This article regarding college applications was published in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/education/17admissions.html

As the end of Junior year is getting near, I have found myself spending a lot of time worrying about college. My parents are of Indian origin, and Indians are extremely competitive when it comes to academics. A smart kid is usually seen as better than an athletic one. If your child isn't one of the smartest kids in his school, then he's looked down on. The fact that I'm a DJ in high school makes matters worse, because I get a lot of pressure from my parents and the community to do well in school. There is a stereotype that kids that are interested in music and arts are not smart academically. My parents want me to go to a well known big name school just to show people that I'm not a stupid kid that spent all of his high school years partying.

Right now for me it's all about GPA and standardized test scores. It's no longer been about what I like to do, it's more about what I need to do to beat the system and get into a big name school. The big name schools are getting harder and harder to get into, as the popularity for these schools is constantly going up. In 2009, the largest population of high school students in our nation's history will graduate. As a high school student it is really hard to figure out this whole college game. I have no idea what the colleges are looking for, because they all say that academics are important, but they also look for well rounded students.

The increasing applications and competition for college admissions is not solely due to the increase in the college age population. Students are applying to more colleges than ever. The average student used to apply to 3 or 4 colleges. Now the average student applies to five or more colleges, and it is not uncommon to see students applying to 10 colleges. Also, big name schools have expanded their marketing reach to middle and lower class families. They do not want to be seen as elitist colleges, so they reach out to large populations of people. All of this contributes to the increasingly competitive nature of college admissions, and adds a considerable amount of stress to the average high-school student.

I feel that the whole college admissions deal is a big game. My goal is to show that I have a strong work ethic by taking a full load of challenging classes and doing my best in them. I do not believe standardized testing gives a true measure of intelligence and knowledge. I believe anyone can coach themselves to do really well on the SATs and ACTs, and that is exactly what I plan on doing. The scores are nothing but numbers, so it is pretty easy to beat the system. GPA is also a joke, because anything above a 3.5 is hard to distinguish between different districts. Every district has a different method of calculating GPA, so the number doesn't say much to colleges. In terms of extra-curricular activities, I do not participate in many activities that go through the school, because they are not aligned with my own passions. I believe students should choose activities that display their passions and demonstrate leadership. Students should also have a strong impact in the community, because these are the people that will be successful in their lives. Colleges want people that are both smart and driven to achieve success.

The issue I've been having is that I have stopped being myself. I am basically coaching myself for something that has no relevance to my own life, other than the fact that I can get into certain colleges. I do not believe in doing activities I don't enjoy, just for the credit. Students should be driven to learn, and not pressured to learn by threats like grades and college admissions. They should learn the core subjects to be successful in life, but think beyond just the classroom. They need to learn to think for themselves and be creative. The issue with the education system right now is that students are taught to model their teachers. They learn everything that is taught in the class, but they never think for themselves or come up with their own ideas. Colleges are currently measuring students' intelligence through standardized methods which means everything is based on the numbers, so as long as students can take information in and regurgitate, they will get into the college they want. The competitive colleges have such a high volume of applicants that they must use some sort of formula and base their decision off test scores, GPA and class rank. This means that smart, driven individuals that have significant impact in society, but may not measure up with the student that memorizes everything and learns to beat the system and return stellar test scores will be cut out by these filters the colleges use. They may be better students, but they will not get the chance to get into these colleges. The education system is completely flawed, but the issue is one of efficiency. If there are too many applications, there needs to be a quick way to cut out all the junk, and the easiest way to do that is to look at the numbers.

Posted in Posted by Umang Patel at 8:15 PM