如何寫一份讓招生官認可的文書？

在美本申請的過程中，文書(shu) 撰寫(xie) 是學生向招生官展示自己、“推銷”自己最直接的手段。但由於(yu) 字數限製等原因，很多學生總覺得“無從(cong) 下手”。

布朗大學前招生官、哥倫(lun) 比亞(ya) 大學招生助理Harry Bauld在知名著作《On Writing The College Application Essay》一書(shu) 中曾表示：

“在美國大學招生官看來，99%的申請者都沒有足夠的亮點。

除非你擁有特殊身份，比如運動員、聯邦指定的少數群體(ti) 成員（比如印第安人）、對學校發展有巨大幫助的人（比如建了一座新體(ti) 育館）等，其他申請者都在一個(ge) 灰色領域裏等待被區分。”

那麽(me) ，如何才能從(cong) 這99%的人中脫穎而出呢？答案就是寫(xie) 出一篇好文書(shu) 。

U.S. News公布了被美國大學錄取的學生文書(shu) 範例。招生辦的工作人員也分享了這些文章，並表示這些文書(shu) 之所以能脫穎而出，是因為(wei) 它們(men) 讓申請學生的形象發出了光芒，幫助學校更好地了解到這些學生。

展現你的個(ge) 性和閃光點

“我們(men) 實際上是在傾(qing) 聽學生的聲音，並試圖搞清楚他們(men) 在我們(men) 校園裏會(hui) 成為(wei) 什麽(me) 樣的角色。”Tufts University（塔夫茨大學）招生和招生管理主任Karen Richardson表示：“這不僅(jin) 僅(jin) 與(yu) 學生選擇寫(xie) 的主題有關(guan) ，而是他們(men) 如何撰寫(xie) 。我們(men) 鼓勵學生展示而不是講述，以幫助招生官們(men) 了解他們(men) 是誰。”

“一篇好的文書(shu) 對我而言，能讓我在看到學生在申請表格中看不到的那一麵。”Hamilton College（漢密爾頓學院）負責招生管理的副校長Monica Inzer表示，“對許多學生來說，可能因為(wei) 他們(men) 的生活經驗有限，所以找到自己的個(ge) 性往往是一項挑戰。另外，學生可能習(xi) 慣按照高中老師的要求寫(xie) 作，而不是為(wei) 自己。想找到自己的個(ge) 性意味著學生必須了解自己，通過反思寫(xie) 作，與(yu) 招生官員分享他們(men) 的生活感悟。”

在其招生頁麵上，Hamilton College（漢密爾頓學院）列出了該校錄取學生撰寫(xie) 的多篇文書(shu) 範例。盡管Inzer拒絕單獨挑出一篇文章，但她表示這些文書(shu) 體(ti) 現了學生們(men) 不同的聲音和個(ge) 性。

在漢密爾頓學院的許可下，以下摘錄文章是學生通過對飛釣（fly-fishing）的熱愛來展現了自己的個(ge) 性。

I kept a firm grip on the rainbow trout as I removed the lure from its lip. Then, my heart racing with excitement, I lowered the fish to the water and watched it flash away.

I remained hooked.

I caught that 10-inch fryling five years ago on Fall Creek using a $5 fly rod given to me by my neighbor Gil. The creek is spectacular as it cascades down the 150-foot drop of Ithaca Falls. Only 100-feet further, however, it runs past a decrepit gun factory and underneath a graffitied bridge before flowing adjacent to my high school and out to Cayuga Lake. Aside from the falls, the creek is largely overlooked. Nearly all of the high school students I know who cross that bridge daily do so with no thought of the creek below.

When I was a toddler, my moms say I used to point and ask, "What? What? What?" Even now my inquisitive nature is obvious. Unlike my friends, I had noticed people fly fishing in Fall Creek. Mesmerized by their graceful casts, I pestered Gil into teaching me. From that first thrilling encounter with a trout, I knew I needed to catch more. I had a new string of questions. I wanted to understand trout behavior, how to find them, and what they ate. There was research to do.

I devoted myself to fly fishing. I asked questions. I woke up at 4 a.m. to fish before school. I spent days not catching anything. Yet, I persisted. The Kid's Book of Fishing was replaced by Norman MacLean's A River Runs Through It. Soon Ernest Hemingway's essays found their place next to Trout Unlimitedmagazines by my bed.

I sought teachers. I continued to fish with Gil, and at his invitation joined the local Trout Unlimited Chapter. I enrolled in a fly-tying class.

There I met Ken, a soft-spoken molecular biologist, who taught me to start each fly I make by crimping the hook to reduce harm to fish, and Mike, a sarcastic Deadhead lawyer, who turns over rocks at all times of year to "match the hatch" and figure out which insects fish are eating. Thanks to my mentors, I can identify and create almost every type of Northeastern mayfly, caddisfly, and stonefly.

The more I learned, the more protective I felt of the creek and its inhabitants. My knowledge of mayflies and experience fishing in many New York streams led me to notice the lack of Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies in Fall Creek. I figured out why while discussing water quality in my AP Biology class; lead from the gun factory had contaminated the creek and ruined the mayfly habitat. Now, I participate in stream clean-up days, have documented the impact of invasive species on trout and other native fish, and have chosen to continue to explore the effects of pollutants on waterways in my AP Environmental Science class.

Last year, on a frigid October morning, I started a conversation with the man fishing next to me. Banks, I later learned, is a contemporary artist who nearly died struggling with a heroin addiction. When we meet on the creek these days we talk about casting techniques, aquatic insects, and fishing ethics. We also talk about the healing power of fly fishing. I know Banks would agree with Henry David Thoreau, who wrote "[Many men] lay so much stress on the fish which they catch or fail to catch, and on nothing else, as if there were nothing else to be caught."

Initially, my goal was to catch trout. What I landed was a passion. Thanks to that first morning on Fall Creek, I've found a calling that consumes my free time, compels me to teach fly fishing to others, and drives what I want to study in college.

I will be leaving Fall Creek soon. I am eager to step into new streams.

找到自己的聲音並表達出來

“你可以把文書(shu) 看作是大學申請的靈魂。雖然我們(men) 知道在高中期間搭建很強的申請材料需要學生多年的努力和奉獻，但你可以決(jue) 定如何表述，來串聯你在學校教室、社團和社區的經曆，來幫助招生官看到更立體(ti) 的申請學生形象。” Johns Hopkins University（約翰霍普金斯大學）本科招生主任Ellen Kim說：“文書(shu) 是讓招生官理解你想還原的自己，招生委員會(hui) 並不在乎你寫(xie) 什麽(me) ，我們(men) 在乎的是你認為(wei) 自己的經曆中哪些部分非常重要，因為(wei) 這能體(ti) 現你的價(jia) 值觀。”

雖然Johns Hopkins University（約翰霍普金斯大學）的要求是學生盡可能給出更深入的答案，但也有其他學校看重簡潔，要求學生簡明扼要地寫(xie) 作。

Tufts University（塔夫茨大學）分享了一個(ge) 250字以內(nei) 的文書(shu) 示例，這位學生以折紙開頭，向讀者展現了自己對科學的熱愛。

Using a flimsy piece of printer paper, I remember folding my first paper crane. Reading instructions off a dusty origami book from my basement, my fingers fumbled with the paper, folding, unfolding, refolding, and possibly some frustration-induced crumpling. Nearly an hour later, with little creases scattered across its body and a misaligned beak, it was clear that origami wasn't a natural talent of mine.

Despite its deformities, there was an endearing quality to the bird I couldn't quite explain. After sixteen folds, it resembled the paper only in color and material. I would fold countless other designs, until my room was covered with creations from simple paper boats to intricate seven part lotus flowers.

The joy I found in origami lied in the fact that I had the freedom to invent anything; with each fold, creativity flowed through my fingers, converting curiosesity of the potential of each fold into an irrepressible desire to create more. It is what motivated me to read about 2D kinematics to win a projectile motion challenge, and understand the chemistry behind qualitative analysis of cations for a lab.

Everything I could ever want to know and more is right at my fingertips. From the change in weight I feel in a moving elevator, to the chemical reactions that cause the plastic stars in my room to glow, science is a field that permeates every single aspect of life. I know my curiosesity to understand the world around me nurtures my love for science.

Richardson表示這篇是個(ge) 比較冒險的嚐試，以折紙這個(ge) 不尋常的開頭吸引了招生官的注意。

“折紙不是一個(ge) 申請文書(shu) 常見的主題，不止於(yu) 此，她向我們(men) 展示而不是說明她製作物品的過程總不如她所期望的那樣。盡管如此，她還是繼續努力。這有助於(yu) 我們(men) 把她看作一個(ge) 願意在我們(men) 的校園裏接受新體(ti) 驗的人。同樣突出的是她表達觀點的意象——我甚至能想象出地板上那些皺巴巴的紙，以及她的沮喪(sang) 。最終，她將折紙的創作過程與(yu) 自己的學術興(xing) 趣相連。”Richardson在一封電子郵件中寫(xie) 道。

在撰寫(xie) 大學申請文書(shu) 時，無論是主文書(shu) 還是附加文書(shu) 途西建議學生遵循這些原則：找到你的聲音，寫(xie) 下對你來說重要的話題，表達分享你的個(ge) 性並認真校對。同學們(men) 在提交論文之前，可以先和熟悉自己的人分享。老師、朋友和父母都可以幫忙校對，但注意保持自己完整的聲音（表達出來）。

最後總結一下，學生們(men) 沒有必要刻意地追求文書(shu) 的獨特性。它是蘊含在我們(men) 個(ge) 性和興(xing) 趣中的，本身就有的東(dong) 西。我們(men) 需要做的，是把它找出來，挖掘它，堅持它，守護它。