编者按：
12月7日，北卡北卡罗来纳州的三角学院（Triangle Learning Academy）特邀总部在加州的教育机构HS2 Academy（哈佛全方位）来到北卡，传授大学申请规划和注意事项。
【华e生活】特约青少年记者陈语砚（Celia Chen）倾听曾担任哈佛大学面试官资深大学升学顾问 Patrick Tapia带来的讲座，“对接”到对一个8年级学生来说，认为重要、有用的信息和启发。
特别说明：陈语砚（Celia Chen）用英文报道这次讲座。中文是【华e生活】编辑编译的。
作者：陈语砚（Celia Chen）
参加 HS2 Academy 举办的大学申请讲座为观众提供了许多有价值的见解。本次讲座在北卡州的三角学院（Triangle Learning Academy）举行，由 Vickie Chiang 和 Patrick Tapia 担任主讲人，分享了如何准备成功的大学申请。在讲座中，前哈佛面试官、资深大学升学顾问 Patrick Tapia 详细讲解了大学申请的关键点。
了解自己，制定申请学校清单
Tapia 先生的一个核心观点是，选择大学或学院时，要先了解自己。他指出，排名最高的学校不一定适合你。他建议学生在选择学校时，关注自己的兴趣和优势。一些影响申请决定的因素包括学校的优势专业、地理位置，以及你是否对学校真正感兴趣。他建议学生设定切合实际的目标，既不要过高估计，也不要过低评价自己。
Tapia 推荐遵循“1/3 法则”，即申请学校清单由“保底校（safety school）”、“可能校（probable school）”和“冲刺校（reach school）”各占三分之一。有些学生倾向于选择大都市地区的学校，而另一些则更注重专业匹配。每个人的清单应该根据自己的需求制定，而不是照搬他人的选择。
申请材料中应该包含什么？
作为曾参与哈佛大学录取工作的专家，Tapia 先生分享了录取官希望在申请材料中看到的内容。他建议，根据你的目标，在申请中聚焦于一到两个主要亮点，同时辅以少量其他活动或成就。他将这种策略形容为“水滴形状”，即全面发展但有突出的亮点。在申请中要充分展示自己，并通过填写所有字段（包括可选部分）表达对学校的兴趣。确保你的申请材料与个人目标一致。
申请文书
申请文书是申请中极为重要的部分。让它具有独特性，向录取团队讲述你的个性和故事。文书应该展示你的特点，而不是单纯列举成就，避免“简历式”或过于悲情的内容，也不要沿用套路化的叙事方式。Tapia 强调，使用人工智能生成文书不可取，因为学校拥有先进的技术，一旦怀疑学生使用了 AI，将直接拒绝申请。
提前申请与提前决定
提前申请（Early Application）和提前决定（Early Decision）可能是不错的选择，但如果处理不当也会带来一些问题。通常情况下，提前申请可以提高录取几率，有些学校的提前录取率可能是常规录取率的两倍。然而，如果你的成绩未达学校要求，在小规模申请者中更容易被拒。如果选择提前决定，请仅申请一所学校。申请两所学校的提前决定可能导致学校发现后撤销录取资格。
申请时间安排
不要在截止日期前最后一刻提交申请！Tapia 提到一些令人后怕的案例，例如服务器崩溃或忘记提交申请，这些情况完全可以避免。提前提交申请在某些情况下有优势。如果录取官处理的申请较少，他们可能会花更多时间审阅你的材料，而不是草草读完最后时刻提交的申请。此外，提前提交还能增加获得面试机会的概率，因为面试名额通常是先到先得的。优秀的申请需要时间，因此不要拖延！
8年级学生的心得体会
作为一名8年级学生，我从这次讲座中学到的关键点包括：追随自己的兴趣和目标。录取官不希望看到多个相同模板的申请者，因此要独特，勇于冒险。
想报名参加 HS2 的课程，请访问以下链接： https://www.hs2academy.com
A pre-Harvard admissions officer gives advice and inspiration to an eighth-grader in North Carolina
■By Celia Chen Dec. 7, 2024
Attending HS2 Academy’s seminar on college applications provided the audience with many insights. Taking place at Triangle Learning Academy in North Carolina, speakers Vickie Chiang and Patrick Tapia presented how to prepare successful college applications. During his seminar, Patrick Tapia, a former Harvard interviewer and Senior College Counselor gave key points on how to successfully apply to college.
Know Yourself, Putting Together a List
One of Mr. Tapia’s main points was to understand yourself when choosing a college or university. Mr. Tapia states that sometimes the best ranked colleges and universities might not be the best fit for you. Mr. Tapia recommends students focus on their interests and strengths when choosing. Some factors in deciding what school to apply to depend on the school’s best majors, location, and whether you are truly interested in the school. Aim for school within reach, don’t over or underestimate yourself. Mr. Tapia recommends following the rule of thirds by composing your list equally of safety, probable and reach schools. Some students aim to apply to schools in metropolitan areas while others aim for their preferred major. Consider what you want, not everybody’s list should be the same.
What should be on your application?
Formerly a part of the admissions process at Harvard, Mr. Tapia describes what admission officers want to see. Depending on what your goal is, focus your college application on one or two major points along with a few other activities/points. Mr. Tapia describes this as a teardrop shape, well rounded but with highlights. Tell the admission team about yourself and show interest by filling out all fields, even the optional ones. Make sure your application aligns with your goals.
Application Essay
Your essay is an extremely important part of your application. Make it unique and tell the admissions team about you. Essays tell the team about your personality and your story. Mr. Tapia also says that types of essays that seem like a “resume,” are overly tragic, and follow a predictable storyline can be cliche. AI is not the way to go, and should definitely not be used as schools have advanced technology and will automatically reject students they suspect of using AI.
Early Application and Decision
Early Application and Decision can be a great idea but can have some downfalls if not used correctly. Often applying early can give you better chances of acceptance. For some schools this can be up to double the rate of regular acceptance. But if your grades do not meet the standard for the school, you can stick out of a smaller pool of applicants and be rejected. If applying for an early decision only apply for one! Applying for two early decisions can cause colleges to rescind your acceptance if they find out.
Application Timing
Do not submit your application at the last minute! Horror stories include server crashes, forgetting to submit and ultimately cause avoidable stress. Submitting early can be beneficial in some cases. If the admissions team has less applications they need to read, they will probably spend more time on yours as opposed to reading the last applications submitted. Submitting early can also grant you an interview spot as they are first come first serve. Good applications take time, so don’t procrastinate!
As an 8th grader, some of my personal takeaways from this seminar was to follow your own interests and aims. The admissions office does not want multiple versions of the same profile so be unique and take risks.
To sign up for HS2’s programs, use this link: https://www.hs2academy.com
