两个同学一个无差别地申请25所学校而另一个精心地申请7所学校。哪个会更容易成功？毫无疑问，当然是后者。要知道，得到学校录取通知需要的是对学校全面的了解，而不是额外的Essay。因此无论何时都要用全面的眼光筛选学校！因为你的同龄人全都是这做的。统计显示，仅有2.9%的高中应届毕业生申请学校时超过12所。接下来将为大家介绍USNEWS为大家提供的缩小选校范围的方法。

从自己开始！ 可能某些同学会感觉很好，因为他们只想申请两所大学：附近的州立大学、他哥哥去的大学。但是，这样的大学申请方式犯了一个致命的错误！“一定要把着眼点放在自己身上而不是大学上，”密歇根安娜堡大学的教育顾问John Boshoven指出。即根据自己对于课程的喜好、学习方式和自己的目标等要素选择大学。纽约一家教育咨询机构的董事长建议我们要和我们的家长、喜欢的老师或者学校的行政人员交流自己日常的一些想法，他们会帮助我们了解自己的需要，确定自己偏好的学科，帮助我们挑选适合自己的学校。

做好功课 这将带领我们进入下一个搜索项目。在我们了解自己的需要以后，我们要做的是了解各个学校。专家建议每个美国学生从初中开始每周拿出一个小时额外的时间做大学的“功课”。包括浏览各个学校的网站以及到大学实地参观等。我们在中国没有条件去大学参观，但是浏览大学的网站这点起码要做好，不仅要了解常青藤名校，对那些不那么知名的学校也要有个了解。有的高中会请大学录取委员会的成员来学校，绝对不要放过这个更深层次了解学校的机会！如果学校没有提供这样的机会，可以到当地的一些大学贸易会去获取我们需要的信息。

当然，不同的人了解的内容重点自会不同，但是不论是什么样的学生，都应将了解学术方面的信息放在首位，毕竟那才是上大学的意义所在。其次是学校的生活环境，包括校园的各个社团、男女比例和种族情况以及地理位置（主要是气候情况）。以上都是我们要考察的项目，这些项目也将会影响到我们最终的决定。

判断学校 你可能经常会听到人们谈论是要去一个“大”学校还是“小”学校。这两种学校有自己固定的特点：“大”一点的学校有更多的资源和机会，但是学校里会有相当繁琐的手续而且有些课程会直接由本校的研究生来上；“小”一点的学校，学生之间会有更紧密的人际关系，也会更加注重本科教育，然而不会有太多的学术交流和社交机会（这里的“大小”指的是学校的学生数量，但是学生数量少而活动丰富的学校或者学生数量多而人际关系紧密的学校也不在少数）。

根据自己理想专业选择学校的过程中，我们与那些聊得来的人交流我们的想法和计划。他们给我们提供的参考学校名单里出现频率最高的那些名字，将成为我们给予关注的学校。

你好啊，校园生活 以上的这些也许会对我们的择校有很大帮助，但是无一例外地都不能和亲自去校园实地参观相比（大部分中国同学是没有这个条件啦～）！话虽如此，从中国到那边的学校参观的成本相对还是比较高的，因此这一项对于中国学生来说，果断是不太适合。但是如果有能够去实地考查学校机会，一定不要放过。几乎所有美国的大学申请指导机构都建议高中生们到自己心仪的学校里去走走。“只有当你走在校园里，在图书馆里学习的时候，你才会知道这个学校到底值不值得交一次申请费。”

在游览的时候一定与校园里的学生们交流他们对这所大学的看法：他们最喜欢这所学校的哪一点，学校还有那些方面要改进等等。不仅能够使我们更加深入地了解学校，有些细节甚至会影响到学校的录取结果。比如这所大学正准备建立一个社区服务机构，在申请文章中就可以提到自己曾经领导过类似的项目，相信在录取过程中，定会增色不少。

短清单完成 你需要一个笔记本来做这件事：决定自己的初选学校列表里哪所学校要删掉。

首先要放心：美国大部分大学每年至少会录取一半以上的申请者，只要理智地筛选学校，绝对不用担心会全部悲剧掉。

选校的路没有万能的公式，但是有一些好方法能帮助我们选出1－2所比较高一点（即超过自己水平）的学校，3所有可能冲到的以及2所十拿九稳的。当然，还有一项即所谓的保底校（要注意，我们完全有可能只能去自己的保底校，因此在选择保底校时，一定要做好最终可能去这个学校的心理准备）。当你完成了上面这些工作后，你的列表单将只有少量的几个选择。同时要知道，如果自己的申请清单里只有MIT、耶鲁、普林斯顿这样的名校，是很不理智的！如果这些学校有适合自己的项目，当然不要错过。若是没有，那么就是时候给这些学校排一个先后次序了。在这个过程中最重要的一点是我们要明确去这个大学的目的，一定要以学术环境为首先考虑的因素！如果你去纽约大学仅仅是为了能够住在格林威治镇而不是考虑到它能带给我们的学术机会,那么还是希望你能重新慎重地考虑考虑吧。

最后，希望大家能记住，选学校绝对是一项以自我为中心的工作，不要被别人的意见所动摇哟。

尾声 即使做完了以上这些，也不是休息的时间…在申请的过程中（面试&写Essay的时候）要有意无意地提到自己在学校的参观过程中发现的一些细节。对于这些细节的理解是体现你对于这所学校的了解和兴趣的一个最好的说明。一定会大大地增加录取机会滴！

原文

You don’t need to be a math whiz to solve this one: Who has better odds of gaining acceptance at the college that’s the best match, the kid who applies to 25 schools indiscriminately or the one who applies to a carefully whittled-down list of seven?

Safety in numbers doesn’t apply to getting into college, no matter how many applications you think you can churn out with the help of your good pal, the Common App. Getting that fat envelope from the school of your dreams requires figuring out exactly which school that is, and that takes introspection and research, not extra supplemental essays.

And just to keep a sense of perspective (in case you’re friends with that first kid), according to the Higher Education Research Institute’s most recent survey of freshmen, only 2.9 percent of students applied to 12 or more schools.

It starts with you. Maybe you’re feeling in pretty good shape right now because you have only two colleges you’re interested in: that nearby state school and the one your older brother attends. Nice try: Both you and our college application addict are making the same mistake. “Always start with you, not with the colleges,” advises John Boshoven, counselor for continuing education at Community High School in Ann Arbor, Mich. Before you pore over information about class sizes, majors, and male-to-female ratios, consider these questions: What are your values? What’s your learning style? Which classes do you enjoy? Which do you dislike or not do well in? What makes you happy? What are your goals?

Keith Berman, president of Options for College, a college counseling and consulting firm in New York, calls this the collection phase. He recommends making an activity list, journaling to put words to feelings you’ve never expressed, and talking to people—your guidance counselor, a favorite teacher, your parents—about your interests and skills. You should also write a résumé.

One student who walked into Boshoven’s office announced that she was planning on studying prelaw or premed in college. “So I said, ‘You must like science.’ She said no. Then I said, ‘Do you like to read a lot?’ and again she said no. She had just been telling me what her parents had always told her,” he recounts. After delving more deeply, they started talking about her job as layout editor for the yearbook, and it became clear to both of them that what she was truly interested in was graphic arts.

Do your homework. And that brings us to your second research project. Now that you know who you are, it’s time to figure out what’s up with all of these colleges.

Marty O’Connell, executive director of the nonprofit Colleges That Change Lives, wants you to schedule an extra hour of homework a week, starting in your junior year, to look over websites and virtual tours to get a sense of different kinds of schools. “Every student agrees on this part of the college search process—they don’t have enough time to do it on top of everything else,” she explains. So set up these sessions, and you’ll have enough time for a proper hunt that takes detours—away from the Ivy League, out of your state (and even your region), and certainly to at least a few places you’d never heard of before you got going.

Many high schools bring in admissions officers from colleges, and while you shouldn’t skip class every time one visits, these can be valuable chances to dig further. These folks are likely to be able to answer questions you couldn’t figure out from navigating a website—plus they’re probably the ones who will eventually read your application, so snag some face time early on. If your school doesn’t offer these opportunities, keep an eye out for local college fairs, like the ones run by the National Association for College Admission Counseling and Colleges That Change Lives .

What you’re looking for will depend on your interests, but, of course, it should start with academics (that is, after all, the point of attending college). You can browse through course catalogs, peek at faculty Web pages to find out what they’re researching, and look into study abroad.

Then, there are the quality-of-life issues that define a college experience. O’Connell calls it the “Ultimate Frisbee Search.” Although you’ll be hard pressed to find a school that doesn ‘ t have a Frisbee presence on campus, the idea is that certain passions are enough to drive your decisions. It may be that you want to avoid a school with Greek life or you desperately want to join a Bhangra dance troupe. Maybe you can’t imagine attending a school that’s more than a three-hour trip from home. Those are all valid parameters. Another popular one: temperature! “If you know you don’t like cold weather, don’t go to Rochester,” notes Jayne Fonash, guidance director at the Academy of Science in Sterling, Va.

Sizing up schools. You’ve probably also heard people talk a lot about whether you want a “big” school or a “small” school. There’s truth in the general stereotypes of each—big schools tend to have more resources and opportunities but often have more red tape and classes taught by graduate students, while small schools tend to be closer knit, with more of an undergrad focus, but may have limited academic and social opportunities.

In terms of individual schools, however, these views could be all wrong. “Sometimes [students are] afraid it won’t be exciting if it’s under 2,000 students, but then they realize there’s a lot more going on than they expected,” O’Connell says. Conversely, says Berman, a big school doesn’t seem that way if it’s well run, and there are many honors programs or colleges within larger schools that provide an intimate environment. So don’t blacklist a school solely based on the numbers.

When putting together your initial list, it can help to work backward from your goal, suggests David Montesano, owner of College Match, a college coaching and placement service. Want to be an engineer or a music video director or a neurosurgeon? “Find ones you can talk to, and find out which schools they attended,” he says. “You may hear the same names over and over again.”

Hello, campus. All of this poking around from home is helpful, but nothing beats visiting campuses and trying them on for size. “You’ll know from that very first moment when you step out of the car,” promises Brian Smith, director of college guidance at Memphis University School, a college-prep school in Tennessee. Just walking around and envisioning yourself hanging out in that student center or studying in that library can help you determine if a school is worthy of the application fee.

Take some of what you see with a grain of salt—the first day of finals will feel different from the first one after spring break wherever you go, and a sunny afternoon is sure to make a better impression than a rainy one. But don’t feel you need to disregard your gut. “Things can go bad on any day, but they’re more likely to happen in a bad place,” Berman says.

Sit in on classes, grab a meal at the dining hall, and try to spend the night in a dorm to get a feel for what your life could be like for the next four years. Instead of reading about how talented the a cappella singers are, hear them in person. Look in on that shiny new lab, and find out if undergrads are really getting a chance to use it. Grab copies of student publications for an insider’s look at campus concerns.

The best resource of all? The students. In Montesano’s view, you’re there on a reconnaissance mission, so skip the tour and wander around on your own. “Students don’t want to do it the first few times, but I tell them they need to go up to students and ask what they like about their school. What would they improve? That’s gold,” he says, adding that five students is his minimum. Not only will that help you decide whether to apply, but it can also shape how you eventually fill out your application. If you discover that the school is looking to build up its community service opportunities, you can mention that you’ve led the charge for similar change at your high school.

It’s also worth trying to set up chats with faculty, and if you’re planning on playing a sport, make sure you get a chance to meet the coach. Unlike the random junior who ignores you when you try to strike up a conversation on the quad, the coach is someone you’re sure to be interacting with regularly.

And pull out that journal again to jot down notes about your experiences, Montesano says. If your parents are dragging you on a 15-schools-in-four-days tour, it can be easy to confuse what you saw at each school even by the next week.

Shortlist. You’ll be needing that notebook for your final assignment: determining which schools are going to make the cut. That requires balancing the fruits of your research with a reality check. Where would you like to go that will actually accept you?

First, some reassurance: While it’s true that it’s an ultracompetitive time in college admissions, most schools still accept more than half of the people who apply. If you craft your list wisely, there’s no reason to fear total rejection.

Fonash says there’s no magic formula for developing the list, but a good guideline is to pick one or two reach schools, three in that middle range (“possibles,” as some folks call them), and two that seem like sure bets. That last category is sometimes called “safety schools,” but it’s important not to think of these places just as ones that will accept you. You might end up there, so you have to be OK with that. “If you can’t fathom going there, it’s not a viable option,” Smith says.

If you’ve done the work above, you’ll find a few options that fill the bill, even if they don’t thrill you quite like your top-choice school. “The idea that there’s one magical fit for every student is a fairy tale,” Fonash says. “There are several schools where you can be happy.”

On the other side of the spectrum, while applying to just MIT, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford is probably not a smart strategy for almost anyone, don’t be afraid to stretch a little. Berman was astounded when a student told him where she was applying and never mentioned Columbia, even though it seemed to match her goals exactly. “I called her parents, and they said, ‘She can’t get into Columbia.’ I told them, ‘It’s hard to get into Columbia because they’re accepting people like your daughter.’ The perfect program was staring them in the face, and she wasn’t going to apply at all.”

And what if you feel you can’t find the perfect program? It’s time to prioritize. Every school has its pros and cons, and you may have found that not one school managed to check off every box on your wish list. “There might be a school that’s the most intellectually rigorous place you can find, but they don’t have the meaningful internship program that’s at this other school,” Berman says. “You might decide, ‘I can find those internships on my own.’ Or ‘I can get the intellectualism on my own.’ ”

Also, make sure it’s the school you’ve fallen for, not the location, explains Berman: “I often have students ask themselves this question: Do I want to live in New York someday, or do I want to go to that institution?” If your list of reasons for dreaming about New York University is entirely based on living in Greenwich Village and not on academic opportunities, remember that you’ll have the rest of your life to live wherever you want.

In the end, the most important factor is making these decisions for yourself. Friends may mock schools they’ve never heard of, and parents may advocate for places they wish they’d attended, but it’s your life and your education, and, ultimately, you have to feel comfortable with your choices.

The payoff. Even after all of that, it’s not naptime yet. There’s still the pesky part of actually applying to school. But the work you’ve already done is going to make it feel a whole lot easier (and cheaper, since you’ll have fewer application fees to dole out). In those supplemental essays, you can note the discussion you had with that economics professor on your visit, the fascinating op-ed you saw in the school’s daily paper, or the powerful reaction you had to the mural in the library. And during interviews, when you’re asked about why you’re applying here? “You’ll give an answer with substance to it other than ‘My friends are going here, and the lawn is gorgeous,’ ” Fonash says.

Those details indicate “demonstrated interest,” which is something admissions officers say gives students’ acceptance chances a boost. And that will definitely come in handy when senior spring rolls around.

（摘自usnews.com）