申請大學：從《錄取通知書》中悟出的

一年一度，大學EA/ED陸續發榜，牽動了幾多莘莘孩子懵懂心，攪擾了無數惴惴你我不眠夜。

秉承父母的優秀基因，沿襲家長的教育理念，我們的孩子們多在Hard sciences/Engineering上顯露才華。在充分尊重孩子意願的前提下，如何合理地安排Eearly Application，最大效果地發揮孩子們的優勢，「各種選校組合/方案」成了家長們重中之重的責任和義務。

由於ED (Early Decision) 和SCEA (Single Choice Early Action) 對申請學校數量的限制，除非孩子crazy about Ivy League 學校和Stanford，EA (Early Action) 中MIT+Caltech+Safety School 是個策略性的選擇。MIT和Caltech各有側重不同，是個很好的互補，但Safety School 的選擇就大有學問了。具體操盤細節不做贅述，在此只提供一些有關University of Chicago的事例供大家思考。

第一，《錄取通知書》對比
UChicago
Congratulations! It is my great pleasure to inform you that you have been admitted to the University of Chicago, Class of 2017. With your exceptional academic record, strong voice, and impressive accomplishments, you have distinguished yourself in the University』s largest and most competitive Early Action pool to date.

For over a century, the College』s academic tradition has thrived because of students like you who crave ideas that captivate, provoke and transform. We imagine you in our laboratories and on our performance stages, in our libraries and on our athletic fields, immersed in your passions and engaged in the pursuit of knowledge. As part of our residential house system, you will cultivate friendships that endure; in our classrooms, you will create and inhabit a vibrant intellectual space with your peers and professors.

In the coming months, I invite you to explore all that UChicago has to offer. Join us in April for one of our Admitted Student Open Houses, at which you』ll experience firsthand a rich community of scholars, friends, and neighbors. The enclosed information provides details about how to arrange your visit and confirm your enrollment at UChicago. We look forward to receiving your reply as soon as you are ready but no later than May 1, 2013.

We invite you to be part of a school with a glorious history and an exciting present. We look to you to help us grow, to grow with us, and to be part of a tradition that elevates us all.

Sincerely,
James G. Nondorf
Vice President
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

Caltech
It is an honor to offer you admission to the California Institute of Technology and the Class of 2017.

The staff and faculty on the Admissions Committee see in you not only an accomplished student, but also a person with the passion and creativity to pursue mathematics, science and engineering at the highest level. You have an opportunity to take your place amongst a diverse community of scholars with an extraordinary record of achievement and a shared commitment to push the boundaries of discovery.

We are confident that you will have many great opportunities. It is our sincerest hope that you will select Caltech as the place to continue your intellectual journey. We expect that you will maintain the standard of excellence you demonstrated in your application, and trust you will use the remaining academic year to prepare for the challenges and successes that await you. Please note that you have until May 1st to submit your Admitted Student Reply Form.

On behalf of the Caltech community, I extend our warmest congratulations. We hope to welcome you to compus in September 2013.

Sincerely

Jarrid J. Whitney
Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid

第二，申請UChicago考生實例
Decision: Deferred

Objective:• SAT I (breakdown): 2400 single-sitting
• SAT I superscore (breakdown): 2400
• SAT II: 800 (Math II), 800 (Physics)
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
• Senior Year Course Load: Freshman course-load at WPI
• Number of other EA applicants in your school: 1
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, wins at regional and state science fairs
Subjective:• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Leadership in Robotics, Speech, Student Government, GSA, and volunteering at an underprivileged urban middle school
• Job/Work Experience: Full time programmer over the summer, part time programmer during the year
• Essays (Include Subjects):◦ Common App Main: Excellent
◦ EC Short Answer: Excellent
◦ Extended essay (which topic): Very Intellectual
  
• Teacher Recommendation #1: Excellent
• Teacher Recommendation #2: Excellent
• Counselor Rec: Excellent
• Interview: Gentleman and I really clicked
• State (if domestic applicant): MA
• School Type: Small Sci/Math Magnet
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Male
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
• Strengths: Numbers, Recommendations
• Weaknesses: no idea
• Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Honestly, no clue. Yield protection perhaps?
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc:
Accepted to MIT and Caltech, so I'm fine with waiting a few months for a decision.

見仁見智，好壞由人。但當自己的孩子受到有片面追求「Yield protection 」嫌疑並在《錄取通知書》中反覆強調學校自身價值而忽略學生才智的UChicago不公平待遇時，你會怎樣想？

（註：UChicago在「US News & World Report」排名中，從去年多達5個大學並列第五的位置一躍為今年只有2個學校並列第四的水平。個中運作技巧自有乾坤）

U of Chicago 和 Cal Tech 都是很好的學校。祝賀！

有點糊塗，Caltech與U of Chicago之間二選一？雖然如版主所說都是好學校，但這兩個真不大一樣。U of Chicago 經濟商科等很強，但沒有工科；Caltech很小，本科生一年只有200多，但理工科很強。所以，如果是選經濟商科肯定是u of Chicago, 如果是學理工科，肯定是caltech. 這應該比較清楚好判斷。

泥馬 發表於 2012-12-19 06:07
有點糊塗，Caltech與U of Chicago之間二選一？雖然如版主所說都是好學校，但這兩個真不大一樣。U of Chicag ...

兩者是很不一樣的學校。共同點是兩個都是 Multi Choice Early Action。可以同時申請。

泥馬 發表於 2012-12-19 22:07
有點糊塗，Caltech與U of Chicago之間二選一？雖然如版主所說都是好學校，但這兩個真不大一樣。U of Chicag ...

UChicago 的hard sciences 也是相當不錯的。想當年，楊振寧和李正道可都是UChicago的PhD。
作為Safety School，UChicago 可以是有能力競爭MIT/CalTech/Harvard/Princeton/Stanford 等學校孩子們的一個選擇。相類似的，還有UMichigan, UIUC等。
UChicago的「所做所為」令人相當意外，前後對比，你會發現很多問題。過多地重視學校本身的價值和對外排名，就會犧牲學生的利益。且不說比其他學校都昂貴的報名費，單單說起不到真正意義上Safety School的作用，就夠讓人感到窩心的。這就是為什麼有「Yield protection」一說。

yellowteaspoon 發表於 2012-12-19 23:17
UChicago 的hard sciences 也是相當不錯的。想當年，楊振寧和李正道可都是UChicago的PhD。
作為Safety Sc ...

有道理，我女正經歷著類似的局面。她同學中有許多非常優秀的孩子（不僅限於亞裔），結果全部被UChicao給deferred。看著孩子們經歷著自他們有生以來最痛苦的煎熬和消沉，做父母的真的是肝腸寸斷，能做的就是問飢餓問寒暖，想盡各種方法幫他們渡過難關。這其中的折磨難以用語言表達。

晶靜睛 發表於 2012-12-19 08:55
有道理，我女正經歷著類似的局面。她同學中有許多非常優秀的孩子（不僅限於亞裔），結果全部被UChicao給d ...

不應該把U of Chicago當成safety school. 它的錄取是有點怪異。you need to have something else besides good grade and test score.

白露為霜 發表於 2012-12-20 03:43
不應該把U of Chicago當成safety school. 它的錄取是有點怪異。you need to have something else besides ...

那位媽媽和女兒沒有把UChicago當成safety school, 而是當成dream school, 因為女兒被UChicago deferred, 看到孩子為此受煎熬而無奈。
樓主說的情況比較牛，是有實力問鼎hypms的學生，把UChicago當成safety school.而UChicago確很精明，有yield protection的算計，所以把那些學生deferred. 不知這樣理解對不對。

泥馬 發表於 2012-12-20 02:28
那位媽媽和女兒沒有把UChicago當成safety school, 而是當成dream school, 因為女兒被UChicago deferred,  ...

我的感覺是每個學校在尋找不同的學生，這樣可以直接避免競爭。這幾年很少見到HPYSM通吃的學生。同樣有HPYSM的實力並不能保證芝加哥大學的錄取。

這裡有沒有 yield 的考慮，當然有。這也保證資源不會被少數極出色的學生給霸佔了。

泥先生目光如炬，心似明鏡。

真實的情況就是如此，本人甚為欣賞你在描述UChicago時用的「精明」二字，一語中的。各個學校都有自己的風格，無可厚非，包括UChicago的「精明」。但真實到自己身上，不同價值觀的衝突油然體現。對於我們中國人的孩子來講，在原本就競爭異常激烈的大學升學市場中，更容不得我們有半點馬虎。不是每個人/家庭都能夠清楚了解所有大學的特點/秉性。在此我只是用我有限的資源，向大家表述一下對UChicago的個人看法。

當今管理層領導下的UChicago，在「學校無限」和「排名至上」的理念驅使下，採取了一系列行之有效的措施，並在短短的幾年時間內，迅速達到了目的。只是這些在不同階段所實施的措施會產生完全不同的效果，直接影響到我們的孩子和家庭。申請早期急功近利的做法在狂斂報名費收入的同時（2013年EA申請人數：UChicago-10,316, Harvard-4,856, Princeton-3,816, Yale-4,514），也燃起了許多不知內情考生和家長的狂熱激情，但最後狠狠的一刀把申請考生和家長斬個粉碎，學校自己卻毫不留情面地保留了排名高升的極端利益。這種不厚道的做法，在當下制度里無可挑剔，所謂任宰任挨。

我不想挑起任何事端，只是就事論事罷了。UChicago絕對是頂尖學校，這點毫無疑問。能進去的都是尖子，反之現在看來，進不去的有很大比例也是尖子。此尖子彼尖子，是做高興的尖子，還是做被傷害的尖子，希望我的拙文能對大家有個提示，做以參考。

另，泥先生，我的理解是，無論孩子申請的是「Safety」還是「Dream」 School，也無論此前是否已有錄取通知在手，見到這些從沒見過「大世面」未經「風雨」從來沒有被否定過的孩子們在閱讀被「deferred」甚至直接被「rejected」 email 的反應時，你的心會在流淚，會很痛。但他們都會過去的，並因此成長，就像晶靜睛所說的，「能做的就是問飢餓問寒暖，想盡各種方法幫他們渡過難關。這其中的折磨難以用語言表達 」。

yellowteaspoon 發表於 2012-12-20 07:58
泥先生目光如炬，心似明鏡。

真實的情況就是如此，本人甚為欣賞你在描述UChicago時用的「精明」二字，一語 ...

謝謝分享。

yellowteaspoon 發表於 2012-12-20 23:58
泥先生目光如炬，心似明鏡。

真實的情況就是如此，本人甚為欣賞你在描述UChicago時用的「精明」二字，一語 ...

過獎了，您才是專家級的深入專業的了解, 看您的專業評論后，俺努力領悟對了就好。