From Stoooges三士渡

微信号：StooogesEducation

对于招生官来说，审阅申请者材料的过程是冗长又乏味的，而一篇内容丰富而有趣的文章则能拯救他们于水深火热之中。第一批ED申请提交的截止日期快过去了，你对自己的文书有信心吗？

今天C君挑选了一些别出心裁，甚至有些“奇葩”的文书与各位分享，其中有吃货们喜欢的泡面，披萨，培根，还有同学写到了内衣…… 不妨猜猜这些学生最后都去了哪里，也看看别人是如何通过“奇葩”的主题展示独一无二的自己，俘获招生官的心的吧！

食物篇

01 泡面颠覆了我的世界观

2014年，福建省的王同学因在文书中抒发了自己对泡面和零食的热爱。他表示自己在一次旅行中偶然尝到了新加坡的泡面，觉得整个世界观都被颠覆了。从此之后他尝遍了各国泡面，还担任了一个泡面讨论会的主持人。他把这些经历都写进了文书中。

答案

罗切斯大学

罗切斯特大学的录取信

罗切斯特大学给出的录取理由便是狂爱泡面，“在得知你对拉面的狂热以后，辅导员推荐了你，委员会和我都确信你会坚持到底,并且能作为罗切斯特的一员成长得更加强大。” 不过这位王同学可不是单靠吃泡面进的名校，人家本来就是SAT2300，托福117的学霸！

02签收披萨外卖是我的天性

无独有偶，田纳西州的高中毕业生Carolina Williams将自己对Papa John's披萨深沉的爱也写入了申请文书中。短短二百字中包含了她等待披萨、听到披萨外卖的门铃声以及吃披萨时喜悦的心情。她说，“签收披萨外卖是我的第二天性，我会一直喜欢披萨，因为被切成8块的披萨看似普通，却能够激发人的独立感和快乐感。”

答案

耶鲁大学

Carolina被录取后在Twitter上和Papa John's表白，Papa John's的官皮亲自发来了贺电。

报道称，招生官在阅读Carolina的作文时，大声地笑了，之后还从Papa John's订了一份披萨。不过这位披萨女孩最终并没有接受耶鲁的offer，而是选择了奥本大学, 理由是她觉得奥本更适合自己，而且给她提供了更好的奖学金机会。看来爱吃披萨的女孩不但能在披萨中品尝人生，还很有自己的主张！

精彩片段

When the delivery person rings my doorbell, I instantly morph into one of Pavlov’s dogs, salivating to the sound that signals the arrival of the cheesy, circular glory. It smells like celebration, as I love to rejoice a happy occasion by calling Papa John’s for my favorite food. It tastes like comfort, since having pizza delivered to my quiet home is a way for me to unwind. It looks like self-sufficiency, because when I was young, ordering pizza made me feel grown-up, and it still provides that satisfaction for my child at heart.

03意面编织着我的生活

生活在科罗拉多州，半波兰半德国血统的Calvin Heiman照理说是个不太可能喜欢意大利面的孩子，然而小时候在餐厅吃到的Pasta Fresca意外地成为了见证他成长过程中喜怒哀乐的食物。第一次自己动手做出一份意面的自豪，孤单的夜晚一碗简单的意面给予的安慰，和邻居家的孩子一起玩闹、制作意面的自在和快乐… 在四处寻觅之前，先看清自己吧。Calvin所看到的就是一碗意面带来的美好。

答案

哥伦比亚大学

精彩片段

My brother Klaus was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood sarcoma that forced my family to New York City for treatment, while I was stuck in cold Colorado. …My sole comfort, the one thing that turned the worst of weeks into something bearable, was Gruffalo Pasta. Contrary to the name, it contained no mythical beast; it was simply penne with meat sauce, and yet there was something magical about it. Every Friday night, my friend’s family and I would sit down and eat Gruffalo Pasta with their famous garlic cheesy bread (worthy of its own essay). Laughs rang out as we played games, watched movies, and went sledding–we would be a family. Although my real family was thousands of miles away, every Friday night, home felt tangible.

04吞吃知识的培根

要把美食写进文书还不简单，谁还没点喜欢吃的食物呢！Mariam Nassiri在她的申请文书中用生动幽默的语言赞美了培根，而就在你以为这篇文章要陷入空泛的吹捧之时，话锋一转，对培根的热爱升华成了对于知识的渴求。原来培根只是一个比喻，它的出现是为了表达作者对于学习的热情：舍近求远去了现在的高中上学，虽然睡眠的时间少了，但多样的课程和好学上进的同龄人让她每天的上学路都充满期待。丰富的细节和流畅的叙述很好地遵循了文书写作中“show not tell”的原则，诚挚却不严肃。

答案

杜克大学

精彩片段

Oh, bacon: what a marvelous, glorious thing! I live for those heartstoppingly good strips of succulence, so crispy and crunchy, so packed with perfection. The thought of having a plate of bacon every day, perhaps every school day, sends me into sheer waves of ecstasy!

To be sure, many others would also wax poetic about this lovely breakfast food. But precious few would share this same zeal for learning. I, however, can smugly decree that I do regard both very highly. I brightly waken every morning to the mellifluous joy that sounds frommy alarm clock, a huge smile plastered on my face, and the yearning to learn in my heart.

家庭篇

05酗酒家暴的母亲，我选择原谅

被MIT拒绝，被芝大和卡梅隆Waitlist，对于翘首以盼的Luke Kenworthy来说，这个结果并不理想。在意识到了文书的重要性以后，Luke很快调整了策略，开始重新写文书，并深度挖掘了自己小时候的经历。

“虽然写小时候的经历有点奇怪，但对我很重要，因为这些过往经历在很大程度上塑造了现在的我。”

Luke有一位长期酗酒和家暴的母亲，生长在家庭阴影下的他原本是一个内向胆小、严重缺乏安全感且渴望得到周围人关注的人。但是他并没有将自己的性格缺陷归咎于不负责任的母亲，而是选择站在母亲的角度理解她，倘若自己经历了母亲身上发生的事情，未必就会比母亲更好。这份爱与怜悯化解了他长久以来的心结，也使他得以与自己和解，变得开朗阳光，不再总是一味寻求他人的认可。相信每一个读到这篇文章的人，都会被字里行间的真诚与坦率所打动。

答案

哈佛, 普林斯顿, 布朗, 康奈尔,

哥大, 达特茅斯, 宾大

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Entering high school, I would spend hours at a time thinking about my insecurity and talking through memories of my mom with my dad. During this time, I would always remember how I had stared numbly into the ripples of my dad's shirt as a fifth grader. I could never forget that feeling of helplessness, but with repeated reflection, I began to understand this moment in a different way. Given her circumstances — raised by an abusive, alcoholic father and a neglectful mother; involved in several dysfunctional relationships with controlling men; drinking to numb the injustices of life, but then realizing it was too late to stop — I have no way of knowing if my life would be any different from hers.

06用破碎的英语建立我们的家

生长在移民家庭的马来西亚女孩 Cassandra Hsiao 在文书中回顾了自己5岁时和母亲初到美国，艰难的学英语的经历。发音不好被超市的白人老太嘲笑，很想写好作文但是总是用错词…但即使说着破碎的英语，她与母亲仍然能够畅通无阻地交流。“在我家里，我们的语言并不‘破碎’，而是充满了感情。我们用词语建了一座房子…这房子有点歪，有点杂乱无章，但这是我们的家。”

Cassandra Hsiao与母亲

后来，Cassandra能在3000多人面前进行诗朗诵了，也能用英语写剧本了，但始终没有忘记自己和母亲最初英语不好时的窘迫。她用实际行动帮助着英语水平低下的人们，因为在他们身上都有着曾经无法“发声”的自己的影子。而所有移民经历中艰难和苦涩的回忆，都因这份相伴相守的爱而温柔。

答案

哈佛，耶鲁，普林斯顿，宾大，

达特茅斯，康奈尔，哥大，布朗

精彩片段

I stand against ignorance and become a voice for the homeless, the refugees, the ignored. With my words I fight against jeers pelted at an old Asian street performer on a New York subway. My mother’s eyes are reflected in underprivileged ESL children who have so many stories to tell but do not know how. I fill them with words as they take needle and thread to make a tapestry.

个人成长篇

07内衣教会我的事

昵称为Ngoc的越南裔女孩，她的文书选题则较为大胆。整篇文章围绕内衣展开，从第一件内衣对她造成压力和束缚感说起，到后来看到新旧内衣更替时的感伤，最后学会从新的视角看待这个曾经厌恶的物品，“穿上一件新的内衣，并不是对旧内衣的抛弃，而是对生活的变化本身所给予的一种回应。” 从束缚到依托的转变，也折射出Ngoc对于生命与死亡等终极命题的思考。比起完美无瑕的profile，能从平常细微的事物中体察人生，对小细节有奇思妙想的人，才是名校真正想寻找的人吧。

答案

哈佛大学

精彩片段

I learned that life does not occur linearly, but in cycles: New stars can arise from the ashes of former ones, and the darkness of death is replenished by the light of birth. Thus, what is created is only a reinterpretation of the past in a form that is fitted for the present. In wearing a new bra, I was not casting away my old self but reorienting myself to accommodate to changing times.

08 战“痘”是我最自豪的成就

能代表一个人成就的可以是荣誉和勋章，也可以是由内到外的变化和成长。痘痘对于青春期的少男少女来说看似平常，但要彻底消灭并非易事：要上网查资料找到问题的根源，要改善饮食结构，继而转变生活习惯…也有忍受不了沙拉和胡萝卜，转回去吃垃圾食品的时候，也有看见脸上的痘痘消退而高兴的时候，本文作者将战“痘”过程中的挫折和喜悦都忠实地记录了下来，引发了许多共鸣。因为成功并非朝夕之间的转变，而是在软弱和奋发交织的过程中完成的递进。

答案

杜克大学

精彩片段

By the end of the week, my skin was noticeably smoother, clearer, and brighter. Yet I found myself relapsing, unable to continue for long without indulging myself, unable to swallow the horribly plain salads and chewy carrots. Every time I stopped, the acne came back. It came to the point where I despised the acne and coveted the clear skin enough to force myself back on track. It became an excruciating pattern of cravings and self-restraint. I struggled with these two impulses until I became used to healthy eating, even enjoying it. Now, two years later, my skin is better than ever and I have never gone back to eating the way I had before.

新颖的题材和好的创意固然是能让一篇文书脱颖而出的重要因素，然而很多人忽略的一点是创意必须基于真实才能打动人。如果为了追求新颖和高逼格，最后丢失了自我，那样写出来的文章只会显得空洞，不会是打动人心的好文章。以上优秀的文书，虽然选题大胆，甚至有些奇怪，但都源自于真实的生活体验和思考，展现的是一个坦率独特的个体。

其次，一个理想的申请结果是精彩的文书和许多因素（标化成绩，活动等）共同作用的结果，切勿只在文书上发力而丢掉了其他。C君鼓励的是每个人都去发掘真实的自己，书写只有你能说的故事，让招生官看了你的文书后由衷地说一句：真想和TA做朋友啊！