名校招生官教你怎么写课外活动

美国大学在考察和评估申请者的标准化成绩、在校期间的学习成绩的同时，也在从领导能力、学术研究能力、社会爱心、责任感等多方面全面衡量申请者。在考察申请者全面素质的同时，更注重学生个性的发展，这与美国自由、民主的文化氛围密不可分。而个性的发展与体现，则通过课外活动体现出来。课外活动最能体现学生的个性化、兴趣、爱好，以及在他/她成长过程中所体现出来的各种品质、才能和潜质. "课外活动在考生申请中起重要作用，是考生领导、组织、团结协作等多方面能力的体现。"下面是西北大学达特茅斯学院前高级招生官给申请学子们关于课外活动的建议。

Landis Fryer，西北大学达特茅斯学院前高级招生官

One of the most frequent questions I received from students as a formed admissions officer is “what activities look good on an application?” As one of the most frequent questions, it was simultaneously one of the most frustrating. Why is that?

Generally, it looks like the answer should be fairly straightforward – “If you do X, Y and Z, you will be offered admission.” People want to believe that there must be some perfect combination of extracurricular activities that admissions officers expect to see in their applicants, and if the student follows that predictable pattern, then they will “look good”, right?

Wrong. This is why the question is frustrating: for some reason, it does not resonate with students or the parents that there is no predictable, perfect combination of activities that will guarantee admission. In fact, the more a student has an activities profile that looks like every other student’s activities profile, the less likely they will stand out. How is that for irony?

But the idea is not to do everything you believe other people are not. If this were the case, then hundreds of activities would cease to exist, as no one would feel like they should be part of a team or group. The idea – and prepare for something you have heard before – is to be yourself. But what does that mean, especially with regards to extracurricular activities? It means, very simply, find the things you like to do and do the best you can with them. If something doesn’t exist, create it. If something is already in place join it. Do not be afraid to try things until you find what you like, because in the end, you will remember your contributions to something you enjoyed and found some benefit in through your participation. People remember successful accomplishments much more frequently than they remember failures.

So you try some things out and find out you don’t like anything. What then? Well, this will require you to do an inventory of what you like to do: read, cook, sing, dance – whatever you like naturally – and find a way to be the best at that endeavor. Read to other kids on the weekends; cook for someone who is not able to cook for themselves; sing at local competitions; dance at your community center. Whatever you love to do, do it BIG and do it often. This will form the basis of your extracurricular profile.

Even if you are in school organized activities, follow that advice – do it BIG and do it often. This is how you show your aptitude in the activity and demonstrate your love for the experience. You have to begin to move from simple participation to begin to demonstrate mastery. This is what is meant by “Doing something BIG”. Get involved deeply, show interest by going to meetings, suggest ideas, attend events – prove to the admissions officer that your being in that activity was more than just showing up. You relate your developing mastery by becoming a leader in the activity, competing on a regional or national level or by teaching others; these are reflected in you receiving awards, recognition from your teachers and guidance counselor, and the sophistication with which you write your essays.

So there is no set formula for choosing extracurricular activities. The formula comes after you decided what you want to do: love what you do + get recognized for your contribution + successfully moving from participant to master = standing out in the application pool.

身为大学招生官，我经常收到学生们这样的问题：“什么样的课外活动能在众多的申请中脱颖而出?”这个被问最多的问题同时也是最难回答的，为什么呢?

人们普遍认为这个问题的答案应该是直截了当的，即“如果你参加活动X,Y和Z,你就会获得大学录取。”大家愿意相信这其中一定存在某种完美的结合，即申请者的参加的课外活动正是大学招生官期待看到的。而且，只要申请者依照这个套路去准备课外活动，他们就能“看起来很好”，是吗?

错了。这个问题之所以难回答就在于：学生和家长们往往不愿意相信这里其实真没有什么完美的课外活动能保证申请者获得录取。实际情况恰恰相反，申请者的课外活动经历越是同他人的类似，这个申请者便越难脱颖而出。这很讽刺是吧?

但这不是建议只要是你认为别人没涉足过的活动你就去参加。如果这样，几百种活动也就没办法存在，因为没有人愿意有团队，没人认为自己本应是团队的一份子。所以，这里给出的建议(也是你以前听到过的)是做你自己。这是什么意思呢?很简单呢，找到你愿意参加的活动，表现出最好的自己。如果还没有这个课外活动，你就自己创造它，如果这个活动已经存在，你就去加入它。在找到自己喜欢的活动之前，不要害怕尝试，因为最终你会记住的是，你为喜欢的活动作出的贡献，以及在活动中的收获。

如果你做的不是你喜欢的，那怎么办呢?那你就把自己喜欢做的列出来：读书、烹饪、唱歌、跳舞——任何你发自内心喜欢的——找到一种途径努力做到最好。比如，周末读书给其他孩子听;为没办法自己做饭的人做饭;参加当地唱歌比赛;在自己的社区中心跳舞。不管你喜欢做什么，把它做“大”，且经常去做。这能为你的课外活动奠定基调。

即使你是在学校组织活动，记住这个建议——做“大”以及常做。这能显示你的天资、能力已经你对活动经历的爱。你需要开始从简单的参与人逐渐转变成活动的领导者。这就是“做大”的含义。深入到活动当中，开会、提建议、不缺席大事——种种表现出你对活动的热爱，证明给招生官通过活动，你不仅仅是成长。

因此在选择课外活动上没有固定的公式可以套用。只有在你决定了你想做什么样的事情之后才有这个公式：爱你所做+认可自己的贡献+从参与者到领导人的角色转换=脱颖而出!