在申请美国大学时,大家都知道自己需要写一篇个人陈述作为申请材料的一部分,但可能并未意识到,很多学校会有额外的文书要求,如补充文书。
有的学校只要求一篇补充文书,有的则要求多篇。比如维克森林大学(WFU)在2020-2021申请季中要求6篇补充文书,不过其中有几个问题是清单罗列,如“个人前十清单”,而不是写短文。补充文书的题目要求各不相同,有的学校还让学生自行选题。比如北卡教堂山(UNC)2020-2021秋季入学申请中包含了3个题目,学生需要从中选择2个进行回答。
补充文书通常比个人陈述篇幅短些,字数普遍不多,然而在申请中的作用却不比个人陈述小。例如,WFU对每篇补充文书的字数要求是150字,而UNC则是每篇250字。而对比来说,CommonApp中个人陈述的字数要求则是650字。
我们可以先看一个被TOP8的杜克大学录取的范文:
补充文书问题:
“If you are applying to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something in particular at Duke that attracts you? Please limit your response to one or two paragraphs.”
范文内容:
When I visited the Duke campus last fall, I immediately felt at home. The Gothic architecture and tree-shaded walks created an atmosphere of peaceful but serious reflection. The place is at once Southern — which, as an Alabamian, is important to me — and universal as it reflects the traditions of Europe and the classical world. The Trinity College liberal arts curriculum also reflects this unique pairing of the modern South and the global past. For example, I am considering a major in history, and am very interested in the combination of geographic and thematic areas of study offered by Duke’s history program. The combinations of areas offer seeming endless areas of specialization. One interesting possibility is a focus in the geographic area of the U.S. and Canada, combined with a thematic study of Women and Gender or African Diaspora. By juxtaposing and intertwining these two foci, my understanding of the American South — and much more — would be greatly enriched. This innovative and flexible approach to both traditional and non-traditional subject matter is greatly appealing to me. I know by reputation and from a friend currently enrolled in Trinity College that the liberal arts curriculum is very challenging, but also rewarding. I believe I am more than prepared for these challenges, and that I will thrive in this climate. Duke University’s campus already feels like home; I believe that its academic opportunities will also provide a stimulating environment in which I feel I belong.
范文分析点评:
首先,我们从杜克大学的文书提示可以知道,招生人员想知道“有什么特别的地方让申请者想要来到这里”。那么想要写出受到青睐的文书,就要在字里行间表现出针对性内容——杜克大学的特别之处。
而这篇范文就表现的非常好,虽然这篇文章只有一段,但是作者展示了她想要申请杜克大学的三个特点(欧小冶分别用不同颜色在文中标记了哦):
-
哥特式和南部风格的校园吸引了她; -
历史课程的设置具有灵活性; -
她在杜克大学有个朋友。
值得注意的是,作者提到的第二点才是本文成功的关键!显然她抓住了问题的本质,着重写出了杜克大学的特别之处。同时,这也代表作者显然对学校的课程设置进行了研究;她申请杜克大学并不仅仅是因为它的美丽或声誉,更是因为她喜欢这所大学的学习方式。而招生官也肯定会注意到,这位申请人做了一些研究,有充分的理由想要进入杜克大学。
- 认真审题
- 列出大纲
- 避免重复
- 缩小主题
- 保留特点
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