近年来，想要申请美国寄宿学校的中国留学生人数表现出了惊人的增长趋势。但是，现在的美国寄宿学校跟二十年前的他们有什么不同？现在的中国学生面临着哪些不利的局面，又该如何应对？

今天，Nini老师要给大家讲一讲，二十年来，美国寄宿学校跟中国学生之间发生的那些故事。热恋This is what happened in the 90s: boarding schools were desperate to attract a culturally diverse student body and given the lack of any mainland Chinese representations in the market, being Chinese was a huge advantage. We were the rare panda bears back then. We have earned a ticket in for just being Chinese.上世纪90年代，寄宿学校绞尽脑汁想要吸引来自不同文化的学生。由于市场上来自中国大陆的学生代表非常缺乏，那个时候，作为中国学生是很有优势的, 是美国寄宿学校眼里的香饽饽。就因为我们是中国人，所以我们拿到了寄宿学校的入场券。恐惧This is what happened five years ago: boarding schools were surprised about the exponential growth in mainland Chinese applicant numbers, and admissions officers were struggling to find a balance between giving each applicant an equal and fair assessment and not being burnt out by the sheer volume of students. They were desperately looking for a solution and becoming more selective in the type of Chinese students they were accepting. Now that demand has gone up and supply remained limited, schools have gained the upper hand.五年前，寄宿学却校惊讶地发现来自中国大陆的申请人数急剧增长，招生官们一边要保证做到公平公正的审核，另一方面又要控制国际学生的多元化，不可以全是中国学生。他们又绞尽脑汁的想要找到一个解决方法，而且在筛选中国学生的时候变得越来越挑剔。因为供大于需，寄宿学校们在招生过程中开始占据主动。麻木This is what’s happening right now: boarding schools have become numb by the huge number of mainland Chinese applicants, and they have witnessed or experienced unpleasant stories about fraud, about the lack of life skills, about the lack of cultural and social awareness in past or in existing students as well as families.现在, 面对着来自中国大陆的数以万计的申请生，寄宿学校变得有些麻木。而且，他们听说或者经历了很多关于中国学生欺骗作弊的故事，关于他们的缺乏生活技能以及缺乏文化和社会认知。As a result, admission officers have become more concerned about accepting the “best fit” student in all ways: they need to have the GPA, the test scores, the overall English ability to communicate eloquently. They need to showcase their personality, their contribution, and their values that correlate and complement the campus. They need to demonstrate life and social skills that could make seamless transition into the boarding life.结果，招生官们希望能够招到在各方面都“最适合”他们学校的学生。他们需要有优异的学习成绩和应试分数，流利地英语沟通能力。他们需要展示跟学校相关或相补的个性特点，贡献点以及价值观。他们也需要展示出可以马上融入到寄宿生活所需要的生存和社会技能。They need to prove to schools that they can bring value to the development of the institution. They need to have strong recommendations from important families or alum that the schools already trust. And then, maybe, just maybe, you could have a reasonable shot at getting in.他们需要向学校证明，他们可以给学校的发展带来价值。他们需要有来自学校信任的人的支持和推荐。然后，你才可能，只是可能，有机会被录取。While I’m mainly talking about the most selective boarding schools here, it is evident this trend is trickling down to all boarding schools at different levels, more quickly than the market can respond at times. The question then becomes, what can we do?虽然我所说的情况目前只是发生在顶尖寄宿学校，但是，这种趋势已经快速地蔓延到了各式各样的寄宿学校，快速到市场就来不及做出反应。那么，我们可以做什么？反追Well, truth be told, the answer is actually quite simple: Begin as early as possible and prepare properly. Focus on both skills and scores. Be open-minded about different options and solutions-think result-oriented pathway program, think mid-year admissions, think English immersion camps, etc. Get yourself a friend, I mean a real friend, who can recommend and vouch for you and who is willing to put his/her reputation on the line for the schools to take a more serious look at the applicant.答案非常简单：早起的鸟儿有虫吃，要尽早开始做准备。你既要专注于提高自己的技能和成绩；也要有一个开放的心态，去了解不同的选择和方法：考虑一下以结果为导向的桥梁项目，考虑一下申请下半年入学的选择，也可考虑一下沉浸式英文提升课程等等；另外，我建议你找一个值得信赖的朋友，一个真正的朋友，他或她愿意用自己的名誉来为你担保，让学校接收你这个学生。For us, we only recommend schools that we believe would be a “good fit for our students, this means that the school has a legitimate chance to accept you and you also will thrive at the school. This is our practice. This is our philosophy. Unless you truly don’t care about the schools you end up at and just want to leave China as soon as possible, in that case, I’m sure there are plenty of agents who are dying to get your business. We are not for you, and vice versa.对于【融尚】， 我们为学生推荐最适合他们的学校，这所学校既可以合法录取你，而且你可以在那里有很好地发展。这就是我们的原则，我们的教学理念。除非你真的不在乎去到哪所学校，只是想尽快离开中国而已，在这种情况下，我想会有很多其他的机构愿意为你服务。但是，我们不是你的选择，您也不是我们的选择。At the end of the day, the application process is about personal growth, overcoming challenges and differences, gaining self-awareness and stepping out of your comfort-zone. This is what you’ll experience at boarding schools, and we are just a sneak preview of your future life. I advise you to breathe it in and enjoy the ride, regardless of the final outcome, you will have come out stronger and clearer on the other side.总而言之，申请是个关于成长，战胜挑战与差异，实现自我认知，走出“舒适区”的过程。这也是你将会在寄宿学校所经历的，我们只是在帮你们提前窥探一下未来的生活。我建议你接纳并享受这个过程，不管结果如何，一路走下来，你都会破茧成蝶，变得更加强大，更加清晰。