王若桑

六、美國(guó)高中四年級(jí)的經(jīng)歷

生命永遠(yuǎn)是處于作用與反作用的狀態(tài)。由此，在兩者之間有短暫的反思時(shí)間。在某種程度上，高中四年級(jí)是必須要搞定一些細(xì)節(jié)事物并著眼未來(lái)的時(shí)間。在美國(guó)，高中四年級(jí)生要在秋季和冬季著手申請(qǐng)大學(xué)入學(xué)，從而需要面對(duì)過(guò)去幾年所做過(guò)的一切。那天真的高中新生一年級(jí)，放肆隨意的二年級(jí)，充滿壓力的三年級(jí)，都匯總起來(lái)，閃亮登場(chǎng)，成為獲勝大學(xué)申請(qǐng)材料的組成部分。在通往申請(qǐng)大學(xué)的路上，四年級(jí)本身變成一個(gè)重要且相伴前三年高中時(shí)期的記憶。

雖然四年級(jí)的成績(jī)只占學(xué)生全部成績(jī)單的一部分，但最后學(xué)年的成績(jī)與前三年的成績(jī)相比，也同樣非常重要。看起來(lái)四年級(jí)學(xué)生的簡(jiǎn)歷是有所不同的，很多四年級(jí)生只是希望其高中時(shí)代的最后一年能在選擇輕松課業(yè)的情況下平穩(wěn)度過(guò)。相反，另一些四年級(jí)生選擇更多的高強(qiáng)度的大學(xué)預(yù)科課和快班課來(lái)向所申請(qǐng)的大學(xué)證明自己能夠適應(yīng)大學(xué)程度的學(xué)習(xí)。無(wú)論成績(jī)單的分量如何，多數(shù)四年級(jí)生會(huì)重復(fù)參加大學(xué)入學(xué)要求的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)測(cè)試。這些測(cè)試包括SAT、ACT、和SAT II 科科目測(cè)試。這個(gè)秋季我就又參加了一次SAT I 測(cè)試和SAT II生物科的測(cè)試。通常的建議是學(xué)生選擇與專業(yè)發(fā)展有關(guān)的科目來(lái)參加SAT II 的測(cè)試，如果學(xué)生有意選擇某一專業(yè)，參加與之有關(guān)的SAT II 的專科考試也是可取的。雖然準(zhǔn)備這些考試令人不爽，但大學(xué)的錄取辦公室會(huì)根據(jù)這些標(biāo)準(zhǔn)考試成績(jī)來(lái)比較申請(qǐng)人的資質(zhì)，因?yàn)闃?biāo)準(zhǔn)考試畢竟是全國(guó)統(tǒng)一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的測(cè)試。通常這些考試在晚秋和初冬時(shí)期結(jié)束，以便大學(xué)申請(qǐng)人能在提交申請(qǐng)的截止日期前收到成績(jī)。各個(gè)大學(xué)入學(xué)申請(qǐng)的截止日期是不同的，但通常是來(lái)年的1月1日或1月2日。但有一種選擇是提前申報(bào)，以便在12月中旬就能得知錄取與否的結(jié)果。這種申請(qǐng)會(huì)避免一些一直要等到來(lái)年4月才知曉的等待之煩惱，并且保證了校方的錄取率。一種被稱為早期行動(dòng)的申請(qǐng)，此類申請(qǐng)沒(méi)有申請(qǐng)人與校方的契約，但申請(qǐng)人向校方表示如果被錄取，將有選擇該校的傾向性意愿。還有一種早期決定的申請(qǐng)。這種申請(qǐng)是與學(xué)校有承諾的。故申請(qǐng)人只能選擇一所學(xué)校提交所謂早期決定申請(qǐng)。是否選擇早期決定申請(qǐng)很難說(shuō)是對(duì)還是不對(duì)。選擇早期決定或早期行動(dòng)，意味著申請(qǐng)人將面臨被迫放棄其他學(xué)校所給予的更好的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金計(jì)劃，因?yàn)樗麄儗?duì)其早期決定所申請(qǐng)的學(xué)校的錄取要履行承諾。如果要申請(qǐng)?jiān)缙跊Q定或早期行動(dòng)計(jì)劃，申請(qǐng)人也必須認(rèn)真準(zhǔn)備其入學(xué)申請(qǐng)的個(gè)人陳述和成績(jī)單，通常在11月1日左右就要提交。我最初曾經(jīng)試圖做早期申請(qǐng)，但后來(lái)決定做常規(guī)申請(qǐng)，以便我有時(shí)間來(lái)準(zhǔn)備我的成績(jī)單、提高現(xiàn)有成績(jī)使我在年級(jí)的排名更好一些。同時(shí)，我也想多花些時(shí)間來(lái)完成個(gè)人陳述這個(gè)大學(xué)申請(qǐng)材料中更加重要的內(nèi)容。

除了要集中精力保持在校的成績(jī)之外，申請(qǐng)獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金也是四年級(jí)學(xué)生的重要責(zé)任之一。每個(gè)學(xué)生都想得到大學(xué)所能夠提供的最好的上學(xué)費(fèi)用承諾，從而減輕家長(zhǎng)的負(fù)擔(dān)。不同于大學(xué)申請(qǐng)的是各種獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金申請(qǐng)的截止日期是各不相同的，因此申請(qǐng)獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金的學(xué)生們必須認(rèn)真對(duì)待，保證在申請(qǐng)截止日期之前準(zhǔn)備好所需的材料。我想申請(qǐng)多項(xiàng)本地不同來(lái)源的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，因?yàn)閬?lái)自所在社區(qū)的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金提供者往往喜歡幫助當(dāng)?shù)氐木用瘛?/p>

最后，四年級(jí)是許多學(xué)生用來(lái)補(bǔ)齊課外活動(dòng)和自愿者服務(wù)經(jīng)歷的時(shí)間。進(jìn)一步說(shuō)，四年級(jí)是學(xué)生們領(lǐng)導(dǎo)其過(guò)去已經(jīng)參與了多年的課外活動(dòng)和自愿者服務(wù)項(xiàng)目的時(shí)間，我擔(dān)任了四年本年級(jí)的年級(jí)史理事，擔(dān)任本年度校田徑隊(duì)的隊(duì)長(zhǎng)，擔(dān)任本校美國(guó)國(guó)家榮譽(yù)學(xué)生學(xué)會(huì)的史編理事以及學(xué)生輔導(dǎo)項(xiàng)目的主管聯(lián)絡(luò)官。此外，我還參與其他校內(nèi)外活動(dòng)，諸如大赦國(guó)際俱樂(lè)部，連續(xù)數(shù)年入選全州高中管弦樂(lè)團(tuán)的單簧管演奏員，課后管弦樂(lè)團(tuán)，及在我的社區(qū)附近的醫(yī)院和老年中心做志愿服務(wù)等。盡管這些活動(dòng)讓人忙碌，但我非常喜歡每項(xiàng)活動(dòng)，這些參與和領(lǐng)導(dǎo)作用也向所申請(qǐng)的大學(xué)展示自己的性格和實(shí)例。雖然有多項(xiàng)課外活動(dòng)的感覺(jué)很好，但最重要的還是要展示你對(duì)所參與活動(dòng)的承諾和一貫性付出。我知道很多四年級(jí)的學(xué)生在三年級(jí)和四年級(jí)知道課外活動(dòng)對(duì)大學(xué)申請(qǐng)的重要性之后，開始隨機(jī)地參與一些組織和活動(dòng)，但缺少自己的激情和原創(chuàng)。另外，重要的是不要在課外活動(dòng)中花費(fèi)過(guò)多的時(shí)間，雖然我非常喜歡曾經(jīng)參與的活動(dòng)，但我也為不能放棄某些課外活動(dòng)，以致使自己疲于應(yīng)付學(xué)業(yè)負(fù)擔(dān)而感到遺憾?？傊?，四年級(jí)是要在學(xué)業(yè)、堅(jiān)持和領(lǐng)導(dǎo)課外活動(dòng)以及申請(qǐng)大學(xué)和獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金的大量工作中找到最佳的平衡。

美國(guó)高中四年級(jí)既使人感到陌生又讓人激動(dòng)。此前我從來(lái)沒(méi)有感到有如此多的責(zé)任和嚴(yán)肅的問(wèn)題需要自己面對(duì)。此前在學(xué)校里，我從來(lái)沒(méi)有感到我真的是長(zhǎng)大了。此前，我也從來(lái)沒(méi)有感到如此的憂慮和對(duì)未來(lái)的不確定。在我準(zhǔn)備申請(qǐng)大學(xué)材料的同時(shí)，構(gòu)思和完成這篇短文，我認(rèn)識(shí)到自己在不斷的為高中經(jīng)歷增添注記，記錄了值得反思的一切。我很享受在過(guò)去一年里所完成的本《聯(lián)接與跨越》系列短文，按時(shí)間序列記敘了中學(xué)時(shí)期的梗概事物。通過(guò)如此華裔美國(guó)高中生的視角，我希望能在中美學(xué)生之間加深溝通和了解，發(fā)現(xiàn)我們之間平行的共同點(diǎn)。

英文原稿

Article 6：The American Senior Experience

Life is a perpetual state of action and reaction. And then， in between the two are brief periods of time for reflection. Senior year of high school is， in a way， that obligatory period as it's time to tie up loose ends and address the future. In America， seniors must apply to college the fall and winter of the 4th year， and in turn， face everything from the past previous years. The fresh faced naiveté of freshman year， the air of familiarity to sophomore year， the crushing pressure of junior year； all are reflected upon and polished to create the winning college application. Along the way， senior year itself becomes another eventful memory accompanying the three years before.

Though senior grades only account for a small space on the entire student's transcript， the grades from the final year are just as important， if not more important， as the first 3 years. There seems to be a split between many senior profiles， as many seniors wish nothing more than to cruise through the last year with a minimum of honors or rigorous classes. Contrasting that are many other seniors who load up on honors/AP courses to prove to colleges that they are able to handle college level work. No matter the rigor of transcript， it is common for most seniors to retake standardized tests to complete their requirements for colleges. This includes the SATs， ACTs， and SAT II subject tests. This fall， I took the SAT I one more time as well as the SAT II Biology Test. It is recommended that students take subject tests that pertain to the certain career field that they wish to go into. It's also great if students are looking into applying for certain programs in specific majors as well. Though many find these standardized tests a hassle to study for， they are a great base for college administrations to compare students off of because the standardized test is the same nation wide for each testing date. These tests are generally finished by late fall/early winter so that the applicant can submit the scores in time for application deadlines. The deadlines of many colleges in America differ， but it is common for the regular deadline of many colleges to be January 1st or 2nd. There is the option， however， for an early submission to receive the results sometime around early to mid December. This saves the hassle of waiting until April for results and， in some cases， helps with the acceptance rate. There is early action， which is a nonbinding application that still shows some level of commitment for those who are prepared. Then， there is early decision， which binds the student to the school， if accepted， and shows the highest level of commitment by the applicant. Students can only apply early decision to one school， however. It can be tricky， to figure out if early decision is right for each applicant. Early decision applicants will have to give up the security of comparing the financial aid offers of multiple schools because they will have to attend the school that they are accepted early to. Students also must be very prepared essay wise and transcript wise to submit to the early deadlines often as early as November 1st. I was initially thinking of applying early， but I decided to go with the regular application deadline so that I could polish my transcript and make my GPA and class rank the best that it could be. Also， I wanted to spend more time on my essay， another very important facet of my application.

In addition to focusing on school grades， applying for scholarships is a big responsibility for senior year as well. As each student prefers to get the best financial deal possible， scholarships often help take a big weight off of many students' and parents' shoulders. Unlike college applications， however， the application due dates of scholarships are more discreet and students must research to make sure that they have everything completed in time. I'm hoping to apply to many local scholarships from my town area because businesses and associations are often happy to help out a local resident.

Finally， senior year is the time when many students are padding up their list of extracurricular activities and volunteer experiences. Even more so， senior year is the time to lead the activities that students had participated in for the past years. For leadership， I have been my senior class's Historian officer for the past 4 years， and this year I am my Outdoor Track team's captain， the National Honor Society's Historian， and a student mentor program's Director of Communications. In addition， I'm been keeping up with my other activities such as Amnesty International club， All State Clarinet， After school orchestra， and volunteering at my local hospital and senior center. It keeps me busy， but I thoroughly enjoy each activity and I feel that it will allow colleges to see each facet of my personality. While it does feel nice to have a large list of extracurricular activities， the most important thing is that commitment is shown in them. I know tons of seniors who， upon junior or senior year， realized the importance of this aspect of the applications， joined random groups with no passion or initiative. It is also important， however， not to overload a schedule with too many things outside of school. Although I absolutely love all of the extra things I participate in， I do regret being too stubborn to give up some of my extracurricular activities and， consequentially， struggling with my work load. Overall， senior year is about finding the right balance between maintaining and leading the activities outside of school， the schoolwork itself， and the imminent amount of work that goes into college and scholarship applications.

Senior year is so foreign and exhilarating all at the same time. Never before have I had so many responsibilities and serious questions thrown my way. Never before have I felt so grown up when I walk down the halls of my school. Yet all the same， never before have I felt so insecure and unsure of the future at hand. It is in working on my college applications and writing this article series itself that I have been slowly making tick marks in my high school experience， marking the time for reflection. It has been a great pleasure writing all these articles under the column of "Bridging The Gap" and， in a way， chronicling my journey throughout high school. With all of the glimpses of an Asian American's experience through American high school， I hope the differences between China and America have been lessened in a way that its similarities lie parallel.