Get an edge

和以往單純地憑借學術名氣和課程設置來吸引新生不同了，現在很多美國大學在搶奪生源時花樣百出，比如承諾向新生贈送生日卡片，組織周末滑雪運動等。外電報道如下：Forget course catalogs and colorful pamphlets. Think sex, skiing and rock 'n roll. When it comes to recruiting students for college, admissions officials are turning to increasingly outlandish stunts to get the attention of high schoolers. Birthday cards, ski weekends and even reality TV shows are being used by colleges and universities to get an edge. Personal contact with students is in. Indiscriminate mass mailings are out. "Everybody's trying to do something that isn't the mundane," said Dan Kunzman, vice president of admissions at Doane College in Crete in southeast Nebraska. The marketing efforts are being driven, in part, by the standard issues college rankings and involved parents. But schools in states including Nebraska also are struggling to fill seats and deal with declining enrollment. Get an edge是一個俚語，意為“獲取優勢，取勝”，詞組get an edge on/over sb表示“勝過某人；[美]懷恨某人”。與edge相關的詞組還有on edge（緊張不安）；set sb.'s teeth on edge（使生氣）等。 （中國日報網站編）