Fewer than 5 percent of the students who applied to Stanford University in California were accepted this year. About 6 percent of the applicants to Yale University in Connecticut were admitted.
今年申请加州斯坦福大学的学生只有不到5%被录取，而康涅狄格州耶鲁大学的申请者大约有6%被录取。
But one writer says if you did not get into a school like Stanford, Yale or Harvard University, do not despair.
但是一位撰稿人表示，如果你没有进入像斯坦福、耶鲁或哈佛这种学校，也不要绝望。
Jillian Berman writes for MarketWatch.com. She says "students shouldn't panic if they don't get a spot. It is still possible to be successful."
吉利安·伯曼（Jillian Berman）是MarketWatch.com网站的撰稿人。她说，“如果学生们未能赢得一席之地也不用恐慌，他们照样有可能获得成功。”
Stacy Dale and Alan Krueger wrote a paper in 2011 that says students who apply to universities like Stanford and Harvard -- but do not get in -- are likely to do well anywhere.
斯泰西·戴尔（Stacy Dale）和艾伦·克鲁格（Alan Krueger）2011年撰写论文称，申请斯坦福和哈佛等大学却未被录取的学生有可能在哪都能做得很好。
The researchers say that confidence and ambition may predict success better than other factors. Those other factors include good grades, high SAT scores and activities out of school. The researchers say people who apply to these selective schools do well even if they are not accepted to schools like Princeton University or Dartmouth College.
研究人员表示，信心和雄心比其它因素更能预示成功。这些其它因素包括成绩好，SAT高分以及课外活动。研究人员表示，申请这些顶尖名校的学生，即使未被普林斯顿大学或达特茅斯学院这类学校录取，也能做得不错。
Berman wrote a story last year saying a study by the Brookings Institution might be more valuable than other lists: it ranks schools based on how much value they provide their students.
伯曼去年写了一篇报道称，布鲁金斯学会的一项研究可能比其它榜单更有价值，这项研究根据学校为学生提供多少价值对学校进行排名。
The Brookings list shows how much more money students would earn graduating from one school over another.
这份布鲁斯金榜单展示了学生从一所学校毕业相对于另一所学校将能多赚多少钱。
The list includes small colleges and technical schools that focus on agriculture, engineering, nursing and medical jobs.
这份榜单包括了专注于农业、工程、医护工作的小学院和技工学校。
The idea about ambition and confidence does not always apply to minority students. The Dale and Krueger study says minority students should reach for these selective schools. That is because they can make social connections that may be useful for advancing their careers in the future.
关于雄心和信息的理念并不总是适用于少数族裔学生。戴尔和克鲁格的研究称，少数族裔学生应该争取进入这些顶尖名校。这是因为他们可以建立社交关系，这对促进他们未来的事业有利。
The list created by Brookings fits with another story posted on the website 538.com.
布鲁斯金学会创建的这份榜单同538.com网站发表的另一篇报道相契合。
The story is called "Shut Up About Harvard."
这篇报道标题是《别提哈佛》。
The writer is Ben Casselman. He says television and newspaper stories about universities fail to reflect real and honest college experience. Very few people attend a university lined with trees and brick buildings. These days, college is often a part-time or two-year experience.
该报道的作者是本·卡斯尔曼（Ben Casselman）。他说，电视和报纸上关于大学的报道未能真实地反映出大学生活。很少有人就读一所树木和红砖大楼林立的学校，如今的大学往往是一种业余时间或两年时间的经历。
Students live at home and commute to classes.
学生们住在家里，通勤去上课。
Movies that takes place on a college campus, he says, are more fiction than truth.
他说，发生在大学校园的电影更多是虚构而不是事实。
More truthful is a picture of an American university student who attends class part time while working and raising children.
更真实的画面是美国大学生在工作和抚养小孩的同时，在业余时间上课。
The most popular courses are no longer literature and philosophy. The most popular are business and health care.
最受欢迎的课程不再是文学和哲学，而是商业和卫生保健。
It is exciting to read about a student who is accepted by eight Ivy League schools. But these writers say those students will be successful anywhere.
看到有学生被常春藤盟校录取让人兴奋。但是这些作者表示，这类学生在哪都能成功。
They say that students who need help getting to class and completing a degree are a greater concern.
他们说，那些入学和毕业需要帮忙的学生更让人担忧。
A professor from the University of Wisconsin spoke with Casselman. She says most of the stories about higher education in the U.S. skip the most important issue:
威斯康辛大学的一位教授同卡斯尔曼进行了交流。她说大部分关于美国高等教育的报道都忽略了最重要的问题：
"People can't afford to spend enough time in college to actually finish their darn degrees."
“人们拿不出足够时间在大学真正拿到自己该死的学位。”
But if they do, Casselman writes, the degree "remains the most likely path to a decent-paying job."
卡斯尔曼写道，但是如果他们这样做，学位仍然是获得高薪工作最可能的途径。
That is why students can be successful even if they do not get into a school like Harvard.
这就是为什么即使学生们没有进入哈佛这类学校照样可以成功的原因。
I'm Dan Friedell.
我是丹·费里德尔。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)