如何選擇最保底的大學(xué)？

如何選擇最保底的大學(xué)？

A safety school is a college or university that a student is likely to receive an acceptance to based on their academic profile. How can high school students confidently select the right fall-back options for them? Below, two high school graduates discuss their suggestions for selecting the perfect safety schools.

保底學(xué)校是一所學(xué)生很可能會(huì)因?yàn)樗麄兊膶W(xué)術(shù)背景而被錄取的學(xué)院或大學(xué)。高中生如何才能自信地為自己選擇正確的退路呢?下面，兩位高中畢業(yè)生討論了他們對(duì)選擇保底學(xué)校的建議。

Select institutions that are truly safety schools for you. Danica Todorovic, a sophomore at North Park University in Chicago, applied and was ultimately accepted to three safety schools. Her advice to current high school students is simple: Ensure that your safety schools are truly safety schools. As Todorovic stated via email, “I chose these three safety schools because I knew that I would probably get accepted into two or three of them.” However, for individuals who are just beginning the college search process, this may raise one very important question: “How do I know if a college or university is a safety school for me?”

選擇對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)真正保底的學(xué)校。芝加哥北帕克大學(xué)(North Park University)大二學(xué)生丹妮卡·托多羅維奇(Danica Todorovic)申請(qǐng)了保底學(xué)校，并最終被三所保底學(xué)校錄取。她給當(dāng)前高中生的建議很簡(jiǎn)單:確保你的保底學(xué)校是真正的保底學(xué)校。正如托多羅維奇在電子郵件中所說(shuō)，“我選擇了這三所保底學(xué)校，因?yàn)槲抑牢铱赡軙?huì)被其中的兩到三所錄取。然而，對(duì)于那些剛剛開始尋找大學(xué)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，這可能會(huì)提出一個(gè)非常重要的問(wèn)題:“我如何知道一所大學(xué)是否是保底學(xué)校呢?”

The answer lies in conducting research, particularly as every high school student will have a different threshold for safety schools. Review each institution’s website or contact the admissions office to determine the school’s key statistics, as well as how they relate to your own. Two great statistics to keep in mind are the average GPA of an admitted student and the average ACT/SAT score of an admitted student. Your ACT/SAT results and GPA should be higher than the numbers provided by the college or university in question.

答案在于開展研究，尤其是保底學(xué)校對(duì)每個(gè)學(xué)生的門檻都不一樣。瀏覽每一所大學(xué)的網(wǎng)站，或者聯(lián)系招生辦公室，確定學(xué)校的主要統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)，以及它們與你自己的數(shù)據(jù)之間的關(guān)系。要記住的兩個(gè)重要數(shù)據(jù)是:一名被錄取學(xué)生的平均GPA和一名被錄取學(xué)生的平均ACT/SAT成績(jī)。你的ACT/SAT成績(jī)和GPA應(yīng)該高于所申請(qǐng)?jiān)盒Ｌ峁┑臄?shù)字。

Create a “minimum requirements” list. It is imperative that you choose safety schools that you would genuinely be happy to attend. There are several ways to do so, one of which is attending a campus tour, but Caitlin Grove suggests another: the “minimum requirements” list. Like Todorovic, Grove applied to and was accepted to three safety schools. Via email, Grove, who ultimately attended Southern Illinois University—Edwardsville, explained that she prioritized several criteria when selecting her safety schools. These included proximity to her home as well as “a strong communications department, with a good deal of extracurriculars that would support my career goals.”

創(chuàng)建一個(gè)“最低要求”列表。你必須選擇你真正樂(lè)意就讀的安全學(xué)校。有幾種方法可以做到這一點(diǎn)，其中之一就是參加校園參觀，但凱特琳•格羅夫(Caitlin Grove)提出了另一種方法:“最低要求”清單。和托多羅維奇一樣，格魯夫申請(qǐng)了三所安全學(xué)校，并被接受。格羅夫最終就讀于南伊利諾伊大學(xué)埃德沃茲維爾分校(Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville)，她解釋在選擇保底學(xué)校時(shí)優(yōu)先考慮三個(gè)條件。其中包括離她家很近，以及“一個(gè)強(qiáng)大的溝通部門，有很多課外活動(dòng)可以支持我的職業(yè)目標(biāo)。”

When creating your list of minimum requirements, Grove recommends identifying what you “need out of a potential school.” Both Grove and Todorovic stress the importance of extracurricular activities, but your list should also speak to items like available majors . In short, the safety schools you are considering should satisfy most of the intangibles on your “minimum requirements” list. This list should also help you identify school strengths in the areas that interest you most – a key component in applying to safety schools that you truthfully wish to attend.

格羅夫建議，在制定最低要求清單時(shí)，要確定“你對(duì)潛在學(xué)校的需求”。格羅夫和托多羅維奇都強(qiáng)調(diào)課外活動(dòng)的重要性，但你的清單也應(yīng)該包括一些項(xiàng)目，比如可用的專業(yè)。簡(jiǎn)而言之，你正在考慮的保底學(xué)校應(yīng)該滿足你“最低要求”清單上的大部分無(wú)形要求。這份清單還應(yīng)該幫助你確定學(xué)校在你最感興趣的領(lǐng)域的優(yōu)勢(shì)——在申請(qǐng)你真正希望就讀的保底學(xué)校時(shí)，這是一個(gè)關(guān)鍵的組成部分。