The Millennial Trains Project (MTP) is an award-winning seies of crowdfunded
transcontinental train journeys for young innovators to explore America’s new
frontiers. This an officially-approved campaign for one of MTP's 2016
journeys.
千禧列车项目(MTP)是一个备受赞誉并荣获众多奖项的众筹项目。其中,年轻的改革家们将通过发起独立众筹项目竞争,前15名选手将有机会乘坐一辆列车横跨美国大陆,探索美国前端的社会及科研成果。本众筹项目是经2016年千禧列车(MTP)官方批准的独立众筹项目之一。
To get on board, applicants design a project to advance across the communities
where our train stops and then race to be among the first 15 applicants to
reach their $5k crowdfunding goal.Please note, if this campaign is among the first 15 to reach its $5,000
goal, all funds raised will go to MTP, which is a 501(c)3 organization. These
funds underwrite the costs of the journey and its associated programming,
transportation, and hospitality fees. If I am not among the first 15 applicants
to reach my crowdfunding goal, you will not be charged your donation.
为入选千禧列车项目(MTP),申请者们需要设计一个促进经停站社区建设的计划,并将其放在网上招募众筹基金。前15名达到5千美元众筹目标的申请者将得到最终搭乘千禧列车的机会。特此告知,如果本众筹项目最终入围15强,本项目的5千美元众筹基金将全部转归千禧列车项目(MTP)所有。千禧列车项目是由美国政府认证的501(c)3组织【**译者注:501(c)项目为美国政府为扶持社会发展所设的非营利机构认证,被归为501(c)3的非营利机构主要服务于儿童、慈善、教育、科研、文学等领域。】,所有获奖项目的众筹资金还将会用于本次千禧列车的组织、住宿以及交通费用。如果我的独立众筹项目没有入围15强,你捐献的众筹资金将会被退回。
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College Admissions Stories: Trials and Triumphs大学申请故事:考验与成功
John’s (not his real name) application from China was one of the worst
I'd ever read in my years working in admissions. While his test scores and
grades were strong, there was no way that John was in the ballpark of being
admitted. Clearly, John had no idea what
his passions were, and he didn't even know the correct name for the degree
program at Wharton (easily obtained through the website). Within John’s essays,
his self-proclaimed intelligence and overemphasis on achievements (rather than
passions and interests) was off-putting.
来自中国的John(化名)递交的申请表,是我开始从事大学招生工作以来看过最糟糕的申请表之一。虽然他的考试成绩非常优秀,但是他依旧无法通过审核。最重要的原因是,John完全不清楚自己内心真正想要追求的目标与激情所在。同时,他甚至不知道沃顿商学院里自己想要申请的专业名称的正确英文写法(在网上非常容易就能查到)。在John的文章中,他只能自证的聪慧天分以及对成绩优异的过度强调(而不是自己对于进修学位的激情畅想与兴趣)非常容易引人反感。
While at Wharton, I found that Chinese students were among the most
challenged in having limited information about what was being sought in the
college admissions process. They simply don’t know anything about the audience
reading the college application or much about life at American college
campuses. Because of limited information, many Chinese students simply did not
have a shot at being admitted (and of course the process was very competitive
for all applicants).
在沃顿商学院招生办工作的时候,我发现中国学生的劣势在于他们并不清楚学院招生官想要从材料里看到的是什么。他们对于审核材料的人一无所知,同样地,他们对美国的校园文化一无所知。因为不清楚这些重要的信息,很多中国学生没有办法通过审核(当然,对于所申请者来说,这个竞争都是非常激烈的)。
Sadly, the perception of Chinese students by college admissions officers
(everywhere) is marred by questionable admissions consulting practices that
occur within China, including forgeries of different application materials
(transcripts, recommendations, and essays). As I wrote in a noodle.com article, Chinese students are ”guilty until proven
innocent” when it comes to the admissions review. Because cheating is so common
in China, Chinese students are seen as high-risk applicants not only in the
college admissions process, but also in college coursework.
遗憾的是,中国的留学咨询服务良莠不齐,一些出自这些中介的有问题的申请材料和某些学生的造假(虚报成绩,推荐信和论文作假)行为,让中国学生在招生办的老师心中留下了不好的印象。正如我在noodle.com的文章中写的一样,在招生老师眼中,中国学生往往被认为“无罪从疑”。因为作弊在中国实在是太常见了,所以不但是中国学生的入学申请被视为“高危”材料,连同已经入学的中国学生所交的作业,也被视为“高危”成果。
It is clear from my work on both sides of the desk that Chinese students
need help. A lot of it. I left Penn
because I wanted to work on the other side, helping students like John to
prepare for college, and put together apps that show off their best selves so
they can maximize their chances.
因此,无论是从招生者还是申请者的角度看,中国学生都是需要帮助的。这种帮助刻不容缓。我离开宾夕法尼亚大学正是为了向申请者们提供这种帮助:协助和John一样的学生准备他们的申请,整合能够最完美地展现他们自我的文件,以最大限度地提高他们被录取的几率。
My doctoral research supports the idea that targeted information about
the college process tailored to a specific population is the most useful way
for students to choose the right colleges.
明确不同学院的招生信息和录取要求,通过这些信息与要求分析出这些学院真正想要录取的人群特点,让学生能够有的放矢地申请真正需要他们的学校——这是对学生来说最有效的择校方式,并且,这个方式的效果已经在我的博士论文研究中得到证明。
However, as an independent counselor and researcher, there are only so
many students I can reach.
然而,作为一个独立的咨询顾问和研究者,我能接触到的学生非常有限。
I want to share the information I've learned about admissions with a
larger audience, and this is why I need your help with my Millennial Trains
Project.
我想要与更多的申请者们分享我对于申请高校的研究成果,这就是为什么我想要在千禧列车项目中得到你们的帮助。
The Podcast Solution to This
Problem 解决方案(Podcast播客渠道):
I want to help students see the importance of focusing on passions and
interests rather than pure intelligence and achievements. There's a major
information gap about American college life and the college process –
especially for international students.
我希望学生们能够认识到在申请材料中强调自己独特个性与兴趣激情的重要性,而不是单纯地呈现自己的聪明才智和成绩。这是美国的大学主要区别于其他大学的特点,很多人都没有意识到这个重要的特点,尤其是国际学生。
I want to fill that void through my podcast, a growing popular medium
for reaching audiences worldwide. This podcast allows high school students who have
limited information about the college admissions process to learn peer-to-peer
and from college admissions officers—including how to design a strategy that
maximizes chances of success.
我会在我的播客(一个流行的媒介,它能帮助我接触到更多世界范围的申请者)逐步地发布一些文章,填补申请者们对于这方面信息的空白。本播客从高校招生办工作者的角度,向对于大学申请审核要点了解较少的高中生提供信息——使他们能够在信息对称的情况下完成申请。同时,播客内容还会包括“怎么设计最容易被录取的申请”。
I have identified these schools in each city, and will continue
researching additional options as I gain crowdfunding support.
我已经对以下这些不同城市的学校招生要求进行了研究并得出成果。在拿到众筹资金后,我会继续研究更多其他学校的招生与审核要求并提供择校方案。
Los Angeles: UCLA
洛杉矶:加州大学洛杉矶分校
San Francisco: Stanford and UC Berkeley
圣弗朗西斯科:斯坦福和加州大学伯克利分校
Denver: University of Colorado
丹佛:科罗拉多大学
Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin
密尔沃基:威斯康星大学
Detroit: University of Michigan
底特律:密歇根大学
I am targeting Chinese students and international
student associations in selecting my interviews, and college admissions
officers working within each city. I will record my podcasts in-person within
each city, and publish them after the train trip concludes.
在本次项目中,我将对中国学生、国际学生以及各个城市中的大学招生官进行采访 。在停靠的每一座城市,我都会亲自录制播客,然后在列车旅行之后将他们作为本次活动的总结出版发行。
Podcasts will be published as
episodes on my website (vivedconsulting.com), in conjunction with one or more
co-sponsors who support this effort and MTP.
本播客将结合支持我研究和MTP活动的一个或多个共同发起人的播客内容,分集在我的网站上发布(vivedconsulting.com)。
With the time allotted each locality to work on my
project, I will travel to one college/university and interview three-four
individuals using their unique backgrounds to share different perspectives on
this project.
在每一个停靠的地点,我都会去到一个当地的学院或者大学去采访3-4个拥有自己独特经历的人,邀请他们分享对于这个项目的不同看法。
Audience:
While my podcast is targeted to Chinese and other international students, I’m
passionate about demystifying the college process for all prospective
students. Listeners will benefit from
the podcast by learning about the college admissions process of current
students and from college admissions officers from different colleges around
United States.
The podcast will be available in Mandarin as well as in English. Under my
company and affiliated professional associations, I will prepare a news release
and write an article about my project experience, as well as connect with my
partners abroad to enhance placement of the podcast both in the U.S. and
internationally.
虽然我的播客以来自中国以及其他国家的国际学生为主要目标群体,但与此同时我也热衷于为所有潜在的学生群体阐明在在学校学习的程序。通过关注我的播客,听众们可以从美国不同学校里的在读学生以及负责录取的工作者处学习到关于录取流程的知识,从而从中受益。
播客同时支持普通话与英语两种语言。在我的公司以及下属的专业机构中,我会准备新闻的发布并撰写一篇关于我项目经历的文章,与此同时,我将和国外的合作伙伴联系来增强我的播客在美国以及国际上的影响力。
Other Ways You Can Help
You can make a big difference by sharing my campaign on social media, email, and with family & friends. Please spread the word to as many people as possible!