你收到了多重录取吗? 本文提供一些建议帮你选出适合自己的大学

Did You Receive Multiple College Acceptances? Here are some Tips for Choosing the Right College

你收到了多重录取吗? 本文提供一些建议帮你选出适合自己的大学

How do you choose the right college after receiving multiple acceptances? There are many considerations such as financial aid, the strength of the program you intend to study, and the campus and location. After all, this is where you will likely be spending the next four years of your life!

收到多重录取后如何选出适合自己的大学？要考虑的有很多，比如助学金、你打算学习课程的优势，以及校园和地理位置。毕竟，这里可能是你度过未来四年生活的地方！

There is a very popular universal expression that states: “Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it!” It is an expression that takes on powerful significance each spring as top colleges announce their acceptances to students around the country and around the world who are sitting anxiously in front of their computer screens, tablets, or phones, incessantly searching their email and portals of their top-choice colleges. Virtually all students receive at least some rejections, but a vast majority of students receive multiple acceptances. Sometimes, these acceptances are largely weighted toward safety schools or target schools. But in some cases, students receive multiple acceptances from several of their dream schools. Nice problem, right? Nonetheless, a problem is a problem, nice or otherwise.

人们常说：“对于你要什么要谨慎，因为你可能真的会得到！”这句话在每年春天都十分有意义，因为各大名校都在这时向全国和世界各地焦急地坐在电脑屏幕、平板电脑或手机前不停地搜索电子邮件和首选大学门户网站的学生公布录取情况。几乎所有学生都至少会被一些学校拒绝，但绝大多数学生会被多所学校录取。有时，录取学校主要是保底学校或目标学校。但在某些情况下，学生会被几所梦想院校同时录取。真是个好问题，对吧？尽管如此，问题就是问题，不管好坏。

Imagine the pure joy of winning the lottery once, and then winning again, and again, and again. The first time you feel pure exhilaration. Later, with each successive win comes increased anxiety, trepidation, and fear – fear of making the wrong decision. In the case of college acceptances, making the right choice has dramatic implications. Not only is this where you are likely to be spending the next four years of your life, it is also where you will be bridging the important gap between adolescence and adulthood. It is when you will become who you will be for the rest of your life, as opposed to who you were when you were growing up. Choosing the right college is not always an easy task. There are so many factors to consider, each more important than the last.

想象一下中彩票的快感，要是中了一次又一次呢。第一次让你感到欣喜若狂。之后，随着每一次连续中奖，你的焦虑、不安和恐惧都会随之增加——因为你害怕做出错误的决定。对大学录取来说，做出正确的选择具有巨大的影响。因为大学不仅是你很可能会度过未来四年生活的地方，也是你从青春少年到长大成人的地方。你会在这段时间里成长为你以后的样子，不再是原来那个孩子。选择适合自己的大学并不是一件容易的事。有很多因素需要考虑，一个比一个更重要。

Each one of these factors, and perhaps 100 more, is both profoundly important and highly appropriate. Clearly, there is no one factor that should dominate your decision. Further, it makes no sense to produce a list of priorities in advance of receiving your notifications, because that list will become totally useless once your emotions take hold upon seeing the actual list of possible choices. For example, you wanted to go to a small school, but you were accepted at NYU. Or, you wanted to go to a city school, but you are accepted at Cornell. Perhaps you wanted to be on the East Coast but you were accepted at Pomona. The truth is that the only list of priorities that matters is the one you form after you have already received your acceptances.

这些因素也许有100多项，其中的每一项都非常重要且极其适用。显然，没有一项因素可以独立主导你的决定。此外，在收到通知之前列出优先考虑事项是没有意义的，因为当你看到真正列表上可能有的选择后会受情感左右，而这个列表就会变得毫无用处。例如，你本想去一所小型学校，却被纽约大学录取了。或者，你本想去城市里的学校，却被康奈尔大学录取了。也许你本想去东海岸的学校，却被波莫纳学院录取了。事实是，在收到录取通知后再列出优先考虑事项才能让它派上用场。

So, to help you make one of the most important decisions of your life – the decision of where you will go to college – I offer this list of five steps to help you decide.

所以，为了帮助你做出人生中最重要的决定之一——选择哪所学校——我提供了以下五个步骤来帮助你做出决定。

Step One: Consider the importance of a financial aid package to your family. College is very expensive and difficult for many families to afford. So, you may be forced to compare the relative value of a financial aid package to any sense of disappointment you might feel in not attending a school that you wanted to attend more.

第一步：考虑助学金对自己家庭的重要性。上大学花费很高，许多家庭很难负担得起。所以，你可能不得不在助学金的相对价值与无法进入梦想院校的失落感之间做出衡量。

Step Two: Visit each college that you are seriously considering. The last thing you want to do is commit to spending the next four years at a place you have never seen. When you visit, take a tour and consider how being on the campus makes you feel. Do you really envision attending school here? Do you feel happy being here?

第二步：参观一下你正在认真考虑的每一所大学。你肯定不愿意在一个你从未去过的地方度过接下来的四年。参观的时候，四处转转，思考一下你在校园里感受如何。你真的想在这里上学吗？你在这里感到高兴吗？

Step Three: Discuss the decision with your college counselor. Most likely, they can provide you with insights that may make your decision easier or more meaningful. Always consult with those who have more knowledge than you to help you make such an important decision. Consider their opinion in making your decision, though be sure that the decision is ultimately yours.

第三步：与升学顾问讨论一下你的决定。最有可能的是，他们可以为你提供一些见解，使你的决定更容易或更有意义。要向那些比你了解更多的人请教，来帮助你做出如此重要的决定。尽管要确保决定最终是你自己来做，在做决定的时候也要考虑他们的意见。

Step Four: Consider the strength of each college with respect to the major or department you are most likely to choose. Perhaps you were accepted by a great college, but that college does not have a strong engineering, English, or math department. Since your career choice will likely be based on your major (at lease to a certain extent), earning a degree from a college known for that particular major can be helpful in achieving a rewarding career. However, keep in mind that approximately 60% of all students change their mind about their major during their college career.

第四步：考虑每所大学在你最有可能选择的专业或院系方面的实力。也许你被一所很好的大学录取了，但那所大学的工程、英语或数学系并没有优势。由于职业选择可能是以专业为基础（至少在一定程度上如此），所以，从一所以那项专业闻名的大学获得学位对以后找到高薪职业会有帮助。然而，请记住，大约60%的学生在大学生期间改变了他们对自己所学专业的看法。

Step Five: Use the following sentence to determine your visceral reaction to each college:

第五步：用下面的句子来确定你对每所大学的本能反应：

“I go to (name of College or University).” For example:

“I go to MIT.”
“I go to Smith.”
“I go to Dartmouth.”
“I go to Michigan.”
“I go to Harvard.”
“我在（学院或大学的名称）上学。”例如：

“我在麻省理工学院上学。”
“我在史密斯学院上学。”
“我在达特茅斯学院上学。”
“我在密歇根大学上学。”
“我在哈佛大学上学。”

Plug in the name of each college to which you were accepted. Consider choosing the college contained in the sentence that makes you happiest and proudest. Make no mistake, your happiness is of paramount importance in the college selection process.

将录取你的每一所大学的名字都放进句子里。考虑选择读起来让你最开心和最自豪的大学。毫无疑问，你开心在院校选择过程中是至关重要的。

Neil Chyten
Founder, Avalon Admission
才腾·尼尔
Avalon Admission 创始人