很多準(zhǔn)備赴美讀本科的中國(guó)學(xué)生在進(jìn)入高中之后,就開(kāi)始花費(fèi)很多時(shí)間精力去拼命準(zhǔn)備TOEFL、SAT等留學(xué)考試,有的學(xué)生甚至不惜逃課到校外上TOEFL、SAT培訓(xùn)課程。忽視校內(nèi)高中課程的學(xué)習(xí),認(rèn)為高中在校成績(jī)不太重要,已經(jīng)成為一些學(xué)生較為普遍的認(rèn)識(shí)。那么,在美國(guó)名校招生官眼中,到底是高中成績(jī)重要,還是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化成績(jī)重要呢?
高中成績(jī)單—最重要的申請(qǐng)材料
耶魯大學(xué)網(wǎng)站上的一段文字對(duì)此給以了最好的解答:While there is no hard and fast rule, it is safe to say that performance in school is more important than testing. A very strong performance in a demanding college preparatory program may compensate for modest standardized test scores, but it is unlikely that high standardized test scores will persuade the admissions committee to disregard an undistinguished secondary-school record. 前幾年,在一次講座中我曾聽(tīng)美國(guó)一位資深升學(xué)顧問(wèn)介紹,美國(guó)大學(xué)錄取新生考察的各種要素(如高中成績(jī)、課外活動(dòng)和獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)、申請(qǐng)essay、推薦信、面試等)在學(xué)生整個(gè)申請(qǐng)資料package中大體權(quán)重可以看出,一名申請(qǐng)學(xué)生高中階段課程成績(jī)?cè)谠u(píng)估中的權(quán)重,一般可以占到全部申請(qǐng)材料的60%上下,而TOEFL、SAT或ACT等一次性留學(xué)考試成績(jī)的權(quán)重,一般只占10%左右,由此可見(jiàn)高中階段學(xué)生取得好的學(xué)業(yè)成績(jī)十分重要。美國(guó)大學(xué)通常更看重申請(qǐng)學(xué)生的整個(gè)高中階段的課程成績(jī),以此評(píng)價(jià)學(xué)生長(zhǎng)期的學(xué)習(xí)狀態(tài)及發(fā)展趨勢(shì)。
耶魯大學(xué)網(wǎng)站上的另一段文字可以作為佐證:Yale is above all an academic institution. This means academic strength is our first consideration in evaluating any candidate. The single most important document in your application is your high school transcript, which tells us a great deal about your academic drive and performance over time. We look for students who have consistently taken a broad range of challenging courses in high school and done well.