VOA慢速英语--College Admissions: Identifying Helpful Resources

 

It is never too late to ask for help. This advice can be useful for anyone in their day-to-day life.

It can also be important for someone hoping to get a college education one day.

Seeking admission¹ to a college or university can be a complex process. There are so many things to consider. Some of the decisions you make can affect the rest of your life.

In the United States, most college applicants³ are high school students. Many are 17 or 18 years old. One might ask how anyone at that age could know exactly the kind of field they want to work in for the rest of their lives? Do they even want to work in the field they plan on studying?

So how do young people begin to make the first big step when applying for college?

Charlie Leizear of Occidental College says his first suggestion to students is to look for help anywhere they can find it. Leizear is the director of first-year admission at Occidental, a private liberal⁴ arts college in Los Angeles, California.

Leizear says there is a lot of information available to students about how to both choose a college and apply for admission. For one thing, he tells students to think about using their personal connections. If friends or family members have attended a college, they can be great people to ask about their experiences, he notes.

Also, most high schools in the United States and many other countries employ guidance counselors⁶ for this exact purpose. A big part of the job of a counselor⁵ is asking students what they want to do after high school. They ask these questions to help students decide if college is right for them, as well as identify what a student might want to study. Then counselors often help students find schools that might meet their needs and help them prepare application materials.

But Leizear admits that in many countries, higher education is not a possibility for most people. So some students may not know anyone who can answer their questions about college. This is especially true if the person is hoping to continue their education overseas. Also, high schools in many countries may not have guidance counselors. So where do students at these schools turn for help?

One resource Leizear suggests is Education USA, a program supported by the U.S. Department of State. This program has offices in more than 170 countries. Education USA has offices in U.S. embassies⁷ around the world. Other offices are connected with local non-profit organizations, or even at universities.

Education USA offers non-U.S. citizens advice and information about American colleges and universities. For example, most schools require students to take some form of standardized⁸ test. This test shows a student’s level of academic performance. Also, in the case of international students, it shows their English ability level. Education USA explains to students in foreign countries how and where they can take standardized tests.

The program also helps international students apply for visas so they can live, study and possibly work in the United States. And, perhaps most importantly, Education USA helps students find ways to pay for their education.

Leizear says paying for higher education can be the biggest barrier to college students, both in the United States and overseas. The College Board is a non-profit organization working to expand access to higher education. It reported that the cost of attending four-year colleges reached record high levels in the 2016 to 2017 school year.

Most U.S. colleges and universities offer students some form of financial assistance⁹. But Leizear notes that during the economic recession¹⁰ of 2008, many schools faced financial difficulties. American stock¹¹ shares and other investments¹² shrank¹³ in value, so families had less money available set aside for education. Most of the aid schools had to offer went to Americans, not international students.

Many schools began requiring international students to pay the full price as a way of balancing the cost of supporting domestic¹⁴ students, Leizear notes. And some schools increased the number of students from wealthier nations they admitted since these families could bear that cost.

However, Leizear adds, as the economy recovered, colleges and universities began to change their financial aid policies. He says some schools continue to spend a lot on research or athletics¹⁵ programs. Yet many schools, like small liberal arts colleges, for example, see international students as valuable because of their skills and the activities they are involved in. And these schools have begun to offer such students large amounts of aid to become more appealing.

“It has taken some time for a lot of colleges and universities to look at international students beyond as just the bottom line, to look at international students as actually contributors to [their] communities,” Leizear told VOA on Skype.

He says the Internet is a great resource for identifying such schools. He suggests looking for lists of colleges and universities with financial aid for international students. For example, every year two independent college counselors, Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy¹⁶, publish one such list that is freely¹⁷ available.

Finally, once a student has chosen the school he or she wants to attend, Leizear says there is still one more resource available. That is other international students. If an applicant² calls a university’s international student office, it will often connect the applicant with a current student from their part of the world.

“Current students are often more than [happy] to tell [future students] about their application process and can be great resources without charging fees,” Leizear said. “And I think that’s where a lot of students find great value, … in getting the real story.”

Leizear warns college applicants against using services that ask for money and offer guaranteed acceptance¹⁸ into top schools as a resource. Often these services cannot actually follow through on their promises.

I’m Pete Musto. And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

admission – n. the act or process of accepting someone as a student at a school

applicant(s) – n. someone who formally asks for something, such as a job or admission to a college

liberal arts – n. areas of study, such as history, language, and literature, that are intended to give you general knowledge rather than to develop specific skills needed for a profession

guidance counselor(s) – n. a person who gives help and advice to students about educational and personal decisions

resource – n. a place or thing that provides something useful

standardized test – n. any form of test that requires all test takers to answer the same questions, or a selection¹⁹ of questions from common bank of questions, in the same way, and that is scored in a consistent²⁰ manner

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

access – n. a way of being able to use or get something

financial – adj. relating to money

bottom line – idm. a company, school or organization's profits or losses

contributor(s) – n. someone who gives something, such as money, goods, or time, to help a person, group, cause, or organization

1 admission   

n.允许进入；承认；入场费，入会费，入场券

参考例句：

• We attached a condition to his admission to our school.我们对准许他入校附加了一个条件。
• By her own admission,she was responsible for the accident.她自己承认，事故应该由她负责。

2 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

3 applicants   

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。

4 liberal   

adj.心胸宽阔的；自由(主义)的；慷慨的

参考例句：

• He has a liberal attitude to divorce and remarriage.他对离婚和再婚看得很开。
• This country adopts a liberal foreign policy.该国采用的是开放的外交政策。

5 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

6 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

7 embassies   

n.大使馆( embassy的名词复数 )；大使馆全体成员

参考例句：

• The representatives of other countries have their embassies there. 许多国家都在此设有大使馆。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Demonstrators protested outside the country's embassies all over Europe. 该国驻欧洲各国的大使馆外都有群众进行示威抗议。 来自辞典例句

8 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

9 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

10 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

11 stock   

n.存货，储备；树干；血统；股份；家畜；adj.存货的；平凡的，惯用的；股票的；畜牧的；vt.进货，采购；储存；供给；vi.出新芽；进货

参考例句：

• The shop takes stock every week on Friday mornings.这家商店每星期五早晨盘点存货。
• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。

12 investments   

n.投资( investment的名词复数 )；投资额；（时间、精力的）投入；值得买的东西

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile, investments are at great risk. 由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All their money was tied up in long-term investments. 他们所有的钱都搁死在长线投资上了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 shrank   

动词shrink的过去式

参考例句：

• My sweater shrank in the wash. 我的毛衣缩水了。
• The blackman shrank from any direct participation in politics. 这位黑人回避直接插足政治。

14 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

15 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

16 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

17 freely   

adv.自由地，随便地，无拘无束地

参考例句：

• She was unable to keep back her tears,and wept freely.她抑制不住泪水，痛痛快快地哭了起来。
• A liquid flows freely and has no fixed shape.液体能自由流动，无固定形态。

18 acceptance   

n.接受，接收，验收，接纳；承认，认可

参考例句：

• The new laws gained widespread acceptance.新法令受到广泛赞同。
• It took years for Einstein's theory to gain acceptance.爱因斯坦的理论经过多年才被人们接受。

19 selection   

n.选择，挑选，精选品，可选择的东西

参考例句：

• We left the selection of the team to the captain.我们把挑选队员的工作交给了队长。
• The shop has a fine selection of cheeses.那家商店有各种精美乳酪可供选购。

20 consistent   

adj.坚持的，一贯的，一致的，符合的

参考例句：

• He has been a consistent friend to the Chinese people.他是中国人民始终如一的朋友。
• His action is always consistent with his words.他始终言行一致。