名校熱背后的冷思考

Frank+Bruni

Over recent days the notices have gone out1）， an annual ritual of dashed hopes.

Brown University offered admission to the lowest fraction ever of the applicants it received： fewer than one in 10. The arithmetic2） was even more brutal at Stanford， Columbia， Yale. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had a record number of students vying3） for its next freshman class—31，321—and accepted about one in six who applied from outside the state. Notre Dame took about one in five of all comers.

And right now many young men and women who didnt get in where they fervently4） longed to are worrying that its some grim harbinger5） of their future， some sweeping judgment of their worth.

This is for them. And its intended less as a balm6） for the rejected than as a reality check7） for a society gone nuts over the whole overheated process.

If you were shut out of an elite school， that doesnt mean youre less gifted than all of the students who were welcomed there. It may mean only that you lacked the patronage8） that some of them had， or that you played the game9） less single-mindedly， taking fewer SAT courses and failing to massage10） your biography with the same zeal.

A friend of mine in Africa told me recently about a center for orphans there that a rich American couple financed in part to give their own teenage children an exotic charity to visit occasionally and mine11） for college-application essays： admissions bait12）. Thats the degree of cunning that comes into this frenzy13）.

Maybe the school that turned you down ranks high in the excessively publicized “College Salary Report” by PayScale.com14）， which looks at whose graduates go on to make the most money.

What a ludicrous15） list. Its at least as imperfectly assembled as the honor roll that U.S. News & World Report puts together every year. And even if you trust it， what does it tell you？ That the colleges at the top have the most clout16） and impart the best skills？ Or that these colleges admit the most young people whose parents and previously established networks guarantee them a leg up17）？

Maybe it tells you merely that these colleges attract the budding plutocrats18） with the greatest concern for the heft of their paychecks. Is that the milieu19） you sought？

About money and professional advancement： Shiny diplomas from shiny schools help. Its a lie to say otherwise. But its as foolish to accord their luster more consequence than the effort you put into your studies， the earnestness with which you hone20） your skills， what you actually learn. These are the sturdier building blocks of a career.

In David and Goliath21）， Malcolm Gladwell makes the case22） that a less exclusive university may enable a student to stand out and flourish in a way that a more exclusive one doesnt. The selectiveness of Gladwells science doesnt nullify23） the plausibility of his argument.

Corner offices24） in this country teem with25） C.E.O.s who didnt do their undergraduate work in the Ivy League. Marillyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin went to the University of Alabama. John Mackey of Whole Foods studied at the University of Texas， never finishing.

Your diploma is， or should be， the least of what defines you. Show me someone whose identity is rooted in where he or she went to college. Ill show you someone you really， really dont want at your Super Bowl26） party.

And your diploma will have infinitely less relevance to your fulfillment than so much else： the wisdom with which you choose your romantic partners； your interactions with the community you inhabit； your generosity toward the family that you inherited or the family that youve made.

If youre not bound for the school of your dreams， youre probably bound for a school that doesnt conform as tidily to your fantasies or promise to be as instantly snug a fit.

Good. College should be a crucible. Its about departure， not continuity： about turning a page and becoming a new person， not letting the ink dry on who， at 17 or 18， you already are. The disruption of your best-laid plans serves that. Its less a setback than a springboard27）.

A high school senior I know didnt get into several of the colleges she coveted28） most. She got into a few that are plenty excellent. And Ive never been more impressed with her， because she quickly realized that her regrets pale beside29） her blessings and she pivoted30） from letdown to excitement.

That resiliency and talent for optimism will matter more down the line31） than the name of the school lucky enough to have her. Like those of her peers who are gracefully getting past this ordeal that our status-mad society has foisted on them， shell do just fine.

最近幾天，大學錄取通知書紛紛寄出，年度“希望泡湯”儀式也拉開了序幕。

布朗大學給該校申請者發(fā)出的錄取通知書比例不到10%，創(chuàng)下歷史最低點。而斯坦福大學、哥倫比亞大學和耶魯大學的錄取率甚至更加慘不忍睹。北卡羅來納大學教堂山分校的新生申請人數創(chuàng)下了紀錄，多達31，321人，該校只錄取了六分之一的州外申請者。圣母大學則只錄取了約五分之一的申請者。

而現在，許多未能進入自己強烈向往的大學的年輕男女都在擔心，認為這個結果是對自己前程的某種不祥預兆，是對自身價值的某種影響深遠的評價。

這篇文章就是寫給他們的。本文與其說是給被拒學生的安慰劑，不如說是一個對社會的現實反思，這個社會對已然過熱的大學申請全過程著了魔。

如果你被名校拒之門外，這并不能說明你比被那些學校錄取的所有學生天資差。可能僅僅意味著你沒有他們其中一些人所享有的優(yōu)待，也可能意味著你在按規(guī)矩辦事時沒那么專注：你上的SAT （譯注：學術能力評估測試，俗稱“美國高考”）課程比別人少；你沒有投入同等的熱情去修改自己的簡歷。

最近我的一個在非洲的朋友告訴我，一對有錢的美國夫婦資助了一個非洲的孤兒中心，其中一部分原因就是為他們十幾歲的孩子們提供一家能偶爾拜訪的國外慈善機構，為大學申請文書搜集有價值的資料：那就是錄取的誘餌。由此可見，其煞費思量竟已達到如此瘋狂的地步。

將你拒之門外的學校也許在PayScale網站發(fā)布的“美國大學薪酬報告”中名列前茅，這份傳播格外廣泛的報告研究了哪所大學的畢業(yè)生掙錢最多。

這是一個多么滑稽可笑的榜單呀！它至少與《美國新聞與世界報道》每年整理的排行榜一樣匯總得并不完美。而且即便你相信這個榜單，它又能告訴你什么呢？告訴你名列前茅的大學影響力最強，并且能夠傳授最好的技能？還是這些學校錄取了最多這樣的年輕人：他們的父母和之前已建立的關系網能保證其順利過關？

也許它只不過能告訴你，這些大學吸引的都是嶄露頭角的富豪，他們最關心自己錢袋子的大小。難道這就是你所追求的環(huán)境嗎？

說到金錢和職業(yè)發(fā)展，名牌大學閃閃發(fā)亮的畢業(yè)證書當然有用。不承認這一點就是在說謊。但是如果你認為學校的名氣比你在學習過程中付出的努力、鍛煉自身技能時的認真態(tài)度以及真正學到的東西更重要，那你一樣很傻。因為這些才是你職業(yè)生涯更為堅固的基石。

在《大衛(wèi)與歌利亞》一書中，馬爾科姆·格拉德威爾論述了這樣的觀點：一所門檻更低的大學反而能夠通過一所門檻更高的大學所不具備的方式使學生出類拔萃，走向成功。格拉德威爾的研究雖然具有選擇性，但并不能說明他的觀點無可信度而言。

在這個國家，很多“角落辦公室”里的首席執(zhí)行官并不是在常青藤名校完成本科學業(yè)的。洛克希德·馬丁公司的首席執(zhí)行官瑪麗琳·休森就讀的是阿拉巴馬大學。而全食公司的首席執(zhí)行官約翰·麥基就讀的是得克薩斯大學，并且一直沒能畢業(yè)。

你的學歷證書是（或者說應該是）最不能定義你的東西。告訴我有誰的身份會來源于他/她上過的大學。那么我將找出這樣的一個人——你肯定不想邀請他來參加你的超級碗聚會。

對于你的成就而言，學歷的影響遠遠比不上其他很多東西，比如：你用于挑選浪漫伴侶的智慧；你與自己居住的社區(qū)進行的互動；在對待你所繼承的家庭或你所組建的家庭時表現出的慷慨大度。

如果你注定無法進入自己夢寐以求的學校，那你也許會去一所不合乎你想象的學校，又或是你無法立馬適應得特別好的學校。

這樣也挺不錯的。大學就應該是一個大熔爐。它關乎告別過去而非延續(xù)從前：翻開新的一頁，成為一個嶄新的自己，別停滯于你現在十七八歲的樣子，要繼續(xù)書寫你的人生。你的最佳規(guī)劃被打亂則有助于此。這與其說是一個挫折，倒不如說是一個好的起點。

我認識一個高中畢業(yè)生，她沒有被自己最向往的幾所大學錄取，但她還是成功申請到了一些優(yōu)秀的學校。我對她的印象從來沒有現在這樣深刻，因為她很快就意識到，相比自己的幸運，被拒絕的遺憾不值一提，于是她不再失望，轉而興奮起來。

在將來，她的適應能力和樂觀天性要比那個有幸錄取她的大學的名字更加重要。她照樣會做得不錯，與其他能夠從容度過這場磨難的同齡人一樣優(yōu)秀——而這場磨難是我們這個對地位趨之若鶩的社會強加在他們身上的。

1. go out：寄出

2. arithmetic [??r?θm?t?k] n. 數字

3. vie [va?] vi. 競爭，相爭

4. fervently [?f??（r）v（?）ntli] adv. 熱烈地，強烈地

5. harbinger [?hɑ?（r）b?nd??（r）] n. 預示，前兆

6. balm [bɑ?m] n. 安慰（物），慰藉（物）

7. reality check：面對現實；反思現實

8. patronage [?p?tr?n?d?] n. （以恩賜態(tài)度施予的）恩惠，優(yōu)遇

9. play the game：遵守規(guī)則，照章辦事

10. massage [?m?sɑ??] vt. 修改，改動

11. mine [ma?n] vt. 在……中尋找有價值的資料

12. bait [be?t] n. 〈喻〉誘餌，誘惑

13. frenzy [?frenzi] n. 癲狂，瘋狂

14. PayScale.com：世界雇員薪酬數據庫信息網，擁有世界上最大、最完善的雇員薪酬數據庫。

15. ludicrous [?lu?d?kr?s] adj. 荒唐可笑的

16. clout [kla?t] n. 〈口〉影響力，權勢

17. guarantee sb. a leg up：保證某人渡過難關

18. plutocrat [?plu?t?kr?t] n. 富豪，財閥

19. milieu [mi??lj??] n. 環(huán)境

20. hone [h??n] vt. 磨練，訓練，提高（技藝）

21. David and Goliath：《大衛(wèi)與歌利亞》，由加拿大作家馬爾科姆·格拉德威爾（Malcolm Gladwell， 1963～）所著，該書從小牧童大衛(wèi)與巨人歌利亞以弱勝強的故事講起，闡述了一個觀點：處于劣勢的人通過分析自身所處的環(huán)境，也能走向成功。

22. make the case：論證觀點，提出理由

23. nullify [?n?l?fa?] vt. 使無效，取消

24. corner office：角落辦公室，指企業(yè)最高領導者的辦公室。

25. teem with：充滿

26. Super Bowl：超級碗，美國全國橄欖球聯盟每年舉行的錦標賽

27. springboard [?spr???b??（r）d] n. （有助于開始做某事的）起點

28. covet [?k?v?t] vt. 貪求，垂涎，覬覦

29. pale beside：與……相比相形見絀

30. pivot [?p?v?t] vi. 轉移

31. down the line：往后，未來