Tom Melcher的博客

　　在上一篇博文中，我给大家提供了针对当前没有SAT和托福成绩的高三在读生想去美国读大学的7种途径。其中的第一种，也是中国家长们优先考虑的一种方案，是让孩子先在中国读大学，两年后转入美国的高等院校继续学业。（在这里明确一点，这个方案不是之前提到过的拥有转学保证协议的“桥梁课程”项目，而是常规的参加高考，然后入读某一个大学，然后通过自己进行的转学申请，来尝试一把）

　　As I explained in an earlier blog post, there are at least 7 options fro studying in the USA when your 高三 child didn’t take the SAT or TOEFL tests.  The first one on my list, which is what most Chinese parents think of first, is to enroll in a Chinese university and then transfer to a US university after two years.  (To be clear, I am NOT talking about so-called “pathways” programs, which provide guaranteed transfer from a Chinese university to an American one -- I’m talking about having your child start in a Chinese university and then “taking your chances” about a successful transfer).

　　我真心觉得这是一个很不怎么样的计划。下面让我来解释一下为什么我这么认为。

　　I really don’t think that this is a good idea.  Let me explain why.

　　首先，这个计划的一大弱点就是它假设了在国内上一两年转入美国知名大学是个顺理成章的过程。不幸的是，事实上根本就没有这么简单。美国大学每年招收的大一新生比转学生数量多的多。换句话说，作为大一新生提交申请被录取的概率要比转学生申请通过的概率大的多。

　　First, the weakness of this plan is the assumption that it will be easy to transfer into a good US school after one or two years. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case.  American schools take more students who are starting at the beginning of the 4-year process than they take as transfer students. Said differently, it is much easier to enroll at an American school as a freshman, than it is to get in as a transfer student.

　　导致这个现象的原因有很多。个人认为主要原因就是美国大学，像其他类型的机构一样，需要在财政上保持平衡。所以，他们每年都需要一定数量的学生来付给他们学费。而这些学生需要“从一开始”就支付他们的费用。当然，有时候学生们会因为某种原因离开这个学校。这个时候，学校就要想办法把他们离开所带来的财政空白给“填上”。方法就是录取一些转学生。从这个角度看，我想您应该明白为什么说转学生申请比大一新生申请难的多了吧。

　　There are many reasons for this. I think the main one is that schools, like any other organization, need to balance their budgets. In order to do that, they need to have a certain number of students pay tuition each year.  These are the students who start “on time.” Of course, sometimes students leave a program for various reasons. When that happens, the school needs to “refill” those positions. So they admit someone who is applying to transfer in.  When you look at it that way, I hope it's clear that the odds of getting in as a transfer student are much worse than getting in as a freshman.

　　我不喜欢这个方案的另一个原因就是它还假设了学生很容易就接受转学这个事情。我不这么觉得。在您的孩子要转学的时候，他已经在原来的学校度过了很长一段时间，也结交了很多好朋友。离开这些朋友到另一个地方生活不是一个简单的事情。

　　The other reason I don't like this option is that it assumes that it will be easy for your child to transfer. I just don't think that's true. When you start undergraduate study, you make a lot of new friends. It will be very hard for most students to leave those friends behind when they transfer to a new school.

　　另外，很多美国大学在大一大二时都给学生设置了必修的预备课程。但您的孩子在国内就读大一大二时却不一定会修读这些课程，也就是说他在原本学校大一大二的一些学分不会获得承认。当他来到了美国大学开始大三课程时，他就必须修读该校大一大二的必选课。这样导致的结果就是您的孩子很有可能无法在四年内完成本科课程。

　　In addition, many American schools have prerequisite courses that need to be fulfilled during freshman and sophomore year. However, if your child is transferring in from another school, there is no guarantee that the work he did during freshman and sophomore years at the old school will be accepted at the new school. This means that he might need to take these courses again, and therefore he won't be able to graduate on time.

　　最后，和离开老朋友一样困难的，就是结交新的朋友。与您孩子同班的学生这时候都已经互相认识了两年，也有了固定的交际圈。所以您的孩子就只能是最后一个被邀请参加聚会的人，如果他足够幸运的话。

　　Finally, just as it's hard to leave friends behind, it's also hard to make new friends. Everybody else in the class will have already made friends and learned their way around. Your child, by contrast, will be joining the party late.

　　相信您已经明白了我的立场，我不会向任何人推荐这个方案。

　　So, as I hope you can hopefully see, I really don't recommend this option.

　　您觉得呢?

　　What do you think?

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Tom Melcher