声明：双语文章中，中文翻译仅代表译者个人观点，仅供参考。如有不妥之处，欢迎指正。
Beginning of the semester is thinking-ahead time. And one good thing to think about is how to beat – er, we mean navigate – the system. You know, little tips and tricks that you might not have thought of that will put you ahead of the pack. Or at least ahead of where you would have been without them. Here are our ten best tips for navigating the college system:
开学之际就是“先人一步”的时候。一件值得思索的事情就是怎样“打败”——呃，我是说驾驭——学校系统。你也知道，一点点你以前没想到的提示和技巧就能帮你“赢在起跑线”上啦。或者起码领先于你不知道的时候。为你奉上关于驾驭校园系统的点睛十点提示：
1. Go beyond the “standard program.”
1.超越“标准课程”
Many times your adviser will hand you the “standard” or “recommended” program at the start of the semester. Don’t sign on without carefully probing alternatives. Often, especially if you’re proficient in a subject, you can substitute a higher level course for the basic offering. And often, even within your major, you can get a course more suited to you interests, if you take the time to research the alternatives and to speak up. So speak up; the “system” isn’t going to do it for you.
每逢开学之初，你的导师总会给你一些“标准”或是“推荐”课程。不要在没有探明情况，还不清楚自己还有没有其他选择时就心急火燎的匆匆同意。通常，特别是如果你在某个学科特别擅长的时候，你可以选择更高级别的课程来替代现有提供给你的基础课程。而且通常情况下，即使是在你的专业内，只要你花些时间去对其他选项做些调查和询问，也能够得到一个更迎合你兴趣的课程。鉴于此，大胆的打探吧，学校“系统”是不可能替你做这些的。
2. Double dip.
2.“一箭双雕”
Sometimes (though not always) it’s possible to use a single course for a variety of purposes. It could be that one offering works for both your major and minor, or can satisfy two distribution requirements. And, if you have AP or IB credits that, for one reason or other, haven’t been posted to your transcript, make sure you reach out to the registrar to get them added. It’s very common, especially at a large state university or community college, for these kinds of credits to fall through the cracks, so round them up and get yourself that much closer to graduation.
有时（虽然不是经常）用一门课程完成多项意图也是可能的。它可能同时为你的专业和选修提供了帮助，或是可以满足两个不同的要求。而且，如果出于种种原因，你的AP或IB绩点并没有显示在成绩单上，记得去询问注册主管，确保把这些都补齐。这种情况很常见，特别是在综合国立大学或者社区大学中，这些绩点常常莫名顺着缝隙就流失掉了，而你需要做的就是去把他们填回来，这样就离毕业更近一步。
3.Talk your way into closed courses.
3.向“关门”的课程“敲门”
At many schools there’s a waiting list to get into large intro courses and into specialized courses required for the major (statistics, for example). If you’re way down the list, go see the professor and explain to him or her your special interest in taking this course — not to mention how much you’d like to take it from him or her, who you’ve heard is an especially good teacher, etc., etc.. At many schools professors have considerable discretion in giving overrides, so try your luck when possible. If you’re a graduating senior or if the course is a prerequisite for some more specialized course, you might have additional leverage. Use it.
在许多学校中的大型介绍性课程和一些专业的必修课会有一份等候选修该课程的名单。如果你在这个名单上排名大大靠后，那就去找教授谈谈，和教授解释下你为什么对这么课程十分感兴趣——更不用说你是多么喜欢这名教授的课程，或者说这个教授的声誉如雷贯耳之类的。在许多学校，教授们都有着一定的名单裁定权，所以如果有可能就试试你的运气吧。如果你即将面临毕业，或是这门课程是其他专业课的前提必修课，你很可能有写额外的资格，记得使用它们吧。
4. Get on top of the online resources.
4.线上资源别错过
At many colleges much of the learning (especially the part that you’re responsible for) takes place online. Depending on your course and school, this might involve a class webpage (on Blackboard or equivalent), e-resources (at the library), or even a class facebook page. Whatever the case, make sure you know how to navigate all the features that are offered. And if you’re signed up for an online course or a MOOC, be 100% sure that you study the online materials, especially all the requirements and resources (be sure to look for ancillary tabs and links on the left and the top of the screen). You wouldn’t want to find out halfway through the course that there were virtual discussion sections with required comments that you didn’t even know about – and that counted 40% of the grade.
许多大学的许多学习资料已经数字化网络化了，特别是自主学习那部分。当然取决于你的课程和学校，可能是课堂网页（在黑板上或者类似的）、电子课程（在图书馆），或者甚至是课堂facebook页面。不管是那种情况，确保你自己知道如何操控所有提供的功能。如果你报名参加了网上课程或者是“大规模开放网络课程”（MOOC），一定要百分百确定你学习了网上提供的课程资料，特别是所有的要求和资源（记得查看页面上通常在左侧和顶端的辅助标签和连接）。你不会希望课程过半才发现你以前都不知道的、需要你进行评论的虚拟讨论部分——而且这部分还占到成绩的40%。
5. Email the professor questions and drafts.
5. 给教授发邮件咨询问题和草稿意见
Though you might not have thought about it, in-person office hours are a thing of the past at many colleges. Now there’s emailing and Skyping the prof or TA. Many professors openly invite students to send in questions and comments. But what sometimes isn’t as heavily advertised is that many professors are willing to review drafts of papers for comments in advance of the due date—and to give you can helpful suggestions, free of charge, on how to make your paper better, and, in the process, get a better grade! A no-brainer if your prof is willing and you’re organized enough to do it.
虽然你可能重来没想到过这点，面对面的答疑时间在很多学校已成往事。现在都用电邮和网络电话Skype联系教授和助教了。许多教授会大方的欢迎学生给他（她）发邮件提问题或是提建议和意见。但是有一点常被忽略推荐的是，很多教授在截止日前都很乐意预览学生们的论文草稿并给予评论，他们会给你受用的建议，完全免费的告诉你怎么更好的写论文，而且从而也就得知了怎么能拿一个高分！一件都不需要动脑的事情，只要你的教授肯帮忙，那么你做这件事也就完全有条有理了。
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