学校排名

U.S.News 综合第20

学校名称

学校简单介绍

加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校（University of California-Berkeley，简称UC Berkeley、Berkeley或Cal，加州大学伯克利分校，伯克利加州大学），是美国顶尖研究型大学，也是世界上最富盛名且最顶尖的公立大学。加州大学伯克利分校是加利福尼亚大学中最老的一所，也是美国大学协会创始会员之一，其吉祥物蜕变自加州州旗，故其学生亦自称“小金熊”。加州大学伯克利分校与斯坦福大学、麻省理工学院一同被誉为美国工程科技界的学术领袖。曾在伯克利工作和深造的诺贝尔奖得主不少于69位，目前仍有7位在校进行教学科研工作。该校常年位居上海交通大学世界大学学术排名前四名，泰晤士报高等教育期刊世界大学声誉排行榜前十名，美国新闻和世界报导首次发布的世界大学排名位列全球第三名。在著名的QS2015世界大学排名中，加州大学伯克利分校更是有26个学科进入世界前十。该校是美国最为自由激进的两所大学之一（另一所是哥伦比亚大学）。

文书范本

String Theory—Joanna

If string theory is really true, then the entire world is made up of strings, and I cannot tie a single one. This past summer, I applied for my very first job at a small, busy bakery and café in my neighborhood. I knew that if I were hired there, I would learn how to use a cash register, prepare sandwiches, and take cake orders. I imagined that my biggest struggle would be catering to demanding New Yorkers, but I never thought that it would be the benign act of tying a box that would become both my biggest obstacle and greatest teacher.

On my first day of work in late August, one of the bakery’s employees hastily explained the procedure. It seemed simple: wrap the string around your hand, then wrap it three times around the box both ways, and knot it. I recited the anthem in my head, “three times, turn it, three times, knot” until it became my mantra. After observing multiple employees, it was clear that anyone tying the box could complete it in a matter of seconds. For weeks, I labored endlessly, only to watch the strong and small pieces of my pride unravel each time I tried.

As I rushed to discreetly shove half-tied cake boxes into plastic bags, I could not help but wonder what was wrong with me. I have learned Mozart arias, memorized the functional groups in organic chemistry, and calculated the anti-derivatives of functions that I will probably never use in real life—all with a modest amount of energy. For some reason though, after a month’s effort, tying string around a cake box still left me in a quandary.

As the weeks progressed, my skills slowly began to improve. Of course there were days when I just wanted to throw all of the string in the trash and use Scotch tape; this sense of defeat was neither welcome nor wanted, but remarks like “Oh, you must be new” from snarky customers catapulted my determination to greater heights.

It should be more difficult to develop an internal pulse and sense of legato in a piece of music than it is to find the necessary rhythm required to tie a box, but this seemingly trivial task has clearly proven not to be trivial at all. The difficulties that I encountered trying to keep a single knot intact are proof of this. The lack of cooperation between my coordination and my understanding left me frazzled, but the satisfaction I felt when I successfully tied my first box was almost as great as any I had felt before.

Scientists developing string theory say that string can exist in a straight line, but it can also bend, oscillate, or break apart. I am thankful that the string I work with is not quite as temperamental, but I still cringe when someone asks for a chocolate mandel bread. Supposedly, the string suggested in string theory is responsible for unifying general relativity with quantum physics. The only thing I am responsible for when I use string is delivering someone’s pie to them without the box falling apart. Tying a cake box may not be quantum physics, but it is just as crucial to holding together what matters.

I am beginning to realize that I should not be ashamed if it takes me longer to learn. I persist, and I continue to tie boxes every weekend at work. Even though I occasionally backslide into feelings of exasperation, I always rewrap the string around my hand and start over because I have learned that the most gratifying victories come from tenacity. If the universe really is comprised of strings, I am confident that I will be able to tie them together, even if I do have to keep my fingers crossed that my knots hold up.

申请顾问编著点评

这篇文章将一件很小的事情描述的非常细节，最重要的是在文章最后升华部分，将这件小事跟申请者的人生观，价值观联系在一起。很好的透过一件小事展示了申请者在面对其他事情的时候也会用这样一种态度来克服困难。

这篇文章另外的一个特色在于将生活中很小的一个事情跟很大的理论String Theory联系在一起，在文章的开篇就很好的吸引了读者的眼球。文章中还展示了申请者自嘲的精神和不怕承认失败的态度。整篇文书中，申请者用她的故事展示了她敢于承认自己的弱点，不放弃，坚持，并且最终取得进步。这一点让招生官看到了她未来如果到该学校读书，也会用同样的态度面对挑战和困难，并且坚持突破自己。

这篇文书除了这条主线，还很巧妙的运用了一些小故事、小插曲，向招生官展示了申请者对音乐和科学的热爱，她对工作，即便是兼职工作，也有全面的投入和认真负责的态度，并且他从不同角度来看待问题的能力也让人欣赏。因此，尽管这篇文章的主题故事-穿线看起来会比较平凡无奇，但申请者的叙述方式不只让招生官看到了她的学习能力，更看出她不惧困难挑战的精神。而这些品质也会在未来的学习中帮助申请者取得更多的成就。

因此，有效的利用申请文书，多方面、多层次的展示申请者的各方面品质也是非常重要的，这些东西都能够让招生官在有限的字符里面看到申请者更多的方面。