近年来，申请到美国中学留学的学生人数急剧增长。越来越多的家长希望孩子尽早适应美国的教育环境，所以申请学生的年龄也有所下降。但是美国的大多数学校并没有因这种趋势而增加对中国大陆学生的招生名额，尤其是那些顶尖的名校，每年招收中国学生的配额都只有4到5个，造成了僧多粥少的激烈竞争局面。据了解，各个学校每年都有超过100位的申请人来争夺这4到5个名额。学校的招生压力大增。为了减压，学校纷纷提高入学门槛。很多学校把托福最低要求提高到105分。
可喜的是中国的孩子确实很优秀。很多孩子小小年纪就考出很高的托福分数和SSAT分数。学校招生办常常面临着怎样能从上百个学习、艺术、运动才能、领导能力、社会活动经历都很出色的学生中挑选出4到5个学生录取的困境。作为申请人，不得不思考这样一个问题：在高手如云的竞争状况中，如何脱颖而出？
学校的招生委员会通常不会在这些优秀学生中做出谁的托福或者SSAT分数高一两分这种细微的比较。在选择学生的程序中，面试成了他们在众多优秀竞争者中挑选胜出者最重要的环节了。他们会通过面试来检验学生的能力、素质和潜能。
那要从哪几个方面着手准备面试呢？
首先，要提高学生自身的口语、阅读和写作能力。有人可能会怀疑，面试不就是口语好就行了吗？其实不然，面试官除了看学生的口语能力外，会有办法检查学生的阅读和写作能力。我在与学校沟通的过程中，常常听到他们说某学生的阅读和写作能力可能应付不了我们学校的挑战性的课程。
其次，面试时要自然，让面试官觉得你的陈述很真诚。最好能把面试看作是在和老师聊天，这样就不会觉得紧张。提问及回答问题时都要看着面试官，说话带点幽默的学生是很讨喜欢的。切记千万不要抢话、插话。如果面试官没有问你有什么问题，而你很想问问题时，要礼貌地说：“Can Iask you a question？”得到允许后才问。还要记得，所有陈述、回答及提问，不要涉及政治、宗教、种族等敏感议题。如被问到了，也不要妄加评议。
第三，面试时的着装要符合本人的气质和形象，不夸张也不能过于随意。如果你在申请文件中展示的是一个刻苦好学的学生，那就在穿着上带点书生气；如果你展示的是领袖型的学生，着装可以正式些；但是就算你已经是专业级的运动员，也不应该穿着运动服去面试；近年来常常被诟病的一点是：明明是一个中学生，面试时却一身名牌。
第四，我建议面试前要针对每个要申请的学校做一个笔记。把这个学校的办学宗旨、特色、著名的校友等等排列出来，并准备好回答：“Why do you like to come to our school？What do you think our school can help you to reach your goal？”这几个问题。面试官常会用不同的方式来考察你对学校的了解程度，也看你是否是学校想要的学生。学生自己也要把想问面试官的问题事先列好，做好笔记。写过一遍的事情，容易储存在记忆里，面试时也就比较自如。
最后，大家一定很想知道面试官会问什么问题。根据我了解，各校各个面试官对不同的面试对象问的问题都不固定。我根据几十年来与大多数名校考官交流的经验，总结了下面一些提问频率较高的问题，希望对大家有帮助：
1.What do you like about XXXX school？
2.How would you describe your family？
3.What aspects of school are most important to you？
4.What are your goals for the next few years？
5.What are your strengths and what do you perceive as your weakness？
6.What class／subject you enjoy the most？
7.What do you do in your free time？
8.How would your favorite teacher／friend describe you？
9.What／Why are you interested in XXXXX school？
10.What experience has made an impact on you？
11.Are you in or have been in any leadership roles？(www.xing528.com)
12.What current issues concern you or please you？
13.What do you typically do during your summers？
14.Do you happen to know what field you are interested in？
15.What activities do you find most satisfying，sports，music，arts，reading，etc.？
16.Why are you interested in coming to boarding school？
17.Who is your favorite author and why？
18.Tell me something that I must know about you.
19.Are you and your parents in agreement about your interest in boarding school？
20.Who has influenced you the most in your life？
一个曾在Phillips Exeter Academy就读的学生回答的面试范本
What do you like about XXXX school？（Based on Phillips Exeter Academy）
I think Phillips Exeter is the right choice for me because it is an environment that emphasizes collaboration and the exploration of multiple perspectives.I appreciate that as a student，and I’ll get the chance to hear different perspectives of a single issue.What’s really important to me is that I am hearing those perspectives from my own peers and not just being lectured about what history has considered to be right from an older educator.I think it will really help me to develop my own views and teach me to consider all sides of an issue before making any decisions.
Do you happen to know what field you are interested in？
Right now，I think I’m most interested in psychology.When I was younger，I wanted to be a doctor.But we discovered pretty quickly that I cannot stand the sight of blood.Ican’t really pinpoint when Istarted being interested in psychology but I remember wanting to be a psychologist because I wanted to help people whose disabilities were more invisible to the world than those with physical disabilities.As I’ve grown older，I’ve grown to love psychology because of the way it encompasses other fields of knowledge and allows me to learn about other subjects in completely different ways.
Why are you interested in coming to boarding school？
I’m particularly interested in boarding school because I think it offers me a type of education that I can’t get at a day school.I am living with my peers 24／7，without my parents there to help me solve problem.It teaches me a type of independence that I can’t get while living at home，while also giving mea nurturing and caring academic environment.
What do you do in your free time？
I really like to make sure that I’m separating my free time from the time I spend doing my extracurricular activities.What makes it different for me is that while I am doing things that Ienjoy outside of school in both of those times，my free time is really for me to relax and practice self-care.I like to do casual reading，as well as spending time connecting with my friends.
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