What kind of students does Cornell University like?
Lin Jie, a bachelor, studied at Cornell University School of Engineering, and a postgraduate at Columbia University School of Education. After graduation, he worked as an alumnus interviewer in the United States and China for three years and one year respectively. Lin Jie felt very sorry for his younger brothers and sisters: "When I was admitted to Columbia University, the admission rate was still around 28%. The admission rate dropped to 15% last year. Coupled with the American affirmative action act, the admission rate of Chinese is even lower. The competition is too fierce. " Lin Jie attributed the decline in the admission rate to the increase in the school-age population of American universities and the fact that more and more China scholars began to pay attention to famous American universities.
Can't help the money market.
At Cornell University, all alumni interviewers are volunteers, and Lin Jie became an alumnus interviewer out of the original intention of giving back to his alma mater. "Being able to screen students for my alma mater is also a contribution to my alma mater." Lin Jie thinks this is the same as alumni donation. "Some people can donate 10 yuan, others can donate 1 10,000 yuan, and those who can't pay can at least donate."
Lin Jie told Study Abroad that Cornell University alumni interviewers have two main responsibilities. First of all, when the school is invited to participate in educational exhibitions and enrollment conferences around the world, the Alumni Association will contact local alumni interviewers, send them information, and ask if they have time to attend on behalf of the school, communicate with the students and parents present, answer questions, and publicize their alma mater on the spot. Second, interview the applicants in the area where the alumni interviewer is located and write a report.
If the interviewed students are accepted, Cornell University Admissions Office will tell the alumni interviewers who have participated in the interview and ask them to write to follow up the students' situation and see what help they can provide. "Admission is just the beginning, followed by preparation for admission and so on. If admitted, students will enter our big family and become alumni with the interviewer. As a teacher, I am obliged to bring TA. " Lin Jie emphasized that for the admitted students, the interview is not a one-time thing, but a lifetime label. School is a family concept for students, not a springboard, "just like the relationship between mother and child." For students who are not admitted, Cornell University's requirement is "Don't disturb TA".
As an alumnus interviewer, Lin Jie has a sense of mission. If he can promote his alma mater and make it flourish, he will also make alumni proud. He thinks that students are the blood of a school.
Spoken language and true temperament are the key.
It is not difficult to be an alumnus interviewer at Cornell University. Graduates only need to apply to the school's alumni association, and after approval, they can be expanded into the database of alumni interviewers. "The pass rate of such audits is usually very high, as long as they are not engaged in industries related to enrollment, such as enrollment consultants and study abroad consultants, they can generally pass." Therefore, after returning to China for one year, Lin Jie began to engage in overseas study consulting, and informed the school in time that he would no longer be an alumnus interviewer.
Interviewing students cannot be spontaneous. Cornell University provides pre-job training for new alumni interviewers. The core content of training is what questions can't be asked and what aspects must be observed when interviewing students; There are no detailed rules about the specific questions of the interview. Lin Jie told Study Abroad that the school explicitly forbids questions such as "students' test scores" and "which other schools have you applied to". Because such problems often lead to stress and worry, which is not conducive to students to show their truest self with a peaceful mind. The questions that Lin Jie often asks include general questions such as "Why to apply to Cornell University" and "What is the process of applying to American universities", as well as how to deal with these questions under special circumstances, such as "What would you do if both schools sent letters of acceptance".
The core of the survey is to judge students' language ability through their fluency in English and the words used in chatting. Through the expression and logic of students' speech, we can judge whether they are their true selves. By communicating with students, we can judge whether they can adapt to Cornell's college life.
Lin Jie said: "Finally, the admissions office of Cornell University will make a judgment based on the students' comprehensive situation." When submitting the interview report, the duty of alumni interviewers is to describe what they saw and heard in the interview as truly as possible, without adding personal subjective judgment.
Negative problems found may lead to rejection of recording.
Lin Jie told Study Abroad that there are two interview orientations of American university alumni, one is strict judgment, and the other is loose cognition. "Judgement is more about looking at students with a critical eye, while knowledge-seeking is about understanding students by chatting." Most alumni interviews at Cornell University belong to the second type, so its impact on improving the admission rate is very limited. Unless the main negative problems of the students are found in the interview, it may directly lead to the rejection of the students by Cornell University, even if the students perform very well in all aspects.
"Scores, files, etc. After all, it is indirect, and an interview is the most direct way to get to know a person. " For example, Lin Jie said that when he interviewed a student, he found it difficult for him to communicate in English. "Speech and endorsement are the same", and his language standardization score is quite high, so he immediately doubts his performance. He wrote down what he observed truthfully in the interview report, and finally the student was rejected.
"The main role played by Cornell University alumni interviewers is to understand the real situation of students through face-to-face communication. If the interviewer's judgment on the students is as good as the students' own judgment in the application, then the interview will not affect the admission; If the negative things are caught by the interviewer, the lethality is great. If the interview can add points to students' admission, alumni interviewers may be required to guarantee their character. This student is the best student I have ever seen. " Lin Jie believes that students only need to show their true selves as much as possible, and it is actually very dangerous to pretend carefully.
In terms of ensuring the independence of alumni interviewers, Cornell University also stipulates that students' application materials cannot be sent to alumni interviewers, and encourages them not to ask for application materials from students, and judge the real situation of students from a more neutral perspective and feelings, and will not be biased towards TA because of common hobbies or personalities, and vice versa.
In addition, receiving the notice of alumni interview does not mean that students have passed a certain degree of screening, because alumni interviews may be randomly selected according to students' willingness to "accept alumni interviews" and arranged according to the geographical distribution of alumni interviewers.
Beat lonely Kangcun with love and food.
Talking about the temperament of Cornell University, Lin Jie said that the school is located on a mountain in the country, and there is still a certain distance from the town. It is quiet around the school, but the campus is very popular. Club activities are colorful and popular, and the relationship between people is also very close. This compactness is also reflected in an interesting data. "It is said that among all the Ivy League schools, Cornell University alumni get married the most. "In addition, the organic vegetables produced by our own farms and the famous university canteens in the United States have even become important reasons for many students to study here.
In Lin Jie's view, Cornell University is looking forward to recruiting students who can have their own fun because of its geographical environment. If they are students who turn a deaf ear to things outside the window, they are easily forgotten at school, and there is no city around them, so they easily feel lonely. Cornell is the largest Ivy League school, but in fact, big schools are more likely to make people feel lonely.
Compared with Columbia University where he once studied, Lin Jie can feel the sharp contrast between them. Columbia University is located in new york City, which is different from Cornell University's world of ice and fire. Columbia University and new york City merged together. Many students are integrated into the city, but the school circle is not particularly close. "Some people will think that staying in the mountains for four years is too boring, but it is just right for me. I went to high school in new york, and I know the huge difference between Cornell and new york, just like Huairou and Guo Mao. " Lin Jie said. However, in order to attract more students to Cornell University, the school won the bid with Stanford University, won a piece of land in new york City, and established its own branch there.
Finally, Lin Jie used the magazine "Studying Abroad" to remind students who are preparing to apply. Although in the countryside, Cornell University students are very competitive. He gave a small example. According to the regulations of the School of Engineering, only the top 5% students can get A. "This way is not just to see how good you are personally, but to see how much you can surpass other outstanding students. Besides, undergraduates at Cornell University actually study very hard. Students think that their learning content is more difficult than Harvard, but their GPA is lower than Harvard. "
Study abroad
Cornell University is a medium-sized private comprehensive national university founded in 1865. It is a private research university located in Ithaca, new york, USA, with two branches in new york City and Qatar Education City. It is a member of the famous Ivy League school and enjoys a high academic reputation all over the world.
Cornell University is called "academic pressure cooker" in the Ivy League because of the academic attitude of "I want to be better" shown by students. Unlike other Ivy League universities, Cornell University has always been committed to "the best undergraduate education". Cornell University offers more than 4,000 courses for students, and students who want to go abroad can choose more than 200 exchange programs.
Cornell University has made great efforts in "eating" students. The school's seven canteens are all operated independently, and the food supply is the best among American universities. Not only does each dinner have at least 28 main courses, but also milk food and some meat are directly supplied by the Agricultural College, and its campus catering service has been rated as the best among American universities for many times.
In "us news 20 14 Comprehensive Ranking of American Universities", Cornell University ranked16; Its average admission rate is15.5%; The average annual total cost, including living expenses, is about $55,000, and the school also provides scholarships for international students. The average admission requirements are: TOEFL 100 (IELTS 7.0) and SAT1970-2270 (ACT 29-33); The number of students in the school is about 265,438+0,500, and the proportion of international students is about 9%.