学校排名

U.S.News 综合第16

学校名称

学校简单介绍

范德堡大学(Vanderbilt University)，简称Vandy，又名范德比尔特大学，是位于美国田纳西州纳什维尔市的一所著名的国际级私立研究型大学。学校创立于1873年，是位于美国南方的少数顶级名校之一，也是闻名世界的顶级大学，属于25所新常春藤盟校。2015年范德堡大学位列全美国家级大学综合排名第16位，以其出色的教育质量和强大的科研实力，享有“南方哈佛”的美誉，作为一所精英学府，范德堡大学在商、法、医、教四大学术领域隐居北美顶尖行列，工学院近年也保持了强劲的增长态势，享有南方第一贵族名门的盛誉。

文书范本

"Don't Be Sorry"

It was a raw, blustery March day and I was leading four classmates to my house to hash out the remaining details of our current English presentation. When I opened the door, however, I received a surprise. I had not anticipated my mother still being home and neither had my group members. Their faces turned slightly blank, as if they were trying to hide their confusion and surprise. The previously relaxed atmosphere had become very formal and quiet. I had seen this before.

My group members had only observed my mom for a few seconds, but it was long enough to ignite their curiosity. I casually explained that the woman in the wheelchair they had just seen was my mother and that she has M.S.-multiple sclerosis. This is a fact I have relayed dozens of times throughout my life, and I thought nothing of it as I took my group member's heavy winter jackets and hung them up.

But one of the girls immediately said, "Oh, I'm sorry."

I was actually speechless. Sorry? Sorry for what? No one has ever said those words to me before regarding my mother, and I did not know how to respond. You say "I'm sorry" when someone's uncle passes away or when their pet dies; only "bad" situations are deserving of the "I'm sorry" response and I have never viewed my mother's disease as needing to receive it.

I shrugged off the reply in a polite way, and we got working. But the moment my group members left I was alone with my thoughts, alone with the "I'm sorry" clause.

Our family's life is completely different than others due to my mom's disease, but I have known no other way of living. My mother has had M.S. since she was in college, so I was born into a world with motorized scooters and walkers and extra precautions. This is my norm. And while other people may pity my mother and our family, I see no reason to be down. I could spend all my time harping on the drawbacks and my "missed opportunities," but what fun would that be? I will always find the silver lining.

This seemingly insignificant March day actually made quite a difference for me. I finally realized that you need to appreciate not just what you have had, but what you have not. Because of my mother I had learned independence and responsibility while most kids were still watching Saturday morning cartoons. I could balance a checkbook by fifth grade, thought more consciously about keeping our house clean than most kids ever will, and was always willing to lend a hand. These lessons have stuck with me. I understand that you have to make the best out of what you are given; take what life gives you and run with it.So why be sorry for me? I know I would not trade my life for the world.

申请顾问编著点评

一篇好的申请文书，不光要有可持续性非常强的故事，最重要的部分在于这篇文书汇总是否能够体现作者的反思和心得体会。这篇文书在这个部分做的非常好，他在开头部分设置悬念——surprise，引发读者继续往下读的兴趣，这也体现了学生很强的写作能力和文书构思能力。因为毕竟阅读文书的招生官都是阅稿无数的人，如果不能在开头很好的吸引读者，设置悬念让招生官继续往下探寻这篇文书的主线和内容，那这样的文书就算不上是成功的优秀的文书。

从这篇文书中，我们能够在脑海中形成一个很体贴的人、珍惜现有的生活、乐于助人、独立自强的申请者形象，这个形象并不认为母亲的疾病能够跟“sorry”这个词挂钩，相反，Ta从很小的时候就一直抱着比较乐观积极的态度去面对生活赐予的“磨难”，认为这是生活很自然很正常的一部分，并且比同龄人更早地成熟起来，学会在五年级的时候就能够结算支票、打扫卫生和尽自己所能帮助他人，至此一个鲜明的申请人形象跃然纸上：坦然接受生活中无法避免的“磨难”、心态平和、懂得感激并且有一颗体贴他人的善心。

这些性格特质是无法在学生的硬性条件如托福分数、赛达分数和GPA上面体现出来的，包括在活动列表上面也是很难获得这样一些信息，那么申请文书这一板块就是为了让学生展示出除了分数以外，学生作为一个独立的个体，作为一个人，会有一些什么样的特质是与学校的招生理念相契合的这样一个载体。