论文部分内容阅读
When I was a high school senior in Arizona deciding which colleges to apply to， I had my heart set on Princeton. I was a smart kid and got good grades， and I dreamed of going to school far away from home with other high-achieving[得高分的] students. Unfortunately， many other kids had a similar dream， and with one of the lowest acceptance rates[比率] in the country， it shouldn’t have come as a shock when I was rejected. But it did surprise me—it hurt a lot， and felt like a comment[评论] on me as a person. Maybe I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was.
当我还在（美国）亚利桑那州读毕业班的时候，一提到申请院校的问题，就一门心思想进普林斯顿大学。我是个聪明的学生，成绩也不错，总渴望离开老家，与其他优秀的学生一起念书。不幸的是，很多学生和我的想法差不多，而普林斯顿的录取率在美国是数一数二的低，所以我被拒绝也不是什么稀奇事儿。但这确实出乎我的意料——被拒让我非常难过，感觉就像我整个人都被否定了一样。也许我并没有自己想象中那么聪明吧。
Rejection is tough， and dealing with those feelings is especially difficult in the high pressure environment of college admissions. Last spring saw record[创纪录的] rejection rates from many prestigious[声望很高的] schools， due in part to[因为] an ever-growing pool of applicants.
And with early admittance decisions rolling out， we’re sure to hear all sorts of things about how competitive this year’s students are. As such， it’s important to remember that rejection during this process[过程] is not only common， but even likely. Shawn Abbott， assistant[助理] vice president[副主管] of admissions at New York University， agrees.
“Rejection is an inevitable[不可避免的] part of life， and the college admission process is no exception，” Abbott says. “When a student applies to one or many of the most‘popular’ schools， the competition only intensifies[加强]， even for the most qualified students.” The process can seem difficult from a hopeful applicant’s point of view， as there are factors that influence[影响] admissions committees[委员会] that are beyond students’ control.
According to Abbott， “Geographic diversity[差异]， socioeconomic status[地位]， and talent—athletic， artistic， and so on—are just a sample of variables[变数] that may influence our admission decisions at NYU and other equally competitive universities.” The best thing to do， he says， is to focus on the things you can control， such as your grades and extracurricular activities[课外活动]. When you’re feeling the sting[刺痛] of rejection， however， it’s important to keep in mind that the admissions board[管理委员会] was likely weighing factors entirely outside of your control， in addition to the honors[荣誉] you worked so hard to earn in school.
被拒录的感觉并不好受，而在大学录取这样的高压环境下，要处理好自己的情绪就更加困难了。去年春季，许多名校的拒录率都创下了新高——部分原因在于报读人数逐年上涨；而随着提前录取工作的展开，我们一定会听到各种关于今年考生竞争如何激烈的报道。正因如此，我们要记住很重要的一点：在竞争当中遭到拒绝不仅常见，而且是极有可能发生的。纽约大学招生办助理副主任肖恩·阿博特同意这一说法。 “被拒是生活中不可避免的一部分，高校录取工作也不例外，”阿博特说。“当学生向这些最‘受欢迎’的学校中的一所或者多所提交申请时，即便是对最优异的学生来说，竞争也只会越来越激烈。”在一个满怀希望的申请者看来，录取工作似乎难以理解，因为其中有不少超出学生本人可控范围的要素，足以影响招生委员会（的决定）。
阿博特表示：“地理多元性、社会经济地位以及特长——例如体育或艺术特长等等，这些只是其中几个能对纽约大学（NYU）录取决定造成影响的变量，其他竞争同样激烈的院校也一样。”他说，将精力集中在自己能掌控的方面才是上策，比如学习成绩和课外活动。不过，当你因为被拒录而痛苦难过时，可别忘了，除了你在校期间努力获得的各项成绩以外，招生委员会很有可能会对完全超出你控制范围的方面作出权衡。
Let’s say that you do everything right—get good grades， take part in plenty of after-school activities， get killer SAT and ACT注 scores， but you still end up with a thin envelope from your dream school. Take some time to sit in that sadness. You worked hard on your application and may have been thinking about attending that particular college for months， or even years. It’s hard to let go of that dream right away.
Dr. Susan Bartell， a teen psychologist[心理学家] and
author， says the most important thing to remember is that rejection is not personal. The kids who tend to cope better with rejection are those “who understand that it’s not a reflection of them， it’s not a reflection of how smart they are. It’s a reflection of so many other factors.”
Even with the understanding that college rejections are often beyond students’ control， it’s disappointing for any applicant to be told to just move on. Bartell recognizes that hearing “this won’t matter in a few years” is not helpful or comforting[令人鼓舞的]. Instead， she suggests that rejected students tell themselves， “Let’s look where I did get into， and focus on what’s really great about those schools.”Yes， there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.
比方说，你在各方面都做得很好——学习成绩优良，参加了不少课余活动，在学术能力评估测试（SAT）和美国大学入学考试（ACT）中取得高分，但梦寐以求的大学最终给你寄来了一封薄薄的拒绝信。花点时间沉淀一下心情吧。你花了那么多工夫去申请，也许在几个月甚至几年来一直渴望着入读那所院校——要一下子放弃这个梦想，并不是那么容易。
苏珊·巴特尔博士是一名青少年心理学家兼作家，她认为最重要的一点在于，记住拒录并不是针对个人。那些“明白到被拒录并不代表他们自身（的水平），也不代表他们不聪明，这只是许多其他因素的体现”的少年一般都能更好地应对这个问题。
即便是明白到被拒录往往不是自己可以左右的事情，任何申请者若是听见别人让他只管向前迈进，还是会沮丧万分。巴特尔察觉到，“再过几年，这事就没啥大不了的”这种话毫无益处，听着也没有安慰的效果。她反而建议被拒录的学生这样告诉自己：“瞧瞧我到底被哪些学校录取了，重点看一下这几所学校都有什么优点。”没错，在沮丧失落的尽头总有一丝曙光。
The most effective armor[装甲] against rejection is making sure you give yourself more than one option[选项]. “Admission officers aren’t in the business of killing dreams，” Abbott notes. “Everyone should shoot for the stars and apply to a ‘dream school’ or two. But it’s essential[实质的] to include a number of colleges and universities on your list where you exceed[超越] the admitted student profile[个人能力].”
The early admission ship may have sailed， but you still have time to make good regular decision choices. If you apply to a “safety school，” make sure it’s one you could actually see yourself attending. If you apply to several schools you’re interested in with a range of[一系列] admissions requirements， it may not be quite as devastating[破坏性的] to get a rejection from one of them. And if you ultimately[最后] end up at your second， third or even fourth-choice college， you may be surprised at how much you come to like it.“You think that where you’re going is somewhere you’re kind of settling for，” Dr. Bartell says， “But you’ll end up feeling like you can make the best of it.” Shawn Abbott agrees.
“We empathize[起共鸣] with the sting of rejection，”he says. “I was rejected by my first choice university， couldn’t afford to attend my second choice， and found myself exiled[流放] to my third choice school—where I had the best four years of my life and I have no regrets.”
For what it’s worth， so did I.
抵御拒录最行之有效的防护甲莫过于确保你的选择不止一个。“招生专员的工作并不是专门扼杀梦想，”阿博特说道。“每个学生都应该有点志气，申请一到两所‘梦想的学校’。不过，你的单子上还要有那么几所院校，以你的水平足以稳超该校的录取标准，这一点至关重要。”
提前录取那趟船也许已经出发了，但你还有时间做出一些明智的决定。如果你申请的是“保底学校”，确保这是一所你肯定能被录取的学校。如果你申请了好几所感兴趣的院校，其录取要求各有高低，即使其中一所学校寄来拒绝信，你也不至于太难受。
假若最终录取你的是第二、第三甚至第四志愿学校，你也许惊奇地发现自己会渐渐喜欢上它。“你本以为自己所去的地方只是凑合凑合，”巴特尔博士说，“但你将发现自己完全可以随遇而安，好好过下去。”肖恩·阿博特对此表示认同。
“我们对录取被拒的痛苦很有共鸣，”他说。“我被第一志愿大学拒绝了，又读不起第二志愿，最后被流放到第三志愿——我在那里度过了人生中最美好的四年，没有什么可遗憾的。”
无论（以上）建议怎样，我也是这样过来的。
当我还在（美国）亚利桑那州读毕业班的时候，一提到申请院校的问题，就一门心思想进普林斯顿大学。我是个聪明的学生，成绩也不错，总渴望离开老家，与其他优秀的学生一起念书。不幸的是，很多学生和我的想法差不多，而普林斯顿的录取率在美国是数一数二的低，所以我被拒绝也不是什么稀奇事儿。但这确实出乎我的意料——被拒让我非常难过，感觉就像我整个人都被否定了一样。也许我并没有自己想象中那么聪明吧。
Rejection is tough， and dealing with those feelings is especially difficult in the high pressure environment of college admissions. Last spring saw record[创纪录的] rejection rates from many prestigious[声望很高的] schools， due in part to[因为] an ever-growing pool of applicants.
And with early admittance decisions rolling out， we’re sure to hear all sorts of things about how competitive this year’s students are. As such， it’s important to remember that rejection during this process[过程] is not only common， but even likely. Shawn Abbott， assistant[助理] vice president[副主管] of admissions at New York University， agrees.
“Rejection is an inevitable[不可避免的] part of life， and the college admission process is no exception，” Abbott says. “When a student applies to one or many of the most‘popular’ schools， the competition only intensifies[加强]， even for the most qualified students.” The process can seem difficult from a hopeful applicant’s point of view， as there are factors that influence[影响] admissions committees[委员会] that are beyond students’ control.
According to Abbott， “Geographic diversity[差异]， socioeconomic status[地位]， and talent—athletic， artistic， and so on—are just a sample of variables[变数] that may influence our admission decisions at NYU and other equally competitive universities.” The best thing to do， he says， is to focus on the things you can control， such as your grades and extracurricular activities[课外活动]. When you’re feeling the sting[刺痛] of rejection， however， it’s important to keep in mind that the admissions board[管理委员会] was likely weighing factors entirely outside of your control， in addition to the honors[荣誉] you worked so hard to earn in school.
被拒录的感觉并不好受，而在大学录取这样的高压环境下，要处理好自己的情绪就更加困难了。去年春季，许多名校的拒录率都创下了新高——部分原因在于报读人数逐年上涨；而随着提前录取工作的展开，我们一定会听到各种关于今年考生竞争如何激烈的报道。正因如此，我们要记住很重要的一点：在竞争当中遭到拒绝不仅常见，而且是极有可能发生的。纽约大学招生办助理副主任肖恩·阿博特同意这一说法。 “被拒是生活中不可避免的一部分，高校录取工作也不例外，”阿博特说。“当学生向这些最‘受欢迎’的学校中的一所或者多所提交申请时，即便是对最优异的学生来说，竞争也只会越来越激烈。”在一个满怀希望的申请者看来，录取工作似乎难以理解，因为其中有不少超出学生本人可控范围的要素，足以影响招生委员会（的决定）。
阿博特表示：“地理多元性、社会经济地位以及特长——例如体育或艺术特长等等，这些只是其中几个能对纽约大学（NYU）录取决定造成影响的变量，其他竞争同样激烈的院校也一样。”他说，将精力集中在自己能掌控的方面才是上策，比如学习成绩和课外活动。不过，当你因为被拒录而痛苦难过时，可别忘了，除了你在校期间努力获得的各项成绩以外，招生委员会很有可能会对完全超出你控制范围的方面作出权衡。
Let’s say that you do everything right—get good grades， take part in plenty of after-school activities， get killer SAT and ACT注 scores， but you still end up with a thin envelope from your dream school. Take some time to sit in that sadness. You worked hard on your application and may have been thinking about attending that particular college for months， or even years. It’s hard to let go of that dream right away.
Dr. Susan Bartell， a teen psychologist[心理学家] and
author， says the most important thing to remember is that rejection is not personal. The kids who tend to cope better with rejection are those “who understand that it’s not a reflection of them， it’s not a reflection of how smart they are. It’s a reflection of so many other factors.”
Even with the understanding that college rejections are often beyond students’ control， it’s disappointing for any applicant to be told to just move on. Bartell recognizes that hearing “this won’t matter in a few years” is not helpful or comforting[令人鼓舞的]. Instead， she suggests that rejected students tell themselves， “Let’s look where I did get into， and focus on what’s really great about those schools.”Yes， there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.
比方说，你在各方面都做得很好——学习成绩优良，参加了不少课余活动，在学术能力评估测试（SAT）和美国大学入学考试（ACT）中取得高分，但梦寐以求的大学最终给你寄来了一封薄薄的拒绝信。花点时间沉淀一下心情吧。你花了那么多工夫去申请，也许在几个月甚至几年来一直渴望着入读那所院校——要一下子放弃这个梦想，并不是那么容易。
苏珊·巴特尔博士是一名青少年心理学家兼作家，她认为最重要的一点在于，记住拒录并不是针对个人。那些“明白到被拒录并不代表他们自身（的水平），也不代表他们不聪明，这只是许多其他因素的体现”的少年一般都能更好地应对这个问题。
即便是明白到被拒录往往不是自己可以左右的事情，任何申请者若是听见别人让他只管向前迈进，还是会沮丧万分。巴特尔察觉到，“再过几年，这事就没啥大不了的”这种话毫无益处，听着也没有安慰的效果。她反而建议被拒录的学生这样告诉自己：“瞧瞧我到底被哪些学校录取了，重点看一下这几所学校都有什么优点。”没错，在沮丧失落的尽头总有一丝曙光。
The most effective armor[装甲] against rejection is making sure you give yourself more than one option[选项]. “Admission officers aren’t in the business of killing dreams，” Abbott notes. “Everyone should shoot for the stars and apply to a ‘dream school’ or two. But it’s essential[实质的] to include a number of colleges and universities on your list where you exceed[超越] the admitted student profile[个人能力].”
The early admission ship may have sailed， but you still have time to make good regular decision choices. If you apply to a “safety school，” make sure it’s one you could actually see yourself attending. If you apply to several schools you’re interested in with a range of[一系列] admissions requirements， it may not be quite as devastating[破坏性的] to get a rejection from one of them. And if you ultimately[最后] end up at your second， third or even fourth-choice college， you may be surprised at how much you come to like it.“You think that where you’re going is somewhere you’re kind of settling for，” Dr. Bartell says， “But you’ll end up feeling like you can make the best of it.” Shawn Abbott agrees.
“We empathize[起共鸣] with the sting of rejection，”he says. “I was rejected by my first choice university， couldn’t afford to attend my second choice， and found myself exiled[流放] to my third choice school—where I had the best four years of my life and I have no regrets.”
For what it’s worth， so did I.
抵御拒录最行之有效的防护甲莫过于确保你的选择不止一个。“招生专员的工作并不是专门扼杀梦想，”阿博特说道。“每个学生都应该有点志气，申请一到两所‘梦想的学校’。不过，你的单子上还要有那么几所院校，以你的水平足以稳超该校的录取标准，这一点至关重要。”
提前录取那趟船也许已经出发了，但你还有时间做出一些明智的决定。如果你申请的是“保底学校”，确保这是一所你肯定能被录取的学校。如果你申请了好几所感兴趣的院校，其录取要求各有高低，即使其中一所学校寄来拒绝信，你也不至于太难受。
假若最终录取你的是第二、第三甚至第四志愿学校，你也许惊奇地发现自己会渐渐喜欢上它。“你本以为自己所去的地方只是凑合凑合，”巴特尔博士说，“但你将发现自己完全可以随遇而安，好好过下去。”肖恩·阿博特对此表示认同。
“我们对录取被拒的痛苦很有共鸣，”他说。“我被第一志愿大学拒绝了，又读不起第二志愿，最后被流放到第三志愿——我在那里度过了人生中最美好的四年，没有什么可遗憾的。”
无论（以上）建议怎样，我也是这样过来的。