各个击破——如何准备美国大学面试.

　　Question 1: Why This College?

　　这个问题的重点是要显示出被面试的学生已经对该大学做了很深入地研究，和他/她对于学校而言是一个strong match.

　　那么，如果该学生给了一个generic response that can be applied to any school，这就不成其为一个好的答案。比方说，人家问你：Why Columbia? 你的回答是：“Columbia has strong academics and is in the middle of New York City”，就太泛泛而论了。

　　比较好的回答是，这个学生给了一个response that showes some level of research but was not specific about why the school is a good fit for him/her. 就好像这样的回答：“Columbia has very strong science programs and I want to study biology. I could also participate in lab work. There is also so much for students to do because of the many on-campus clubs and organizations. ”

　　我认为，理想的答案是去show这个学生的极强的enthusiasm for the school，并且给一些specific examples of what the school has to offer and how that directly connects with the students interests. 我如果这样回答，你觉得怎么样?“I love Columbia for so many reasons but the top three are: Access to Research, the Core Curriculum, and an Active Student Body. I hope to pursue my passion for science by working with Dr. Smith, who is working on Sleep Deprivation in Kids. Columbia’s unique core curriculum also really stands out to me. While I want to study in the sciences, literature is my second passion. I want to study Socrates, Emerson and Bronte with the best. And finally, I want to surround myself with an intellectually invigorating student body. As an active member of my school community, I want to get involved in college. At Columbia, the NY Outreach Program will allow me to continue my love of working with young disadvantaged kids. ”

　　Question 2: Why Your Major?

　　大学一般都很清楚地知道，大多数高中生进入大学后，很可能会change their major，但是，他们仍希望通过这一个问题能看出这个学生已经有一些sense of direction. 换言之，it is okay to be undecided, but the student should still describe what majors are appealing.

　　于是，如果一个学生仅仅只是states a major but does not state why that major appeals to him/her，就像“I think I want to major in Chemistry” 之类的，显然这种答案是不能令人满意的。

　　较好的答案标准是，这个学生可以states a major without truly understanding what the major is but can support it with some activities. 举一个例子，如果该面试的学生这样回答：“I want to major in something science oriented. Currently, I am considering Chemistry because it is a good combination of my passion for science and math.” 我认为，这还凑合吧。

　　优秀的答案，其标准应该是，这个学生should demonstrate thorough knowledge of a major, evidence of some pursuit of knowledge in that subject area and can connect it to the school well. 比方说，或许这样地回答关于major的问题：“Chemistry is most likely what I will major in. I have taken two Chemistry courses at my school and scored a 5 on the AP test. I love Chemistry because it is the basis of almost everything that we use. This summer I worked with the Earth Science Department at Stanford where I helped a graduate student study the formation of ice on Antarctica. I had to use many of the chemical principles I learned, such as the difference between Oxygen 7 and Oxygen 8, to help date the dirt samples. I also realized that I love working in a lab, even though it can be tedious at times. MIT also has one of the best Chemistry Labs and the new Calorimeter is supposed to be the best in the world for dating samples. I want to be in that environment and learn from the best.”

　　Question 3: What do you do just for Fun?

　　在我参观MIT的时候，他们的admissions officer告诉我，他们最引以为骄傲的是，他们的申请表和所有其它的学校最不一样的地方在于他们的第一篇essay就是问你，在业余的时间，不学习的时候，你喜欢做什么?那个Admissions officer对我说，很多亚裔的家长把孩子都包装得几乎完美，但千篇一律，缺乏个性。他们就是要通过这一问题，想看看学生们真正的本我。MIT不是光要 high score的学生，他们更看中学生的创造意识和创造能力。Caltech, MIT的功课，绝对比Harvard的要难念得多。在这两所学校里，零点几的课程需要你的脑子转得飞快!他们举例告诉我，有一个学生，在自家的后院里，按照所学的物理等原理，用干稻草做了一架飞机模型;还有一个学生，在自家的二楼卧房里，用电脑编写了一个洗衣程序，他不用下楼，通过他的电脑发出的alarm的叫声，便可知道他们楼下的洗衣房的洗衣机已经把衣服洗完了。MIT招生的人说：“我们需要什么样的学生?我们就需要这样的学生! ” 所以，那些high-end schools 问你“What do you do just for Fun ”这样的问题，其目的是要get to know the student outside of academics. In another word, what will the student bring to campus other than a transcript and resume?

　　如果一个面试的学生数说一些他/她所做的事情，就是像watching TV or just hanging out with friends等，可想而知，人家会怎么评判你了。

　　对这一答案OK的标准是，面试的学生listed off extracurricular activities but did not mention why they are FUN.

　　最perfect的回答是，面试的学生应该show出自己的热情、热爱 for things he/she does in free time. FUN things were not just extracurricular activities but also hobbies such as making models, running marathons, singing karaoke, etc. 就像我上面提到的MIT的那些学生所狂热从事的爱好一样。

　　Question 4: What are your three greatest strengths?

　　其实这是给你一个机会highlight what you want to the admissions committee. 你的回答应该是尝试着给人一种很thoughtful和nique的印象。千万别说：“I don’t really know what they are. Can we come back to this question? ” 如果你不能够很快地come up一个answer的话，这是很糟糕的一件事。

　　如果你只是给了3个(或n个)很generic attributes without providing details on how those attributes have been demonstrated，it’s fine but not perfect. 好像“My three greatest strengths are: hard-working, smart, and funny ”之类的。

　　The great response is that the Student mentions 3 attributes (or 3+ attributes) and describes where each comes from and where they have exemplified it.

　　举例，好像这样的一种回答：“My first strength is my compassion. I have been a peer counselor for the past 3 years and I have realized that I am able to connect with those that call. Many times people just want someone to listen to them without giving advice right away. I feel that, for the most part, I can find that line by just tuning into what the other person needs. My second strength is my ability to lead. For me leadership is not just forcing people to do something that I want but being able to build a common goal and inspiring others to reach it. As Vice-President of the Humanity Club at my school, it was hard to get people to volunteer their entire weekend to build a house because my classmates are so busy. But I created a poster board that told the story of a family that lost their house because of a fire. They had to live on the street and Habitat was helping them. I presented this family’s need to my club and also promised lots of pizza and soda for coming out to help. We took lots of pictures and posted them on the website and our school paper wrote a story about it. The next time the opportunity to build came up，we had more than enough volunteers. And my third strength is my curiosity. I love to ask questions and sometimes these questions lead to more questions than answers. But my curiosity is my drive to learn. I stay up late working on Physics problem sets not because I need to get them done, but because I truly want to understand how vectors are used to build bridges. ”

　　Question 5: What are your favorite activities?

　　这是大学给你一个机会，让你去highlight你的1-3个activities and demonstrate their importance.

　　如果你仅仅list off several activities without showing why they are important and meaningful，这不算一个好的response.

　　真正好的回答标准是，学生列举three activities that he/she loves the most and why they are meaningful and how that makes him/her a good match for the school. 比如这个回答：“Throughout high school, I have tried to get involved in several activities so that I could find my passions. Early on, I realized that swimming was something that I love to do. I have been on the team for all 4 years of high school. I just absolutely love being in the water and what is unique about swimming is that it is both an individual sport and a team sport. I get to challenge myself to be the best and still also contribute to a team goal. I have also been taking guitar lessons for 2 years now and am starting a band. I am not very good yet, but it is just a really great way to relax and I love music. Finally, I have been working on an independent research project where I am trying to determine how light gets filtered through the optic nerve. One day, I hope to become an ophthalmologist and I have been working with a professor at Stanford in his lab. We came up with the project together and I will be entering it into the Siemens Competition. ”

　　通过以上问题的分析并解答，希望面试的高中生们能因此get some ideas，sense到面试的窍门在哪里