轉(zhuǎn)學(xué) 一個(gè)很可能比申請(qǐng)研究生更好的選擇

美國(guó)本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)，一個(gè)很可能比申請(qǐng)研究生更好的選擇。

我遇到過(guò)很多被天朝高考制度坑害的學(xué)生，他們或因?yàn)榉謹(jǐn)?shù)不理想被調(diào)劑到一個(gè)不理想的學(xué)?；?qū)I(yè)，或因?yàn)榧议L(zhǎng)壓力被迫選擇自己不喜歡的專業(yè)，或因?yàn)椴欢つ窟x擇了一個(gè)不適合自己的專業(yè)。如果孩子心智成熟，或者運(yùn)氣好，就會(huì)通過(guò)一些機(jī)會(huì)積極努力，找到好的出路;如果心智不那么成熟，或者運(yùn)氣不那么好，就有可能走向一個(gè)極端：逃課，掛科，甚至退學(xué)。2013年有一則令人唏噓的新聞：一個(gè)清華大三生江煥波為換專業(yè)退學(xué)復(fù)讀。

為什么要付出這么大的代價(jià)去學(xué)一個(gè)自己喜歡學(xué)的東西?因?yàn)榇蠹也恢肋€有什么別的選擇：國(guó)內(nèi)要想換專業(yè)非常非常難(雖然國(guó)內(nèi)已經(jīng)開(kāi)始學(xué)分制，但多數(shù)學(xué)分制只是換湯不換藥，雖然有些學(xué)校允許換專業(yè)但要求成績(jī)要年級(jí)第一第二才有資格轉(zhuǎn))，換大學(xué)就更別想了，只能退學(xué)再來(lái)一次連西方都知道的變態(tài)高考了。(不少國(guó)外大學(xué)網(wǎng)站上現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)有了“Gaokao”這個(gè)專有名詞了)所以很多學(xué)生只能痛苦的煎熬著。這個(gè)問(wèn)題現(xiàn)在變得越來(lái)越嚴(yán)重，因?yàn)榫帕愫笫歉袀€(gè)性的一代人，而國(guó)內(nèi)大學(xué)的變化速度趕不上他們的節(jié)奏。他們只能強(qiáng)忍著，在研究生留學(xué)的時(shí)候換專業(yè)。(國(guó)內(nèi)考研換專業(yè)也是很難的)

雖然越來(lái)越多的中國(guó)學(xué)生去美國(guó)讀本科，但很多人并不知道，還有“本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)”這么一條路可走。對(duì)很多人來(lái)說(shuō)，不應(yīng)該問(wèn)“我能不能轉(zhuǎn)專業(yè)申請(qǐng)”而是該問(wèn)“我是應(yīng)該研究生的時(shí)候再出去，還是現(xiàn)在就轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)出去”。下面進(jìn)入主題，跟大家詳細(xì)介紹一下美國(guó)的本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)。

什么是本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)?

本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)，在美國(guó)大學(xué)官網(wǎng)上稱之為：Undergraduate Transfer，只要進(jìn)到美國(guó)大學(xué)官網(wǎng)，大家就能發(fā)現(xiàn)，在UndergraduateAdmission 中Freshmen申請(qǐng)和Transfer申請(qǐng)基本都是并列關(guān)系。只要你是在讀大學(xué)生，沒(méi)有獲得學(xué)士學(xué)位(一般以大一大二為，大三大四情況比較復(fù)雜)，成績(jī)達(dá)到一定標(biāo)準(zhǔn)(不同檔次學(xué)校標(biāo)準(zhǔn)不同)，有SAT/ACT with writing(很多學(xué)校不硬性要求，比如Yale對(duì)本國(guó)無(wú)考點(diǎn)的學(xué)生可以免SAT或ACT，密西根大學(xué)安娜堡分校要求如果高中申請(qǐng)本科時(shí)考了SAT或者ACT需要提交，否則就不用提交，top30往后的很多學(xué)校則要求如果入學(xué)時(shí)已經(jīng)讀了兩年，那么就不用提交SAT或ACT成績(jī))，有語(yǔ)言成績(jī)(國(guó)際學(xué)生，且沒(méi)有四年母語(yǔ)為英語(yǔ)教學(xué)經(jīng)歷的需要提交托福、雅思、PTE之類的語(yǔ)言成績(jī))就可以申請(qǐng)轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)。這個(gè)結(jié)論是很多很多學(xué)生和家長(zhǎng)不知道，難理解，但又是事實(shí)的事情。

雖然top10的本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)比新生申請(qǐng)要難(比如Stanford的轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)錄取率在1%-4%之間，Yale每年能收到大概1000份轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)申請(qǐng)只能錄取20-30人，Harvard有些年份如果沒(méi)有space空出會(huì)停掉轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)申請(qǐng))，但是從制度上來(lái)說(shuō)，本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)和新生申請(qǐng)完全是并列的關(guān)系。所以不管你是在中國(guó)的大學(xué)，還是在英國(guó)，新加坡，美國(guó)，澳洲，還是在哪兒讀本科，只要你想，符合對(duì)應(yīng)的條件，就能申請(qǐng)到美國(guó)對(duì)應(yīng)檔次的學(xué)校過(guò)去讀本科。

這里可以附上最難錄取的幾個(gè)學(xué)校的資格說(shuō)明，供大家參考：

Stanford University

l Studentswho have enrolled either full-time or as a degree-seeking student aftergraduating from high school must apply for transfer admission.

l Studentswho are dual-enrolled in both high school and college programs should apply forfreshman admission.

l Studentsmust have a high school diploma or the equivalent in order to enroll atStanford.

l Transfercoursework must be completed at an accredited degree-granting institution;coursework completed in vocational, technical, performance or professionalprograms are not considered.

l Transferstudents are required to complete at least two years of full-time enrollment atStanford in order to attain a bachelor's degree from the university.

l Studentswho have already earned a bachelor's degree are not eligible to apply forundergraduate admission

Harvard University

l Bythe anticipated date of matriculation, students must have satisfactorilycompleted a minimum of one continuous academic year in a degree program at onecollege, and not more than two academic years of full-time college study.

l Studentswho have completed more than two years of college study with transferablecredit, and those who have earned a bachelor’s degree, are not eligible totransfer to Harvard College. Students may not choose to relinquish academiccredits or a degree in order to apply for transfer admission.

l Studentswho will have completed less than one full-time continuous year of study at onecollege by the anticipated date of matriculation at Harvard should apply asfreshman candidates. (All such applicants, if admitted, will matriculate asregular freshmen without any transfer credit.)

l Studentswho have completed one full-time year of college in a regular degree program inlieu of their senior year of high school (often referred to as dual enrollment)should contact the Admissions Office before submitting an application, butgenerally, if the courses were taken for credit toward a high school diploma,candidates should apply as a freshman.

l Studentswho are enrolled part-time are not eligible unless they have previouslycompleted one continuous academic year full-time.

l Studentsare eligible to transfer only from a liberal arts curriculum that is similar toHarvard’s. Candidates whose education has been in a vocational, professional,technical, online, extension, or performance program will not ordinarilyqualify for transfer admission.

Yale University

To beeligible to transfer, you must have a high school diploma or GED by June of thecurrent academic year, and at leastone year and no more than two years of transferable post-secondary-schoolcollege credit.*

l Ifyou are currently jointly enrolled in high school and college, you are noteligible for the transfer program, but should apply through the freshmanadmissions process.

l Ifby the end of the current academic year you will have completed less than oneyear of full-time college study*, you should apply through the freshman admissionsprocess. If you are admitted as afreshman, work done after secondary school graduation but before matriculationat Yale may be accepted (up to a maximum of two course credits) with theapproval of the appropriate director of undergraduate studies at Yale.

l Ifyou have received a bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent) or if by the end ofthe current academic year you will have completed more than two full yearstoward the degree, you are not eligible to transfer to Yale, nor may you applythrough the freshman admissions process. (You may not voluntarily relinquishcredits in order to qualify for consideration.)

l Ifyou are a non-traditional student and have taken a break from your educationfor five or more years, you may wish to consider Yale College’s Eli WhitneyStudents Program instead of the Transfer Program.

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

l Studentsapplying to transfer must be in good standing, both academically and socially,at the institution(s) attended.

l TheUniversity of Michigan considers the college grade point average, the qualityand quantity of transferable college credit, TOEFL/MELAB scores (ifapplicable), and the quality of high school credentials (including grades,strength of curriculum, and standardized test scores) during the transferreview process.

l Thereare specific admissions requirements for schools and colleges. Some requirespecific course prerequisites, portfolios, and auditions, which are taken intoconsideration when evaluating applications.

誰(shuí)適合申請(qǐng)本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)?

那么是不是誰(shuí)都適合做這件事情呢?當(dāng)然不是。絕大多數(shù)事情都是有利有弊的，所以我們一定要了解情況，做好分析做對(duì)自己來(lái)說(shuō)利大于弊的選擇。所以下面跟大家具體解釋一下。

先來(lái)看看大學(xué)都喜歡什么樣的轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)生呢?我把幾個(gè)大學(xué)官網(wǎng)的說(shuō)明附在下面，大家可以認(rèn)真品讀一下。

Harvard University會(huì)Growth and potential，Interests and activities，Character and personality，Contribution to theHarvard community這4個(gè)點(diǎn)去考察。具體我們可以看看學(xué)校的細(xì)節(jié)提示：

Growthand potential

Haveyou reached your maximum academic and personal potential?

Haveyou been stretching yourself?

Haveyou been working to capacity in your academic pursuits, your full-time orpart-time employment, or other areas?

Doyou have reserve power to do more?

Howhave you used your time?

Doyou have initiative? Are you a self-starter? What motivates you?

Doyou have a direction yet? What is it? If not, are you exploringmany things?

Wherewill you be in one, five, or 25 years? Will you contribute something to thosearound you?

Whatsort of human being are you now? What sort of human being will you be inthe future?

Interestsand activities

Doyou care deeply about anything—intellectual? Extracurricular? Personal?

Whathave you learned from your interests? What have you done with your interests?How have you achieved results? With what success or failure? What have youlearned as a result?

Interms of extracurricular, athletic, community, or family commitments, have youtaken full advantage of opportunities?

Whatis the quality of your activities? Do you appear to have a genuinecommitment or leadership role?

Ifyou have not had much time in high school for extracurricular pursuits due tofamilial, work, or other obligations, what do you hope to explore at Harvardwith your additional free time?

Characterand personality

Whatchoices have you made for yourself? Why?

Areyou a late bloomer?

Howopen are you to new ideas and people?

Whatabout your maturity, character, leadership, self-confidence, warmth ofpersonality, sense of humor, energy, concern for others, and graceunder pressure?

Contributionto the Harvard community

Willyou be able to stand up to the pressures and freedoms of College life?

Willyou contribute something to Harvard and to your classmates? Will you benefitfrom your Harvard experience?

Wouldother students want to room with you, share a meal, be in a seminar together,be teammates, or collaborate in a closely knit extracurricular group?

Yale University

Yale seeks to admit a small number of extraordinary transfer candidateseach year. However, no simple profile of grades, scores, and interests canassure a transfer applicant admission to Yale. The two to three percenttransfer admissions rate reflects space limitations at Yale and means that wemust deny admission to most qualified applicants. Diversity within the studentbody is important, and the committee works very hard to select a class of ableand contributing individuals from as broad a range of backgrounds as possible.

It isdifficult to state in general terms what qualities will improve a transferapplicant’s chances of success, because those chances are unfortunately quitelow, and we judge each application individually and holistically.

Atransfer candidate’s academic strength is our first consideration. An applicantfor transfer admission should have an outstanding academic record. The averageGPA of admitted transfer students is usually 3.8 and above in a demandingselection of courses.

Transfercandidates should also have particularly compelling and well-defined academicreasons for wishing to attend Yale.

Wantingto leave one’s current school is not a sufficient argument for admission toYale. Transfer candidates should explain in their application essays howstudying at Yale would give them an educational opportunity particular to theirinterests that could be experienced nowhere else.

TheAdmissions Committee also gives serious consideration to a transfer applicant’smotivation, curiosity, energy, leadership ability, and distinctive talents. Thepersonal essays and evaluations from college faculty members, deans, andsecondary school counselors provide a great deal of insight into thesequalities. We hope to find students who have made significant contributions totheir college and local community.

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor說(shuō)的比較簡(jiǎn)單：

Isin good academic and social standing at his/her prior institution.

Hasa distinguished record of college work, earning a cumulative GPA of at least aB (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better.

Hasearned sophomore or junior standing (preferably) with transferable creditearned at a community college or another two- or four-year college oruniversity.

在這里不一一陳列，個(gè)人總結(jié)來(lái)說(shuō)，這些大學(xué)希望通過(guò)招收轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)生實(shí)現(xiàn)以下幾個(gè)目的：

1， 尋找潛力股，篩選最值得投資的年輕人(這幾乎是所有美國(guó)優(yōu)秀大學(xué)的目標(biāo))

2， 給本校現(xiàn)在的大學(xué)群體增加多樣性

3， 實(shí)現(xiàn)教育公平性(這個(gè)主要是公立大學(xué)的著眼點(diǎn)，例如加州大學(xué)系統(tǒng))

4， 彌補(bǔ)學(xué)生退學(xué)、休學(xué)、轉(zhuǎn)走后的空位

關(guān)于第一點(diǎn)具體到轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)這個(gè)場(chǎng)景下，那么核心關(guān)鍵點(diǎn)就是：你是不是已經(jīng)證明，你有能力最大化利用身邊的資源，你現(xiàn)在所處的環(huán)境不能再給你更多的幫助，需要一個(gè)更高的平臺(tái)更好的資源幫助你進(jìn)一步提升。

再進(jìn)一步解讀，就是：第一，你要在你現(xiàn)在的學(xué)校學(xué)術(shù)上有出色表現(xiàn)，學(xué)習(xí)能力沒(méi)問(wèn)題，能很好的適應(yīng)未來(lái)在我們學(xué)校的學(xué)習(xí)壓力，所以各個(gè)學(xué)校都會(huì)根據(jù)自己的水平來(lái)在對(duì)應(yīng)檔次的大學(xué)中選對(duì)應(yīng)的學(xué)生。比如top20的大學(xué)錄取的絕大多數(shù)學(xué)生都是在世界知名大學(xué)中選GPA比較出色的，這是一個(gè)基礎(chǔ)條件。第二，你要證明你還是一個(gè)有很強(qiáng)的自我管理能力、有激情有想法的人，能夠積極主動(dòng)且成熟的做事、看待問(wèn)題。例如，除了常規(guī)的學(xué)術(shù)學(xué)習(xí)，你還能去干一兩件(幾件的比較少)自己喜歡的事情，且干得非常出色。

關(guān)于第二點(diǎn)，和新生申請(qǐng)學(xué)校的考量一樣，希望通過(guò)有各種不同經(jīng)歷的人在一起碰撞，以了解來(lái)自不同世界的人，從而可以站在一個(gè)不同角度(或者叫更高角度，只是學(xué)校不會(huì)選用這個(gè)有爭(zhēng)議的說(shuō)法)看待問(wèn)題。和Freshmen申請(qǐng)一樣，你可以從自己的特長(zhǎng)，特殊的成長(zhǎng)經(jīng)歷帶給自己人生觀世界觀的影響角度去展現(xiàn)給學(xué)校。只不過(guò)，本身在別的學(xué)校有就讀經(jīng)歷和本校的學(xué)生比就是一種多樣性。

關(guān)于第三點(diǎn)比較復(fù)雜一點(diǎn)，需要對(duì)美國(guó)本科教育體制有較全面的了解。美國(guó)的全職本科教育提供方式有2年制副學(xué)位，4年制學(xué)士學(xué)位兩種，前者就是社區(qū)大學(xué)(既community college，大家習(xí)慣縮寫為CC;雖然有一些4年制社區(qū)大學(xué)，但多數(shù)都是2年為主)，后者又可以從資金來(lái)源方式分為公立大學(xué)和私立大學(xué)，或從培養(yǎng)側(cè)重點(diǎn)分為文理藝術(shù)教育哲學(xué)和專門職業(yè)教育兩類(前者多以LAC存在，后者一般在綜合性大學(xué)慣稱大U)。無(wú)論是2年制還是4年制，都有公立和私立兩種形式。這樣豐富的形式就可以讓美國(guó)人在高中畢業(yè)之后有很多種高等教育的選擇，通過(guò)公立體系解決大眾教育的問(wèn)題，通過(guò)私立教育實(shí)現(xiàn)個(gè)性化教育和精英教育。

基于這樣的體系，公立大學(xué)會(huì)留出很多名額給本州的社區(qū)大學(xué)學(xué)生，比如UC-Berkeley這所頂尖的大學(xué)，有近三分之一是來(lái)自CC的，轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)最大優(yōu)先級(jí)是給CC的，有些和UC-Berkeley，UCLA這種頂級(jí)高校有協(xié)議的CC，學(xué)生只要達(dá)到GPA要求，可以確保被錄取。所以一些沒(méi)有把握申請(qǐng)到UC-Berkeley或者UCLA這種學(xué)校的學(xué)生，會(huì)選擇加州的一些CC，然后通過(guò)轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)。(當(dāng)然，這里是有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的，比如被一些中介誤導(dǎo)以為很容易，過(guò)去后才發(fā)現(xiàn)很少有學(xué)生可以達(dá)到要求的GPA)

不過(guò)關(guān)于這點(diǎn)，大家只要知道，美國(guó)大規(guī)模的公立大學(xué)相對(duì)規(guī)模較小的私立大學(xué)而言轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)更容易一些就好了。

關(guān)于第四點(diǎn)，對(duì)轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)申請(qǐng)的影響比較直接的就是，轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)名額相對(duì)不太穩(wěn)定，而且越好的學(xué)校，因?yàn)殇浫r(shí)已經(jīng)著重考慮了學(xué)生的適應(yīng)情況，流動(dòng)率越低，轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)名額越少。不但錄取比例比新生要低幾個(gè)百分點(diǎn)，更要命的是總名額只有二三十個(gè)這種量級(jí)，難度非常大。而公立大學(xué)因?yàn)閷W(xué)生基數(shù)大，流動(dòng)性高，轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)難度較頂級(jí)私立大學(xué)小很多。

基于上述情況，我們可以知道，適合考慮轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)的人群有以下幾種：

1， 高考或者Freshmen申請(qǐng)錄取結(jié)果不理想，對(duì)所讀大學(xué)失望的學(xué)生

2， 大學(xué)專業(yè)不是自己喜歡的學(xué)生

3， 現(xiàn)在大學(xué)不能滿足自己需求，學(xué)不到更多東西的學(xué)生

4， 不安于現(xiàn)狀，想挑戰(zhàn)新高度的學(xué)生

前兩類好理解，不解釋。第三類比較顯著的特點(diǎn)就是在本校的學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)比較好，學(xué)習(xí)按部就班，較為平淡，沒(méi)有特別大的挑戰(zhàn)，缺乏高考時(shí)那種拼命努力的激情。例如我這些年接觸的很多適合做這件事情的學(xué)生就是在國(guó)內(nèi)頂尖985學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)很好，比較有自己想法，但是缺乏釋放自己更大激情的挑戰(zhàn)，對(duì)未來(lái)很困惑。

第四類，不管是在國(guó)內(nèi)的大專，還是在985，對(duì)自己有更高要求。比如在大專的，可以通過(guò)轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)拿到超出國(guó)內(nèi)一本含金量的學(xué)士學(xué)位，在985的，希望研究所的時(shí)候可以進(jìn)到全球最頂尖的優(yōu)秀大學(xué)。(全美top10這種的)那就可以通過(guò)轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)作為跳板，讓自己在研究生申請(qǐng)時(shí)可以擁有更大的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。

不過(guò)，無(wú)論是上面那種情況，最后都要有足夠的資金作為保障。雖然我們有LAC轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)半獎(jiǎng)的案例，但是轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)比獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金巨難拿的Freshmen還要難拿，所以如果沒(méi)有60w以上的資金儲(chǔ)備，最好是100w，因?yàn)楹苡锌赡苓€要讀研究生。(當(dāng)然如果以后要讀PhD，基本是全獎(jiǎng)，也就只要考慮本科兩年左右的費(fèi)用了)

為什么說(shuō)本科轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)是個(gè)跳板?to be continue。