The road to study abroad is long. After hard work, holding the offer, getting the visa, and boarding the plane, they just took the first step to success. In fact, the subsequent path may be more difficult to face. In the face of a whole new world, if you ca n’t understand the academic environment there, master the “success rules” and handle all kinds of relationships, even if you ’re only a fighter. It is also likely to run into a wall and end sadly.
Based on the post on “Notes for Studying Abroad: The Hidden Rules of American Academia”, I also summarized several “success secrets” that are outstanding in American schools from the book “Nobel’s Prisoner”, and I dare not hide them. Privately, I would like to make it public, and hope to give everyone a little inspiration.
School selection success rules
For everyone preparing for college, this is the first issue that requires careful consideration. If you just want to find a job after finishing your book, you’d better go to a small college with a good undergraduate education. If you think you are suitable for learning and want to pursue academic studies in a prestigious university, then you must get a PhD, and the sooner the better. Like some courses from bachelor to PhD, the shortest time, don’t miss it.
Success rules for choosing a mentor
Many people only recognize the popularity of professors, and feel that they have sufficient funds and good conditions, and “beneath the trees are good for the cool.” But don’t forget, you are just a graduate student, “a small fish in a large pond”. In the eyes of a professor, you are probably just a “tool with a hand”. No matter how much you contribute, you are doing wedding dresses for others. However, if you have a vision and choose a young mentor who is unknown now, but might be in the future, the situation is very different. If you do something important together, your name will never be ignored. And once he becomes famous in the future, your good days are here!
Rules of Academic Speech Success
For Chinese students, academic lectures are a sad but must-have hurdle. Unlike domestic schools, there are many seminars in American schools that require students to introduce their work to the audience. Many Chinese students are often at a loss as to what to do. At this point, all you have to learn is how to excite your audience. So you have to master the main points and convince your listeners to convince them that what you do is really important. It’s best to use some vivid photos and image slides to make your speech lively, so that you will be more successful.
Doing Project Success Rules
Today is an information society, and various documents are abundant. To find something useful for you, a directory search tool is essential. Don’t take it for granted, you can just do a Google search, it’s really pediatric. In American universities, whatever you want to do, the first thing is to go to the library, use Index Medicus, Chemical Abstracts, and of course, more commonly used retrieval tools such as Citation Index, and directory tools like Current Contents To find the information you need. This will not only bring you a lot of convenience, but also lay a solid foundation for your future articles.
Rules for Paper Success
Paper is the most concerned issue for every student. The more articles you publish, the more you will not only graduate successfully, but also bring a lot of postdoctoral opportunities. If the article is to be accepted by the magazine, it must pass the review. So everyone is racking their brains for this. However, there are also “tricks” that must be killed. For example, you can constantly cite someone’s article in the bibliography of the paper, so the editor of the magazine will often invite this person to be your reviewer. If you still praise that person ’s masterpiece in the article for being “very incisive” and “thought-provoking”, then he will feel comfortable during the judging process, and you will pass smoothly!
Rules for applying for prestigious universities
Rule-1 American University Admission Criteria
Send out personal transcripts. Scores are important in the United States, and transcripts are indispensable in application materials. Because American high schools are four-year, all colleges require applicants’ four-year transcripts. Therefore, Chinese applicants should send their grades from the third grade to American universities and send them in three times. The first time is the result before the application deadline on January 1, the second time is the result in the application process, and the third time is the final result after being accepted.
Personal academic ability. Academic excellence is a prerequisite for talent selection in American universities. The applicant’s transcript, the difficulty of the courses studied, the ranking, SAT, TOEPL and other standard test scores, the awards obtained in the subject competitions, and even the trainings that have been attended are all valued by the admissions office. Academic potential is expressed in academic abilities beyond the standard of academic work.
Personal extracurricular achievements. This is an important aspect second only to academics. The admissions office looks for evidence that can prove the applicant’s sense of responsibility and leadership in the applied school and social activities. They want to know about the applicant’s achievements, motivation, leadership, energy, hard work, integrity, fairness, and enthusiasm.
Personality and charm. This is a point that universities in the United States have emphasized in their admissions. In addition, students with outstanding talents can be evaluated by university professional teachers or coaches.
Personal artistic expertise. Applicants’ works of art, such as visual arts, dance, drama or music, can be evaluated by university faculty and decide whether or not to give special consideration to the applicant’s expertise when judging admissions.
Rule-2 How to fill out the application form
Application deadline. The first thing to look for is the application deadline. The regular application deadline for most schools is January 1, and the deadline for early applications is November 1. Some schools, such as Stanford University, have advanced the deadline for regular applications to December 15, and the deadline for early applications to October 25. There are also some universities whose application deadlines are very late and can even be delayed until April-May.
Basic information of the application form. The application form for each university is a bound book. The application form that needs to be filled in is divided into two parts, the first part is basic information and the second part is comprehensive information.
Comprehensive information about the application form. The highlight of the application form is the comprehensive information in the second part. The first is often academic honor. The columns for extracurricular activities, volunteer activities, family activities, and hobbies are very wide. You must understand the meaning of American universities: study is the basic condition that bears the brunt of the first, and various social activities and hobbies can better reflect the personality, strengths, energy and ability to arrange time of the applicant.
Application experience. The next work experience has a few lines of form, which are divided into the nature of the job, employer, working date, weekly working hours, etc. There are also a few blank lines at the end for you to describe which of the above jobs has the greatest effect on you. The meaning should explain why.
Additional materials for the application form. Also pay attention to whether additional materials can be sent. Almost all schools allow applicants to submit additional materials beyond the application form. Relevant majors in many schools accept photocopies, photos, and audio tapes of various works of art, as well as academic papers and other additional materials that applicants wish to submit. In short, these are things that cannot be written or reflected on the application form. Every school that allows additional materials to be sent must send one.
Rule-3 Application Article Writing Tips
Tip 1: Go online. One way is the stone of other mountains, which can attack jade. In order to understand the application article, you can find the content of the application article on the US website. Some websites publish free samples, which are masterpieces of successful applicants.
Tip 2: Keep it simple. Application articles should be concise and crisp. Application articles have a word limit, typically 250 to 500 words. A 500-word article translated into Chinese is about a thousand words. Can use one word without two words, can use short words, don’t use long words, don’t overlength.
Tip 3: Be expressive. Articles should be expressive and show others what they want to express, not tell others. For applicants who speak English as a foreign language, the most effective method is to use more verbs and less adjectives and spoken words. “Action” is always the most expressive.
Tip 4: Be different. Avoid using short sentences throughout. Short sentences are concise and fresh, but they are slightly naive. Chinese students are no better than American students and can use language at will. No one thinks that American students will not use long sentences. And Chinese students use complex long sentences to better reflect their English maturity.
Transfer Success Rules
When transferring, the most common method is to call. The applicant has studied in the United States for a certain period of time, has an understanding of the United States, and has improved his English level a lot. Calling for a professor is the first choice. However, the killer trick for transfers is to go to the school to interview a professor. The specific method is as follows: If you are very interested in a department (school), you can call the professors in the department, make an appointment with the professors, and go to the school to meet them. Before the interview, print your dozens of application materials and bring them to the department. All professors related to your major will talk to you, explain your intention to transfer, and send everyone a copy of your materials. Sometimes, the professor will ask you about your past research, your expertise in a certain area, etc. You need to be prepared. If a student is in the United States, right in front of him, he intentionally transfers, as long as the person is not too bad (or the professor has a better candidate), he will usually seriously consider it! In addition, if any professor related to your major talks, opportunities often appear in unexpected places!
