In a video posted by the National Forum on Colleges, Dr. Alfredo King, director, believes that ever since he was little, colleges and universities all over have constantly changed their admission requirements ("College Admissions 101."). He remembers that Alaska State University use to just ask for high school transcripts and recommendation letters. Now you have to pass college exams such as the Alaskan Freshman Test (AFT) and ACT/SAT. “It is slowly becoming a problem for not only today’s youth, but it will also prevent others such as our kids and their kids from getting into the school of their dreams ("College Admissions 101."). When King was 13, he would often times visit other universities and ask students and staff about how he could prepare
The college application process is one of the hardest parts of a high school career.
Caroline Bird writes the statement in her 1975 article “The Case Against College (Bird 15-18)” that not every high school graduate is ready to attend college. It is 2010 and this article is still valid today. Some of the college students I have been around were not mature enough for obedience school let alone college. A few of the points she makes in the article are: College has never worked its magic for everyone. Does it make you a better person? Are colleges responsible for your children? Are my children living in a country club? I will use some of my own experiences as an example of college life, as well as examples from my daughter’s college experience, along with my nephews as well. All to find the answer to the big question: Are you ready for a college education?
Education has always been a current issue due to the fact that it is seen as an economic cure-all. However, the perception of college is ill-conceived and there are multiple debates on how to improve it. College universities believe that having open admissions will increase the amount of matriculations, but the fact is the amount of students being enrolled into a four-year university has no relationship to the amount of students with academic aspirations. W.J. Reeves, an English professor at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York, gives a few examples of how open admissions has changed education methods and student abilities. Reeves wrote this opinion piece to convince everyone, especially parents, that schools are in need of reform
... a tedious process, but the change can have immense, positive effects for the future college student. The ACT and SAT that supposedly measure a student's learning potential through multiple-choice questions should be replaced by a test of a student's desire to learn determined through the analysis of essays, recommendation letters, and school or community involvement. This change can result in a more academically motivated freshman class. Standardized testing in its current form does not accurately measure most students' learning potential. It does not allow for diversity and creates a huge hurdle for many potential academic achievers. An adjustment to a diverse, open testing format of the ACT or SAT and a stress on the student's other academic accomplishments can accurately measure the student's desire to learn, therefore measuring the student's learning potential.
In the early 1600s, America was given the opportunity of higher education. As decades flew by universities grew and flourished to a point where it’s no longer a struggle to be admitted into a university, and it’s also more accessible to pay for, such as student loans, federal loans, scholarships and grants (Kirszner). Since attending university has become an essential to most high school graduates, universities have welcomed larger classes. A common argumentative debate when it comes to college is whether every American should attend. An example of someone who believes college is only for a handful of individuals is Charles Murray. Murray wrote, “What’s Wrong with Vocational School?” an article published in 2007 for the Wall Street
Over the course of the recent past, universities across the U.S. have been faced with decisions on admissions. What was once popular, affirmative action, is now fading with a long past of problems, and new programs are entering into the picture. The University of Dayton and many others are taking actions to improve the standards of their students, regardless of race and background. These new concepts are reflecting higher academic progress, and increase in prestige and national reputation. By basing selection on academic ability and incorporating improved recruiting techniques, the nation would be filled with greater college standards and no use for an old and tiring affirmative action process.
Most first generation college students are significantly older than the average, approximately 24 year of age (Pascarella et. al 2004). The surrounding low-income environments that many of these students are raised around can explain this late age. This financial pressure can also explain another category of first generation students, preparation (Chen & Carroll, 2005). These students are often less prepared to enter the college life. They have not been exposed to the necessary preparation needed to succeed on college admissions tests and furthermore don’t meet the performance requirements that universities and institutions require. Analyzing the prefaces that surround the environment of first generation college students aids in understanding current problems faced in college as well as assist in proposing solutions for this subset of
The SAT's have sometimes been the deciding factor when determining a student's admission to a certain college, but recently colleges have stopped regarding SAT scores as the most important factor, and in some cases, colleges are now not even requiring applicants to submit their scores. This change in significance of the SAT's is due to recent controversy over the fairness of the test. According to Fair Test (2001) three hundred and eighty-eight schools do not require applicants to submit their SAT scores, and hundreds more do not place much emphasis on the scores. Because of the recent controversy and the number of schools not looking at or de-emphasizing the SAT's, the College Board, (the company in charge of designing, administering, and grading the test), has decided to make several changes to the format of the SAT's (which was just revised in 1994). These changes will take effect in the year 2005.
Society puts too much pressure on high school students to attend a 4-year college right after graduation. Though this is an attainable goal for some, a great majority of students are not fully prepared for the demands of college. 4-year schools require an incredible amount of maturity and preparation, leaving very little room for mistakes. Schools often overlook this aspect because their main goal is to get as many students into 4-year college as possible. This is a great goal to have however they send students off to college who aren’t ready to be handle the difficult of their courses while being away from home. My senior year of high school, my family and I came to the conclusion that we were not going to be able to afford four-year college tuition. This upset me at first because I felt like all my hard work and good grades went to waste. I dreaded the thought of going to community college because my who...
At the University of California-Berkeley (Cal State), the minimum SAT score requirements for student-athletes were vastly below the average of regular incoming freshman. It is clear that in all three SAT categories, the scores were a 200 points below the incoming freshman class. Colleges in the United States are not focu...
When a student applies to college, the GPA can be meaningless for many high school students and for college admissions it can be difficult to determine an accurate picture of a student from it. From a study concluded during 1991 to 2003 evidence shows that student GPA has risen by 12.5 percent without a rise in ACT scores. This shows that more students are receiving higher grades even though the skills haven't improved. Tests are becoming less challenging, more and more teachers are allowing students to pass courses, even if the they don't know the information.
Many oppose the newly revised SAT that will be published in 2016, and proclaim that there will be many benefits for a large amount of students because it won’t be as stressful or time consuming as the old SAT. They strongly stand firm in their beliefs that lowering the standards will prevent high school students from achieving a greater score on the SAT. Some say that the revision of the SAT will be beneficial towards the students because it can “now write about their experiences and opinions, with no penalty for incorrect insertions”, on their essays (David Coleman). Many are happy that the revised SAT is moving towards the direction of achievement, rather than aptitude because it was made “to make the test to reflect more closely what high school students did in high school” (Tamar Lewin). Many people are being misled because they don’t know enough information to know that there are many consequences when it comes to the SAT being redesigned.
to about 83 percent of high school graduates enroll in some form of postsecondary education, but only about 52 percent of students complete their degrees. Further, a very small proportion of students complete a degree in four years—“among students starting at ‘four-year’ institutions, only 34 percent finish a B.A. in four years, 64 percent within six years, and 69 percent within eight and a half years.” Colleges always want students to graduate and support their alma mater. However this begins with deciding what student are mentally readiness and determination for the task that lies ahead, college. In today’s society we struggle trying to find a proper definition for college readiness. This is the main reason statistics and graduation rates suffer in the way that they do. Just because a high school student reaches the age of 18, obtains a high school diploma, and has functional literacy, does that really make students college ready?
William Hiss, Bates College former dean of admissions explains through a study that those college applicants who did not submit their standardized test scores had marginally smaller average GPAs graduation rates than those who did submit their test scores. Hiss states that “the nonsubmitters are doing fine in terms of their graduation rates and GPAs, and significantly outperforming their standardized testing” (Westervelt). Thomas Rochon, the president of Ithaca College and a former executive director of the GRE testing program confirms this observation, adding, “Our first realization was that test scores add relatively little to our ability to predict the success of our students” (Strauss). In becoming conscious of this reality, Ithaca admissions officers decided to also opt out of requiring standardized test scores in applications. More and more schools are following the footsteps of Bates and Ithaca in doing away with obligatory standardized test scores because they feel the tests do not truly depict the academic potential of college-bound
Though issues like overcrowding, equal stress levels, and inevitable learning of skills through college arise, this system would be best suited to give students equal opportunities. By making the ACT or SAT have less of a weight on college admission and then taking away classes preparing for it, students can attend their desired schools, have less stress, and have the opportunity to learn life skills. It is time to allow all students to reach their academic potential by allowing them to attend the school they will be most happy at. America is a country that has been striving for equality in many areas. Educational equality should be included. By implementing this system in schools, educational equality will be easier to achieve and students will learn and grow to be well-rounded and productive members of