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VOA教育报道2024--What Will Students Tell Colleges on Their Applications This Year?

时间:2024-04-22 03:16来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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What Will Students Tell Colleges on Their Applications This Year?

  Students like Jeannie Tarnue of Annandale, Virginia, have a chance to say a lot about themselves on their college applications.

  They can tell about classroom success that came from long hours of doing homework. They can write about time they spent after school as leaders of student activity groups.

  But a decision last year by the U.S. Supreme1 Court means they will have only one chance to talk about their family background or nationalities. That chance comes in the part of the application that calls for a piece of writing about a single subject, known as an essay.

  In the past, students like Tarnue would have been able to tell colleges about their backgrounds in another part of the application. Then they could discuss something else in their essay. Now colleges cannot ask about race.

  Tarnue is a first-generation American. She was born in the United States, but her parents came to the U.S. from the African nation of Liberia about 20 years ago.

  Tarnue will start college later this year. She started working on her applications around this time in 2023. She thought carefully about the questions that came as part of the Common Application. The application is a standard form that students can use to apply to over 1,000 colleges and universities.

  The application offers seven essay prompts, or suggestions. One question asks students to tell a "meaningful story" about themselves. Another asks for a story about "overcoming obstacles." An obstacle is another word for a barrier.

  Tarnue said she could have written about what it was like to be the child of immigrants for her essay.

  Instead, she wrote about overcoming a challenge. She said she had a speech delay as a girl and found herself in a special education program called IEP. "I was placed at the age of three," Tarnue said. "I talked about my process of leaving that program, because that program is really hard to get out of."

  "I also, like, added like, the metaphor3 of me being a butterfly and coming out of the cocoon4."

  Tarnue said she used a short-answer part of the application to discuss her family's background in Liberia. She wrote about learning a special Liberian handshake that is connected to the time when those who formed Liberia were enslaved in the United States.

  She said she chose not to write about her race in the personal statement because "everyone writes about it, and you have to stand out (above) the other applicants5."

  A number of students around the U.S. seem to have the same idea. The Associated Press spoke6 with students in Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Portland, Oregon, and Boston, Massachusetts about how they decided7 to write their college essays.

  In Chicago, Hillary Amofa said she started "trauma8-dumping" when she wrote a first version of her essay. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana. But she worried that the essay did not talk about who she was as a person.

  She wondered if she had to "go through something horrible to feel worthy9 of going to a school?"

  Later, she wrote about being at ease wearing her hair in a natural style although her white classmates criticized her about it when she was a girl. Now, she said, she has a small business styling hair for Black women. In her essay, she wrote: "Criticism will persist, but it loses ... power when you know there's a crown on your head!"

  After the Supreme Court's decision, some universities expanded their prompts. Brown University in Rhode Island and Rice University in Houston, Texas, included questions that ask about a student's challenges growing up or how their opinions were shaped by their backgrounds or race.

  Darrian Merritt of Cleveland wondered if schools like Yale, Stanford or Vanderbilt wanted a "sob10 story." He said he "wrestled11" with the question of whether he went through hard enough times as a child to "deserve having a spot at the university."

  Merritt chose to write about an experience at summer camp when he started to feel more at ease, or comfortable. He wrote about wondering whether he was "black enough" and discussed being made fun of for listening to "white people music." He also wrote about "taking ownership of myself and my future by sharing my true personality." Merritt said he felt comfortable sending "an honest story" to colleges.

  In Portland, Max Decker started working on his college essays before the Supreme Court's decision last year. At first, he had written about his love of video games. But the essay he sent to colleges was very different. He wrote about a nonprofit community group called Word is Bond. The group works with young Black men. Decker is of mixed race. He said he always felt like the odd one out before he became a part of the group and found acceptance.

  On a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers, he realized he offered something special to the world because he is different. Decker said he felt comfortable writing about his race in an essay if it could help him get into a better college. He noticed that his high school friends who had college-graduate parents were in a better position. They knew it was important to get into higher-level classes at the start of high school, for example.

  In the end, Decker said both essays were true. But the one he submitted to colleges felt more like the truth the world was expecting of him.

  Imani Laird of Boston said she felt as if she had to fully2 explain the way her race affected12 her life. "I didn't have it easier because of my race," she said. "I had stuff I had to overcome." So, she wrote about her grandfather. She said he was not permitted to enter a special program for former soldiers to go to college because he was Black. She said facing racism13 makes her want to do great things with her life, or to excel.

  "My goal in class was not just to participate but to excel. Beyond academics, I wanted to excel while remembering what started this motivation in the first place."

  The group of students who are finishing high school this year are the first class to submit applications under the new policy. What advice do they have for future students?

  Tarnue said students should still write about "moments that really shaped your character and personality and experiences that led to personal growth."

  Words in This Story

  application –n. a written request to be accepted to a school, college, or program

  standard –adj. regularized for use by everyone

  challenge –n. a task or job that is difficult to do

  metaphor –n. an idea or image that represents a larger more important idea

  cocoon –n. a sheltered place that is not influenced by reality or difficulty

  trauma –n. a bad experience

  style –n. a design or way something is done

  persist –v. to continue doing something even if it is not supported

  sob story –n. a sad story which is not taken too seriously

  odd one out –expression something that is different and that does not fit in


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
2 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
3 metaphor o78zD     
n.隐喻,暗喻
参考例句:
  • Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方,我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
  • In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。
4 cocoon 2nQyB     
n.茧
参考例句:
  • A cocoon is a kind of silk covering made by an insect.蚕茧是由昆虫制造的一种由丝组成的外包层。
  • The beautiful butterfly emerged from the cocoon.美丽的蝴蝶自茧中出现。
5 applicants aaea8e805a118b90e86f7044ecfb6d59     
申请人,求职人( applicant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
  • He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。
6 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
7 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
8 trauma TJIzJ     
n.外伤,精神创伤
参考例句:
  • Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
  • The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。
9 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
10 sob HwMwx     
n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣
参考例句:
  • The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
  • The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答,也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。
11 wrestled c9ba15a0ecfd0f23f9150f9c8be3b994     
v.(与某人)搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 );扭成一团;扭打;(与…)摔跤
参考例句:
  • As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
  • Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
13 racism pSIxZ     
n.民族主义;种族歧视(意识)
参考例句:
  • He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
  • Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。
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