美国大学的奇葩申请文书主题：不明觉厉~有木有？

　　文书写作应该是美国大学申请过程中最令学生头疼的问题，大部分中国学生经过一段时间培训后，在SAT和TOEFL这种标准化的考试中凭借英语基 础以及各种解题技巧能取得一个不错的成绩，但是碰到没有标准答案的开放式的文书写作题目会发现自己无从下笔，再加上有些学校的文书题目极为怪异，有时连题目的主旨可能都难以解析。马上开始准备申请的学生还有家长，让我们一起来看看你们在接下来的申请过程中会遇到些什么奇葩的文书题目吧。

　　奇葩指数0.5

　　以理工科和怪异的校园建筑著称于世的MIT，其文书题目倒是显得稀松平常，让学生描述自己来自于什么样的环境，这样的环境是如何塑造自己的，以及面对过的最大的挑战是什么自己又是如何来处理的。这样的题目你在申请大学时，百分之百会遇到!早早的开始思考吧!

　　跟着我大声说：This is where I come from!

　　MIT:

　　Describe the world you come from; for example, yourfamily,clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shapedyourdreams and aspirations? (200-250 words)lTell usabout the most significant challenge you've faced orsomething important thatdidn't go according to plan. How did youmanage the situation? (200-250 words)

　　奇葩指数1.0

　　斯坦福大学的文书题目里，需要你用50个单词描述如果有机会亲身见证一次著名的历史事件你希望是那什么事件。反思自己在智力发展上有什么思想或者经历对自己有什么重要的影响。我想最近在微博上爆火美国男子Jason因成绩太差辍学，后被人打伤头部，醒后变数学天才一定有话要说，Jason头部被 打后看什么都是几何图案，树叶都能看出毕达哥拉斯定理，反射的阳光也能看出圆周率。医生说这种情况叫"后天学者症候群"，患者会在被击打脑部后在数学，音 乐和艺术方面展现惊人的才华!

　　此外，斯坦福还要求学生给未来的室友写一封信，帮助室友进一步了解你;还需要让申请者用250个单词回答一个看上去很宏大的主题：什么对你是最重要的，以及为什么?

　　Stanford

　　What historical moment or event do you wish you couldhavewitnessed? (50 word limit。)Stanford studentspossess an intellectual vitality. Rlect onan idea or experience that has beenimportant to your intellectualdevelopment. (250 word limit。)Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus.Write anote to your future roommate that reveals something aboutyou or that will helpyour roommate -- and us -- know you better。(250 wordlimit。)What matters to you, and why? (250 word limit。)

　　奇葩指数1.5

　　加州理工十分强调自己的荣誉制度，即任何人都不应该不公平地利用他人，看上去很简单的原则，学校需要申请者根据自己的切身经历过的道德两难情景 以回应这个问题。此外，加州理工还为自己学生群体古怪的幽默感和有创造性的恶作剧推崇备至，要求申请者讲讲自己有哪些“不正常的”寻开心的法子。推荐申请 人查查历史上加州理工和麻省理工的互相攻击的恶作剧大战应该会有启发。

　　Caltech的学生曾佯装MIT的学生在MIT举办的校园参观日活动中向新生们发放免费的T恤。这些T恤乍一看印着大大的MIT字样，可打开

　　T恤就会发现T恤的背面印有“becausenoteverybody can go toCaltech(因为不是所有人都能进Caltech)”的嘲讽话语。

　　Caltech

　　1.Members of the Caltech community live, learn, andworkwithin an Honor System with one simple guideline; "No member shalltakeunfair advantage of any other member of the Caltechcommunity." Whileseemingly simple, questions of ethics, honestyand integrity are sometimeschallenging. Share an ethical dilemmathat has challenged you. How did yourespond? Your response is notlimited to academic situations. (100 words max)

　　2.Caltech students have long been known for their quirkysenseof humor and creative pranks. Please describe an unusual way inwhich youhave fun. (100 words max)

　　奇葩指数2.0

　　埃默里大学要求申请者想象自己是一位大学教授，想要开设一门新的课程，你可以选择任何学科任何课程，你希望自己的学生们在这门课上学习什么内容。

　　等我当上了教授一定给学生上堂这样的课，绝对妥妥的!

　　Emory

　　Imagine you are a professor, charged with teaching anewcourse. Emory University offers over 1,000 courses in a wide rangeofacademic subjects. You are free to choose whatever subject youwant. What classwould you create? What would you hope studentswould leave your class havinglearned? (Don’t forget to includeyour class title!) (250 word limit)

　　奇葩指数2.5

　　弗吉尼亚大学被誉为大众情人校，因为其EA阶段的申请人数量庞大，在中国地区的招生也较为宽松，但UVa的文书看上去也不是那么容易搞定哦。第 一个题目就有点让人云里雾里，2006年一位名为RobertStilling的研究生在UVA的一所图书馆发现了著名诗人罗伯特福斯特的一篇未发表的诗歌，那你的Stilling时刻是在什么时候呢?

　　第二题则要求申请者描述自己的一个怪癖以及这个怪癖为什么是你的一部分。

　　第三题则更加无厘头，将莎士比亚的名句To be or not to be改为To tweet or not totweet?可中国申请者根本就Tweet不了啊!

　　这会是你的Stilling时刻吗?

　　UVA

　　In 2006, graduate student Robert Stilling discoveredanunpublished poem by Robert Frost while doing research in U.Va.’sSmallCollections Library. Where will your Stilling moment be incollege?We are acommunity with quirks, both in language (we’llwelcome you to Grounds, notcampus) and in traditions. Describe oneof your quirks and why it is part of whoyou are.To tweet or not to tweet?

　　奇葩指数3.0

　　维克森林大学虽然排名23，但在中国知名度并不高，也许这五篇，篇篇不寻常的文书题目吓住了不少申请者。第一题就不走寻常路，问什么会使你愤怒，而你又将如何处理你的愤怒情绪。愤怒这种稍显负面的情绪可能是唯独这所大学的题目里主动提及。第二题也是无根无据的要学生列出你自己的Top10名 单，没有任何范围或者情景的提示。第三题又使博主深深得陷入了沉思，Twitter到底下了多少血本在大学申请过程里面植入了这么多软广告!该题要求申请者利用140个字符的空间挑战公众认为社交媒体肤浅不足以表达深层次思想的谬论。

　　下面是推特的广告时间：

　　Wake Forest University

　　1. What outrages you? What are you doingabout it?Tell us about a time when you stepped up against anoutrage in your community。(150 words maximum)

　　2. Give us your top ten list. (300 wordsmaximum)

　　3. Some say social media is superficial, withno roomfor expressing deep or complex ideas. We challenge you tody these skeptics bydescribing yourself as fully and accuratelyas possible in the 140-characterlimit of a tweet。

　　4. Research shows that members of GenerationY (16-24year olds) are more tolerant of difference than wereprevious generations atthis age - but also less likely to formclose bonds with those of differentdemographic or socioeconomicbackgrounds. How have you personally disproved thisgeneralization?(300 words maximum)

　　5. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "If I knowyoursect, I anticipate your argument." Describe a time when yourargumentchallenged a basic beli or viewpoint of your "sect. (150words maximum)

　　奇葩指数3.5

　　塔夫斯大学不仅在文书内容上推陈出新，还在形式上给学生更多空间。申请者可以通过散文、视频、电子文件等来回答该问题“如果你不讲述真实的自己你也不能认识其他的人”。第四题用口号式的方式要求申请者：大大方方得向我们展示你书呆子的一面吧!中国学生会不会见到这一题之后喜大普奔呢?塔夫斯不仅有书呆子的一面哦，被华盛顿邮报评为2013年最讨厌的缩写词：YOLO(Youonly live once你只会活一次)也成了文书题目，你是如何看待这句带有及时行乐意味的流行语呢?

　　Tufts

　　A) “If you do not tell the truth about yourself youcannottell it about other people,” Virginia Woolf. Respond to Woolf’squote in the medium of yourchoice: prose, video (one minute)， blog, digital portfolio, slampoetry... For media other thanwriting, pleaseshare a link (video can be submitted via YouTube but werecommendusing a privacy setting) that is easily accessible。

　　B) What makes you happy?

　　C) Sports, science and society are filled with rules,theoriesand laws like the Ninth Commandment, PV=nRT, Occam’s Razor, and TheLawof Diminishing Returns. Three strikes and you’re out. “I”bore “E” exceptafter “C。” Warm air rises. Pick one and explainitssignificance to you.

　　D) Celebrate your nerdy side。

　　E) The ancient Romans started it when they coined thephrase"Carpe diem." Jonathan Larson proclaimed "No day buttoday!" andmost recently, Drake explained You Only Live Once(YOLO). Have you ever seized the day? Lived like therewas no tomorrow? Or perhaps you plan to shoutYOLO while jumping into something in thuture. What does #YOLOmean to you?

　　奇葩指数4.0

　　北卡罗莱那大学倾向于用一些小问题来折磨你，比如你希望在彩虹之后发现什么?如果你能穿越到任何时空，你会去哪儿为什么?你的主题曲是什么?切片面包之后的最佳事物是什么?你最珍贵的财产是啥?你最希望拥有的超能力是什么?你想发明什么小玩意?

　　UNC

　　Most of us have one or more personality quirks. Explainone ofyours and what it says about you. What do you hope to find over therainbow?Why do you do what you do?If you could travel anywhere in time orspace, either real orimagined, where would you go and why?Tell us about a timewhen your curiosity led you someplace youweren’t expecting to go.My themesong:Best thing since sliced bread:My most treasured possession:Super power I’dmost like to have:Gadget that needs inventing:Biggest little worry:

　　相比起UNC的俏皮灵动，波士顿学院的文书题目则显得深沉严肃而又有思考的趣味。第一题引用了BC的毕业典礼演讲，“事实往往缺少灵魂而显得不 够完整，在理解历史时有人拥有了所有的数据却不得要领，就如钢琴初学者奏出了所有音符却听不到音乐”，请告诉我们你自己是否有这样的经历。

　　Boston College

　　From David McCullough's recent commencement address atBC:“Facts alone are never enough. Facts rarely if ever have any soul.In writingor trying to understand history one may have all mannerof 'data,' and miss thepoint. One can have all the facts and missthe truth. It can be like the oldpiano teacher's lament to herstudent, 'I hear all the notes, but I hear nomusic。” Tell us abouta time you had all of the factsbut missed the meaning.In his novel, Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCannwrites:“We seldom know what we're hearing when we hear something for thirsttime, but one thing is certain: we hear it as we will neverhear it again. Wereturn to the moment to experience it, I suppose,but we can never really findit, only its memory, the faintestimprint of what it really was, what it meant。” Tell us aboutsomething you heard or experienced for the first timeand how theyears since have affected your perception of t

　　奇葩指数5

　　要谈奇葩的文书主题，夺魁的不是芝加哥大学很多人一定会跟我急!应了中国网络上最火的流行语，读完芝加哥大学文书主题，我的小伙伴们惊呼：不明觉厉!各位读者好好感受下吧：

　　U Chicago

　　1.Winston Churchill believed "a joke isa very serious thing." From Off-Off Campus’s improvisations to the ShadyDealer humor magazine to the renowned Latke-Hamantash debate, we take humorvery seriously here at The University of Chicago (and we have since 1959, whenour alums helped found the renowned comedy theater The Second City). Tell usyour favorite joke and try to explain the joke without ruining it. -ChelseaFine, Class of 2016

　　2.In a famous quote by José Ortega y Gasset,the Spanish philosopher proclaims, "Yo soy yo y mi circunstancia"(1914). José Quintans, master of the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division atthe University of Chicago, sees it another way: "Yo soy yo y mimicrobioma" (2012). You are you and your..? -Maria Viteri, Class of 2016

　　3.This is what history consists of. It's thesum total of all the things they aren't telling us.-- Don DeLillo, Libra. Whatis history, who are “they,” and what aren’t they telling us? -Amy Estersohn,Class of 2010

　　4.The mantis shrimp can perceive bothpolarized light and multispectral images; they have the most complex eyes inthe animal kingdom. Human eyes have color receptors for three colors (red,green, and blue); the mantis shrimp has receptors for sixteen types of color,enabling them to see a spectrum far beyond the capacity of the human brain.Seriously, how cool is the mantis shrimp: mantisshrimp.uchicago.edu What mightthey be able to see that we cannot? What are we missing? -Tess Moran, Classof

　　5.How are apples and oranges supposed to becompared? Possible answers involve, but are not limited to, statistics,chemistry, physics, linguistics, and philosophy. -Florence Chan, Class of 2015

　　6.In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, posea question of your own. If your prompt is original and thoughtful, then youshould have little trouble writing a great essay. Draw on your best qualitiesas a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, orfuture citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun。