如果你没有进入哈佛，不要担心

If You Did Not Get into Harvard, Do Not Worry

Fewer than 5 percent of the students who applied¹ to Stanford University in California were accepted this year. About 6 percent of the applicants² to Yale University in Connecticut were admitted.

But one writer says if you did not get into a school like Stanford, Yale or Harvard University, do not despair³.

Jillian Berman writes for MarketWatch.com. She says “students shouldn’t panic if they don’t get a spot. It is still possible to be successful.”

Stacy Dale and Alan Krueger wrote a paper in 2011 that says students who apply to universities like Stanford and Harvard -- but do not get in -- are likely to do well anywhere.

The researchers say that confidence and ambition may predict success better than other factors. Those other factors include good grades, high SAT scores and activities out of school. The researchers say people who apply to these selective schools do well even if they are not accepted to schools like Princeton University or Dartmouth College.

Berman wrote a story last year saying a study by the Brookings Institution might be more valuable than other lists: it ranks schools based on how much value they provide their students.

The Brookings list shows how much more money students would earn graduating from one school over another.

The list includes small colleges and technical schools that focus on agriculture, engineering⁴, nursing and medical jobs.

The idea about ambition and confidence does not always apply to minority students. The Dale and Krueger study says minority students should reach for these selective schools. That is because they can make social connections that may be useful for advancing their careers in the future.

The list created by Brookings fits with another story posted on the website 538.com.

The story is called “Shut Up About Harvard.”

The writer is Ben Casselman. He says television and newspaper stories about universities fail to reflect real and honest college experience. Very few people attend a university lined with trees and brick⁵ buildings. These days, college is often a part-time or two-year experience.

Students live at home and commute⁶ to classes.

Movies that takes place on a college campus⁷, he says, are more fiction than truth.

More truthful⁸ is a picture of an American university student who attends class part time while working and raising children.

The most popular courses are no longer literature and philosophy. The most popular are business and health care.

It is exciting to read about a student who is accepted by eight Ivy⁹ League schools. But these writers say those students will be successful anywhere.

They say that students who need help getting to class and completing a degree are a greater concern.

A professor from the University of Wisconsin spoke¹⁰ with Casselman. She says most of the stories about higher education in the U.S. skip the most important issue:

“People can’t afford to spend enough time in college to actually finish their darn degrees.”

But if they do, Casselman writes, the degree “remains the most likely path to a decent¹¹-paying job.”

That is why students can be successful even if they do not get into a school like Harvard.

Words in This Story

campus –n. the area and buildings around a university, college, school, etc.

fiction –n. something that is not true

shut up –phrasal verb -  to stop talking, laughing, etc.

decent –adj. adequate¹² or acceptable¹³

rank –v. to place (someone or something) in a particular position among a group of people or things that are being judged according to quality, ability, size, etc.

selective –adj. careful to choose only the best people or things

confidence –n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

ambition –n. a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous

panic –n. a state or feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally¹⁴

darn –adj. used as a more polite form of damn¹⁵

reach –v. to succeed in achieving (something) after making an effort over a period of time

1 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

2 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

3 despair   

vi.灰心丧气，感到沮丧绝望；n.绝望，沮丧

参考例句：

• If you are in the depths of despair,you will be extremely unhappy.如果你彻底地失望，你会十分不开心。
• Don't despair;things will get better soon.不必绝望，事情不久就会好起来。

4 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

5 brick   

n.砖；vt.用砖砌，用砖堵住

参考例句：

• She stared blankly at the brick wall in front of her.她面无表情地瞪着面前的砖墙。
• I bought a brick of ice cream for my daughter.我给女儿买了块冰砖。

6 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

7 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

8 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

9 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 decent   

adj.象样的，不错的，体面的，正派的，恰当的

参考例句：

• We want to raise our children to be decent men and women.我们盼望把孩子们培养成优秀人才。
• There isn't even a decent table in this room.这屋里连张像样的桌子也没有。

12 adequate   

adj.充足的，足够的；适当的，胜任的

参考例句：

• Though a bit too old,he is still adequate to the work.虽然他年纪大了点，却仍能胜任这项工作。
• I hope you will prove adequate to the job.我希望你证明能胜位这项工作。

13 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

14 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

15 damn   

int.该死，他妈的；vt.指责，贬斥，诅咒

参考例句：

• Damn this useless typewriter!这台破打字机真该死！
• I knew damn well what he was going to say.我非常清楚他要说什么。