It was just a week after Chang Shuai received her acceptance notice from Harvard that the first book offer came。

　　A publisher approached her father with a detailed outline for an inside guide to how a Shanghai couple prepared their daughter to compete successfully with the best students in America. Local newspapers weighed in with articles about how Chang's membership in a dance troupe surely helped. "Magical girl 'danced' her way into Harvard," the Shanghai Evening Post headlined。

　　At the very top of the wish list for many of them is Harvard, or Hafo, which the Chinese pronounce with reverence. Its namesakes are found all over China-the Harvard Kindergarten, the Harvard Graphic Arts School, the Harvard Beauty School... For those coveting the real thing, there are nearly a dozen books in Chinese, among them "You Too Can Go to Harvard: Secrets of Getting into Famous US Universities," and the bestseller published in 2000, "Harvard Girl."

　　"More and more rich Chinese families want to send their children to the United States to be educated, and when they do, they want them to go to the best universities," said Zhou Jun, the founder and head of the Leadership Academy, one of a dozen consulting firms that dispenses advice on how to get into foreign universities。

　　Based in Shanghai, his company targets a niche market of China's wealthiest families, people who will pay up to $300,000 for up to five years of supplemental classes aimed at getting their child into an Ivy League school. "The parents all want Harvard, but we can't guarantee that. We're not God. We work with what we have got."

　　The desire to go to top American universities is not just about the prestige conveyed by the name. Chinese students envy many aspects of US higher education, such as the chance to explore different pursuits before chosing a major, interactions with professors and the more open intellectual debates。

　　There are currently 36 Chinese undergraduates at Harvard (the number of graduate students is much larger)， but of the 2,110 students accepted for the upcoming freshman classes, at least nine are from China。

　　Deborah Seligsohn, a Beijing-based Harvard alumni who often interviews Chinese applicants, said the Chinese applicants to Harvard she meets are usually students who have rejected engineering or science and want the luxury of time afforded by US universities to figure out their place in the world. "What I've seen over and over again is that they are very socially committed. They're interested in broad questions of poverty and the environment."

　　However, Isabelle Krishana, an American expatriate who works for a Beijing-based academic advising company said she thought "the parents want their kids to make a lot of money"。

　　For Chinese students, the obstacles for entering an Ivy League school are daunting. Although many top universities, including Harvard, select applicants regardless of their ability to pay, successful matriculates need to speak perfect English, which they cannot generally do unless they spend a high school year abroad. And that requires a good deal of money。

　　就在常帅接到美国哈佛大学录取通知书一个礼拜之后，就有出版商登门拜访邀请其出书了。

　　这位出版商的手中早已准备好了故事梗概，即向世人透露，这两位上海家长是如何将他们的女儿培养成才，过关斩将打败美国本土的优秀竞争者进入世人景仰的哈佛大学的。当地的报纸也对此进行了大篇幅报道。《神奇女生常帅：跳舞“跳”进哈佛》的文章向人们介绍了这位上海女孩是如何凭借舞蹈团成员身份成为哈佛“新星”的。

　　哈佛大学是中国莘莘学子心中最崇高的学府。每每说到哈佛，人们总是带着敬畏的语气。在中国，随处可见跟哈佛有关的字眼：“哈佛幼儿园”、“哈佛美容学校”、“哈佛艺术学院”等等。关于哈佛的书也不在少数，例如《你也能迸哈佛：美国名牌大学招生秘笈》，以及2000年出版的畅销书《哈佛女孩刘亦婷》。

　　“现在，中国的富人们越来越愿意将子女送到美国读书，特别是美国名校，”专门从事留学咨询的朱军(音)说。

　　他在上海的咨询公司便是专门针对这一小拨富人群体的。这些家长不惜出30万美元让孩子上5年预备补习班，为的就是考上常春藤大学。“家长们都想让孩子进哈佛，但我们不能打包票。我们毕竟不是神仙，只能说是竭尽所能。”

　　许多中国人希望进入美国顶尖学府滦造并不只是图个名声，而是看重它们的教育方式，例如能在选择主修科目之前尝试不同的领域，能够与教授进行互动，更为开放的学术讨论等。

　　目前在哈佛大学念书的中国学生有36人(在哈佛读研究生的中国人当然更多)。哈佛新一届入学人员为2110人，其中至少有9人来自中国。

　　同样毕业于哈佛大学的沈岱波说，她遇到的那些申请进入哈佛大学的学生通常都不是数理化尖子，而是希望能够通过进入美国学府深造而找到将来在社会上位置的人。

　　然而，来自美国、目前在北京某留学中介担任顾问一职的伊莎贝尔说：“我认为这些想要孩子进美国名校的父母是想让孩子将来赚大钱。”

　　对于中国学生来说，想进入常春藤盟校深造可谓难上加难。尽管包括哈佛在内的许多美国名校称招生时并不会考虑学生的经济能力，但优秀的口语能力是得以入学的必备条件。而很多学生很难达到这个要求，所以在国外上一年左右的高中便是必要的。正是这一年需要很多钱。