时至2月，美国大学2012年秋季入学的申请几乎都已结束，在接下来的几个月里，对同学们来说是非常难熬的几个月，因为在接下来的日子里，同学们会录取接到各个大学的申请回复：录取、候补或是被拒。到了5月1日，通常情况下学生们都已经做出了要不要留在候补名单里的决定，同时，一笔押金也相应地支付给了学校。

　　那么，对于接到候补通知的同学来说，是不是就意味着被拒了呢?接到了候补通知后我们还能不能争取到录取呢?下面，看看美国大学录取专家Joyce给的建议吧：

　　"Will I dare go that far away from home? What if I get off a wait list after I deposit? Will I get my money back? What if? What if? You should know that college APplications have never been more competitive than this year. Some colleges are up over 25%, Columbia up 39% - colleges received thousands more APplications than last year, and yet their freshman class and numbers of beds in the dorms remains the same. Duke turned down half of those students who APplied with College Board scores of 2200 and higher. Columbia accepted less than 7% of their APplicants from the class of 2011. But then there's a brighter way to look at those Statistics: Colleges take many students with lower test scores BECause they are looking for more than all A's and top scores. They are looking for someone unusual. Someone from mainland China who has a speCIAl regional skill or way of life.

　　“这学校离家这么远，不适应了怎么办?如果我付了押金之后又被踢出了候补名单，这钱会不会打水漂了?”各种如果，各种怎么办，各种纠结。人们应该很清楚，今年的美国大学申请竞争之激烈是史无前例的。很多学校收到的申请数量都比往年增加了 25%，申请哥伦比亚大学的学生人数甚至比往年增加了39%----虽然各个大学收到的申请都比去年多出了几千份，但他们的大一班级数与宿舍里的床位数并没有增多。于是，杜克大学拒掉了一半SAT分数超过2200的申请者。申请哥伦比亚大学的2011届高中毕业生中只有不到7%收到了录取通知书。这些无比惨烈的数据，如果换个角度思考，对于申请者来说反而是个利好消息。因为，越来越多标准化考试成绩分数较低的申请者得到了招生委员会的青睐。大学不再只关注门门考试都得A的优等生，他们想要一些与众不同的人，一些同样来自中国大陆，但拥有独特背景与生活经历的学生。

　　Let's say that you are accepted at two of your colleges, denied at one and waitlisted at Emory and Johns Hopkins. Is there anything you can do about it? You bet there is! Along with the card that you returned, write an email before May 1. Give an academic reason why you are still in interested in Emory and Johns Hopkins (something other than you love the location or your best friend goes there). Add something new that the college doesn't know about you -- fax a GREat English pAPer. Fax a poem or short story or science project or school newspAPer Article that you wrote.

　　假设你申请了五所大学，其中两所录取了你，一所拒绝了你。同时，你最想去的艾莫里大学和约翰.霍普金斯大学把你放在了候补名单里。这是不是意味着你就此只能干等了?当然不是!5月1日之前，在给学校同意进入候补名单的回函里附上一封信。站在学术的角度阐述一下你为什么仍然期待能够加入艾莫里和约翰.霍普金斯(千万别写你想去是因为学校的地理位置优越或者你计划和好朋友在那儿团聚之类的理由)。向学校提供一些你之前申请材料中没有涉及的东西---比如一篇有质量的英文论文，一首诗，一个小故事，一个小科研成果乃至一篇你为校报撰写的新闻稿。