对于申请美国大学而言,仅仅只做好背景活动和维持学校GPA已经不能满足同学们的需求。随着大学的发展和更新,以及各大政策的变更,School research院校调研已经变的越来越重要,为了提前了解自己的dream school(目标院校)的申请要求,录取偏好,我们今天就教会大家如何了解、调研一所大学。
美国的学校几千所,种类千千万万,为了方便同学们学习,我们做好了一个调研流程方便各位同学参考:以 Brandeis University 为例,具体可以参照以下内容来进行学习;学校调研工作不仅有助于学生今后申请夏校或者本科申请,提前了解学校申请要求,更是帮助同学们准确定位自己目前和目标院校的差距,以及小文书的素材收集。
Brandeis University
①admission
一般情况学校官网都会有专门针对 international applications 的选择,如果在 apply 里面没有找到,可以从 admission 里面直接选择针对所有人的申请要求,之后会有链接引导选择国际申请者的要求。仔细看!全网页都要看,一般来说在刚开始的阶段学校调研可能会花费 1-2 小时左右,这是正常的,熟悉之后一所学校的调研可以在 20min 左右完成。 (注意:美高学生不论就读3年还是4年,只要不是美国身份,都属于国际生)
红色框圈出的内容,每一句话都需要仔细看,也有助于提升英语阅读速度。
If you are an international student applying as a first-year student, the following are the required components of your Brandeis application:
l
Completed application: Submit your Brandeis undergraduate application. The application includes a personal statement or essay.
l
Transcripts: Official copies of all high school transcripts as well as marks from any national exams. If the original documents are not in English, please submit both the original documents as well as English translations. Transcripts must include official grades from ninth through eleventh grades to complete this required component. Also, applicants are expected to submit a mid-year report from their senior year which includes grades for all classes. For Early Decision I students, first quarter or first trimester grades will fulfill this requirement.
l
Official standardized test scores: Except for U.S. and Canadian citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents, international applicants must submit either SAT or ACT test results. All tests should be completed by the end of January of the senior year.
l
English Proficiency: International students for whom English is not their native language should submit results from either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System). ·
Ø
Applicants who, for four or more years, have attended a high school where the full academic curriculum is in English are exempt from this requirement. ·
Ø
Applicants applying directly from United World College (UWC) campuses are also exempt from this requirement.
l
Two teacher evaluationsor letters of recommendation from teachers who have instructed you in core academic courses (Math, Science, History, Foreign Language, or English).
l
School profile and a letter of recommendation from a secondary school official.
l
Financial documentation:
If you are not applying for Financial Aid, you must submit: ·
Ø
The Certification of Finances for International Students via your DEISconnect portal
Ø
Supporting financial documentation, demonstrating the funds that the family will contribute to the applicant’s education for the first year of study.
If you are applying for financial aid, you must submit: ·
Ø
CSS Profile ·
Ø
Supporting financial documentation, demonstrating the funds that the family can contribute to the applicant’s education for the first year of study. Examples are statements of earnings from employers, certification of finances from banks or other financial institutions, or tax returns if available.
Other Requirements and Information
l
If you are applying as an Early Decision I or Early Decision II applicant you are also required to submit a completed Early Decision Agreement Form.·
l
Common Application Early Decision Agreement Form. ·
l
If you have been out of high school for a year or more, and are applying for first-year admission, please submit a brief statement explaining what you have been doing since graduating from high school.
l
We encourage international applicants to visit Brandeis and, if possible, schedule an interview with an admissions representative.

关于学校截止日期,需要关注几个点:
1.
申请本科的学生属于 first-year applicants
2.
2.申请时间分为 early decision,early action,以及 regular decision(并不是每个大学都有 ED or EA)。ED,EA 就是我们常说的早申请,其中 ED 指的是 early decision 早决定,是绑定申请,在申请时学生需要签署协议,如果学生选择在 ED 阶段申请这所学校,并且拿到了学校的录取,必须保证要入读该校;EA 指的是 early action 早行动,学生如果在 EA 阶段申请该学校,拿到了录取之后可以选择不去这所学校。RD 也就是 regular decision,我们常说的常规申请,是大部分学生提交申请的时间,需要注意的是,早申请一般是建立在学生达到一定的标化成绩及优秀的背景活动后去做尝试。另外图片中的 ED1 和 ED2,是分为两个批次的早申请,截至的时间也不同,按照往年的数据来看,大部分学生在10 月-12月期间,还在冲分,所以部分学校也会分为两个时间来接受优秀的学生申请,具体情况也会以学生最终表现和前期老师沟通后选择。
以上是 application checklist,注意我们需要关注的是 international students 部分。其中也提到了申请 ED1 的学生需要提交的申请资料。
Academic requirements,学校要求学生成绩单,必须要有四年的英语学习,3 年数学等。 其余的内容请参考以上部分资料自己查询。
To be continue...