OT: due to this website's GDPR ""compliance"" I can't access it directly, here is an archive link. FTA: and further on: I guess I'm sceptical because the article reads like a "press release plus...
OT: due to this website's GDPR ""compliance"" I can't access it directly, here is an archive link.
FTA:
It has required prospective freshmen to take a national admission test since 1957. Before that, it screened applicants with its own tests.
and further on:
Instead, it will allow applicants to send in two-minute video pitches, in an effort to connect with a generation skilled at communicating via cellphone clips.
I guess I'm sceptical because the article reads like a "press release plus some extra info", without mentioning if they're going to revert to their own tests, or do something new, and how the entire process changes. I mean… it's not like dropping the SAT/ACT requirements happens in a vacuum. Either other things are weighted more heavily, or they'll have to make new things and rely on those (like the video pitches, which come with an entire new set of problems like suggesting charming/charismatic/better-in-video-people are actually a better fit for the uni)
I wonder how this'll turn out, and if other places in the US will follow suit. Besides, those costs are super-high. Over here in Europe most countries have a max cap on the tuition fees, legally mandated.
Sorry, didn't realize GDPR compliance was causing it to be blocked. I would assume other things will weigh more heavily and the videos will weigh in fairly heavy. I think this is neat because a...
Sorry, didn't realize GDPR compliance was causing it to be blocked.
I would assume other things will weigh more heavily and the videos will weigh in fairly heavy. I think this is neat because a lot of people have amazing grades, but do bad at tests. Or they struggle in a single area. So they take these tests, do amazing in all areas, but completely screw up the math section. Boom, way less of a chance at college and a future because you blew one section of a test.
The main benefit from dropping the ACT/SAT requirement (along with being able to self-report one's transcript) is that it allows lower income students (who have shown to do worse on these tests...
The main benefit from dropping the ACT/SAT requirement (along with being able to self-report one's transcript) is that it allows lower income students (who have shown to do worse on these tests compared to their richer counterparts) who wouldn't have applied otherwise to have a chance to get into UChicago. The link below talks about how no other group's enrollment is affected except for black and Latino students, which goes up without a significant impact on completion rates.
Note that for the University of Chicago at least, they only offer optional-tests to domestic students, and not international ones. From their website While, for example, Wake Forest doesn't...
Note that for the University of Chicago at least, they only offer optional-tests to domestic students, and not international ones.
We do require some form of standardized testing for students who attend a high school outside the United States.
While, for example, Wake Forest doesn't require the SAT/ACT for international students, from here.
Wake Forest does not require applicants to submit an SAT or ACT score in the admissions application.
As an anecdote, I recently visited an "international" school with a good reputation for students earning high SAT scores. And, while they didn't say it explicitly, it looked like they actually shipped students around Asia to retake the SAT in search of the best score. I'm not sure that fits the spirit of the test, nor would it accurately show the students level in comparison to other test takers, or their academic capability. I wonder if the University of Chicago is still willingly cooperating in that business, or if they don't realise the extreme methods that folks over here will use in order to get a high score.
If they get rid of the standardized tests (which I am in favor of) they have to think of a way to replace it as a measure stick for academics across many different high schools. This doesn't have...
If they get rid of the standardized tests (which I am in favor of) they have to think of a way to replace it as a measure stick for academics across many different high schools. This doesn't have to be a thing applicants have to do. Where I did undergrad, they would take your grade from your school and compare it to everyone else who went to the university from your high school, and compare your grades to those people from the same high school and judge those grades in the context of graduation rates for all previous students from your high school. This is one way to do it, it doesn't have to be the way, but you have to normalize the grades somehow. Because I can tell you right now a 90 at my old high school in the suburbs and a 90 in a school deeper in the city is not the same thing. One of those schools has a dynamic range of 60 (mediocre) -100 and the other has a dynamic range of 85 (mediocre) -100.
I very much hope that the trend of using short videos (instagram/vine/facebook) for general admissions will not be a thing. I have no issues when it's done for fun or for those majors that are more artsy but I will campaign hard against it if it ever came to my school. It feels like they are making the process easier in the guise of making it accessible for more, but I feel like writing a well thought out long-form essay is more meritorious and accessible. More likely than not, some photogenic individual with lots of charisma/good camera setup who's one of those people who are a part of everything but interested in nothing (aka rich kids) will have a much greater advantage. Note that I'm not against a long form interview taking upto even 20 minutes. I just feel like college is an incredibly large investment on life, and ideally you only do it once, much like marriage. If you really want to go through with this major life decision, you should 1. be able to put in a lot of work to get in and 2. be able to distinguish yourself academically with more than a simple 2 minute video and grades that look like everyone else's if your school is tough.
Further, if you go into a mathy/sciency direction, you should be able to get in with mostly technical proficiency, and it will be incredibly accessible (the Cambridge mathematics entrance exam for example will equalize rich and poor).
Yeah, I'm just not really a fan of the act or sat. I thought this article is just interesting and wanted to share it. I don't really care for the video thing either I just think it's really...
Yeah, I'm just not really a fan of the act or sat. I thought this article is just interesting and wanted to share it. I don't really care for the video thing either I just think it's really Progressive that they want to not rely so much on a single test.
The short video is not mandatory, nor is it a replacement for essays. UChicago is replacing interviews with short videos, which I think is considerably more fair. Because of UChicago's extremely...
The short video is not mandatory, nor is it a replacement for essays. UChicago is replacing interviews with short videos, which I think is considerably more fair. Because of UChicago's extremely odd essay questions, I think they value and put more weight into their essays than most other schools.
OT: due to this website's GDPR ""compliance"" I can't access it directly, here is an archive link.
FTA:
and further on:
I guess I'm sceptical because the article reads like a "press release plus some extra info", without mentioning if they're going to revert to their own tests, or do something new, and how the entire process changes. I mean… it's not like dropping the SAT/ACT requirements happens in a vacuum. Either other things are weighted more heavily, or they'll have to make new things and rely on those (like the video pitches, which come with an entire new set of problems like suggesting charming/charismatic/better-in-video-people are actually a better fit for the uni)
I wonder how this'll turn out, and if other places in the US will follow suit. Besides, those costs are super-high. Over here in Europe most countries have a max cap on the tuition fees, legally mandated.
Sorry, didn't realize GDPR compliance was causing it to be blocked.
I would assume other things will weigh more heavily and the videos will weigh in fairly heavy. I think this is neat because a lot of people have amazing grades, but do bad at tests. Or they struggle in a single area. So they take these tests, do amazing in all areas, but completely screw up the math section. Boom, way less of a chance at college and a future because you blew one section of a test.
The main benefit from dropping the ACT/SAT requirement (along with being able to self-report one's transcript) is that it allows lower income students (who have shown to do worse on these tests compared to their richer counterparts) who wouldn't have applied otherwise to have a chance to get into UChicago. The link below talks about how no other group's enrollment is affected except for black and Latino students, which goes up without a significant impact on completion rates.
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/06/14/university-chicago-drops-satact-requirement
Very cool. I always felt a test standing in people's way was terrible.
Note that for the University of Chicago at least, they only offer optional-tests to domestic students, and not international ones.
From their website
While, for example, Wake Forest doesn't require the SAT/ACT for international students, from here.
As an anecdote, I recently visited an "international" school with a good reputation for students earning high SAT scores. And, while they didn't say it explicitly, it looked like they actually shipped students around Asia to retake the SAT in search of the best score. I'm not sure that fits the spirit of the test, nor would it accurately show the students level in comparison to other test takers, or their academic capability. I wonder if the University of Chicago is still willingly cooperating in that business, or if they don't realise the extreme methods that folks over here will use in order to get a high score.
If they get rid of the standardized tests (which I am in favor of) they have to think of a way to replace it as a measure stick for academics across many different high schools. This doesn't have to be a thing applicants have to do. Where I did undergrad, they would take your grade from your school and compare it to everyone else who went to the university from your high school, and compare your grades to those people from the same high school and judge those grades in the context of graduation rates for all previous students from your high school. This is one way to do it, it doesn't have to be the way, but you have to normalize the grades somehow. Because I can tell you right now a 90 at my old high school in the suburbs and a 90 in a school deeper in the city is not the same thing. One of those schools has a dynamic range of 60 (mediocre) -100 and the other has a dynamic range of 85 (mediocre) -100.
I very much hope that the trend of using short videos (instagram/vine/facebook) for general admissions will not be a thing. I have no issues when it's done for fun or for those majors that are more artsy but I will campaign hard against it if it ever came to my school. It feels like they are making the process easier in the guise of making it accessible for more, but I feel like writing a well thought out long-form essay is more meritorious and accessible. More likely than not, some photogenic individual with lots of charisma/good camera setup who's one of those people who are a part of everything but interested in nothing (aka rich kids) will have a much greater advantage. Note that I'm not against a long form interview taking upto even 20 minutes. I just feel like college is an incredibly large investment on life, and ideally you only do it once, much like marriage. If you really want to go through with this major life decision, you should 1. be able to put in a lot of work to get in and 2. be able to distinguish yourself academically with more than a simple 2 minute video and grades that look like everyone else's if your school is tough.
Further, if you go into a mathy/sciency direction, you should be able to get in with mostly technical proficiency, and it will be incredibly accessible (the Cambridge mathematics entrance exam for example will equalize rich and poor).
Yeah, I'm just not really a fan of the act or sat. I thought this article is just interesting and wanted to share it. I don't really care for the video thing either I just think it's really Progressive that they want to not rely so much on a single test.
The short video is not mandatory, nor is it a replacement for essays. UChicago is replacing interviews with short videos, which I think is considerably more fair. Because of UChicago's extremely odd essay questions, I think they value and put more weight into their essays than most other schools.