The stress of the college admissions process is something that most students in high school will experience. ACT or SAT scores, grades and GPA and extracurriculars are all factors that go into the round table discussion for the admission of an individual into a particular college. This system of admission becomes increasingly competitive when students seeking admission all have similar grades and test scores. From there, admissions counselors must look to the activities of a student to somehow judge if he or she will contribute to the university past admission. Judging adequately becomes a failure when a number of students and parents pay outrageous fees to bolster their profiles. The traditional college admissions system is ineffective due …show more content…
Those who do not get accepted may look to those who have been accepted in prestigious with disdain and bitterness. Rather than a congratulatory attitude, rejected students may adopt a “his fault-her fault” outlook to their waitlisted status or rejection. Minorities are often renounced for being the reason another group of students did not get into the university, despite the long list of sons and daughters of big donors, alumni and athletes that also were accepted prior to them (Cartoon). The ambition to attend a brand-name university can strip away at the moral fiber of a student, taking an otherwise compassionate attitude and morphing it into a fiercely competitive …show more content…
Whether the student is adequately prepared for his or her career path is not reservedly based on which university he or she attends. Preparation for a career path comes in part from the individual effort that a student puts forth, and a brand-name university may not have a class or professor to teach a student strong work ethic. Despite acceptance into an elite university, students may lack the basis of success, which is hard work. A commendable career can be the result of hard work at a local college just the same as hard work at an Ivy League university. The difference between a good education at either location is based solely on whether a student is willing to exercise discipline and stamina in pursuit of his or her
In the article “Don't Send Your Kid to the Ivy League” by William Deresiewicz, Deresiewicz explains the flaws within the coveted ivy league system. He begins by explaining his experience in the ivy league acceptance process and how the applications are read and judged by the acceptance panel, some applicants have too many educational qualifications and too few extracurricular activities, others have too many extracurricular activities but low GPA’s and class rankings, and others must be judged based on contributions to the college by their parents. He then transitions into how college students have over achieved but have no purpose or drive, they do things to get into college but don’t know why they want to go or what they
In this article, William Deresiewicz the author who is a previous a Yale professor talked about Ivy League universities and what it does to the students who attend those universities. Mr. Deresiewicz talks about what it's like to attend those universities compared to others. Mr. Deresiewicz suggests that Ivy League universities are alright but so are public universities, even in some cases that school might not be worth attending.
In our undergraduate admission system, fully 110 points out of 150 are given for academic factors including grades, test scores, and curriculum. We only count 12 points for test scores, but that is because we value high school grades to a much greater extent--- they can earn up to 80 points. We consider many other factors as well. Race is one of those, but a student who is socioeconomically disadvantaged also can earn 20 points (students cannot earn 20 points for both factors, however). Geographic diversity is also important, and a student from Michigan’s upper peninsula, for example, earns 16 points.
Symonds, William C. “College Admissions: The Real Barrier Is Class.” Business Week 4 Apr, 2003: 66-67.
Caroline Sacks is a very intelligent student who studied all the time in the public system, was always among the highest marks in her class and took courses in some college; in all she was outstanding. At this time she is going to graduate from high school and has to decide which university she will study at. Her father takes her to see around five universities; of which she decides that the most she likes are Brown University and her second choice is the University of Maryland. Students think that attending and graduating from a prestigious school looks better in your resume than if you graduate from a good university but not as prestigious. She apply for Brown University and was accepted. Having chosen Brown's university as her first option cost Caroline the opportunity to study the university career
Natasha Rodriguez’s, “Who Are You Calling Underprivileged,” is relatable to students all around and helps to shine light on a potentially damaging label that colleges place on their students. As stated in her article, “Misfortune, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and by making a simple change from calling students “underprivileged,” to “a student in need,” can make a world of a difference in a student’s life.
After graduating from high school many graduated seniors face the difficult challenge of applying to a university or community college to attend to in the fall. With applying to college, students compare their likes and dislikes with each school, determine which school environment suits them best, and where can they receive the best possible education for their potential major. Searching for a school to attend is an important part of a student’s life and applying to one should be performed very carefully. Before students are admitted to a school, Universities must determine whether a student is applicable during an admission process. Admission is a crucial step to being accepted into an elite college or major university. There are a few ways which the admissions process can take place, and the legacy admission is one to name out of the few. Many controversial issues have arisen through out the past few years, stating that this type of selection is not fair to other students who do not qualify under the legacy status. It is unethical to choose a student for superior reasons, because it is not fair to other students who are not of superior status, but deserve to attend a school.
If interested in attending college after high school, being accepted to a “dream” college or a college of interest could end up being one of the largest milestones in a person’s life. Being accepted to that college could change a person’s life forever however, on the other hand if acceptance to the university was denied; it could result in detrimental effects on a person’s life. Although being accepted into a person’s dream college may not the maximal point in their lives’, it could cause an array of different things to occur. They would then be faced with the challenge of making the decision to attend a different university. However, another situation may transpire such as that person not being accepted to any college that they apply to, or one that doesn’t supply the inspiration that was present prior to the application of their dream college being denied. In almost any circumstance of denial to a person’s college of choice, upshots could occur that have life-long effects on a person’s life which is something most future college students would rather not have to deal with. Being admitted to a certain college is an extremely delicate process which varies from university to university which creates an ideal atmosphere for denial to a certain college if certain aspects of the student’s admittance application do not meet the universities’ requirements for admission. This is where problems begin to rise in the collegiate academic system which could prevent some future college students from getting the education they desire and being forced to settle just because they scored poorly on a single test or struggled through high school for some reason or another. Colleges rely too heavily on academic performance based upon prior knowledge ...
The college application process is one of the hardest parts of a high school career.
When it comes to the individual choice on college education. Each student is motivated by a different branch of knowledge. Some have the goals of becoming lawyers, doctors, bankers, others choose to learn more about the liberal arts and its influence in building their personal characteristics with the world around them. This is precisely why institutions offer a large variety of programs to attract many high school seniors when it comes to deciding which institute to attend.
Around half of students get jobs out of college (Wei). That is an frightful statistic that inclines people to conceive that attending a more competitive college is necessary to job attainment. Each American dreams of becoming a successful person, one who reaches their goals, maybe has a family, and a steady income. Some seem to regard that in order to reach that level of success they must attend an elite school, a school that is usually private, and only admits fewer than ten percent of applicants. The Ivy league receives much attention among the elite schools. “Only 0.4 percent of undergraduates attend one of the Ivy League schools... too much attention is paid to these eight institutions” (O'Shaughnessy).
Getting into college requires students to make an assured grade on a standardized test called the American College Test. High school students begin in kindergarten preparing for tests; to make it to the next level you have to score a certain score. Pressure is forced upon many students when they begin sophomore year and begin to ponder the thoughts of college and life after high school. Once they have planned out their school, major, and work life after college, the school counselor plans a meeting to discuss the ACT. Students begin to be worried and anxious about grades and tests; all of these stressed students do not realize they have been passing test after test to score a good enough grade to get into college, where they will begin to take test after test to graduate college and even after college, these students will still be tested within their workforce.
We blame and label professors, parents, and peers as ‘villains,’ when there are no “villains only victims (465).” Students have now become self-destructive, perfect seeking freaks. There is now this extra emphasis on looking better and being what everyone wants. A student’s “transcript has become a sacred document, the passport to security (464).” The security referenced before is the need to have a good paying job and money to spend. Student’s stress that grades have become a marking of what kind of person they are such as, “A is for admirable, and B is for border line (465).” Through the use of metaphors, Zinsser shows that students are so obsessed with being the best that they aren’t thinking about other possibilities and are so driven to succeed following their single-minded
One of the central struggles among college students today is that they are required to compete against one another to appear exceptional. In frequent cases, students are trying so vigorously to appear favorable on paper in order to be accepted into a prestigious school or to be hired for a higher-paying job. Additionally, students are required
Academic success is becoming increasingly important in today’s society because most occupations now require a degree of some kind before a job applicant will even be considered. For that reason, academic performance has a considerable impact on a student’s life and whether or not he or she is able to accomplish future career goals. There are many factors that can influence academic performance of a college student, including student personality traits and life circumstances. Life circumstances are sometimes out of a student’s control, but if a student was able to recognize a quality of his or her personality that was inhibiting academic performance, then he or she could possibly make an effort to