Journal #2 The purpose of the article,“What Colleges Want to See on Your Application” by Emily Driscoll, is to discuss what would differentiate future college applicants in a pool of indistinguishable applications and to aid them in their quest for higher education. This article does have bias in that the author fails to consider Seniors, or students about to graduate from high school, who have neither challenged themselves nor engaged in their neighborhood. Driscoll assumes that their audience has been through every step from community service to recommendations, or has the opportunity to make up for lost time. In the article “What Colleges Want to See on Your Application,” Emily Driscoll discusses the contents the best application must display. She claims that “[a]ll colleges like honors courses” when discussing the importance of a “solid” …show more content…
Also, Driscoll argues that “[a]n average grade in an advanced course is more meaningful than an ‘A in a regular course” especially when supported by favorable SAT and ACT test scores. Despite this fact, Driscoll discusses the importance of forming valuable relationships with teachers, involving oneself in one’s community, and the ability to “write - and write well” when applying to colleges. Emily Driscoll has an accurate perspective about what must be done. Average Performance in testing and in challenging courses, along with significant involvement within a community, heightens one’s chances of getting accepted to a desired college. College applicants with proficient scoring in testing and in advanced courses tend to have higher chances of getting accepted. Many students work hard to obtain the best test scores and achieve “Straight A’s” in order to have a better chance of attending their dream college. Schools and parents often encourage children from a young age to perform their best and challenge themselves. Often the students who strive for excellence live their dream of
In his article “the Common app Fallacy” written in 2008, Damon Beres having been a freshman student in New York University in 2007, criticizes the college board for encouraging the trend of using the common application in the college application process throughout the US. His main purpose is to persuade the readers, who are clearly the college students, to stop applying for whatever colleges they find and to start searching instead for a limited number of schools that they feel are more interesting for them. The author also encourages the colleges to abandon the common application so that they grant admission to those who really deserve it. Even though Beres showed facts and logical arguments rather than statistics that prove his ideas, one
every student has a right and a chance to reach their maximum , also to have their own expectations. Rose states that every student should be responsible for their own education but teachers should set a higher standard for students. ”Students will float to the mark you set” (Rose , page 2).Rose is an award winning author, and educational expert , but at one point he was just like every other student
Lowrey achieves greater efficacy in delivering her point when she mentions the financial aid award letters. “Non-standardized financial aid award letters might be the biggest problem.... But comparison shopping is difficult when you're weighing apples and oranges.” The colleges turn a simple process into a challenging task by preparing award letters that are vague, deceptive and labyrinthine. All colleges strive to offer some basic information to students, which includes cost of the year in college, financial aid the school provides, costs contributed by a student and the prospective gaps fulfilled through other sources.
Success is not granted by just hoping for it. To achieve true success, you need the strength of mind and body to compete and work hard to reach your entire potential. Brent Staples argues “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,” in the past few years their has been a high increase to colleges becoming lenient in regard to their grade policies. This softhearted act has led to an rise in the quantity of A’s that are dispersed each semester. Professors who do not give out high grade could potentially affect his/her’s salary from receiving disapproving student evaluations, “The most vulnerable teachers are the part-timers who have no job security and who now teach more than half of all college course.”
Getting into college is no longer about character, hard work, or your actual grades. No. Now, it is about what you’re numbers are on two ridiculous and antagonizing standardized tests. The startling transition from middle school to high school panics and
A students ACT and SAT score is just one portion of many college applications. Colleges and Universities look at GPA, an essay, and letter of recommendations to determine a student’s admission. Many people believe that the importance of the ACT or SAT score depends on the college and what other things the student has to offer (Drinkworth, 2015). The ACT and SAT tests can be an important factor in college admissions because they tests are on all subject areas, math, reading, writing, and science. Since each area is graded separately and the score is later averaged out it shows how the students does overall in the general
Knowing that one’s academic performance in high school determines one’s chances of getting into college and achieving the “American Dream” can drive a student to become desperate to achieve top grades. Being an honest and hardworking student can make one feel good about oneself, but can be frustrating when one’s efforts do not yield ideal grades. This leads to one of today’s biggest moral dilemmas students face. Should one break their values for their ambitions? Shakespeare shows Macbeth
I grew up in an environment where academics were not a priority on my list. My mom insisted that as long as I tried my best, nothing else mattered. Throughout middle school and the beginning of my high school years, I was convinced that my best was average. I was a C-student who spent most of his time in suspension, and I didn’t pay attention when I did go to class. However, my sophomore year led me to take a different perspective.
Over recent years, the debate of whether or not to continue using standardized testing to evaluate college applicants has been somewhat controversial. Although college may not necessarily ensure success in the future, is not the only path in which success can be found, and is not a good path for every student, a majority of students that graduate high school want to go to college and need to know what it is they need to accomplish before their four years are up. Some of the colleges shifting to the idea of accepting applicants not based on test scores think that the potential to do well in college shouldn’t be based on these things. These argue that personal traits and characteristics are what determine success. Traits like these aren’t truly measurable though.
According to recent studies, nearly 99.9 % of high school students describe general college application processes to be incredibly tedious. Typically,
First high achieving students grades are what keep them focused and motivated in school. On the other end of the spectrum are students who simply do not have the willpower or drive to earn high marks in school. There are students who focus who too much on grades, and by doing this end up memorizing the material being taught and not absorbing. They are like little robots spouting facts and information, but not being able to truly comprehend its meaning.
Individuals enter institutions of higher education with a variety of attributes (e.g., sex, race, ability), precollege experiences (e.g., grade-point averages, academic and social attainments), and family backgrounds (e.g., social status attributes, value climates, expectational climates), each of which has direct and indirect impacts upon performance in college. More importantly, these back ground characteristics and individual attributes also influence the development of the educational expectations and commitments the individual brings with him into the college
Thesis Statement Many students are struggling in college. In fact, according to collegeatlas.com, 70 percent of Americans will go to a 4-year college, but less than two thirds of those students will graduate. Although college is challenging, I am going to succeed by using advice from experts, developing strategies, and taking advantages of the benefits my college offers me. I know coming right into college will be challenging for me. One of my challenges that I face is that I have ADHD, which means that I lose focus very easily.
A standardized test, according to W. James Popham of ASCD.org, is “any examination that is administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner.” In standardized testing, examinees are instructed to precisely answer a specific set of questions, which are usually multiple-choices. Although standardized testing is believed to be an objective method to grade students, administers should understand that these tests are not only a waste of time, but also a waste of money. Standardized testing is irrelevant to a student’s education because it is an unreliable way to measure a student’s knowledge, causes stress, and hinders a student’s overall learning potential.
Advanced Placement courses reinforce a student’s deposition, accommodate students’ college achievements, and enhance a student’s college acceptance opportunities; the possible opportunities these classes provide are limitless. Additionally, these courses give students the fundamentals of a college-based education, and a hands-on experience on dealing with college courses. The course curriculum is definitely arduous, and the courses are rather demanding, but it is worth it in the long run. Many believe only the smartest and wisest minds can pass- however, success in school is not always determined by one’s intelligence or age; rather, it is determined by their commitment, strength, and persistence to succeed. Only those who persevere in the face of predicaments will