现如今，每年申请留学美国和英国的学生不在少数，而且随着中国留学市场的开放程度越来越大，留学途径也不仅仅局限于一种了。对于现阶段全力备战高考的同学们来说，如果进入名牌大学的把握不大，转而出国留学也不失为一个备选方案。在这里，我们为这些学生介绍七种留学的途径。

途径一：美国与加拿大的语言学校
语言学校对学生来说是最容易的一个途径。通常，对申请者的语言与学习成绩并没有太高的要求。但是，经济实力是校方考虑的重点。有一些语言学校附属于具有良好的声誉的大学与学院之下的。除此之外，语言课程通常持续3个月到半年，费用从几千到上万美元不等。一些比较具有代表性的语言学校有：哥伦比亚大学继续教育学院、加州大学欧文学院等。

途径二：美国与加拿大的社区学院
社区学院主要是一些2年的公立高等教育机构。从社区学院毕业以后，一些学生可能会转去大学或者文理学院进行2-3年的学习来获得学士学位。另一些则直接踏上工作岗位。一些学生或许在高中毕业以后没能去到目标大学（无论是学业成绩，经济还是个人原因），那么他们现在也有可能通过这种途径，进入他们所向往的公立大学。这种现象在美国加州尤其显著。加州有着非常成熟和完备的转学系统，社区学院与公立大学（如加州大学伯克利、洛杉矶分校等）之间有着良好的衔接课程和转学信息及申请平台。推荐的院校有：旧金山大学城市学院，圣莫妮卡社区学院，帕萨迪纳城市学院，岱伯洛谷学院等。

途径三：英国的预科课程
申请英国大学的最低入学要求是完成A-Level的课程，以此来作为高中教育与大学教育的预备阶段。你在A-Level考试中取得的成绩在很大程度上决定了你的大学申请。对那些没在A-Level教育体系之下读高中的学生来说，一年的预科课程是进入英国大学的途径。这些课程一般由一些附属的语言学校提供，时间在一年之内。在通过所有的课程考试之后，你就有资格去念大学或者你也可以申请自己喜欢的其他的一些大学。预科的最低入学要求根据学校水平有所不一，雅思成绩一般要求在5.0 – 6.0之间。

途径四：美国与加拿大的本科申请
在就读当前学校的同时，利用暑假时间开始为本科申请做准备。标准的测试（托福/雅思/赛特）对申请至关重要。本科申请的大致步骤为：注册->在线申请（个人陈述）->递交语言测试成绩->递交学校文件（成绩单，评估报告，推荐信）->其他补充材料->面试->等待结果->择校->签证申请与面试->出国求学。

途径五：转校至美国大学
转学生在美国大学很流行，尤其是在加州。一些在顶级的中国名校就读的学生们也会考虑转去比较好的美国大学念书。其中最核心的一点就是，哪一些美国大学会接受转学生？基于此，中国学生需格外注意，因为只有为数不多的顶尖大学会认可名校转学生。此外，对转学生的一般要求有：很好的GPA；在大学一、二年级排名靠前；非常优异的托福成绩；全面发展；有来自当前就读学校老师的强烈推荐；当前就读的学校是名校；准备齐全的文件，包括出色的论文等。

途径六：中国的“2+2”项目
一些美国/英国/加拿大/澳洲的大学与一些中国大学有合作项目。被称作“2+2”或者是“1+2+1”。一些具有代表性的大学有：加拿大的滑铁卢大学，美国的罗格斯、乔治梅森大学，澳大利亚的莫纳什大学，还有英国的桑德兰大学等。这些大学都不错，但是名额有限，再者这些学校在中国的知名度不是特别高。合作项目有要求为特定的专业及学科，比如说生物，科学，工程，金融或者农业等。合作院校的申请者需具有很好的GPA；相关的专业；英语水平佳；财力（学费及开支）尤为重要。

途径七：研究院申请
研究生院对中国学生来说相对容易申请，但一些美国顶尖排名大学的研究生院是很难进的，尤其是一些热门的专业，比如电子工程和电脑科学。最大的区别是他们对国际学生没有“名额”限定，一般录取与否是由系或者教授说了算，而并不是整个学校。标准的测试准备：托福/GRE/GMAT等。申请准备：类似本科申请，请参照途径四。

There are a large number of students applying for American and British universities every year. Along with the increasingly deep exploration in Chinese “study abroad” market, this approach is no longer limited by only one way. As for senior students in high school who will take GaoKao in June but do not have much confidence to get in a good university, they may choose to study abroad as a back-up solution. This paper introduces seven paths for students to consider.

Path One: Language School in USA / Canada
Language schools are the easiest path for students to go for. Normally there is no strong demand on language and academic performance for candidates to be enrolled in. However, financial ability is critical for consideration. Some language schools are affiliated to university or college with good prestige. In addition, language programs usually last around three months to more than half a year and the cost ranges from a few thousands to more than ten thousand dollars. Some representative language schools are School of Continuing Education of Columbia University, University of California – Irvine, etc.

Path Two: Community College in USA
Community colleges are primarily two-year public institutions of higher education. After graduating from a community college, some students may transfer to a university or liberal arts college for two to three years to complete a bachelor's degree, while others enter the workforce. Students who may not have been able to attend a particular college after high school (whether for academic, financial, or personal reasons) may now be able to attend the community college of their choice. This is exactly the case in California, U.S, as the transfer system and the articulation between community colleges and 4-year public universities are sophisticated. Some recommended community colleges are: City College of San Francisco, Santa Monica Community College, Pasadena City College, Diablo Valley College, etc.

Path Three: Pre-Requisite / Foundation Program in the UK
The minimum requirement for UK college application is to fulfill the A-Level courses as high school education and college education preparation. And the scores you earned for A-Level will greatly determine your college application. For Chinese students who are not in track of A-Level education system, the fordable program is pre-requisite program from some colleges or universities. The program will be run by affiliated school and will last around one year. After passing some sort of tests, you may eligible to enter the school or you can apply to any other colleges or universities you like. The minimum requirement for entering pre-requisite program on English IELTS is around 5-6 according to the level of the school.

Path Four: Undergraduate Application
In parallel with freshman study at current college, there is no better time to get started with undergraduate application preparation from each summer. Standard tests (TOEFL/IELTS/SAT) are essential for application. The thorough picture of undergraduate application could be; registration-> online application (essay) -> standard test score delivery-> school documentation delivery (transcript, evaluation report, recommendation letters) -> other supplementary -> interview -> waiting -> decision making -> visa application and interview -> departure.

Path Five: Transfer to U.S. Colleges
Transfer students are very popular in US colleges, especially in California. Some top ranking and well prepared students from top universities and colleges from China are moving to decent US colleges. The most important element is to know by which US colleges you will be accepted as transfer students. At this point, Chinese students should pay more attention at this because there are very few top universities or colleges qualified for the recognition from US. Further, some typical criteria for the transferring students are: decent GPA and high ranking in the class for freshman and sophomore year; highly competitive TOEFL score; well-rounded talents and performance; strong recommendation from current school and teachers; well accepted reputation of the current school; well prepared documentation, including well written essay etc.

Path Six: “2+2” Programs in China
Some USA/UK/Canada/Australia universities have joint programs with selected universities in China. 2+2, or 1+2+1 as it called. The representatives are University of Waterloo from Canada, Rutgers, George Mason from USA, Monash from Australia and Sunderland from UK. Normally, these schools are quite good but the number is limited and the popularity of such schools is not that high. The joint programs are designed for specific majors or subjects, like biology, science, engineering, finance or agriculture etc. Qualifications for applicants include the enrolled students in partner schools: decent GPA, related majored and proficiency in English language. Finance availability for tuition and expenses is of great importance.

Path Seven: Graduate School Application
Graduate schools are much easier for Chinese students to apply, but the top universities and graduate schools from US, especially on some popular majors, like EE, CS are still tough to get into. The big difference is there is no “quota” for international students from graduate school and the selections are made by faculty or professors instead of the whole school. Standard test preparation: TOEFL/GRE/GMAT etc. Application preparation: similar to undergraduate application, see Path four.

众所周知，本科申请进入美国顶级公立大学（加州大学伯克利、洛杉矶分校等）的难度在逐年增加。以加州大学伯克利为例，今年共有7万名学生申请就读本科，而本科招生名额为10700人，录取率仅为15.3%。此外，伯克利作为美国加州的公立大学，在招生时会优先考虑本州的居民。因此，对于国际学生，特别是中国学生来说，申请的难度就可想而知了。然而，抛开常规的本科申请，从美国社区学院转学则不失为一条进入伯克利等知名公立大学的“蹊径”。

在美国，两年制的公立社区学院（或称专科院校、技术学院）一般提供较本科教育略低一等的教育课程，并授予相应的毕业文凭及副学士学位。社区学院的学生在完成了既定学分和预修课程后，可以转入四年制的综合大学。若转学成功，则继续学习2-3年后即获得该大学的学士学位。

美国加州的转学机制已经十分完备，加州的社区学院都会开设一系列为转学而设置的课程。不仅如此，社区学院还与指定的综合大学之间签署“衔接协议”，为转学的学生提供保证。转学生可以通过ASSIST平台查看自己所修的课程与目标大学课程的对接程度，获取最新的转校信息，为自己的转校申请做出规划，以及最终提交转校申请。

然而归根结底，进入名牌公立大学之首选方案仍然是常规的本科申请。考虑到转学过程中的风险以及两年在社区学院的学习经历及体验，这条途径终究是一个备选方案。

Admissions to top-tier public universities like UC Berkeley and UCLA are more and more selective. This year, there are more than 70,000 freshman applicants for approximately 10,700 admission spaces in Berkeley, resulting in an acceptance rate of 15.3%. What is more, as a public funded institution, Berkeley has admission preference to residents of California. Therefore, it is indeed very difficult for Chinese students to receive offers from Berkeley. However, transfer from a Californian Community College might be a different approach.

In the United States, community colleges (a.k.a. junior colleges or technical colleges) refer to two-year public institutions which offer lower-level education and grant diplomas and associate degrees. After graduating from a community college with all the credits and prerequisites fulfilled, students can transfer to a four-year university for two to three years to earn a bachelor degree.

The transfer system in California, U.S is sophisticated. A community college in California usually has a transfer education category, and has articulation agreements with specific four-year universities. With the help of the Articulation System Stimulating Inter-institutional Student Transfer (ASSIST), a platform which facilitates transfer of Californian community college students to Californian public universities, students can easily plan for their courses, find accurate information and requirements, and apply for transfer admissions.

However this approach is usually regarded as a secondary option, as it is risky to study at such schools for two years and file application in the 2nd year.

一年一度的AP考试季即将到来。从去年的AP考试结果来看，同学们也许会发现，想要拿到5分的满分变得非常不容易。的确，根据美国大学理事会（College Board）的公示，AP课程的内容和考试难度都有所调整。换句话说，AP变得越来越难了。

AP课程的教学内容和考试题目都是由一个特定的委员为来掌控，该委员会则由大学教师和高中AP课程资深教师组成。最近，委员会重新设计了包括历史、外语和科学在内的一些科目。具体来说，2013-14学年度，AP化学、AP生物学和西班牙语三门课程已经加大了难度；而AP物理1、AP物理2（前身为AP物理B）及AP美国历史将在2014-15学年度得到调整。

以AP生物学为例，在今年5月份的考试中，试题类别在保持原有的选择题、问答题的基础上，增加了包括简答题在内的两种新的题型，具体信息同学们可以参阅美国大学理事会发布的科目大纲。

美国大学理事会表示，AP考试的调整目的是能够更好的“与大学学分大纲相契合，以及锻炼学生更好的适应大学学习及将来的职业”。因此，随着每一届学生能力的增加，AP考试将会越来越难，以体现和反应同学们的学习能力以及在学业水平上的潜力。

（该文章所涉及信息来源于美国大学理事会官方网站）

The season of AP Exams is approaching. Test takers from the last year might find that it has been more difficult to achieve 5 (the full mark) in tests. According to the College Board, the organization and holder of standardized tests in the U.S, the AP courses and exams are redesigned to be more rigorous and difficult in terms of both contents and test papers.

Both courses and exams are developed by a certain committee, i.e. a group of people including college faculty members and AP expert teachers in high schools. Specifically, the AP Program has recently redesigned several courses in History, World Languages, and Sciences, for instance: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Spanish Language and Culture in 2013-14, and AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 (Formerly AP Physics B) and AP U.S History in 2014-15.

Let us take AP Biology as an example. Staring from May 2013, the redesigned AP Biology Exam will not only continue to feature multiple-choice and free-response questions, but also introduce a new grid-in question type and short free-response questions.

The purpose of redesigning courses is to “stay strongly aligned with college credit policies and to prepare AP students for college and subsequent careers”, as claimed by the College Board. Therefore the course revisions will consequently be more and more challenging and rigorous. Only in this way can it reflect the students’ academic aptitude and potentials.

(Information is sourced from College Board at http://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/)