大家都知道文书在大学申请,尤其是本科申请过程中的重要性。可是这么重要的文书,大学的招生官会花多少时间来看吗?
当时作者在斯坦福大学教育学院读研究生的,有一课讲Higher Education,当时教授邀请了本科招生办公室的Dean来作为Guest Speaker给大家作了一个讲座。说到招生的过程的时候,她非常明确地说,每个学生的文书,大概也就看个5分钟左右,特别的情况下,最多也不会超过10分钟。
虽然这是一门研究生院的课,但这门课也有很多本科选。所以当时的研究生、博士生听了倒还没有什么反应,在场的本科生全部震惊了。虽然当时这些人已经被录取,但是他们回想起自己当年就被这几分钟决定了命运,还是很激动。纷纷质疑Dean说这样怎么才能确保公平呢?结果Dean淡然一笑,很自信地说:“We are trained, we are experienced, and we are professional.”
是的,就是这几分钟,很大程度上决定了你的录取结果。所以,一篇好的文书,不光是内容选择正确,文字功底上佳,如何在一开头就能够很好地吸引招生官的注意力,其实可能会更加重要。如果你的开头与众不同,说不定,招生官可以多给你一两分钟呢。
下面的例子,就是斯坦福的新生文书中,第一句是如何写的。
Sitting cross-legged on the floor of a Bhimanagar slum dwelling in Bangalore, I ran my fingers across a fresh cut on my forehead.
I almost didn’t live through September 11th, 2001.
When I was 8 years old, I shocked my family and a local archaeologist by discovering artifacts dating back almost 3,500 years.
When I was in eighth grade I couldn’t read.
I had never seen anyone get so excited about mitochondria.
Cancer tried to defeat me, and it failed.
Flying over enemy territory, I took in Beirut’s beautiful skyline and wondered if under different circumstances I would have hopped on a bus and come here for my vacation. Instead, I saw the city from the window of a helicopter, in military uniform, my face camouflaged, on my way to a special operation deep behind enemy lines.
I was paralyzed from the waist down. I would try to move my leg or even shift an ankle but I never got a response. This was the first time thoughts of death ever crossed my mind.
As an Indian-American, I am forever bound to the hyphen.
I change my name each time I place an order at Starbucks.
留学文书对能否成功申请offer影响很大,小伙伴们一定要认真对待,这10个开头好好品味,相信你能写出一篇亮瞎招生官双眼的独特文书。
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