behind this is that doing something new, like playing a new sport, requires you to put in a tremendous amount of practice until you are good enough to compete.
It is very much the same with writing an essay. For most international students, this is the first time they have put serious thought into writing a paper, let alone one in a foreign language. The first few drafts will be very rough, and you should write until your essay is flawless.
Remember, each draft is not necessarily about one particular topic. You can write two or three drafts on the same topic if it has good potential, or switch topics if necessary. In my case, I wrote seven different drafts on four different topics before submitting my personal statement to the Common Application.
2、多大寫草稿，多嘗試幾個(gè)主題
我知道的大部分成功申請(qǐng)的學(xué)生都寫了好幾個(gè)文書，最后選出自己最喜歡的。這就好比剛開始接觸一個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)項(xiàng)目，只有經(jīng)過大量的練習(xí)，你才能更好地獨(dú)立完成。
寫文章也是這樣。對(duì)許多留學(xué)生來說，這是他們第一次嚴(yán)肅認(rèn)真的文書寫作，更別說還要用另一種語言來書寫。剛開始寫出來的樣板可能非常粗糙，所以你要多寫，多打磨，直到最后的文章是完美的。
記住，每份草稿沒必要都是一個(gè)主題，如果有必要，你可以同一話題寫2到3個(gè)草稿，或者改變主題。當(dāng)年我就4個(gè)不同的主題寫了7份草稿。
3. Find a trustworthy person to proofread each draft: This is the stage where you know that there is likely something wrong with your drafts and you want help uncovering these issues. I strongly advise you to find people who are very experienced with English writing, and – this is most important – are genuinely willing to give you criticism.
These readers should be people who have an in-depth knowledge about the application process, such as U.S. college alumni or retired or current college admissions counselors, or educators who have had years of experience in English writing.
Once they let you know that there is something you need to fix, either about your essay or topic, you need to fix it or write it again immediately. When you come up with an essay that receives nods from your professional readers, you know that you are ready to submit it to a college.
3、找一個(gè)值得信任的人對(duì)每份草稿進(jìn)行修改校對(duì)
這樣你可以發(fā)現(xiàn)一些草稿里的錯(cuò)誤，這會(huì)有助于你重新認(rèn)識(shí)這些議題。我強(qiáng)烈建議你找一個(gè)在英語寫作上特別有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的人，能對(duì)你的文書給出批判性的建議。
這些人可以是在錄取申請(qǐng)上很有經(jīng)驗(yàn)，對(duì)申請(qǐng)文書很了解的人，比如說美國高校的一些校友或者退休的或在職的院校招生顧問，又或者有多年英語寫作經(jīng)驗(yàn)的教育工作者。
一旦他們給你建議哪些方面是需要修改的，不論是關(guān)于文章內(nèi)容還是文章主題，你都要馬上重新修改。直到你的文書能夠得到這些專業(yè)讀者的點(diǎn)頭，你才準(zhǔn)備好了將它遞交給相對(duì)應(yīng)地高校了。
4. Read successful application essays: This is not meant to encourage you to take someone else's ideas. But reading essays of successful college applicants can help you get an idea of what admissions counselors are looking for.
Before my friend started her personal statement, she had a hard time finding something that might impress admissions counselors. When she finished reading a set of essays written by students who were accepted by Ivy League schools – which she found online via a Google search – she learned that they expressed the unique personalities of the writers, but were based on very simple, personal anecdotes.
She then chose a very simple yet meaningful topic to write about: taking care of her ill grandfather. Her essay was so touching that she received handwritten letters from admissions readers, complimenting her writing and offering her a spot in their class of 2017 at Washington and Lee University.?
4、多讀一些成功申請(qǐng)的文書
這不是要你去竊取別人的點(diǎn)子。但是讀些成功申請(qǐng)的文書可以幫助你了解招生委員會(huì)的人想要什么樣的文書。
我的朋友在寫她的自我陳述的時(shí)候，她花了許多時(shí)間研究到底什么樣的文書可以給招生委員會(huì)的人留下深刻的印象。在她看了許多成功被常青藤名校相中的文書后，她發(fā)現(xiàn)這些文書很好的展示了寫作者的獨(dú)特個(gè)性，同時(shí)，這些文書是建立在他們自身簡單的奇聞軼事上的。
于是她選了一個(gè)非常簡單但很有意義的主題：照顧她生病的父親。她的文章非常感人，還收到了來自招生委員會(huì)的手寫回信，稱贊她的寫作，同時(shí)她也成為了華盛頓和李大學(xué)2017屆的一名新生。
5. Follow the structure of a story: As the writer, you need to realize that a quality essay is built upon the general story structure of rising action, conflict and resolution.
The college application essay does not have to be like an action movie, but it has to lead the readers through the stages of curiosity, wonderment and satisfaction. Moreover, the readers will need to be so engaged in your story that they will not be distracted by any unnecessary details or redundancy.
It is best that you cut out sentences or scenes that may make the story confusing. Remember that each admissions counselor has to deal with a large pile of essays, so telling an intriguing story can make you stand out.
5、把握好文章結(jié)構(gòu)
你得意識(shí)到一篇好的文章一般都遵循著故事起承轉(zhuǎn)合的發(fā)展脈絡(luò)。大學(xué)申請(qǐng)文書不一定要像一部動(dòng)作電影，但是它要引導(dǎo)讀者從好奇到想象再到最后得到滿足。而且讀者要全身心地投入到你所講的故事而不會(huì)被一些不必要的細(xì)節(jié)描寫或冗長的文字所分心。
你最好刪掉冗長的句子和那些會(huì)讓人故事歧義的描寫。記住每個(gè)招生負(fù)責(zé)人有許許多多的文章需要看，所以簡短精悍的故事才能讓你突出重圍。