對於很多同學來說，美國大學申請過程中最困難的部分就是寫申請文書。但這也是最容易讓招生官注意到你的一個部分，因為這是你向招生人員展示你個性的機會。

在美國Quora社區問答的論壇（美國版知乎）上，有一個這樣的問題：

What essay got you into an Ivy League university?

什麼樣的申請文書讓你進了常春藤盟校？

該問題迎來了各路藤校學子的真實分享。其中，有一位名叫“Ethan Li”的學生的回答獲得了高贊。

Ethan Li 的父母都是中國人，從小在美國長大，是一位亞裔美國人。在2017年時，Ethan Li 同時收到了普林斯頓大學、耶魯大學、哥倫比亞大學和康奈爾大學四所藤校的錄取通知書。他在Quora上分享了自己的這篇申請文書：

《黑白叢林：國際象棋如何幫我度過父母離婚的日子》

The Black-and-White Jungle: How Chess Got Me Through My Parents’Divorce

The first time I saw a chess board, I stood—an unsmiling first-grader—spellbound by the curious horses and castles that the wizened fifth graders shuffled confidently in my school cafeteria. Beneath the ornate wood surface of those pieces, I discovered a uniquely layered beauty.

我第一次看到國際象棋棋盤時，我——一個不苟言笑的一年級學生——被那些五年級的學生在學校食堂裡信心十足地擺弄的古怪的馬和城堡迷住了。在華麗的木質表面下，我發現了一種獨特的層次感之美。

My parents had split two years earlier. I remember Dad buying us two movie tickets to the new Spider-Man and a week later buying himself a plane ticket to China. Our apartment devolved from a cozy, lively home into a small, subdued residence. Mom mustered a brave smile and promised that Dad was just going back to visit his family.

我的父母兩年前就離婚了。我記得爸爸給我們買了兩張新蜘蛛俠的電影票，一週後又給自己買了一張去中國的機票。我們的公寓從一個舒適、活潑的家變成了一個冷清的小住宅。媽媽鼓起勇氣笑了笑，跟我說爸爸只是回去看他的家人。

There’s a pervasive yet hushed stigma surrounding divorce in Asian culture. Growing up, I struggled to comprehend why none of my Asian friends had single parents like myself. I would get into fights at school. When I invariably drew the ire of my teachers, Mom would drive down to school, hug me reassuringly, and take me to her office where I spent the remainder of the day. One of those evenings, I waited near her cubicle coloring carelessly on lily-white printer-paper while she typed diligently at her desktop. Suddenly, the familiar click-clack of the typing died, and I heard stuttered sobs sway the air. I froze, confused: I didn’t know Mom could cry. Mom was strong; she had warm, kind hands and she knew why the sky was blue and why Dad was visiting Grandpa and Grandma for so long. But now Mom sat shattered, back hunched over a shoddy wooden desk, warm hands clutching a damp face. I was scared so I cried with her.

在亞洲文化中，離婚是一種普遍存在、卻禁而不談的恥辱。在我的成長過程中，我很難理解為什麼我的亞洲朋友都沒有像我這樣的單親父母。我會在學校打架。當我總是惹老師生氣的時候，媽媽就會開車去學校，安慰地抱著我，然後帶我去她的辦公室，度過餘下的一天。

有一天晚上，我在她的隔間附近等著，她在桌上勤奮地打字，我卻在純白的打印紙上漫不經心地塗色。突然，熟悉的打字聲消失了，我聽到斷斷續續的抽泣聲在空中迴盪。我愣住了，不知所措：我不知道媽媽會哭。媽媽很堅強；她有一雙溫暖、善良的手，她知道為什麼天空是藍色的，她還知道為什麼爸爸會去看望爺爺奶奶那麼久。但現在，媽媽疲憊不堪，弓著背，坐在一張劣質的木桌前，溫暖的手遮住了一張被淚水打溼的臉。我很害怕，所以我和她一起哭了。

Chess became an elaborate escape for me. During sleepless nights, I readily replaced opaque stares at the apartment ceiling with enchanting chess puzzles lit by a gentle desk-light. When I sat at the chessboard, the deafening external din—my ineffable worries, Mom’s inexplicable tears, the fragile stillness of our quiet apartment—faded softly into the background. I crossed into the black-and-white jungle, that beautiful mosaic of sixty-four checkered squares, a diverse biosphere inhabited by my loyal pawns, gallant knights, and fearless rooks. And I, the king, was responsible for their livelihood, defending my kingdom against the opponent. Chess gave me a sense of control during a time when I felt I had none.

國際象棋成了我精心設計的逃避方式。每到不眠之夜，我就會用柔和的桌面燈光點亮迷人的國際象棋謎題，來取代在床上盯著公寓不透明的天花板。當我坐在棋盤旁時，外面震耳欲聾的嘈雜聲——我無法言喻的憂慮，母親無法言說的淚水，我們安靜公寓裡脆弱的寂靜——都會慢慢消失在背景中。我穿過黑白相間的叢林，那是由64個方格組成的美麗馬賽克方格廣場，是一個多樣化的生物圈，住著我忠誠的棋子、英勇的騎士和無畏的白嘴鴉。而作為國王，我要為他們的生計負責，保衛我的王國不受敵人侵犯。在我覺得自己一無所有的時候，國際象棋給了我一種掌控感。

In my first year, I rose to the top of my elementary school club, and near the close of the school semester I placed fourth at the national K-1 championships in Nashville, Tennessee. I remember the announcer calling my name and my six-year-old self bouncing up the stage to claim a comically colossal trophy. I remember Mom smiling because I was happy, and I was happy because she was smiling.

在我上小學的第一年，我升到了我所在小學社團的第一名，臨近學期結束的時候，我在田納西州納什維爾舉行的全國K-1錦標賽中名列第四。我記得廣播員在喊我的名字，6歲的我蹦蹦跳跳地走上舞臺，奪得一個滑稽巨大的獎盃。我記得媽媽因為我高興而微笑，我也因為她的微笑而高興。

Through the years, my passion for the game strengthened as I accumulated more state championships and national titles. Chess became a staple in my life—it sharpened my critical thinking skills, and it trained me to creatively break down seemingly difficult situations. Although I had turned to chess to escape my problems, the black-and-white jungle slowly cajoled me to face them. Last year, I bought my own plane ticket to China and visited my father. We talked—laughed even—and he challenged me to a chess match. I let him win, but he doesn’t know that. He said he was proud of me. I didn’t know that.

多年來，隨著我獲得了更多的州冠軍和國家冠軍，我對這項運動的熱情也與日俱增。國際象棋成為了我生活中的重要組成部分，它提高了我的批判性思維能力，並訓練我創造性地解決看似困難的情況。儘管我是為了逃避問題開始下象棋，但黑白相間的叢林慢慢地引誘我去面對這些問題。去年，我自己買了機票去中國，看望了我的父親。我們聊了起來，甚至還笑了起來。他挑戰我和他下一場國際象棋比賽。我故意讓他贏了，但他不知道這一點。他說他為我感到驕傲，而我之前也不知道這一點。

Above all, chess taught me the power of resilience. Last summer, I qualified for the All-American team just two days before the deadline, successfully pulling together a month’s worth of training. Mom met me at the train station when I returned. Nearly a decade had passed since that first national championship in Tennessee, but her smile looked the same. As I drifted to sleep on the drive homeward, I embraced the elusive feeling of absolute safety like that I felt when I was a child, dozing peacefully in the backseat of my parents’ worn Toyota Camry.

最重要的是，象棋教會了我適應力的力量。去年夏天，我在在截止日期的前兩天，獲得了參加全美代表隊的資格，成功地完成了一個月的訓練。我回來時，媽媽在火車站接我。距離田納西州的第一次全國冠軍已經過去了近十年，但她的笑容依然如舊。開車回家的路上，我迷迷糊糊地睡著了，我感覺到了一種難以捉摸的安全感，就像小時候我在父母那輛破舊的豐田凱美瑞(Toyota Camry)的後座上安靜地打著瞌睡時感受到的那樣。

美國大學申請文書和所有其他國家的都不樣，需要的自我審視和英文文學寫作水平都更高。很多中國學生都不知道應該寫什麼樣的文章，所以這篇文書值得大家學習。

這篇文書裡，

Ethan Li 現就讀於普林斯頓大學的電子與計算機工程專業（BS Electronics & Computer Engineering）。現還是校報《每日普林斯頓人（The Daily Princetonian）》一名的編輯。

論壇上有網友指出，“一篇出彩的申請論文，是所有那些因為考試分數和GPA而感到壓力的人需要考慮的東西……這種關於你是誰、你為什麼要成為什麼樣的人、你將成為什麼樣的人、你將為你的大學增添什麼東西的光，就是被名校錄取的因素。”

沒錯，申請藤校的學生，最不缺的就是完美的學術成績。Ethan Li也不例外。

除了這篇申請文書，我們還在全球最大職業社交網站領英（LinkedIn）上，看到這位Ethan Li同學的個人成就。

Ethan Li 同學在學術成就上，不僅有SAT 1570（數學: 800；英語: 770）、ACT 35（英語35；數學 34；閱讀 35；科學: 34）這樣的完美成績，還有進行過14門的AP課程學習，並且在至少8門的AP考試中，獲取了4分或5分的好成績，而被授予了National AP Scholar的榮譽。

每年美國大學的錄取率都在持續走低，試問在標化成績水漲船高的申請池裡，你手裡的砝碼還有多少？

向名校證明你的學習能力與英語水平，一門AP美國史將成為你最有力的武器之一。

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