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CONGRATULATIONS. You've been accepted to more than one college. Now comes the hard part: deciding which to go to. Make a mistake and you could be repeating the whole application process again next year — to transfer out.
恭喜啦。你收到了不止一所高校的錄取通知書。現在，艱難的時刻到來了：選擇上其中哪所大學。這一步錯了，明年就有可能再重復一遍申請大學的全過程——辦理轉校。
Let's say the cost is similar. How to choose between two good options?
先來假設學校的費用相仿。那么，在兩所都不錯的選項里，你該如何挑選呢？
Look to the Future
展望未來
Remember this, says David Montesano, founder of the consulting company College Match: "College is just a tool to help you achieve your life goals."
咨詢公司College Match的創始人大衛·蒙特薩諾(David Montesano)說，要謹記以下這條：“大學只是幫你實現人生目標的一個工具。”
If your goal is to make money, don't assume the more prestigious the institution, the more earnings. Equally smart students make about the same whether they attend a top school or not, according to the economists Stacy Dale and Alan B. Krueger. But Hispanic, black and low-income students, they found, can expect to earn more if they graduate from an elite school. Data at Payscale.com can give you a sense of what graduates of individual colleges earn.
如果你的目標是賺錢，不要想當然地認為學校越有名望，將來賺的錢就越多。根據經濟學家史黛西·戴爾(Stacy Dale)和亞倫·克魯格(Alan B. Krueger)的統計，兩個同樣聰明的學生未來賺的錢將一樣，不管他們是不是進了最好的學校。不過他們也發現，西班牙裔、非洲裔和來自低收入家庭的學生如果從名校畢業，將有望賺更多錢。看看Payscale.com的數據，可以了解各所大學畢業生的薪金水平。
If your goal is grad school, investigate which colleges produce healthy numbers of master's and doctoral students. Some colleges post comparative lists on their sites crunched from federal surveys. The National Science Foundation also lists feeder schools for science and engineering Ph.D.'s. The percentage from Reed College, by the way, is higher than from Princeton or Harvard.
如果你的目標是繼續深造，需要研究下哪所大學的畢業生攻讀碩士和博士學位的數字較為穩健。一些大學在網站上公布了來自聯邦調查的比較表。美國國家科學基金(National Science Foundation)也列明了本科院校畢業中攻讀科學和工程學博士的學生人數排名。順便說一句，里格學院(Reed College)的比例超過了普林斯頓(Princeton)或哈佛(Harvard)。
Steer Clear of Colleges in Crisis
遠離深陷危機中的高校
Reading student newspapers online will tell you whether students approve of how officials respond to problems, like hazing or sexual assault. Are students protesting against the Keystone XL pipeline or problems with the school itself, like too many adjunct teachers or disappearing services? And pay attention to public funding of state schools. Budget cuts can increase class size and make it harder to get the courses you need to finish your degree in four years.
上網讀一下學校的學生報，你會了解學生們是否贊同校方對特定問題，比如欺凌或性騷擾的反應。學生們抗議的是Keystone XL輸油管線還是學校自身的問題，比如助教過多，或者未提供應有的服務？還要注意撥給州立大學的公共基金。削減預算可能會增加班級規模，也會增加你在四年內如期修滿所需課程、取得學位的難度。
Reviews on websites like unigo.com, collegeprowler.com and studentsreview.com can give you a sense of what each school's students complain about - — -at Cornell, for example, students grouse about being graded on a curve, while Rutgers students bemoan feeling like a number. But the best way to determine the weak points of a particular school is to ask students or recent alumni.
看看unigo.com、collegeprowler.com和studentsreview.com這類網站上的評論，你可以大致了解各所學校的學生們正在抱怨哪些問題——比方說，在康奈爾(Cornell)，學生們正抱怨老師按照成績曲線分布圖來打分，而羅格斯大學(Rutgers)的學生哀嘆說感覺自己只被學校當成了一個數字。不過，想要了解某所學校的弱項，最好的辦法還是去問目前在讀或新近畢業的學生。
Go Where You'll Shine
去你將會發光的學校
"One of the most important things a person can get out of college is confidence based on success," says Jane K. Klemmer, an educational consultant in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Look for a place where the learning environment and social scene will give you the most opportunities to succeed, she says. "If there are a lot of fancy cars in the parking lot that are going to make you feel poorer and somehow inferior, that could be a problem."
“在從學校所獲得的東西中，有一點至關重要，那就是建立在成功之上的自信，”教育咨詢師簡·克萊默(Jane K. Klemmer)說。她的公司位于紐約布萊爾克利夫莊園。她介紹說，你所要尋找的大學，應該是學習環境和社交活動都能為你的成功帶來最多機會的地方。“如果在停車場里看到那么多臺靚車，會讓你感覺自己有點窮，低人一等，那么這就是個問題了。”
Matthew Baker of Riley Baker Educational Consulting suggests that you gauge whether you will fit in by asking, "Would I want to hang out with these people on weekends?"
賴利·貝克教育咨詢公司(Riley Baker Educational Consulting)的馬修·貝克建議，你可以通過追問這個問題來評估自己是否能適應某所學校：“到了周末，我愿意跟這群人一起玩嗎？”
School traditions might also indicate where you belong. Take Colgate University and Grinnell College, two rural liberal arts colleges on pretty campuses that accept students with similar SAT scores and grades. Colgate students begin and end their college careers with a torchlight procession to a bonfire where they sing the school song. A big tradition at Grinnell is the annual Mary B. James cross-dressing ball. It should be no surprise that Colgate is beloved by preppy scholar-athletes while Grinnell is a haven for hipsters who discuss Derrida into the wee hours.
學校的傳統也許同樣能表明你屬于哪里。就以柯蓋德大學(Colgate University)和格林內爾學院(Grinnell College)為例，這兩所都是位于鄉間的文理學院，校舍美麗，所接收的學生SAT考分和成績接近。柯蓋德大學的學生在剛入校和畢業時，會進行一套儀式，高舉火把列成長隊走向篝火，并齊聲高唱校歌。而在格林內爾學院，這里的一項重大傳統是每年一次的瑪麗·詹姆斯(Mary B. James)易裝舞會。如果告訴你，柯蓋德大學深受拿運動獎學金的預科生推崇，而格林內爾是文藝青年的天堂，他們會在深夜臥談會時大談德里達(Derrida)，你肯定不會感到意外。
Some relish a challenge. Daniel Surman, a political science student active in Republican politics, ended up at Macalester College, which had offered him the most financial aid. But Macalester topped the Princeton Review's list of most liberal colleges in 2011. "I was intrigued by the idea of being the iconoclast in the class," says Mr. Surman. "Being at Macalester, I've definitely gotten better at defending my views."
一些學生喜歡挑戰。丹尼爾·蘇爾曼(Daniel Surman)是位積極參與共和黨政治事務的政治學學生，他最終選擇入讀提供助學金金額最大的麥卡利斯特學院(Macalester College)，而這所學校在2011年《普林斯頓評論》(Princeton Review)評選的自由派高校中列居榜首。“想到成為班上的偶像破壞者，這讓我特別興奮，”蘇爾曼說，“來到麥卡利斯特后，我覺得自己在捍衛個人觀點方面更為精進了。”
And he started a student group. Membership: 5 to 15 Republicans.
他還在學校創立了一個社團。成員比例：5個自由派對15個共和黨人。
