哈佛在找什么樣的學(xué)生？

BOSTON — The deliberations that take place inside 86 Brattle Street, a red brick building where Harvard University’s admissions committee convenes, have very much stayed inside 86 Brattle Street.

波士頓——哈佛大學(xué)招生委員會在位于布拉托街86號的紅磚建筑內(nèi)開會時的討論，一直都十分秘密地留在這棟建筑里。

Until now. 直到現(xiàn)在。

A federal trial that began this week accusing Harvard of stacking the deck against Asian-American applicants is providing a rare glimpse into the secretive selection process at one of the country’s most elite universities. It is as if those sitting on the wood benches before Judge Allison D. Burroughs of Federal District Court in Boston have been invited inside the inner sanctum of the Harvard Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.

本周，一項指控哈佛大學(xué)對亞裔美國申請者暗中做手腳的案子在一家聯(lián)邦法院開庭，讓人們得以罕見地窺視美國最頂尖大學(xué)之一的神秘挑選過程。那些在波士頓聯(lián)邦地區(qū)法院法官阿利森·D·伯勒斯(Allison D. Burroughs)面前的木凳上就座的人們，仿佛被邀請進(jìn)入了哈佛大學(xué)招生和助學(xué)金辦公室(Harvard Office of Admissions and Financial Aid)的內(nèi)室。

There is the longtime dean of admissions, William Fitzsimmons (Harvard Class of 1967), on the stand, grilled on whether rural students receive a leg up over urban students. They do.

人們看到哈佛大學(xué)長期負(fù)責(zé)招生的院長威廉·菲茨西蒙斯(William Fitzsimmons, 1967屆哈佛畢業(yè)生)在法庭上被詢問，來自農(nóng)村的學(xué)生是否比來自城市的有優(yōu)勢?；卮鹗?ldquo;有”。

There on a big screen are his emails with the university’s fund-raisers, suggesting special consideration for the offspring of big donors, those who have “already committed to a building” or have “an art collection which could conceivably come our way.”

大屏幕上顯示著他與為哈佛募集資金者的電子郵件往來，其中有對大額捐贈者——那些“已承諾為一棟樓出資”或“擁有可能會到我們手中的藝術(shù)品收藏”的人——的后代給予特別考慮的暗示。

Grades, test scores, intended major, personality ratings, ethnicity — all the various factors that can help turn an anonymous high school student into a Harvard man or Harvard woman are being dissected for all to see.

成績、考試分?jǐn)?shù)、意向?qū)I(yè)、個性評分、族裔——所有能幫助把一名沒有特色的高中生變成哈佛學(xué)子的各種因素，都剖析給所有的人看。

Actual student files have been introduced into evidence, with Thang Q. Diep’s family history being pored over alongside Sally Chen’s test scores.

真實的學(xué)生檔案已被用作法庭上的證據(jù)，湯·Q·葉(Thang Q. Diep)的家史與薩莉·陳(Sally Chen)的考試成績一起受到審閱。

Court documents and trial testimony have introduced Harvard admissions jargon: “tips” are bumps given to applicants, the “dean’s interest list” is a compendium of applicants with clout, and the “Z-list” is a sort of back door into the college for students who are borderline academically. For everyone, the odds are long, as nearly 43,000 applicants sought spots in the Class of 2022 and just 2,024 received letters prompting high-fives and teary phone calls.

法庭文件和庭審證詞已把哈佛的招生術(shù)語介紹給了大庭廣眾：“額外考慮”提高了申請人的錄取概率，“院長關(guān)注名單”是有勢力的申請人的匯編，“Z名單”則是學(xué)業(yè)一般的學(xué)生通往哈佛的一種后門。對每個申請人來說，錄取的概率都很低，將近4.3萬名申請人希望成為今年的新生，只有2024人收到了令他們相互擊掌慶祝和在電話中熱淚盈眶的錄取通知書。

Although many selective colleges are known to engage in the same admissions tactics, Harvard’s lawyers lamented in pretrial papers that being forced to produce application materials would be like divulging trade secrets, and would allow students and college counselors to game the process, which is in full swing right now. The judge even likened Harvard’s formula to the recipe for Coke.

雖然人們知道許多名牌大學(xué)都采用同樣的招生策略，但哈佛大學(xué)的律師們在預(yù)審文書中痛惜地說，被迫提交申請材料將會像是泄露商業(yè)機(jī)密，會讓學(xué)生和幫助學(xué)生申請高校的輔導(dǎo)員鉆招生過程的空子。這個神秘的招生過程目前正在全面公開，法官甚至把哈佛的挑選方法比作可口可樂的配方。

In the end, however, Harvard’s lead counsel, Bill Lee (Harvard Class of 1972), said this week that it had been necessary to spill some secrets.

不過，哈佛大學(xué)的首席代理律師比爾·李(Bill Lee, 1972屆哈佛畢業(yè)生)終于在本周表示，泄露一些秘密是有必要的。

“I’ve definitely not revealed the secret of Coke,” said Mr. Lee, who represented Apple in a patent suit against Samsung — another trial that exposed closely guarded secrets. But, he acknowledged, “you’re learning a lot about the admissions process that never would have been public otherwise. We want you to know. Once you understand it, you can understand how decisions are made.”

“我肯定沒有泄露可口可樂的秘密，”李說。比爾·李曾在蘋果訴三星的專利案中擔(dān)任蘋果的代理律師，該案的審理也暴露了嚴(yán)格保守的秘密。不過，他承認(rèn)，“你們將了解很多錄取過程中的事情，這些事情原本永遠(yuǎn)不會公開。我們想讓你們知道這個過程。一旦你們了解了它，你們就能了解決定是怎樣做出的。”

Some, but not all, of the secrets have buttressed Harvard’s elite reputation.

秘密中有一些(并非全部)支撐著哈佛的精英名聲。

It casts a wide net for students, aggressively recruiting those in “sparse country,” predominantly rural areas that yield few applications. It considers a dizzying array of factors, from SAT scores (the higher the better) to athletic ability (recruited athletes receive a big advantage) to interviews (be “effervescent,” “fun,” but “mature”) and more. A lack of deep pockets won’t hinder a hopeful and might even help one’s chances, testimony showed.

哈佛廣開招生門路，積極爭取來自“稀少地區(qū)”的學(xué)生，這些主要是農(nóng)村地區(qū)，申請的人數(shù)很少。哈佛考慮一系列令人眼花繚亂的因素，從SAT分?jǐn)?shù)(越高越好)到體育能力(被招募的運(yùn)動員有很大的優(yōu)勢)，再到面試(“熱情洋溢”、“有趣”，但“成熟”)等等。證詞顯示，不是來自殷實之家并不會成為負(fù)擔(dān)，甚至可能會對其錄取的機(jī)會有所幫助。

But there were other disclosures suggesting that admissions decisions are somewhat arbitrary.

但也有其他的披露暗示，錄取決定多少有點任意。

There is the special list for those whom the admissions dean has taken an interest in, some of whom are the relatives of wealthy donors. There is the vague “personal” rating, which can lift or hurt an applicant’s chances based on an assessment of character traits and background, from “outstanding” to “bland or somewhat negative or immature” to “questionable personal qualities.” And the trial this week has raised questions about whether unconscious bias affects the process, either on the part of admissions officials or the teachers and counselors who write letters on applicants’ behalf.

有一個讓負(fù)責(zé)招生的院長感興趣的特別名單，上面有些人是富裕捐贈者的親屬。有一個不明確的“個性”評分，這個基于性格特征和背景的評估給申請人打上從“優(yōu)秀”到“平淡無奇或多少有些負(fù)面或不成熟”，再到“個性有問題”的評分，可以提高或損害申請人的錄取機(jī)會。本周的庭審上提出的問題是：無意識的偏見，無論是招生官員的還是為申請人寫推薦信的老師和輔導(dǎo)員的，是否對招生程序有影響?

More important than numerical ratings — Harvard uses a scale of 1 (top of the heap) to 6 (no chance) to measure the many aspects of a student’s profile — is “the description and the complexity of the description” provided by those assessing the applicant, Mr. Fitzsimmons said this week in testimony.

哈佛大學(xué)用從1(頂級)到6(不可能錄取)的分?jǐn)?shù)來衡量申請人的各個方面，菲茨西蒙斯本周在證詞中說，比這些分?jǐn)?shù)更重要的，是那些申請評審者的“描述以及描述的復(fù)雜性”。

A rare look inside a student’s admissions file this week has shined a light on what that means. Harvard referred the court to Thang Q. Diep (Harvard Class of 2019), who had only middling test scores but was admitted to the college by showing a strong work ethic and “infectiously happy personality,” as his admissions file says. Mr. Diep, who was born in Vietnam, submitted part of his file in court to help Harvard fight charges of discrimination.

本周得以罕見看到的一名學(xué)生的錄取材料，闡述了這些話的意思。哈佛大學(xué)把湯·Q·葉(哈佛2019屆畢業(yè)生)的材料作為證據(jù)提交給了法庭，他的考試成績只屬中等，但正如他的錄取材料所說，錄取他是因為他表現(xiàn)出強(qiáng)烈的工作倫理和“富有感染力的快樂個性”。出生于越南的湯·Q·葉為了幫助哈佛做針對歧視指控的辯護(hù)，向法庭提交了自己材料的部分內(nèi)容。

“Here’s a person who until the fourth grade was in another country and English was not his first language,” Mr. Fitzsimmons said.

“這是一名直到四年級還在另一個國家、英語不是母語的學(xué)生，”菲茨西蒙斯說。

Mr. Fitzsimmons quoted an admissions interviewer as saying that what was most striking about Mr. Diep was “his fun, casual nature, but impressive, understated maturity.”

菲茨西蒙斯援引一位招生面試官的話說，湯·Q·葉最顯著的特點是“他風(fēng)趣、無憂無慮的個性，但令人印象深刻、不過分的成熟”。

Mr. Diep’s admissions file noted he would be a likely candidate for the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative, which offers full rides to low-income families. In summing up Mr. Diep’s personal essay, one reviewer highlighted his “immigrant Vietnamese identity” and that Mr. Diep was “grappling with sexual identity.” The reviewer mentioned a “filmmaking summit” as an extracurricular activity of note.

湯·Q·葉的錄取材料指出，他會是哈佛助學(xué)金計劃(Harvard Financial Aid Initiative)的可能候選人。該計劃為低收入家庭提供全額資助。在總結(jié)湯·Q·葉的個人申請文書時，一位評審者強(qiáng)調(diào)了該生的“越南移民身份”，并指出湯·Q·葉正在“努力解決性別認(rèn)同的問題”。評審者提到的引人注目的課外活動是一個“電影制作峰會”。

Other admissions files have offered insights into how reviewers distill personal traits from the accomplishments and activities listed. Erica Bever, an admissions officer, testified Friday morning about a student whose application she had reviewed, Sally Chen. She went to a highly competitive high school, but her scores were “a little bit lower than many of her peers,” Ms. Bever said.

其他的錄取文件讓人深入了解了評審者如何從申請人列舉的成就和活動中提煉出該生的個人特性。負(fù)責(zé)招生的教員埃麗卡·彼弗(Erica Bever)于上周五上午在法庭上作證，介紹了學(xué)生薩莉·陳的錄取情況，彼弗曾評審過該生的申請材料。彼弗說，薩莉·陳上的是一所競爭激烈的高中，不過，她的分?jǐn)?shù)“比她的許多同學(xué)要低一點”。

Her father was a chef, her mother a homemaker, which Ms. Bever said made her consider whether this applicant had had the same opportunities as some others. She played first violin in an orchestra and was student association president, both characteristics that Ms. Bever said showed leadership. She was doing research, mentoring and web design.

薩莉·陳的父親是一名廚師，母親是一名家庭主婦，彼弗說，這讓她考慮這位申請人是否有與其他某些申請人一樣的機(jī)會。薩莉·陳曾在一個管弦樂隊擔(dān)任第一小提琴手，并擔(dān)任過學(xué)生會主席，彼弗說，這兩個特點都表明她具有領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力。薩莉·陳還做研究，指導(dǎo)其他學(xué)生，并做網(wǎng)頁設(shè)計。

But what particularly moved Ms. Bever were the teacher and guidance counselor ratings, she said, one of which said that Ms. Chen was “a well spoken, ambitious and humorous person.”

但彼弗說，最讓她動心的是老師和輔導(dǎo)員的評價，其中一個評價說，薩莉·陳是一個“談吐得體、雄心勃勃、幽默風(fēng)趣的人”。

Ms. Chen was admitted to the Class of 2019, and is now on the witness list for this trial.

薩莉·陳被錄取為2019屆的學(xué)生，目前在這次審理的證人名單上。

“We have to reject students who are exceptional,” Ms. Bever testified. “But we make choices.”

“我們不得不拒絕一些優(yōu)秀的學(xué)生，”彼弗在作證時說。“但我們得做選擇。”