美国本科申请|与GPA、文书、标化一样重要的推荐信如何准备？
大学之所以要求学生在申请时提交推荐信，目的只有两个，他们需要证明这个学生：
1.how likely you are to succeed
2.how much you'll benefit the community you are going to join
如何让大学知道选你会是一个好的选择，推荐人与推荐内容至关重要。
今天，我们就跟大家详细解读下推荐信如何准备，推荐信的样本点评，以及麻省理工学院，耶鲁大学、宾夕法尼亚大学、哥伦比亚大学、达特茅斯学院、斯坦福大学这6所大学对于推荐信的特殊要求。
如何算是成功，怎么知道选你会是一个好的选择，作为学生，评判的标准可能就是：
✔硬性指标 - previous academic success is a great predictor of future academic success
✔软性指标 - certain personality traits are preferred: integrity, leadership, curiosity, creativity, empathy, perseverance, motivation, ambition, collaboration, confidence, and others. You don't need to be perfect in all dimensions, but some of these should apply strongly to you.
当你申请一个 highly selective 的学校时，与你竞争的对手几乎每个人都有非常 strong 的 academic records, test scores, 这一点比较客观，是硬性指标，那剩下的就是好的 personality traits, 软性指标了，我想没有人会自己说自己怎么不好，相反都会说自己如何具有上面提到的好的 personality traits, 所以老师在推荐信里的内容就变得更重要，因为它可以让别人客观地看到第三者对你的 personality traits 的评价。
一封好的推荐信应该是可以展现学生的个性和个人素质。你不希望老师写的推荐信只是重复你的简历，它需要提供关于这个学生是怎样一个人的额外信息，而且需要有许多的细节去证明。
1. 推荐信的数量
准备推荐信的时候，建议每所学校准备三封。不同的学校对推荐信数量的要求不一样，有的要求一封，有的要求两封。为了准备齐全，事先准备三封一定是足够的了。
2. 推荐人的选择
班主任老师或者辅导员，一定是推荐人的首选。因为他们是最了解学生以及和学生接触地最多的人。他们对于学生的评价，是最具有说服力的。
其他两封推荐信，应选择对申请者比较熟悉的老师。招生官是想要通过推荐信来全面了解这名申请者，想要看到的是老师们真实的、客观的评价。
如果学生已经有了有意向的申请专业，可以找和这个专业相关的任课老师来写。但是这个并不是一定的，有的专业和自己的课程并没有匹配，也不必要非要纠结于找一个和专业相关的老师。
老师对学生的了解决定了他/她会写怎么样的推荐信，沟通是了解的基础，这种沟通包括课业上的，更包括课业之外的，学生对人对事的态度会表现在与老师接触的点点滴滴中，不经意间老师会对学生的整体品质素质有所体会，这些是没有人可以强加给老师的。
如果说申请大学招生官希望听到学生的心声，我想他们也同时希望听到推荐老师的心声，而不只是表面的东西。希望大家告诉自己的孩子，在整个高中阶段除了努力学习外，要学会与老师很好地沟通，而这种沟通的本能可能是从很小的时候就慢慢养成。
3.推荐信何时准备
既然知道推荐信的重要性，就一定要确保学生在申请最早截止日期前至少一个月向推荐老师提出要求，甚至是越早越好。很多老师喜欢在夏天他们比较空闲的时候写推荐信。如果学生需要提交早申请 (EA or ED), 那一定要在十二年级一开学就与推荐老师联系，因为通常每个老师需要为很多位同学写推荐信，这会花费他们大量的时间，老师只有在足够宽松的时间里才能更好地完成推荐信。
Teacher Recommendation for David:
It is a great pleasure for me to recommend David for admission to MIT. He is one of the most extraordinary students I have encountered in 20 years of teaching. I taught David A.P. Calculus last year as a tenth grader, and he was one of the very top students in an extremely able group of mostly seniors. He has a high aptitude for math and was very much involved in his work, applying himself with persistence and dedication and often going beyond the regular class assignments.
我很高兴推荐大卫去上麻省理工。他是我任教二十年里遇到的杰出学生之一。我去年在大卫十年级教他AP微积分课程。他在这个基本上由高年级学生组成的超能小组中名列前茅。大卫数学天赋很高，学习刻苦，专心致志，持之以恒，经常进行超出常规课业以外的学习。
David's abiding interest, however, is computer science. He has developed a series of "strands" for use in providing computerized drill and review in the basic skills and techniques of algebra and arithmetic and has recently adapted these to other subjects. David's work in this area has been so original and significant that he has published a paper on it and delivered several lectures to professionals in other parts of the country. This is a phenomenal accomplishment for anyone, especially a young man in rural Arkansas. It is also worth noting that both last year and this year David taught computer programming to a tenth grade class of mine for two weeks. He took over completely, preparing lectures, assignments, and tests with great care and thought. His lectures were clear and well organized, and it was obvious that he had expended a great deal of effort to make the course the success that it was.
但大卫对于计算机科学的兴趣从来没有改变。他已经开发出一系列 “链”，用于代数和算术基本技巧的计算机化训练与复习，而且近期将这些“链”经过改编用于更多的课程。大卫在这个领域所做的工作具有重要创新意义，他为此发表论文，并在全国各地给专业人士做过几场讲座。这对于任何人来说都是现象级的成就，尤其是一位来自阿肯色州农村的小伙子。另外值得一提的是，大卫在过去两年里还给我带的十年级班上过两周的计算机编程课。他是完全主导，从备课到作业和测试，都经过用心和思考。他授课清晰，组织有序，显然付出很多努力才让这门课获得如此成功。
David's personal qualities are as impressive as his intellectual accomplishments. An extremely kind, sensitive and sensible boy, he has had a difficult family situation for a few years now. He provides emotional support to his mother through her battle with cancer without allowing the situation to undermine his own stability and accomplishments. He has exhausted all that we have to offer him in this small community, and the maturity that he has demonstrated leads me to believe him capable of entering college a year early, as he now plans to do. I sincerely hope that you will be able to offer him a place in MIT's freshman class.
就像他在智识方面的成就一样，大卫的个人品质也令我印象深刻。大卫是一名非常友善、体贴和理性的男孩。他家里几年以来都很困难。他一边为跟癌症搏斗的妈妈提供情感支持，一边不让家庭情况干扰自己的稳定和成绩。他充分利用我们这个小社区所能提供的全部资源，而他展现的成熟让我相信他能如计划的那样提前一年就上大学。我真诚地希望你们能在麻省理工新生班里为他提供一席之地。
点评：这封推荐信中的评语充分体现老师对这个学生非常熟悉。我们不仅清楚地感知大卫在智识上的能力，还有他在感情上的成熟。他对计算机编程的真爱也尽显于老师的描述中。我们认识到大卫在自己的环境里一直都在探索学术的边界，也一直为自己创造机会，这对于提前一年申请大学的候选人来说无疑是重要的品质。
1. 麻省理工学院 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
According to the official website of MIT:
A Guide To Writing Evaluations for MIT
Because of our highly competitive applicant pool, letters of recommendation hold substantial weight in our admissions decisions. A well-written letter for an outstanding applicant can highlight impressive characteristics beyond his/her own self-advocacy. We are looking for people who have and will make an impact—the difference between a letter that supports and a letter that raves about a special student.
Both guidance counselor and teacher evaluations are most helpful when they are specific and storied. They should provide us with the information and impressions we cannot glean from the rest of the application. Try to give a complete sketch of the student and the context of his/her accomplishments. Support your conclusions with facts and anecdotes whenever possible. A story or incident that conveys the character or merit of the individual is more telling than a mere statement like "Mary is mature."
Try to address the following questions in your evaluation:
- What is the context of your relationship with the applicant? If you do not know the applicant well and are only able to write a brief summary, please acknowledge this.
- Has the student demonstrated a willingness to take intellectual risks and go beyond the normal classroom experience?
- Does the applicant have any unusual competence, talent or leadership abilities?
- What motivates this person? What excites him/her?
- How does the applicant interact with teachers? With peers? Describe his/her personality and social skills.
- What will you remember most about this person?
- If you have knowledge of MIT, what leads you to believe MIT is a good match for this person? How might he/she fit into the MIT community and grow from the MIT experience?
- Has the applicant ever experienced disappointment or failure? If so, how did he/she react?
- Are there any unusual family or community circumstances of which we should be aware?
Please pay special attention to the opening and closing of your evaluation. Remember, we are reading over 20,000 applications, and we appreciate strong statements that we'll remember as we evaluate each candidate. With that said, please write in a way that makes you feel comfortable and do not shy away from giving us your honest impressions. We are only looking for glowing superlatives if they are backed up with examples and give us context; what is behind a student's achievements. Above all else, make sure to go beyond a student's grades and academic performance. We can get this information from other parts of the application.
Letters of recommendation are confidential in the MIT admissions process.
2.耶鲁大学 Yale University
According to the official website of Yale:
Two Teacher Recommendations
High school teachers can provide extremely helpful information in their evaluations. In addition to discussing your performance in their class or classes, teachers may also write about your motivation, intellectual curiosity, energy, relationships with classmates, and impact on the classroom environment. Solicit recommendations from teachers who have taught you in core academic subjects, who know you well, and who have seen you at your best. It is also preferable, but not required, that letters come from teachers who have taught you during your junior or senior year of high school. Through experience, admissions officers have found that letters from junior or senior year teachers are the most illuminating. Yale does not encourage supplemental letters of recommendation.
3.宾夕法尼亚大学 University of Pennsylvania
According to the official website of Penn:
Penn requires two (2) letters of recommendation from academic teachers, which allows the Office of Admissions to understand a student's presence and impact in the classroom and school community. If an applicant would like to submit another letter of recommendation beyond this requirement, we strongly recommend that it is not from another academic teacher. Examples of an appropriate recommender include an athletic coach, an internship or research supervisor, a boss at a part-time job, or a local clergy member. These additional recommendations are only helpful if the recommender knows the student personally and can write specifically about him or her. Letters from family members or close family friends traditionally do not provide information that is helpful to the evaluation process. Please have this optional additional letter of recommendation (no more than one) submitted through the Coalition or Common Application.
4.哥伦比亚大学 Columbia University
According to the official website of Columbia:
Two Teacher Recommendations
- These recommendations must come from teachers who taught you in academic disciplines
- For engineering applicants, one must come from a math or science teacher
We welcome an additional letter of recommendation if the writer has worked with you in a researcher or college course capacity. Any supplementary recommendations should not be completed on the Teacher Report forms, but instead submitted directly to our office. The Committee discourages the submission of additional recommendations, as admissions decisions will be based primarily on the required recommendations from your high school teachers and secondary school/guidance counselor.
5.达特茅斯学院 Dartmouth College
According to the official website of Dartmouth:
REQUIRED
- Counselor Evaluation: The written evaluation from your counselor is included in your Secondary School Report.
- 2 Teacher Evaluations: We want to know from your junior- or senior-year teachers of academic classes (math, history, etc.) what you are like in the classroom.
STRONGLY ENCOURAGED
- Peer Recommendation
OPTIONAL
- Arts Instructor: If you are submitting an arts supplement for review, please invite your arts instructor to submit a recommendation letter via Dartmouth Slideroom.
- Additional Recommendation: You may submit an additional recommendation letter via the Common Application "Other Recommender" section.
6.斯坦福大学 Stanford University
According to the official website of Stanford:
We recommend selecting grade 11 or 12 teachers in two of the following subject areas:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Foreign language
- History/social studies
You may submit a letter from a teacher who taught you in grade 10 if the coursework was advanced (e.g., Honors, AP, IB). If your school does not offer such designations, use your discretion when asking a teacher from grade 10. We will accept a maximum of two letters of recommendation from teachers.
If English is not the primary language of instruction at your school, review our guidelines for translating letters of recommendation (http://admission.stanford.edu/apply/international/index.html#non_english) .
Optional Letter
You may submit one optional letter of recommendation if there is another person who knows you well and will provide new insights about you. Ask your recommender to note your full legal name, school name and date of birth at the top of the letter. Your recommender may upload the letter to your application or send by email (credentials@stanford.edu), mail or fax: (650) 723-6050. No form is required.
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