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➤ Sample Supplemental Essay

I visited 18 colleges over the past year, yet Oberlin is the one place that most spoke to my interests. Early in my college search I learned that I prefer a liberal arts college to a larger university. The collaboration between the faculty and undergraduate students, the sense of community, and the flexible, interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum are all important to me. Also, my high school experience was greatly enriched by the diversity of the student body, and I am impressed by Oberlin’s rich history and its current efforts connected to inclusiveness and equality. To say the least, I’d be proud to say I attended the first coeducational college in the country.

第一段提出了几个要点。首先，我们了解到申请人已经访问了欧柏林（Oberlin）。这看起来不是什么大事，但是相比当前大量学生只参考学校排名和官网就提交申请，已经有了进一步了解。此外，该学生还指出，她想去文理学院，而不是规模更大的大学。虽然这些信息并不是特指欧柏林（Oberlin），但它确实表明申请学生已经考虑过她未来的选择。第一段中的最后一点更具体——申请人熟悉欧柏林（Oberlin）并了解学校的社会进步历史。

I plan to major in Environmental Studies at Oberlin. After my campus tour, I took some extra time to visit the Adam Joseph Lewis Center. It’s an amazing space and the students I chatted with spoke highly of their professors. I became truly interested in issues of sustainability during my volunteer work in the Hudson River Valley, and everything I’ve learned about Oberlin makes it seem the ideal place for me to continue exploring and building upon those interests. I am also impressed by Oberlin’s Creativity and Leadership Project. I’ve been a bit of an entrepreneur ever since second grade when I made a dollar producing and performing The Runaway Bunny for my extended family. I’m drawn to a program that supports the move from classroom learning to creative hands-on, real-world applications.

第二段是本文的核心——申请人希望主修环境研究，她对欧柏林（Oberlin）的课程印象深刻。她参观了学校环境研究大楼，了解欧柏林（Oberlin）提供的一些独特机会。她甚至与欧柏林（Oberlin）学生交谈过。这一段不禁给招生人员留下了良好的印象——申请人被欧柏林（Oberlin）吸引，她清楚地知道她为什么喜欢欧柏林（Oberlin）。

Finally, as the rest of my application clearly demonstrates, music is an important part of my life. I’ve been playing the trumpet since fourth grade, and I hope to continue performing and developing my skills throughout college. What better place than Oberlin to do so? With more performances than days in the year and a large group of talented musicians in the Conservatory of Music, Oberlin is an ideal place for exploring my love of both music and the environment.

最后一段为申请增加了另一个重要方面——学生不仅对环境研究计划很有兴趣，而且她对音乐的热爱使得欧柏林（Oberlin）与她更加般配。欧柏林（Oberlin）拥有一流的音乐节目，因此申请人对音乐和环境研究的热爱使得欧柏林（Oberlin）成为了她最合适的选择。

整篇文书，从对学校的拜访和了解，到环境学科研究以及音乐爱好，让招生官员不禁觉得欧柏林和这位学生的匹配度相当高。她对学校了如指掌，她的兴趣和目标完全符合欧柏林（Oberlin）的优势。这篇短文肯定会成为她申请的一个积极因素。