申請大學麵試的全麵探討 by 西西媽 (轉載）

申請大學麵試的全麵探討


一、大學申請時，為什麽要準備麵試

首先得澄清，大學麵試不和你的英文水平有關，但跟你的整個人的綜合素質和臨場應變能力有關。

學生的interview分兩種：“friend to friend” 和“interviewer to interviewee”. 大多數大學麵試是前一種，在一種相對很輕鬆的氣氛裏進行，一般時間大約45分鍾，一小時，甚至一個半小時以上。“interviewer to interviewee”方式的麵試，則類似於我們大人的求診麵試，有限的時間裏給你機關槍似的一串的提問，一般是限製在30分鍾以內。後一種麵試對高中學生來說，難度相對大的多，很容易造成他們緊張。

不管哪一種形式的麵試，孩子們最好都要稍做準備。比方說，你申請哈佛，常規問題：“為什麽你想申請上這所學校？”你絕對不能說：因為這學校有名，因為這學校給的助學金比其它學校多。。。那你就完了！你得先上人家學校的網站，了解人家學校的具體情況及辦學理念等，根據你所選的專業，看他們能否提供你機會，然後，你才能真的告訴別人為什麽你要這所學校：學校的人文環境，學校的辦學理念，具體program對你的吸引力，以及學校對你未來career的可能有的影響等來談。這樣，人家一看，你報這所學校不是盲目的，不是趕潮流，人雲亦雲。

其次，麵試的關鍵是自信。一般無論長短的麵試，都會問你起碼4個問題左右或以上。在有限的時間裏，如果人家問你：“你如何看待美國在國際上扮演的角色的重要性？”即便關心政治的成人，也要思考片刻看如何回答，對吧？更何況一個普通高中學生呢？你不想看到你的孩子在麵對這類問題時沒有思想準備的表情，和“嗯。。。啊。。。噢。。。”等語氣詞，你希望他胸有成竹，侃侃而談，充滿自信。

三，注意談話技巧，不要心裏想什麽，就馬上倒豆子出來。一個例子，有個麵試的人問學生：“你怎麽看待同性戀這個問題？”孩子很正直，馬上不假思索地說了一串來表達對同性戀的道德上的反對和譴責。等他說完，那個麵試他的人平靜地告訴他：“對不起，我就是一個同性戀者。”其結果，你怎麽想都可以。

我方方麵麵觀察了很久，從一般的general questions，到結合學校的興趣所在，以及高中生的實際情況，準備了這些麵試問題。我不敢說它幾年後不會過時，但是，作為現在高中的學生的參考，我相信是可行的。我兒子上麵提到的兩種麵試形式，他都遇上了，一個麵試長達2個小時。另一個麵試，人家排隊的一大堆，每個人隻允許有30分鍾。麵試他的人是一個50出頭俄國裔career woman，當地一家大公司的總裁，說話精練，辦事果斷，雷厲風行。在30分鍾裏，不停地向你扔球，不給你任何喘息的機會。這種情況，你是需要心理承受能力的。我兒子不lucky，遇到這麽tough的麵試的人，但是，他有備而去，沉著接球，並勇敢地拋回去。在舊金山的某大學的校友會的麵試會裏，那天，30個學生，一個接一個，經曆了這場某種意義上的拚殺。

我即使準備這些麵試題給大家，也不代表每一個孩子都能因此有好的麵試結果，因為各人對問題的理解不一樣，答案也會不同；怎麽地回答，大人指點可以，但其實不能代替回答。代替的回答，是變了味兒的，走了形的，人家聽得出來。所以，就此而言，在麵試，你的孩子回答，多少可體現出一些他/她的一向的綜合素質的。

最後，我要說的是，好的麵試，不會增加你孩子的錄取機會，但是，糟糕的麵試，絕對地，會hurt他/她的被錄取的chance. 祝所有的高中生們努力至今，心想事成！

二、如何做好申請大學的麵試

所有的申請大學的麵試，原則上高中生們都應該在其談話深度上進行充分準備，主要要反映出他們的interests, experiences, and goals.
舉一些例子吧，來說明如何準備麵試。

Question 1: Why This College?

這個問題的重點是要顯示出被麵試的學生已經對該大學做了很深入地研究，和他/她對於學校而言是一個strong match.

那麽，如果該學生給了一個generic response that can be applied to any school，這就不成其為一個好的答案。比方說，人家問你：Why Columbia? 你的回答是：“Columbia has strong academics and is in the middle of New York City”，就太泛泛而論了。

比較好的回答是，這個學生給了一個response that showes some level of research but was not specific about why the school is a good fit for him/her. 就好象這樣的回答：“Columbia has very strong science programs and I want to study biology. I could also participate in lab work. There is also so much for students to do because of the many on-campus clubs and organizations. ”

我認為，理想的答案是去show這個學生的極強的enthusiasm for the school，並且給一些specific examples of what the school has to offer and how that directly connects with the students interests. 我如果這樣回答，你覺得怎麽樣？“I love Columbia for so many reasons but the top three are: Access to Research, the Core Curriculum, and an Active Student Body. I hope to pursue my passion for science by working with Dr. Smith, who is working on Sleep Deprivation in Kids. Columbia’s unique core curriculum also really stands out to me. While I want to study in the sciences, literature is my second passion. I want to study Socrates, Emerson and Bronte with the best. And finally, I want to surround myself with an intellectually invigorating student body. As an active member of my school community, I want to get involved in college. At Columbia, the NY Outreach Program will allow me to continue my love of working with young disadvantaged kids. ”

Question 2: Why Your Major?

大學一般都很清楚地知道，大多數高中生進入大學後，很可能會change their major，但是，他們仍希望通過這一個問題能看出這個學生已經有一些sense of direction. 換言之，it is okay to be undecided, but the student should still describe what majors are appealing.

於是，如果一個學生僅僅隻是states a major but does not state why that major appeals to him/her，就像“I think I want to major in Chemistry” 之類的 ，顯然這種答案是不能令人滿意的。

較好的答案標準是，這個學生可以states a major without truly understanding what the major is but can support it with some activities. 舉一個例子，如果該麵試的學生這樣回答：“I want to major in something science oriented. Currently, I am considering Chemistry because it is a good combination of my passion for science and math.” 我認為，這還湊合吧。

優秀的答案，其標準應該是，這個學生should demonstrate thorough knowledge of a major, evidence of some pursuit of knowledge in that subject area and can connect it to the school well. 比方說，或許這樣地回答關於major的問題：“Chemistry is most likely what I will major in. I have taken two Chemistry courses at my school and scored a 5 on the AP test. I love Chemistry because it is the basis of almost everything that we use. This summer I worked with the Earth Science Department at Stanford where I helped a graduate student study the formation of ice on Antarctica. I had to use many of the chemical principles I learned, such as the difference between Oxygen 7 and Oxygen 8, to help date the dirt samples. I also realized that I love working in a lab, even though it can be tedious at times. MIT also has one of the best Chemistry Labs and the new Calorimeter is supposed to be the best in the world for dating samples. I want to be in that environment and learn from the best.”

Question 3: What do you do just for Fun?

在我參觀MIT的時候，他們的admissions officer告訴我，他們最引以為驕傲的是，他們的申請表和所有其它的學校最不一樣的地方在於他們的第一篇essay就是問你，在業餘的時間，不學習的時候，你喜歡做什麽？那個Admissions officer對我說，很多亞裔的家長把孩子都包裝得幾乎完美，但千篇一律，缺乏個性。他們就是要通過這一問題，想看看學生們真正的本我。MIT不是光要high score的學生，他們更看中學生的創造意識和創造能力。Caltech, MIT的功課，絕對比Harvard的 要難念得多。在這兩所學校裏，零點幾的課程需要你的腦子轉得飛快！他們舉例告訴我，有一個學生，在自家的後院裏，按照所學的物理等原理，用幹稻草做了一架飛機模型；還有一個學生，在自家的二樓臥房裏，用電腦編寫了一個洗衣程序，他不用下樓，通過他的電腦發出的alarm的叫聲，便可知道他們樓下的洗衣房的洗衣機已經把衣服洗完了。MIT招生的人說：“我們需要什麽樣的學生？我們就需要這樣的學生! ” 所以，那些high-end schools 問你“What do you do just for Fun ”這樣的問題，其目的是要get to know the student outside of academics. In another word, what will the student bring to campus other than a tran and resume?

如果一個麵試的學生數說一些他/她所做的事情，就是像watching TV or just hanging out with friends等，可想而知，人家會怎麽評判你了。

對這一答案OK的標準是，麵試的學生listed off extracurricular activities but did not mention why they are FUN.

最perfect的回答是，麵試的學生應該show出自己的熱情、熱愛for things he/she does in free time. FUN things were not just extracurricular activities but also hobbies such as making models, running marathons, singing karaoke, etc. 就像我上麵提到的MIT的那些學生所狂熱從事的愛好一樣。

Question 4: What are your three greatest strengths?

其實這是給你一個機會highlight what you want to the admissions committee. 你的回答應該是嚐試著給人一種很thoughtful和nique的印象。千萬別說：“I don’t really know what they are. Can we come back to this question? ” 如果你不能夠很快地come up一個answer的話，這是很糟糕的一件事。

如果你隻是給了3個(或n個)很generic attributes without providing details on how those attributes have been demonstrated，it’s fine but not perfect. 好像“My three greatest strengths are: hard-working, smart, and funny ”之類的。

The great response is that the Student mentions 3 attributes (or 3+ attributes) and describes where each comes from and where they have exemplified it. 舉例，好像這樣的一種回答：“My first strength is my compassion. I have been a peer counselor for the past 3 years and I have realized that I am able to connect with those that call. Many times people just want someone to listen to them without giving advice right away. I feel that, for the most part, I can find that line by just tuning into what the other person needs. My second strength is my ability to lead. For me leadership is not just forcing people to do something that I want but being able to build a common goal and inspiring others to reach it. As Vice-President of the Humanity Club at my school, it was hard to get people to volunteer their entire weekend to build a house because my classmates are so busy. But I created a poster board that told the story of a family that lost their house because of a fire. They had to live on the street and Habitat was helping them. I presented this family’s need to my club and also promised lots of pizza and soda for coming out to help. We took lots of pictures and posted them on the website and our school paper wrote a story about it. The next time the opportunity to build came up，we had more than enough volunteers. And my third strength is my curiosity. I love to ask questions and sometimes these questions lead to more questions than answers. But my curiosity is my drive to learn. I stay up late working on Physics problem sets not because I need to get them done, but because I truly want to understand how vectors are used to build bridges. ”

Question 5: What are your favorite activities?

這是大學給你一個機會，讓你去highlight你的1-3個activities and demonstrate their importance.

如果你僅僅list off several activities without showing why they are important and meaningful，這不算一個好的response.

真正好的回答標準是，學生列舉three activities that he/she loves the most and why they are meaningful and how that makes him/her a good match for the school. 比如這個回答：“Throughout high school, I have tried to get involved in several activities so that I could find my passions. Early on, I realized that swimming was something that I love to do. I have been on the team for all 4 years of high school. I just absolutely love being in the water and what is unique about swimming is that it is both an individual sport and a team sport. I get to challenge myself to be the best and still also contribute to a team goal. I have also been taking guitar lessons for 2 years now and am starting a band. I am not very good yet, but it is just a really great way to relax and I love music. Finally, I have been working on an independent research project where I am trying to determine how light gets filtered through the optic nerve. One day, I hope to become an ophthalmologist and I have been working with a professor at Stanford in his lab. We came up with the project together and I will be entering it into the Siemens Competition. ”

通過以上問題的分析並解答，希望麵試的高中生們能因此get some ideas，sense到麵試的竅門在哪裏。

三、我為所有的現在正在大學麵試和即將大學麵試的高中生們準備的麵試題

1、談談你的favorite books?
2、談談你在高中的the most important experiences?
3、談談你的favorite hobby?
4、What do you want to particsapate in at xxxxx college? (or What can you contribute?)
5、What are you looking for in colllege?
6、Why xxxxx college?
7、談談你的passion to journalism?
8、What is your career goal?
9、你是如何看到了其中的需要當你在選擇做這種community service的時候？
10、Talk about your extracurriculars,your classes and your family?
11、Talk about the difference between the west vs. the east coast?
12、How about your personal attributions?
13、談談你在leadership方麵遇到的challenge和你的解決?
14、What do you think about the role of the US in the world?(test your social/political awareness)
15、Talk about international relations?( also test your social/political awareness)
16、談談你如何看待teamwork?
17、談談你人生當中所經曆的challenges?
18、如何麵對stress?
19、What other colleges did you apply to? Why did you apply to these colleges?
20、怎樣看待同性戀？
21、Where would you like to live in the future?
22、How will you demonstrate responsibility and leadership qualities in your freshman year?
23、What social problems do you think your children will have to worry about in 20 years?
24、What is your weakness?

Ask the interviewer the following questions:

1、The experience the interviewers had at the college?
2、Whether the college was a good fit for the interviewer?
3、問interviewers 他/她所上的這個學校對他/她後來人生的影響？
4、請interviewers 介紹當地的大致綜合情況(包括人文地理環境等)？