The SATs (ACTs for us Midwesterners) beckon, and thus begins the process (and my first gripe). What are these standardized tests? They are indicators of who, on a particular day, can take a multiple choice test better than others. Scores can be warped dramatically by sickness; or (artificially) increased up to hundreds of points (read some testimonials on SAT prep material) by coaching, prep workshops, analyzing tricks and patterns, and memorizing the dictionary. There’s little correlation between standardized tests and raw intelligence. I know (or know of) smart people who only did barely above average on the ACTs. In my humble opinion, standardized tests are useful up to a point: these tests are the only way to compare students from different schools. Yet for all the reasons I just mentioned, I think that colleges still place entirely too much weight on the standardized tests. There is too much unnecessary pressure to study and sweat over these three-hour examinations, and all that concentration is misdirected from actual schoolwork.
My next gripe are college essays, which would perhaps have worked before the internet, but now that one can pay professionals to write/correct (i.e. rewrite) college essays, the whole routine is pretty much based on the honor system. And there are a lot of dishonorable people. Heck, if I were rich and vying for the Ivy League, I would be tempted to pay a professional to write my essay for me. (I don’t think I actually would, because if I couldn’t get into college by my own merit, then I probably wouldn’t survive in it. What comes around goes around. y’know.)
Yeah. I think that’s all. Short entry, written by one who is sick of college already and still only in high school.
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