Caltech is doing this -- actually, they're going test blind -- for two years. I think that's pretty notable, since I trust them to be interested in only admitting students that can pass their physics classes.
Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
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Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#272Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why wouldn't they feel that way? As bad as Trump may be, he isn't trying to keep their kids from following the same successful path.
The same successful path that begins with the US welcoming non-white, non-English-speaking refugees from countries they've bombed? Trump is not actively on the record against all of that?
Hell, if they were well off in South Vietnam before the communists came, it just goes to show that if your family had the mental foundations necessary for success, even if you hit rock bottom you still have the attitude to climb back up.
Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#273Caltech is doing this -- actually, they're going test blind -- for two years. I think that's pretty notable, since I trust them to be interested in only admitting students that can pass their physics classes.
I'm a PhD student at Caltech. There's also a push to eliminate the GRE as a requirement for graduate admissions, in much the same way as some people want to eliminate the SAT as a requirement for undergraduate admissions. In my opinion both proposals are well-intentioned but ultimately bad ideas.
Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#274I have a hard time understanding the logic here. GPAs are essentially useless, so what else do we have to go off of? "Hollistic admissions" processes seem to be even more skewed towards rich kids, as they have far greater opportunities outside of the class room to pad their resumes in exactly the way that colleges look for. This seems entirely backwards to me. If there is a systemic bias in test scores, it is still b…
How else are you going to keep the Asians out?
Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#275Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#276This recent trend of eliminating the SAT/ACT reads to me like: “Let’s eliminate these measures that allow high performing students to objectively differentiate themselves, in favor of a more opaque admissions process where we can implement discriminatory policies without scrutiny.”
Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#277I have a hard time understanding the logic here. GPAs are essentially useless, so what else do we have to go off of? "Hollistic admissions" processes seem to be even more skewed towards rich kids, as they have far greater opportunities outside of the class room to pad their resumes in exactly the way that colleges look for. This seems entirely backwards to me. If there is a systemic bias in test scores, it is still b…
The system ticked most boxes: poor students had a lot more resources to study and pass the exams, and the evaluation was very correlated to how well you would do in the University compared to doing than a single exam. It also served as a nice introduction of how to properly navigate a University environment.
When I did this course I wasn't happy in spending an extra year studying before starting university, but in retrospect this is a better system than anything else I've seen. Additionally, almost failing one of the maths courses was a wake-up call that made me realise that I couldn't just wing exams like I did during High School
Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who cares about those? Definitely not the new American left.
Because it's definitely a zero-sum game.
Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#279As an Asian who went to an Ivy, I welcome this change. Yes, it will mask a policy of keeping the proportion of Asians lower than a race neutral policy. Yes, it's racially discriminatory. Yes, it's somewhat unfair to Asians who are trying to get in. But no, being fair isn't the point of these schools. Nor is having the most academically excellent student population. If you want that, go to Berkeley or CalTech. The poi…
Brand names are fundamentally based on merit, not by implementing some initiative that any school can do in a few months. Harvard is Harvard and not some no-name college because of its adherence to a incredibly selective admission process over the years.
Re: Harvard University Won’t Require SAT, ACT for Admissions Next Year
#280Refusing to accept SAT/ACT scores would cause a profound change. Whether or not that is advisable is a separate discussion. The question begs, if we eliminate the SAT/ACT, and we decry GPAs as non-standardized, then what?