这个孩子是一位已经签约客户的朋友。来的时候已经比较晚了，那个客户的孩子在办理过程对我们的指导和规划比较中意，也让这个朋友过来了解一下。这位家长对孩子的要求非常低，只要拿到普通大学就心满意足了，印象特别深刻。不过，这个孩子的录取真的是录取之王，喜报连连，最终被UIUC录取。
      学生的GPA属于正常范围。托福是我们一直非常担心的，基本上都是压着学校的最低要求，但是从最后的录取结果来看，88 分的TOEFL没有给整个申请带来负面影响，凭借SAT第二次给力的分数（尤其是阅读），以及特点非常鲜明并且容易产生印象和可读性的文书，真正做到了在众多申请中能够坚持住并且被选中。
      我们非常有把握是这两点原因成就了这个“录取之王”也是经过对比的：在所有被相同学校录取的学生中，WXY的各项指标算是最低的 （SAT稍微好一些，尤其是阅读部分的570，能够称得上是中等以上水平）。

文书分享：
      整个申请，学生用了两个思路来支撑文书（common statement和UC系统），这两个思路第一个是体现了学生的成长环境，家庭和之后的求学路上周围老师和家人带给他的影响（符合UC第一个题目），第二个是针对“你对你感兴趣的学术科目和领域做了哪些尝试”这个没一个学校都会问的问题。
      第一个文书素材：学生小的时候开始学习围棋，并且陆续参加过一些比赛。第一次接触这个素材会认为是所有中国学生，尤其是男孩子的长项：棋类，比赛，奖-俗套。但是深度挖掘，会发现这个素材可以作为穿插学生整个家庭背景和成长经历的引子：
      学生的爷爷是新中国早一批的武官（驻外军事官员），精通英语（是吴国章的得意弟子），奶奶是早一批驻外大使馆的工作人员，参与过第一个驻法大使馆的组建工作，属于常年在国外生活受过西方教育的人。爸爸是一个“大男孩”，喜欢挑战，也喜欢围棋，并且经常和儿子交流围棋心得，经常强调：大局观。结合学生有过两次美国夏令营经历（夏令营也是中国学生标配了），通过突出家里人中，西方均有接触和影响的对比，来展现学生的成长背景：
      另外：为了体现围棋这段特殊的经历，我们专门让学生和家长找到了学生的“大牌“师傅：国家级围棋教练和专家，签名了一封推荐信作为额外申请材料。

文书翻译过来之后的中文节选：
      好的开头永远是抓住眼球的最重要部分-抓住眼球不一定多求新求奇，但是一定要做到可读性强，能够为读者带来愉悦的同时感到学习到了新的东西，了解了一种新的文化。于是文章的开头就给美国读者介绍一种中国传统文化中有意思的一个风俗：抓周。
      在中国有一个习俗：新生儿在满一周岁的那一天会有”抓周“的仪式：大人把一些象征未来前途和命运的的东西放在孩子身边，看这个孩子选择哪一件，则预示着孩子未来的职业。比如一把代表法律（律师）的尺子，一个代表体育和运动生涯的足球，一个代表会计（财务职业）的算盘等。妈妈说我抓周那天，我周围的每一样东西都代表了家里人的期盼：身为中国早驻外大使的奶奶把一本法语字典放在了我的身边，希望我以后也做中外交流的使者，身为新中国早期武官的爷爷则放了一枚国徽，喜爱围棋的爸爸放了一枚围棋棋子。大家都很期待也很紧张的看着我的选择。我最后选择了围棋。
      但是围棋并不代表那就是我的未来。
原文：
In China, one popular family tradition involves placing symbolic objects around a baby on its first birthday, such as a pen symbolizing the baby’s future academic achievement, a ball its athletic prowess or a scale its future career as a lawyer. Whichever object the little one moves toward first foretells its fate. The symbolic objects placed around me, I learnt from my mother, were Go pieces from my Dad’s favorite board game that originated in China, a medal from my grandfather’s diplomatic service and a French-Chinese dictionary, a legacy of my grandmother’s translation career during her diplomatic mission in France. My mother recalls that she and other family members watched nervously, wondering which object I would wind up choosing. As it turned out, I picked a Go piece.

My father began teaching me Go when I was four. He patiently explained to me how to move my pieces to create a larger territory than my opponent’s.  As I grew older and my skill improved, my dad introduced me to the famous Go master – Mr. Ma Xiaochun, who taught my dad the game. Thanks to my training in Go, I have the ability to eliminate distractions and concentrate on the game at hand.  

By the time I reached junior high, I entered regional and national competitions, having won a few titles and earned a national ranking. Go helped improve my patience, my logical and reasoning skills, and my appreciation of classical Chinese philosophy and military strategies. My father and Master Ma often stress the importance of seeing the big picture and of prioritizing, which entails give up immediate gratification in exchange for long-term gain. Master Ma often shares with me his readings on Sun Tzu, Confucius and Mencius, fostering my interest in the teachings of these great philosophers.

My interaction with Master Ma has piqued my curiosity in other aspects of ancient Chinese art and symbolisms, besides Go. During a recent field trip to Jingdezhen, China’s porcelain capital, I was elected as leader of a 15-member team engaged in researching historical kiln sites and milestones in China’s porcelain industry.  

Symbolic object selection by babies to predict their future is pure superstition. It was mere accident that I picked something that turned out to be my lifelong passion. My later achievement in the game is far more largely attributable to the nurturing environment of my family. 

Just because I did not turn to the objects related to my grandparents’ illustrious diplomatic careers did not mean I was less interested. On the contrary, their overseas experience had a huge influence on me. I have always been keen on learning what the outside world could offer. Because I enjoy learning different perspectives, value systems and approaches to problem-solving, I have become at once more appreciative and critical of my own cultural orientations and behavioral patterns.  My two student exchange trips to the U.S. in high school have only strengthened my determination to pursue an overseas college education.  I am not sure I will be a diplomat someday like my grandparents, but I share their passion for international learning and multi-culturalism.

      第二个文书素材：针对数学这个专业，绝大多数的申请者都是有苦难言。要说数学学习经历，谁能比的上中国孩子，从一年级到十二年级的数学题海的确锻炼了数学思维，但是提到为这个学科做了什么？除了数学竞赛难道还有别的选择吗？WXY恰巧有一个小细节：他们曾经以小组的形式参加数学应用比赛（强调数学在生活实践中的运用），他们小组当时设计了一个紧急情况下的最佳撤退路线。这个算是一个非常好的理论与实践结合的例子，于是我们将社会责任感放入其中，并且结合了2011年发生在新疆小学踩踏的真实事件为学生的这个活动和尝试提供了非常充足的动力。

文书翻译：
我一直相信，任何人，不管多小、多老、多弱，都有能力帮助别人，这是每一个人生来就赋予的责任和义务。我就用我最喜欢的和最擅长的数学，做了一件很让我自豪的事情。2011年，我和我的两个队友像往届一样闯入了全国高中生数学应用知识竞赛，其中一个题目是写一篇有关数学和数学在生活中应用的论文。正在我们讨论选取什么样的题目和方向的时候，中国新疆的一个小学在一个文艺演出上发生意外火灾，因为没有任何预警，同时逃离路线设计的完全没有科学依据，造成了很多children死于踩踏，这件事情震惊了全国。“想一想咱们学校平时都是怎莫进行消防演戏的呢？”在一次讨论中，我问我的队友，“无论那个演习的大喇叭有多响，大家从来没有重视过，三五成群像去喝下午茶一样，边走边聊，悠闲的走出大楼。会不会有一天，这样的灾难发生在我们身上呢？” 如果设计出一个能根据不同的楼型，场地和人数而进行估算的最快evacuation 路线，那肯定能预防很多类似这样的本应该avoid的悲剧发生。于是我的提议：模拟紧急情况下的人群疏散，建立一个可行性强的数学模型的方案得到了队友的支持，也得到了我们数学老师的友情加入。

原文：
Math is my best and favorite subject and I did something with it that I’m quite proud of. In 2011, my teammates and I reached the finals of the National High School Applied Mathematics Contest with our entry demonstrating an application of math in our daily lives. 

A fire in a primary school in Xinjiang had just been in the news. Many students had been trampled to death due to lack of warning and unscientifically-designed escape routes. It was shocking news that spread nationwide. In a discussion, I asked my teammates: “Let's think about how fire drills at our school are usually conducted. In fact, no matter how loud the fire drill speakers were, people never took them seriously. They just split into small groups like afternoon tea time, walking and talking on their way out the building. Was it possible that one day such a disaster could happen to us? "

If we could design a method to determine the fastest evacuation routes for every different building, it could certainly prevent such tragedies in the future. So I proposed simulating an emergency evacuation by creating a mathematical model. This was supported by my teammates and our math teacher, as well.

By referencing the planning principles of two New Yorkers who made their ways through the entire New York City subway system (and set a Guinness record), we took our school building as a specimen and began designing the mathematical model. We obtained the blueprints for the building from the administrative department, and consulted professionals in the architecture and design industries to help us. Once we determined the fastest evacuation routes from different floors, the next question was how to estimate the students’ evacuation speed (calculating by age differences). This data must be true or else the whole mathematical model would be meaningless. So we mobilized 10 students from our class to calculate all the factors between the 4th and 1st floors, including distances, obstacles, space, number of students, and so on. After calculating average velocity, we designed a reasonable average density – the number of people passing through a certain spot in a unit of time – and completed the model. It won third prize at the contest.

The approval and support from my classmates and teacher made me prouder than the prize itself. Completing the report did not mean our work was done, however. After that, with the help of many teachers and students, we compiled a rescue manual with detailed evacuation guidelines and instructions. The information was widely distributed at our school and even other high schools in Beijing. 

My wish is that everyone will read the manual and seriously follow it. Life is precious and fragile; I must protect my life and contribute my personal power to make other people’s lives better.