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洞察美本申请:详解“就读意向”

视角学社 2021-06-14



当挑选感兴趣的学校并列出申请清单时,你很可能遇到一个新名词——“就读意向”(Demonstrated Interest)。某些学校明确指出,在招生过程中将申请人对该校的就读诚意纳入考虑范围。不过“就读意向”究竟是什么意思?你如何才能向学校证明你的“意向”?


什么是就读意向


就读意向是招生官在申请过程中考虑的一项软性特质。按照我们的理解,“就读意向”代表着申请人被某个学校录取后,究竟具有多大的诚意选择至该校就读。对于申请人而言,意味着你对申请的某所学校到底有多少激情,或者至少是好奇心?


与平时成绩(GPA)、标化分数,甚至是课外活动不用的是,就读意向不是那些你可以在申请材料中直接表现出来的因素。相反,你必须在申请过程中有意识地向大学展现自己的诚意:例如积极参与校友面试、造访校园、或者参加大学展会。

 

就读意向可以用来预测大学的新生入学率(yield),也就是录取新生中最终入学就读者比例。大学希望确保多数录取新生选择到校就读,因此提升入学率指标异常重要,这也会使学校显得炙手可热就读意向作为一个强有力的预测手段,为大学所用即可更准确地评估申请人录取后报到入读概率。


就读意向的重要性


让我们分别从学校和申请人的视角看待这一问题。从学校的角度考虑,你会认为每一个学校在招生中都会毫不犹豫地考虑就读意向。不过答案可能略微错综复杂。



根据2018年全美大学招生咨询协会(NACAC)所作的调查,多数大学在某种程度上将其纳入考虑范围,不过对63.1%的高等院校而言,其重要程度较为有限甚至根本不存在。以下是受访学校对于就读意向的重视程度:


  • 15.5% 认为相当重要

  • 21.4% 认为比较重要

  • 34.5% 认为重要程度有限

  • 28.6% 认为不重要

 

如你所见,就读意向的重要性因校而异,如果在申请过程中考虑这一因素,很多高校也会在其招生官网告诉大家。举例而言,凯斯西储和卡内基梅隆考虑就读意向,而普林斯顿和范德堡则恰恰相反。

 

并非所有高校都考虑就读意向的一个原因是其不够公平。就读意向的一个表现方式是考察申请人是否参访校园,不过访校需要一定程度的经济条件支持,这对于来自低收入家庭的学生往往难以做到。因此尽管就读意向是一项出色的预测手段,不少希望做到对所有申请人一视同仁的大学放弃在招生过程中考虑申请人的意向。


从学生角度而言,即使一所大学不考虑就读意向,对此进行充分细致地调查也使自己获益匪浅。正如你在下面的列表中看到的那样,那些展现对某所学校充满热情的举动,有助于了解自己是否适合该校。


即使某所大学认真对待就读意向,对学校表现出极大的热情也无法弥补申请材料中的薄弱环节。虽然更有可能录取对学校全心全意的学生,不过大学通常录取那些适合但没有表现出就读意向的学生。另一方面,学校也不会录取那些不适合本校但就读意向强烈的学生。


总而远之,对某校的就读意向有助于在择校过程中提升自己的自信心和录取机会,不过究竟能够起到多大作用,完全因校而异。


如何向学校展示就读意向?


以下方式有助于申请人向学校展示就读意向。你的所有行动应该都出于真心诚意。如果确实对某所学校感兴趣,你会自然而然地将其付诸行动,从而给学校留下良好的印象。


校园访问

虽然可能耗资不菲,如果时间和资源许可,访校是考察一所学校是否合适自己的最好办法。你将看到校园究竟是什么样子,见到招生代表,甚至与在读学生直接交流。如果你来自低收入家庭,很多学校可能支付你的访校费用(例如宾大,详见:https://admissions.upenn.edu/penn-early-exploration-program-0),而且你会得到一位在读学生的接待,这样不但解决住宿费用,而且还可以了解第一手学校信息。


参加高中信息发布会或当地大学展

这是一个无需长途跋涉即可与大学面对面交流的绝佳良机。高中升学指导办公室可以查询到大学招生代表的来访计划以及在当地图书馆或社区中心举办的大学展会。请将上述时间节点记录在自己的日程之中,并在参会时设法与自己感兴趣的大学招生代表攀谈。他们往往会提供签到记录并让你注册成为学校招生邮件的收件人,因此务必注册,这将成为你到场参会的实在证据。


参加线上活动或网络讲座

那些认真看待就读意向的学校认识到这一因素对低收入学生的不利影响,因此也在寻求帮助这些学生证明自己兴趣的可行解决方案。如果你选择的大学提供网络讲座或其他线上活动,请务必注册参与。如果是实时活动并占用上课时间,请询问你的升学辅导老师是否可以利用图书馆或其他安静场所收看网络讲座。


提出相关问题

无论你致电还是致信招生办,有机会交流总是一件好事。你可以咨询有关研究课题、出国留学或实习机会的信息,或者尝试与一位在读学生或教授建立联系,获悉他们分享的看法。话说回来,招生官每天应对不计其数的问题,所以你一定要谨慎从事。只提那些你在别处无法获得答案的问题。

 

打开邮件

大多数高校使用营销软件追踪你是否点开邮件、阅读内容,或者点击邮件中的链接。如果你还没有收到自己所选学校的电子邮件,请尽快注册将自己列入收件名单并开始阅读学校发送的邮件。请点击那些自己真正感兴趣的链接,例如自己拟选专业所在系的网址或者学生博客文章。



在提前阶段提交申请

虽然这一做法并不一定适合每个学生,但提前申请表明你认真考虑就读,尤其是通过ED方式申请的学生显示了最大的就读诚意。作为回报,很多高校的提前申请录取率远高于常规录取率。


哪些学校将就读意向纳入招生考虑范围?


我们在此列举了一些认为就读意向非常重要、重要、有些重要、或者根本不重要的高校。对于前两类学校,展示你的就读诚意有助于提升你的录取机会。


认为就读意向非常重要的学校:

 

American University
Cooper Union
Dickinson College
Georgia College
Hampshire College
Hiram College
Ithaca College
Morehouse College
Quinnipiac University
SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Syracuse University
Thomas Aquinas College
United States Air Force Academy
United States Naval Academy
Wabash College
Westmont College

 

认为就读意向重要的学校:

 

Allegheny College
Auburn University
Augustana College (IL)
Austin College
Bates College
Bentley University
Boston University
Brandeis University
Butler University
Champlain College
Christopher Newport University
College of the Ozarks
Denison University
DePaul University
Eckerd College
Evergreen State College
Fairfield University
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida Southern College
High Point University
Kenyon College
Lehigh University
Loyola University Chicago
Marlboro College
Michigan State University
New College of Florida
Oglethorpe University
Reed College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Roanoke College
Samford University
Seattle University
Seton Hall University
Skidmore College
St. John’s College, Annapolis
St. John’s College, Santa Fe
Susquehanna University
The College of Wooster
Trinity College
United States Merchant Marine Academy
United States Military Academy
University of Arizona
University of Dayton
University of Evansville
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of Tulsa
Wheaton College (MA)


认为就读诚意略显重要的学校:


Agnes Scott College
Alfred University
Alma College
Appalachian State University
Babson College
Bard College
Barnard College
Baylor University
Beloit College
Berea College
Bradley University
Brigham Young University
Bryant University
Calvin College
Canisius College
Case Western Reserve University
Catholic University
Clark University
Coe College
Colby College
College of Charleston
College of the Atlantic
College of the Holy Cross
College of William and Mary
Colorado College
Colorado School of Mines
Connecticut College
Cornell College
Creighton University
Davidson College
DePauw University
Drew University
Drexel University
Duke University
Duquesne University
East Carolina University
Elizabethtown College
Elon University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida International University
Fordham University
Franklin & Marshall College
Furman University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Gettysburg College
Gonzaga University
Goucher College
Grinnell College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hofstra University
Hollins University
Hood College
Howard University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Wesleyan University
Juniata College
Kalamazoo College
Knox College
Lafayette College
Lake Forest College
Lawrence University
Lewis & Clark College
Louisiana State University
Loyola University Maryland
Marietta College
Marist College
Marquette University
McDaniel College
Messiah College
Middlebury College
Mount Holyoke College
Muhlenberg College
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Oregon State University
Pitzer College
Providence College
Purdue University
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Rhodes College
Rice University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rollins College
Saint Joseph’s University
Saint Louis University
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame
Saint Michael’s College
Santa Clara University
Sarah Lawrence College
Sewanee: University of the South
Siena College
Simmons College
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
Spelman College
St. Edward’s University
St. Lawrence University
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
St. Olaf College
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stonehill College
SUNY, Binghamton University
SUNY, Geneseo
SUNY, Maritime College
SUNY, New Paltz
SUNY, Oneonta
SUNY, Oswego
SUNY, Stony Brook University
SUNY, University at Albany
Swarthmore College
Texas A&M University
Texas Christian University
Texas Tech University
The College of New Jersey
Trinity University
Truman State University
Tufts University
Tulane University
Union College
United States Coast Guard Academy
University of Central Florida
University of Chicago
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Connecticut, Storrs
University of Dallas
University of Delaware
University of Denver
University of Florida
University of Mary Washington
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Missouri, Columbia
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of North Texas
University of Notre Dame
University of Oklahoma
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Portland
University of Puget Sound
University of Rhode Island
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of San Diego
University of Scranton
University of Tennessee
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Dallas
University of Vermont
University of Wisconsin
Ursinus College
Villanova University
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest University
Warren Wilson College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington and Lee University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wheaton College (IL)
Whitman College
Whittier College
Wittenberg University
Wofford College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Xavier University
Yeshiva University

 

根本不考虑就读意向的学校;

 

Albion College
Amherst College
Arizona State University
Belmont University
Bennington College
Berry College
Birmingham Southern College
Boston College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
California Institute of Technology
California Poly, San Luis Obispo
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Centre College
Chapman University
Claremont McKenna College
Clemson University
Colgate University
Colorado State University
Columbia University
Cornell University
CUNY, Baruch College
CUNY, Brooklyn College
CUNY, City College
CUNY, Hunter College
Dartmouth College
Drake University
Earlham College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Emerson College
Emory University
Florida State University
Georgetown College
Georgetown University
Georgia State University
Harvard University
Harvey Mudd College
Hendrix College
Hope College
Indiana University
James Madison University
Johns Hopkins University
Kettering University
Loyola Marymount University
Macalester College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Miami University
Millsaps College
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Mississippi State University
North Carolina State University
Ohio State University
Ohio University
Penn State University
Pepperdine University
Pomona College
Princeton University
Ripon College
Rockhurst University
Rutgers University
Saint John’s University (MN)
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
Scripps College
Smith College
Stanford University
SUNY, Purchase College
SUNY, University at Buffalo
Temple University
Towson University
University of Alabama
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Cincinnati
University of Georgia
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Houston
University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
University of Maine
University of Maryland
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
University of Minnesota
University of Mississippi
University of Missouri, Kansas City
University of Montana
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
University of New Hampshire
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of Oregon
University of Redlands
University of San Francisco
University of South Carolina
University of South Florida
University of Southern California
University of St. Thomas (MN)
University of Utah
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Washington State University
Wesleyan University
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Williams College
Yale University


备注:申请学生在确定申请策略时,请务必以学校官网有关“就读意向”之招生政策为准。


参考资料:

https://blog.collegevine.com/what-is-demonstrated-interest-in-college-admissions/

https://blog.collegevine.com/which-colleges-consider-demonstrated-interest/

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/07/27/study-says-common-admissions-practice-measuring-demonstrated-interest-favors


相关阅读:

如何写一篇出色的大学申请文书

华盛顿邮报:申请美国大学必须关注的十大误区

美国研究生DIY申请干货:收获7封名校Offers



作者:海哥,本文经授权发表,版权归属作者和本号联合所有。



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