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Anjali S.

佛罗里达大学(本科)/宾夕法尼亚大学(博士)

简介

Anjali S.以最高荣誉奖毕业于佛罗里达大学语言学和心理学专业，她现在是美国宾夕法尼亚大学的一位PHD学生。她的研究兴趣母语不是英语的人的学术轨迹以及他们对自己作为学生和专业人士的自我概念。Geeta有6年教书经历，她的学生包括儿童到成人。她在美国，印度，秘鲁和香港都执教过。她也曾在Kaplan的考试和录取部门工作。在她闲暇的时间，她喜欢学习语言。她能说流利的英语，西班牙语和印度语。

State Schools vs. the Ivy League

州立学校和常春藤院校

College. The opportunity you’ve worked your entire life for is finally here. But there are so many. Which should you choose? Harvard, the name that lives in infamy? Davidson, a highly selective liberal arts college in North Carolina? UCLA, University of Florida, or another state school? The choices seem endless. How can you possibly know which one is right for you?

大学 。你努力了一辈子，现在机会终于来了。但是大学如此之多。你应该选择哪个呢？哈佛，这个久负盛名的 名校？戴维逊学院，这个位于北卡罗来纳州的高选择性的文理大学。加州大学洛杉矶分校，佛罗里达大学，或其他的州立学校？选择似乎是无穷无尽。你要如何才能知道哪一个更加适合你呢？

The first step is to consider what kind of environment you need to thrive. Do you want to live in a large city like Philadelphia, Boston, or Los Angeles? Do you prefer a smaller town like Swarthmore, Pennsylvania or Gainesville, Florida? Do you want to go to a large school where you can meet thousands of different people like University of Florida with its 50,000 students or do you prefer a smaller, more intimate campus where you know everyone and everyone knows you? What about specializations? If you know you want to go into STEM fields, then choosing a liberal arts school may not be right for you.

第一步是要考虑什么样的环境能让帮助你成长。你想要生活在像费城，波士顿，洛杉矶这样的大城市？还是更喜欢像斯沃茨莫尔学院，宾夕法尼亚，佛罗里达盖恩斯维尔这样的小城镇呢？你想要去一个像佛罗里达这样的有5万多学生，可以让你遇见成千上万形形色色的人的大学还是喜欢一个更小的，更加亲密的校园，大家都彼此认识呢？关于你的专业领域呢？如果你想要进入科学技术工程数学的领域，那么选择文理学校就可能不太适合你。

I did my undergraduate at University of Florida, a large state school in the southern US. I loved the warm weather, the large, spacious campus, and the sports culture (we won national champion ships in football and basketball several times while I was there!). Students were highly motivated and produced cutting edge research, but they also knew how to take a break and spend an afternoon at the beach. UF had a very diverse student population, and active clubs with interests ranging from languages and religion to team sports and academics. We even had an aerial dance team and a juggling club for students who wanted to hone their circus skills. Most importantly for me, there was a huge number of international students from China, India, and other countries. My parents lived close by in Tampa, but I had lived in several different countries, and it was important to me to be able to make friends who had a lot of international experience as well.

我的本科就读于佛罗里达大学，是位于美国南部的一个大型周丽学校。我喜欢那里的温暖天气，宽阔的校园，以及体育文化（当我还在学校读书的时候，我们学校就赢了好几次橄榄球和篮球全国锦标赛）。这里学生学习积极性很高，研究成果出色，但他们也知道要劳逸结合，会花一个下午的时间到沙滩上休息。佛罗里达大学拥有一个多样化的学生群体和许多各色各样的校园社团，从语言到宗教到体育运动到学术社团，应有尽有。我们甚至还有一个空中舞蹈队和为那些想要锻炼自己的马戏技能的杂耍社团。对我而言，最重要的是，这里有许多来自中国，印度和其它国家的国家学生。我的父母就住在离大学不远的Tampa,但是我曾在许多不同的国家生活过，所以对我而言，能够和来自不同文化背景的人交朋友非常的重要。

So far as academics go, a downside of the state school was having many classes that were huge – up to 300 or 400 students for the large introductory math and science classes. Once I got into higher levels, it wasn’t so bad, but the result was that sometimes professors were too busy to provide academic support to their students. Instead, I worked more closely with graduate students who assisted professors. There wasn’t very much hand-holding – I had to look for my own opportunities and actively make my future. The plus side though, was that only highly motivated students succeeded – I had to find my own research opportunities and funding.

对于学术而言，州立学校的一个缺点就是它有许多的大课，像基础数学和科学这样的课有时候会有300到400的学生一起上课。当你进入更高的层次的时候，这并不是坏事，但是结果确实，有的时候教授太忙而不能给自己的学生提供学术上的支持。所以，我会和教授的一些助理研究生更加工作的更加紧密。你不会得到很多的关照，我得自己去寻找机会，创造自己的未来。但是这也有好处，取得成功的往往是积极进去的学生--因为我得自己去寻找我的研究机会和资金。

Now, I’m working on my Ph.D. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Penn is a member of the Ivy League, a coalition of the best and oldest universities in the US. Penn is very different from University of Florida, where I did my undergraduate. The weather is colder, the campus is smaller, and no one seems to notice when there are football games or other sporting events. I have to say though, this is a much more academically stimulating environment than UF ever was. The most gifted students from around the world are here making history. They work hard around the clock with internationally known professors producing cutting-edge contributions to science, medicine, business, law, and more. Classes are smaller, professors are more interested in individual students, and the competition is much, much tougher. Firms from around the world recruit directly from Ivy League graduating classes.

现在，我在费城的宾夕法尼亚大学攻读教育学的博士。宾大是常春藤联盟院校，美国最顶尖，历史最悠久的大学的联盟。宾大与本科就读的佛罗里达大学非常的不同。这里的天气比较冷，校园也比较小，当学校有橄榄球赛或者其它体育运动的时候似乎也没有人注意。尽管如此，我不得不说，这里环境比起佛罗里达大学能前所未有的激励你的学术发展。世界上最顶尖的学生在这里创造历史。他们和国际知名的教授争分夺秒的工作，为科学，医学，商科，法律等等领域创造最前沿的贡献。这里的课堂比较小，教授更注重个人的发展，这里的竞争也更加的激烈。来自世界各地的企业直接从常春藤的毕业班招聘。

That said, people play hard too. Even though school sports aren’t that big, almost every student here is physically active. We have everything from club basketball and football to yoga, squash, and a 4-storey climbing wall. There is a lively international community here also, both among undergraduate and graduate students. Funding for student clubs and organizations generous, so salsa nights, musical performances, Chinese theater, and more can happen very successfully.

即便如此，人们玩得也很开。虽然学校的大型体育运动，但是几乎每个在这里的学生都积极参加锻炼。我们有篮球俱乐部，足球，瑜伽，壁球以及一个四层楼高的攀岩墙。这里也有由本科生和研究生组成的热闹的国际社区。对于学生社团的组织的资金投入也很充足，所以萨尔萨舞夜，音乐剧表演，中国剧院等都能成功举办。

All in all, it just depends what you’re looking for. Being academically successful is definitely important, but so is your happiness. Think about what’s right for you. College is supposed to be the best time of your life. Make it that way!

总之，这完全取决于你要追求的是什么。学术上成功固然很重要，但是你的幸福感也会很重要。你要考虑什么是适合你的。学校生活应该是人生中最美好的时光。让它成为最好的时光！

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