一。定量份额系统，二。学校经济状况，三，分数非常重要，四，挑选学校的重要性，五
，私立与公立学校有别，六，教授为何不回套词信。
Dear **, I can understand your anxiety and frustration. But I think you will f
eel much better if you know how the American universities admit foreign studen
ts. You see there are many factors that are involved in the admission policy o
f a given university. In general, the universities use a quota system to sele
ct foreign students. Each department makes its own policy as to how many forei
gn students it is going to admit each year. If there are too many Chinese stud
ents in the department, the department will be in favor of students from other
countries. Moreover, the general economy and the fiscal conditions of the ind
ividual universities also play a key factor. Again, you are competing with ot
her applicants. In other words, your success depends upon so many factors tha
t are beyond your control. All you can do is present yourself in the best way
you can.
A good letter of recommendation is helpful, but more important are your grades
and scores of the required tests. Financial conditions can be important to s
ome universities but normally are secondary consideration for most universitie
s. There is however a strategy to consider when you are choosing a school. Of
course, you have a better chance in a less competitive institution, if you ha
ve a good standing academically. I know how difficult for you and your fellow
students to know all the schools. I don't know myself either. So you spend mo
re time researching the universities you are interested in and select the best
that you like to apply. Forty some years ago, I went through the same agony
of getting to this country forty as you are going through now. I hope that by
knowing all the factors involved, you may feel less pressured.
Connections exist in every society. People do use influence and power to get
what they want. But I must say that in the public universities here, equal com
petition rather than favoritism is the general rule. Private schools are a dif
ferent story. Rich people can buy an admission for their children. Many priva
te schools charge high tuition and do accept foreign students who are less qua
lified academically.
I know how frustrated you feel when not getting a response for a letter you wr
ote to a professor. You see most professors are busy with their teaching and r
esearch. Even on campus students have hard time to catch them. So I am not su
rprised that you don't hear from them. If they are interested in you, they wil
l write you. I appreciate the pressure of uncertainties, which can be unbeara
ble sometimes. But I do suggest that you be patient, hoping for the best.
Best regards.
--
原作者： pizza (渡梓厄)
来 源：zixia.net
[zt]http://www.docline.net/article/list.asp?id=206作者: lze 时间: 2003-12-10 18:14:07
Thanks a lot!作者: hyacinthwang 时间: 2003-12-11 09:18:56