Reinstating our SAT/ACT requirement for future admissions cycles

Post by balsam » Tue, Mar 29, 2022, 1:25 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #709

VWWHFSfQ wrote: post #666

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> The notion of a "well rounded student" ... > is a legacy of blue blood WASP culture First of all, I don't know what "blue blood WASP culture" is. Explain that please. Second, there's nothing wrong with expecting students to participate in extra-curricular activities like music and art as a basis for admission. MIT is still going to evaluate those things.

> First of all, I don't know what "blue blood WASP culture" is. Explain that please. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Anglo-Saxon_Protestants See also: https://www.hbo.com/the-gilded-age . These are the folks who founded Harvard, Yale, etc., and created the ethos of higher education that remains nearly universal in America today. > Second, there's nothing wrong with expecting students to participate in extra-curri…

Post by blip54321 » Tue, Mar 29, 2022, 1:31 AM UTC

johnnyanmac wrote: post #700

blip54321 wrote: post #615

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I think the bigger question is whether we should have exclusive schools like MIT. Screening for college admissions made sense a century ago, when 5% of people went to college. Today, not so much. From an undergrad class perspective, the difference between MIT and a better state school is mostly the brand stamp and the admissions department. Why do we want to stamp people with a stamp like "MIT"?

If you want to be brutally honest, because other people in industry have the stamp of "MIT". There will just be natural bias when hearing that a prospective candidate attended your alma mata where you know (in your own personal experience) that the school runs you through the ringer. Nothing more relatable than saying "Hey is Professor Bob still teaching Astro 401? his tests were brutal " and instantly understanding…

Post by seanmcdirmid » Tue, Mar 29, 2022, 1:37 AM UTC

david927 wrote: post #624

vxNsr wrote: post #442

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Arguably 5s on her APs tells her where she sat nationally, I was under the impression that AP tests were the same across the board, while they don’t rank you against other students the test is made to be just as difficult for the top elite college prep private school students as it is for the inner city public school students. The assumption being the AP class material is the same.

Yeah, there's some truth to that because she applied to Oxford earlier this year, before she got the SAT results and she got to the interview having passed the academic requirements with mainly the five APs of 5. Still, I think the SAT results proved it to her in a way that wasn't ambiguous.

Post by DownUnde » Tue, Mar 29, 2022, 1:37 AM UTC

tomatowurst wrote: post #580

dom96 wrote: post #561

As someone from the UK I am confused by this. What were they using to decide who to admit without SAT/ACT tests? In the UK all students pick at least 3 A levels at the end of their high school. Each degree and university then has different requirements like 3 As in Math, Physics, IT (with some alternative subjects) for Computer Science. So my understanding of SAT/ACT testing is limited.

because certain demographics performed poorly at it, that was grounds to label it systematic racism and justifying affirmative action vs. meritocracy by discriminating other demographics in favor of ones that were perceived to be victims of systematic racism if you are confused so am I. I still don't understand how they can discriminate against americans of asian descent who do well on standardized tests but not call…

Post by yucky » Tue, Mar 29, 2022, 1:41 AM UTC

DownUnde wrote: post #736

throwawaylinux wrote: post #703

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Many universities explicitly want policies of institutional, systemic racism. Obviously many people who are in favor of this hateful divisive racism will try to gaslight you into believing it somehow isn't racism, or try to redefine the meaning of words such that they are innocent and you are guilty. But that doesn't change what it is. So at the end of the day these institutions will bring in whatever policies they w…

When the effects of actively racist institutions and policies is not even a generation away. I Don't think leveling the field that should be level in the first place isn't racism. what is real racism to you honest question.