Musings

SATs Hold too Much Weight in Application Process(10/1/07-THNT)

As getting admission into prestigious universities gets ever more difficult, the SAT’s are playing a continuously larger role in applications. However, many argue that the role that this infamous standardized test plays is getting too large, and is starting to eclipse other significant parts of a student’s application. The diminishing acceptance rates at reputable universities is either an indication of the apparent decline in America’s world renowned education, or it may be a sign of greater competition in schools making getting into world renowned colleges that much harder; however, there is no argument over the fact that the SAT’s are getting more consequential and pivotal as years go by.
With Harvard University having an acceptance rate of 9%, it is no surprise that the college application process has become so cutthroat. To even catch the attention of such prestigious schools, such as Ivy League schools, one must accomplish something spectacular that stands out from the rest, and it is clear that to do something of that caliber is very difficult, to say the least. Being an underclassman, I can see many seniors and juniors struggling to get the attention of colleges, and one way is by achieving a high SAT score, and at times it can seem impossible. The let down of not getting into one’s dream school is terrible; as one walks through the hallway one can hear who got in where, and about the disappointment and sorrow of those who were unable to get into the college of their dreams. Seeing the students who do not get in where they had hoped is always discouraging, and makes putting in extra effort for that slim chance of getting into a distinguished university seem pointless.
Seeing the disappointment during college admission time is a big dampener on a student’s will to put in that extra effort. Why try so hard if one has less than a 15% chance in getting into an acclaimed university, especially if thousands of other applicants are also contending for your spot? Why study so much and stress out over every grade if one sees the kid who studied non-stop for his entire high school career, taking part in very few fun activities, and ended getting waitlisted and rejected from his top choices, and settling for his safety school? The amount of work, time, and effort that it takes for a prestigious college to recognize someone is utterly ridiculous; with extra-curricular activities, grades, sports, the SAT’s and other major tests, and of course all the little things that make an application perfect it has become impossible to fit in everything into the 4 years of high school.
With cutthroat competition comes pressure, and pressure is the cause of many problems. For many there is always the pressure to always do well, whether it is school or anything else, he or she must be the best; for many B+’s are not good enough. Parental pressure is always a culprit, and for the most part many students are only motivated by their parent’s continuous pressure until the point where they are just used to the extreme amounts of stress and pressure put on them by others and themselves. Parental pressure can get one the good grades, but at what cost? Can those grades really get you into a college with an acceptance rate of 10%, probably not.
Many students hate the monotony of school and the pressures involved, others just do not motivate themselves, and it results in apathy towards academics. Why waste away ones life studying? Students are more concerned with making their high school times memorable, which is completely understandable, and consider the stress of school as a deterrent one it comes to having fun. If one has no chance of getting into the university of his or her dreams what’s the point worrying about school? This predetermined pessimism is the cause for lack of effort along with pressure, the difficulty in getting into a college, and unfair evaluations.
Slowly SAT’s are becoming the sole gauge of one’s intelligence, but as of know colleges still take other aspects of a student into consideration. However, even with this taken into consideration, college admissions and applications are skewed. Out of the thousands of applicants universities are likely to pick a handful of students to attend their school, and this judgment process is very trivial. With so many applicants, there is no doubt that many are very similar, so how does a college application reader judge who gets in and who does not? Your GPA may be 4.4 but so many others may have the same or similar number, so which one of you gets in? Along with this predicament, there is also the problem of uneven judging. One person can not read all the applications, so the solution is to have many, many readers. However with this comes the fact that each reader will have there own evaluation process and expectations. The decision process that takes place at universities’ admissions offices is very flawed, and they lead to pressure, stress, disappointment, and sorrow.
SAT’s are the epitome of the stress and pressure for a student because of the immense role it seems to play these days in college admissions. No one test should hold so much weight when one’s future is in the balance. Anything could happen that one day to affect the results of the test. Although SAT’s supposedly gauge one’s abilities in basic math and English, they cannot properly determine one’s true capabilities; some people just are not good test takers, and this characteristic can totally throw off a test score, which will determine what college one will get into.
As admission into college gets more competitive students get more discouraged, yet this does not stop the colleges with such low acceptance rates. With pressure coming from every which way it is no surprise that many students eventually give up in trying to get into their dream school. Many will say that each student can only work up to his or her ability, but I feel everyone is capable of the getting into the so called prestigious schools. After hearing of heartbreaks from seniors many can see that getting into college is not getting any easier, and this should not be the case. Colleges have begun to set impossible bars, and expect applications that, in all truthfulness, are impossible to attain. Along with flawless applications, SAT’s continue to gain precedence, and due to this many are panicking because it literally means that one test will determine a person’s future. There is no need for so much competition, pressure, and stress because frankly they only waste time, and time is for enjoyment not unnecessary toil.

posted by thethoughtless @ 11:37 AM