20140816

東岸大學遊


一家三口到東岸走了一轉,主要目的是和阿樂到他心儀的其中幾間大學看看,不是「自由行」式的參觀,而是大學安排的,由專人解釋申請入學應注意的事項;校園參觀則由正在就讀的學生帶領,他們除了介紹大學的設施,也會讓參觀者了解在該大學讀書和生活的特別之處。

我本來認為此行是不必要的,因為這幾間大學的有關資料,阿樂已經一早在網上搜得一清二楚;然而,中學生在暑期到有興趣申請的各大學參觀,在美國是很平常的事,既然阿樂要求我們帶他去看看「實物」,只好順他意,而且很久沒到過東岸,當是旅遊也沒壞。

事實上,在這幾間大學參觀時並沒有得知任何新的資料,可是,我最後卻不得不同意這次是不枉此行 --- 阿樂遊完這幾間大學之後,對它們的環境和氛圍有相當強烈的反應,因而重新排列喜歡的程度,甚至決定放棄申請其中一間。

我們總共參觀了七間大學,除了 Georgetown MIT,其餘都是 Ivy League 的。有些朋友知道了,以為阿樂信心十足,相信自己必入頂尖名校,所以決定先去參觀參觀,去「揀學校」也,事實並非如此。雖然阿樂的公開試和校內成績都非常好,課外活動的表現亦出色,不過,他知道跟他不相上下的學生為數不少,至少是遠超過這些名校的收生人數,而且亞裔學生很可能更不容易被取錄。阿樂有信心被取錄的,只有 Georgetown 一間;根據他的估計,其餘六間取錄他的機會都不高。他的心態只是盡力而為,而他心儀這幾間大學,不只是著眼於名牌,而主要是因為他打算主修的學科 --- 政治學或經濟學 --- 在這幾間大學都是特別強的。

上面提到阿樂決定放棄申請其中一間參觀過的大學,也許有讀者會好奇是哪一間,我也不賣關子了,是 MIT;他感到自己跟 MIT 的氛圍格格不入,尤其是知道了那裏的學生約六成是讀 engineering 的,他便更肯定那裏對他來說會是個「很難頂」(他的用語)的地方!這相當有趣,因為幾年前他還是很「恨」入 MIT 的!

我當然很希望阿樂能入讀他心目中的理想大學,但我也經常提醒他人生不如意事常八九;做父母的,除了盡力幫助他、扶持他,便只能默默地祝福。

27 則留言:

  1. Georgetown經濟學不特別強。

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    1. 但 political science 很強。

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    2. //但 political science 很強。//

      將來成為Secretary of State也不錯?

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    3. Secretary of State?很誇張啊!

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  2. //尤其是知道了那裏的學生約六成是讀 engineering 的//
    It probably happens at other ITs too. An IT is an IT. They don't call themselves a university.
    For the other 40% IT students, my wild guess is that many study business (for example, finance) these days.

    I know someone who just graduated from MIT majoring in computer science. He is now writing codes for and do stock trading for a trading company. LIVE OR DIE. LoL.
    Hey, don't ask me if those stock trading codes work. I would have to kill you if I told you. It's national security, classified !

    I don't have anything against engineering. I wasn't majoring in engineering but I took quite a number of engineering courses. (One too many, ha ha. No, it's just too many, and not required.) But I never attended an IT.
    --zpdrmn

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    1. MIT has literature, history, linguistics, etc:

      MIT Schools and Departments

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    2. I know it has other departments.
      My guess is just a wild one (I don't claim it as a fact), based on some information (may be false) about how many students in business admin are there in general, not specifically at MIT, relative to the number of students in other disciplines.
      I will leave the verification to other people who are interested in finding out if it is really the case or not, in general or at MIT.
      --zpdrmn

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  3. 天下父母心...

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  4. Interested to know professor's opinion on admission criteria for chinese from an educator and father's perspective. :)

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    1. I don't think they have special criteria for Chinese, but some top schools seem to have an 'Asian quota'.

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  5. 在香港的 虎媽/虎爸 dictates the choice of Uni and faculty plus 主修 副修 雙學位。
    教授and教授太應該多寫文章給他她們 當頭棒喝!

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    1. 兩睇喎,美國人獨立,成年後再住(靠)屋企仍羞家事。香港大把年青人講任性之自由,好,冇問題,年青人有輕狂本錢。但靠屋企供書教學凡事自主畢業後搵工又高不成低不就喎,於是閒暇在家,食屋企住屋企當阿媽阿四咁使,仲要怨父母唔明白佢溝通唔到喎。。。現實某啲 major 係易搵工好多,成年咗表示某程度 you have to have a realistic plan for your own future。。。現實你任性你要自己承擔後果,不是由父母承擔養你半世。

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    2. 香港的虎媽虎爸連仔女見工都陪伴在側 interview 埋啲父母!

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    3. 讀書最緊要有興趣(當然也要考慮將來的工作)。

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    4. Horai,
      Last few years, more adult kids in the US lived in their parents' home as the economy turned bad. I am not sure if they, in general, were ashamed about it. The unemployment rate was high; the rate for young adults was even higher.
      --zpdrmn

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    5. Wong,
      //當然也要考慮將來的工作//
      If I knew you back then...
      I didn't 考慮將來的工作 much. That's why I am so poor now. I would have been much richer if...
      --zpdrmn

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    6. @zpd:首先,你要熟悉美國文化。Grown men living in their parents' house = born losers + 性格有問題,美國文化譏曰 "living in your parent's basement" ,即表示你已走投無路(沿於美國人仔女一入大學就叫 empty nest,於是父母將仔女房改裝為適合自己用,你居然要回巢就唯有住 basement)。你追女仔話佢聽你同父母住,人哋一定雞飛狗走,你單身窮住在貧民區反而冇乜所謂。女仔同父母住好少少,但都係好瘀之負面形象。此文化迫你對自己選擇負責,因為你要承擔後果。

      @inner : 父母陪大學畢業仔女 interview 絕無僅有之例子,咪當普遍得㗎。但响香港,仔女大學畢業搵工高不成低不就又唔肯捱,寧願投閒置散靠屋企養就幾普遍喇。。。

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    7. Horai,
      I've been living in the US for so long, I can't even remember how long. I am just saying, culture isn't a fixed thing. As the economy turned bad, it just made sense for some adult children moved back with their parents, and when it became more popular people just didn't see it as shameful as before. I am not saying that American are shameless. But don't underestimate their adaptability, may it be a psychological one. Compared to average Americans I am probably more shameless than them. LoL. (I am on my own though.)
      Also, adult kids of younger generation probably don't see living with parents as shameful as how adult kids of older generation see it. Well, I don't have surveys or statistics to back it up though. But there are some articles and TV shows talking about it. (Movies too?)
      Even now the economy is better. It is just harder to get by than a generation before. The trend is here, starting even before the downturn of the economy. Real income of the middle class has been flat or dropping while the real costs of medical expenses, education, and what not have been rising. (Hints: low tax rate for the rich people, Bush's "read my lips, no new tax," 99% vs 1%, occupying Wall Street, Picketty's book). As it is harder to get by, it could affect how people think about adult kids, especially young adult kids, living with parents.

      I know some adult kids who have a good job and could afford to live by themselves have moved back with their parents for various reasons. One is that it makes economic sense. Of course, they are different. They do it by choice and probably pay rent. And I'm not saying there are many of them. It couldn't happen if they (or their jobs) are far from their parents, and America is a big country.
      --zpdrmn

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    8. @zpd: 我說的是 majority view,電視劇為何要以此為題材?你有否意會到潛在的自嘲(無奈回巢後之 sitcom,美國人最出色是自嘲之幽默)?因為成年離巢乃傳統文化,你要回巢表示什麼?你某程度唔掂要靠父母。好,閣下既長住美國,那我問你,你自己真正接觸認識的非華人(注意[非華人]三字)朋友同事中,有誰是與父母同住?或有誰的 21歲(大學畢業)子女是與其同住?。正如對 welfare 之態度,if you're on welfare,可以同情體諒你,但那是同情體諒弱者之心態。大部分人之心態是:if I can do it, why can't you?

      我在香港就識不少成年子女與父母同住或父母有成年子女與其同住,有50%是工作不穩定,閒暇在家比有工作時間多。我其實想說的是:你假如靠父母養,那周瑜打黃蓋,干旁人底事?但請起碼感恩,你要自主要自由怨父母干涉,那你出去自闖天下呀!以前中國社會四代同堂是福氣,但起碼同一屋簷下我們傳統文化要你敬老。現今子女又要魚又要熊掌,還理直氣壯是父母欠他的!

      'Nuff said, let's just agree to disagree.

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    9. Horai,
      I'm not saying that young adults living with their parent are the majority. I just say that as the trend is there and more and more such cases are there, people's attitude toward it soften quite a bit.

      If you want some statistics, here it is:
      "In 2012, 36% of the nation’s young adults ages 18 to 31—the so-called Millennial generation—were living in their parents’ home, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. "
      "Younger Millennials (ages 18 to 24) are much more likely than older ones (ages 25 to 31) to be living with their parents—56% versus 16%. "
      Source of both quotes:
      http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/08/01/a-rising-share-of-young-adults-live-in-their-parents-home/

      Last time I checked, around 25% US people had a college degree. I would guess ( a wild guess) there are probably 35% of high school grads go to college. It works out to be around 43% of 18 to 24 year old non-students living with their parents, assuming all college students live at home. However, some college students don't live with their parents. So, even if 35% is an underestimation, the 43% may be not too far off.

      Disclaimer: The people I associated with before I moved to my new place were mostly black people. You guess the statistics. I have no comment.

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  6. 其實唸undergrad(本科?)每一家Ivy League和名校都一樣,學系資源(尤其一些較多人選的科目如政治或經濟)和學習風氣分別不會太大。王教授也應知道,儘管在名校,教導undergrad的絕大部分是TA,就連四年生也不一定有機會見到名教授一面,所以,阿樂獲任何一家心儀的學校錄取,也是喜事。

    不過,如阿樂真的打算做跟聯邦政府或外交有關的工作,當然Georgetown是最佳之選,因為近水樓台嘛。可是,還是那一句,唸Georgetown和唸Columbia/Yale的undergrad都是一樣,除非他有意將來報考Georgetown的研究院,那有另作別論。

    預祝阿樂如願!

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    1. 有些名校的courses大部份是教授授課,TA只負責領 discussions;Princeton 和 Yale 在這方面都做得很好。

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  7. At the undergraduate level, small liberal arts colleges like Pomona and Occidental in California, or Macalester in Minnesota, are better choices than the majority of big-name East Coast universities, which are run pretty much like mass-production knowledge factories. The only East Coast school I'd recommend is Princeton. It is relatively small in student enrollment and a true scholarly community for academic pursuits. At least it hasn't jumped on the business school bandwagon.

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    1. Princeton is indeed my son's dream school, but it is extremely selective.

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  8. In today's world, the education one gets out of attending a reputable university doesn't guarantee future career success. Only one's character and social skills do. So don't waste your money footing the bill for your kid's expensive higher education at the so-called top-ranked schools. It's better to devote your time and resources to helping your kid develop a strong sense of moral integrity and become a likable person.

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    1. Getting into a top school is compatible with developing a strong sense of moral integrity and being likable. As for job prospect, here is an interesting article about it: Do Ivy League Schools Still Matter?

      "it is true that many top financial and consulting firms still tend to recruit heavily on Ivy League campuses, which does give the students there a bit of an advantage, especially in getting their foot in the door at the start."

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  9. 此留言已被作者移除。

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