【精翻美文】常青藤录取，真的那么难么？

浏览次数：1927    发布时间：2016-03-22

 

博纳寰美试图翻译一些美国升学杂志中的美文给将要美申的同学，一来可以锻炼阅读能力，二来可以学习一些申请中的小技巧；今天我们就来看看美国名校招生官谈谈常春藤等精英学校的申请！

 

Ivy Admissions: Can It Really Be ThatHard?

By Dave Berry

 

Ethan Bronner, in aparticularly apt New York Times article on the difficulties of eliteadmissions, quotes former Dartmouth College dean of admissions, KarlFurstenberg, on the subject of the high number of qualified applicants. Furstenberg said, "This makes our job harder, but it forces us to look atthe intangibles . . . how many more excellent students can we turnaway?"  Dartmouth's problem isn't unique, by any means.  Justlook at the U.S. News rankings to see how much worse the situation is atthose schools with lower acceptance rates than Big Green's.

 

Ethan Bronner在纽约时报发表的“精英学校的入学率”中，引用了前任达特茅斯学院入学申请委员会会长KarlFurstenberg在谈到相当多符合达特茅斯学院要求的申请者这个话题的话，Furstenberg说，“如此多的优秀申请者让我们陷入两难境地，也让我们知道达特茅斯拒绝了多少优秀学生。”事实上，达特茅斯的这个录取情况并不是个案。我们看看USNews排名中那些低录取率的学校就知道录取情况的惨烈状况了。

 

 

寻找“音乐家”

Finding the "Musicians"

 

One of my personalpassions is classical piano music.  Every four years, I look forward withgreat enthusiasm to the quadrennial Van Cliburn International PianoCompetition, which takes place in Ft. Worth, Texas.  The competitionattracts the world's top young pianists who gather to compete for the pianoworld's top prizes.  This prestigious event is very much like the elitecollege admissions process.

 

我钟情于古典钢琴曲，每四年，我就怀着极大的热情期待四年一届的世界四大钢琴比赛之一—范克莱本钢琴比赛的举行。这项赛事吸引了世界上最优秀的年轻钢琴家来同场竞技，这场声望极高的赛事就像是每年大学的入学申请。

 

The sheer number ofrichly qualified entrants is staggering, much like Dean Furstenberg's situationwas at Dartmouth.  In fact, so many wonderful and highly credentialedpianists desire to compete in the Cliburn that jurors have to travel to culturecenters around the globe to audition and admit or deny competition applicants.

 

就像达特茅斯院长所说的，最终能够进入优秀大学的优秀竞争者名额实在是少之又少。事实上，世界上有太多优秀的、成就斐然的钢琴师想要参加到克莱本比赛中，以至于这项钢琴大赛的评审们要去世界各地一一面试比赛的申请者，来决定有资格参赛的名单。

 

So why am I droning onabout some esoteric and generally little known music contest in Texas? After all, this is about elite college admissions, right?  Well, I'vealready hinted at one interesting parallel: the overwhelming number of superblyqualified applicants.  Let's focus on Dean's Furstenberg's interestingobservation about "intangibles" through the eyes of the Cliburnjury.

 

那为什么我在喋喋不休地讨论深奥的鲜为人知的德州钢琴比赛呢？毕竟，我们的文章是关于精英学校的申请对吧？其实我已经给大家点明了两者之间的一个共同点：极大数量的优秀申请者。那么现在，通过克莱本陪审团，让我们关注回Furstenberg院长所说的“不可思议的低录取率”的情况吧！

 

The bar issignificantly higher today than it has been in recent years for both eliteadmissions and music competitions because the talent pool has grown muchlarger.  There are a number of complex reasons for that, but we won'tdiscuss them right now.  Getting back to our music analogy, I listened toone of the Cliburn jurors discussing his personal criteria for selecting awinning pianist.  He noted that merely "playing all the notescorrectly" wasn't enough.  He was looking for the musicians,those players who could move him.  The musicians are those who can projectthemselves beyond the printed notes on the page, who can reach out and touchthe judges.  They are the artists whose attention to detail andpersonalized playing are so successful that the juror wants to hear more fromthem.

 

近年来，精英学校和钢琴比赛的有力竞争者显著增加，出现这种情况的复杂原因有很多，我们在这里暂不讨论。回到我们关于钢琴比赛的例子中来。我曾经听过一位克莱本评审在讨论他自己选择获胜钢琴家的标准。他说，仅仅把每个乐章都弹奏正确了是不够的，他找的是“音乐家”，那些能够打动他的演奏家。这些音乐家是能够超越纸上的音符并打动评审的心的人；他们是极其注意细

节和个人表达的音乐家，以至于评审都想听更多他们演奏的音乐。

 

In today'ssuper-competitive elite applicant pools, just about everyone has virtuosonumbers.  And therein lies the key.  This new "credentialbenchmark" requires Ivy/elite applicants to reveal themselves beyond sheerquantitative dimensions.  They must display their"musicianship," those personal aspects that add nuance and passion tothe application's simple informational questions and essay prompts.  Inpianistic terms, they must perform the notes that lie between the keys.

 

现在，非常具有竞争力的精英申请者非常多，而在这些人当中脱颖而出，有一个关键，这就是需要常青藤/ 精英学校的申请者表现出他们独特的一面，他们的特质—他们必须展示自己在个人信息和成绩以外的个人特色和热情，就像演奏家演奏音乐一样。用回我们的钢琴比赛来比喻，就是他们必须演奏出属于自己的音乐！

 

What are your"between-the-keys" qualities?  How can you identify them? When you do, how will you articulate them to the admissions committees?

 

什么是属于自己的音乐？怎么样才可以让你与众不同？当你知道自己的与众不同之处，怎么样像申请官表现出来？

 

These are crucialquestions.  Ponder them.  It will be time well spent.

 

这些是关键的问题，请好好利用你的时间研究他们。

 

博纳寰美点评：其实这篇文章也暗含了博纳寰美一直在宣导的一个观点，对于美国TOP 20的学校来说，刷分、拼GPA其实意义不大，为啥？因为人家招生官都是见过大数据的主；再好的硬件成绩在每年的申请者中，都有很多，这不过是一个基础的门槛；要想得到顶级名校以及常春藤的青睐，人家要看到申请者个性化的特点，这些特点并不是你的多才多艺也不是你的伟光正；只是希望申请者通过文书、推荐信等资料展示一个活生生、具备差异化和竞争力的人！这就是博纳寰美差异化、个性化定制申请的目的；更多美国留学信息，请洽博纳寰美！

 

更多关于美国留学的信息请洽博纳寰美，电话4000 567 320 或关注博纳寰美官方微博、微信！

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