Some facts about Holistic Admissions Criteria from Stanford Daily

[Anonymous]

Even if you believe in standardized testing, you'd have to be a fool to think that SAT scores should determine who gets admitted to highly selective colleges. They may be useful for disqualifying applicants, but in terms of sorting out/rank ordering the smartest or even the best prepared kids, they're not very helpful at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if you believe in standardized testing, you'd have to be a fool to think that SAT scores should determine who gets admitted to highly selective colleges. They may be useful for disqualifying applicants, but in terms of sorting out/rank ordering the smartest or even the best prepared kids, they're not very helpful at all.

"For the millionth time, this response will address the same issue so pay attention:

Asian Americans do not argue for test scores or gpas to trump over other factors. In fact, colleges can use all the objective and subjective criteria they want to use. That is fine and dandy.

The problem is, pay attention now, the various criteria are APPLIED DIFFERENTLY based on race. Again Asians DO NOT complain about the factors used in college admissions at all. Asians only want them APPLIED CONSISTENTLY without illegal racial discrimination where one race has to show higher test scores, higher gpas, more club activities, more awards, more officer positions, more volunteer hours etc. That is the problem, not that colleges use test scores or gpas. I am sure this will have to be repeated over and over since someone will come back and say exactly the same thing: Why should we only look at SAT scores?, SAT doesn't show creativity, SAT doesn't predict college success, we don't want rote memorization, higher income will boost SAT scores etc."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if you believe in standardized testing, you'd have to be a fool to think that SAT scores should determine who gets admitted to highly selective colleges. They may be useful for disqualifying applicants, but in terms of sorting out/rank ordering the smartest or even the best prepared kids, they're not very helpful at all.

"For the millionth time, this response will address the same issue so pay attention:

Asian Americans do not argue for test scores or gpas to trump over other factors. In fact, colleges can use all the objective and subjective criteria they want to use. That is fine and dandy.

Stop repeating the same nonsense over and over again. You don't write so well as to be worth quoting. If colleges want use 'subjective' criteria to screen out unlikable study drones of any race... they will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if you believe in standardized testing, you'd have to be a fool to think that SAT scores should determine who gets admitted to highly selective colleges. They may be useful for disqualifying applicants, but in terms of sorting out/rank ordering the smartest or even the best prepared kids, they're not very helpful at all.

"For the millionth time, this response will address the same issue so pay attention:

Asian Americans do not argue for test scores or gpas to trump over other factors. In fact, colleges can use all the objective and subjective criteria they want to use. That is fine and dandy.

Stop repeating the same nonsense over and over again. You don't write so well as to be worth quoting. If colleges want use 'subjective' criteria to screen out unlikable study drones of any race... they will.

Same response is necessary since the same statement is repeated over and over again in the first place. Blame the posters who post the same idiotic statement that SAT should not be the sole criterion for college admission when Asians are not saying that.

[Anonymous]

I think what prompted the comments this time was the post that seemed to suggest that it was a gross miscarriage of justice if a high-stats Asian kid ended up at Berkeley or Ann Arbor while an African American kid with lower stats got admitted to an Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So University of California or University of Michigan? If so, he's at a great school.

And mean time a black kid with 3.6 gpa and 2050 SAT and nothing major to show for gets admitted to an Ivy League school.

Once again, SAT scores underpredict actual performance by black kids in college. It's fair to take lower SAT scores if the SAT score doesn't measure actual performance.

The test is not a contest. It isn't a horse race, where the winner takes all. It's supposed to be one way to predict future performance.

If you have a lot of faith in standardized tests, you tend to believe that college admissions should be based solely on test results. Different colleges have varying levels of reliance on standardized test scores. For those who prefer test score based college admissions, you can research schools and find quite a number out there that automatically admit students based on test scores and GPAs. The big state universities tend to admit in this way. Off the top of my head, I believe that Oklahoma, Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Arizona and others have charts on their websites that show what GPA and test scores an applicant needs for acceptance and even merit-based scholarships. If you are willing to do the research, you can find schools out there that are a good fit.

Many US schools don't rely heavily on test scores, so their admissions process is more involved and tries to take into account a fuller picture of the applicant and the qualities they would bring to the school. Different schools have different ways of approaching the application process. One is not right and another wrong, they are just different and looking for different qualities in the students they accept. Do your research and apply to the schools that fit your needs best.

Subjective measures will be applied and looked at subjectively. If you are looking for consistency, you will need to apply to the schools that are very clear and open with GPAs and test scores required such as the schools mentioned in the post above. That is the only way to be assured of consistency across the board.

Whenever you are dealing with essays and recommendations, you are going to find that their value will vary by school and admissions counselor. It is just the nature of the method. Do the research and avoid schools that use subjective measurements if those methods are unappealing.

[Anonymous]

My white, upper middle class (at least) daughter, from a top Northern Virginia public high school, with no hooks, no spectacular extracurriculars (no leadership positions and no varsity sport), and run-of-the-mill essays, was accepted at U-Va despite having an SAT score lower than the school's 25th percentile and more than 100 points lower than the school's average (on the 1600 scale). Why? She had outstanding grades in tough classes.

No one is going to tell me that she cost an Asian or anyone else a spot at U-Va.

[Anonymous]

run-of-the-mill essays,

We really can't know if essays are run of the mill, or average, unless we've read the essays of every other applicant to that school. Essays are read and judged within the context of the applicant pool. Admissions officers have different standards for judging the essays they read than a high school English teacher or even other admissions counselors. A lot depends on the quality of the many other essays they are reading.

In addition, an applicant who has "outstanding grades in tough classes" is likely to be a good writer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My white, upper middle class (at least) daughter, from a top Northern Virginia public high school, with no hooks, no spectacular extracurriculars (no leadership positions and no varsity sport), and run-of-the-mill essays, was accepted at U-Va despite having an SAT score lower than the school's 25th percentile and more than 100 points lower than the school's average (on the 1600 scale). Why? She had outstanding grades in tough classes.

No one is going to tell me that she cost an Asian or anyone else a spot at U-Va.

Yes. I know plenty of kids like your daughter from Langley (as an example) who got into UVA over other kids from Langley who had what your daughter did - and more. The question is why. Your answer lies probably in quotas, not solely in the outstanding grades in tough classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree, 30 colleges is a heck of a lot....how does one student even craft quality applications to 30 schools, without 'help'? And for all of them to turn him down, that screams 'problem applicant'

It's called the Common Application

But most of the top ranked schools require essays beyond the common app essay, mostly unique to each school. You can't just press a button and apply to 30 top schools with just the common app essay. It's a lot of work to make sure you're putting together the correct requirements for each school and meeting deadlines for even the now standard 10-15 schools, I can only imagine doubling or tripling that amount of work.

And then the expense... $60-75 per app plus charges for sending test scores and transcripts. Whew, a lot to keep track of!

That's not always so. In fact, the only school my daughter had to write a separate essay for was her safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So University of California or University of Michigan? If so, he's at a great school.

And that makes racism right - because he's in a great school.

You people are HILARIOUS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So University of California or University of Michigan? If so, he's at a great school.

And mean time a black kid with 3.6 gpa and 2050 SAT and nothing major to show for gets admitted to an Ivy League school.

Once again, SAT scores underpredict actual performance by black kids in college. It's fair to take lower SAT scores if the SAT score doesn't measure actual performance.

The test is not a contest. It isn't a horse race, where the winner takes all. It's supposed to be one way to predict future performance.

In fact that's not true. If you read some of the most recent literature, it shows the opposite. It also shows that black kids tend to self-segregate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So University of California or University of Michigan? If so, he's at a great school.

And mean time a black kid with 3.6 gpa and 2050 SAT and nothing major to show for gets admitted to an Ivy League school.

I've got no problem with that. Both kids seem capable of doing the work. No one's entitled to admission to an Ivy. If the school is using its admissions process to put together a racially diverse class rather than to maximize the standardized test scores of its incoming class, that's an UNCONSTITUTIONAL decision I think it should be allowed to make.

Out of curiosity, why do you single out this hypothetical black kid as the student that got the spot you believe was rightfully the Asian kid's? Are you assuming that every white kid who was admitted had credentials comparable or superior to the Asian kid's?

Fixed that for you.

You are actually advocating for racism, based on a chosen class you've personally picked. God, I love progressives and the utter hypocrisy they can't even see rules them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think what prompted the comments this time was the post that seemed to suggest that it was a gross miscarriage of justice if a high-stats Asian kid ended up at Berkeley or Ann Arbor while an African American kid with lower stats got admitted to an Ivy.

SUGGEST? When the 'academic elite' at these schools make comments about not wanting their schools to be "All Asian", etc, there is no SUGGEST. That's out-and-out racism. This Jew is well-aware that happened to Jews back in the 20s and is not about to see history repeat itself with Asians as the victims. It's BS of the highest order.

Academic 'elites' do not get to pick and choose their 'race of the moment'. That's not how our Constitution works, though I'm well-aware that is not something liberals are fond of. I'm glad Sotomayor had to recuse herself from the Fisher case. She would not apply the law to her decision - she would only use here self-righteous, self-satisfied, smug FEELINGS.

[Anonymous]

Only in the liberal academic world would a 15 year old student, lying about her age and defying her parents to correspond with a 55 year old death row inmate, be considered a plus in a college essay.