做好人生的重要选择：8条建议教你选择适合你的大学

The college search doesn't have to begin and end with the Ivies and the name brand schools. There are many schools out there to choose from — some known and some less known, all worthy of your attention.
选学校不必非要在常春藤联合会名牌大学和知名院校中进行挑选。还有很多院校可供选择——知名的和不怎么知名的，它们都值得你的关注。

Here's some advice for trying to find the school that works for you.
当你要选一所适合自己的学校时，这里有一些建议可以供你参考。

1. Start with who you are and why you are going.
以你的性格和你为什么上大学为出发点。

You need to examine yourself and your reasons for going to college before you start your search. Why, really, are you going? What are your abilities and strengths? What are your weaknesses? What do you want out of life — something tangible or intangible?
在开始选大学前，你需要问问自己，找找上大学的理由。你到底是因为什么去上大学？你的能力和优势是什么？你的弱点是什么？生活中那些看得见的和看不见的，你想从中得到什么？

Are you socially self-sufficient or do you need warm, familial support? Talk with your family, friends and high-school counselors as you ask these questions. The people who know you best can help you the most with these important issues.
你能独立生活还是需要热心的家庭援助？问自己这些问题的时候，可以和家人、朋友及高中指导员谈谈。最了解你的人能在这些重要问题上给予你最大的帮助。

2. Size matters: Your college does not have to be bigger than your high school.
规模问题：你的大学不需要比你的高中大。

Most good liberal arts colleges have a population of fewer than 4,000 for a reason; college is a time to explore, and a smaller community is more conducive to internal exploration.
大多数优秀的文科类院校的在校学生人数少于4000，这是因为大学是让人发挥探索精神的阶段，小型的团体环境更有助于自我探索。

It is not the number of people, but the people themselves and the kind of community in which you will learn that really matters. Many large universities have established honors colleges within the larger university for these same reasons.
真正在乎的不是人数，而是学生本身和你在哪种校园环境里学习。出于同样的原因，很多大院校之间建立起了荣誉学院。

3. A name-brand college will not guarantee your success.
读名牌大学无法保证你的成功

Think about the people in your life who are happy and successful and find out where (and if) they went to college. Ask the same about famous people.
看看你生活中那些快乐的成功人士，问问他们在哪里上的大学（如果他们上过大学）。也可以问问名人同样的问题。

You will likely find that success in life has less to do with the choice of college than with the experiences and opportunities encountered while in college, coupled with personal qualities and traits.
你将会发现生命中的成功与院校的选择关联甚少，关联更多的是在大学里的经历和机遇，再加上个人能力和特点。

Employers and graduate schools are looking for outstanding skills and experience, not college pedigree. As you search for colleges, ask about student outcomes; you will find many colleges that outperform the Ivies and "name brands," even though you may have never heard of them!
雇主和研究生院在寻求杰出的技能和经验，而不是毕业院校。当你在选院校时，问问学生的成果，你将发现很多院校要胜过常春藤联合会名牌大学和知名院校，虽然有些大学你从来都没听过。

4. You don’t need to pick a major to pick a college.
你不必为了专业去选院校。

Very few high-school students have enough information or experience to choose a major. You need the variety and depth of college coursework to determine your interest and aptitude.
只有少数高中生才拥有足够的信息和经验去选择一个专业。你需要根据大学培养计划的多样性和课程深度来决定你的兴趣和能力培养。

Most college students change their minds two or three times before they settle on a major, and they can still graduate in four years!
很多大学生在他们选定一门专业前会有两到三次的转专业，而且他们依旧可以如期毕业！

Being undecided is a good thing and will leave you open to more academic experiences.
没有选定专业是件好事，它会留给你更多的学术空间。