The Three Biggest Lies in College Admission

[ThereseR]

Something that I don't understand:

This article mentions that international students (particularly those applying to top schools) usually have exceptionally high SAT/ACT scores. However, it then goes on to say that their English fluency is often lacking.

If someone does very well on the SAT/ACT, then doesn't that mean that his/her English fluency (at least reading and writing) is very good?

[NJSue]

^The SAT is highly coachable. Intellectually ordinary students who spend hundreds of hours prepping can get high scores. In addition, many international applicants will have very high math scores and lower CR scores.

Also, there are persistent rumors of cheating in the international administration of standardized tests.

[sacchi]

If someone does very well on the SAT/ACT, then doesn't that mean that his/her English fluency (at least reading and writing) is very good?

In my experience working with a lot of foreign engineers, many had very good reading fluency, reasonable writing fluency, and modest spoken (& listening) fluency in English. They probably all had very high GRE scores, needed for admission to US graduate schools.

A Chinese friend and colleague who went to the same US engineering grad school that I did (although 10 years later), told me how long and hard she studied for the GRE verbal section. She told me her score, which was slightly higher than mine had been, which surprised me since her written and spoken English is very much inferior to that of a similarly-educated native English speaker.

[sacchi]

^ one more point to add to the above.
The Chinese friend I mentioned above said that she barely prepared at all for the math section of the GRE, since she was able to easily get an 800 on it.

[bobtheboy]

Judging by my friends who've gotten into top schools and ones who haven't, it makes absolutely no difference to most very top schools (HYPSM) whether you have a 2100 or 2400.

[dmatsrgi]

emilybee - Ivy league athletes (recruits, albeit without athletic scholarships) ACT / SAT scores are tracked, as "on average" each team can't have an average ACT / SAT score more than one standard deviation below the average ACT / SAT score for that university's overall admitted class rating for that year.

[GolfFather]

^^^^
To clarify, maybe add: "All Ivy league athletes taken as a whole."

Some individual Ivy athletes can (and do) fall outside the AI.

[dmatsrgi]

^^^^^Thanks for clarifying. And you're right, it's the AI (Academic index) scores that are compared...team average AI versus overall class AI. But 1/3 of the AI score is ACT / SAT score (with supposedly another 1/3 being SAT2 scores and the last 1/3 being class rank out of overall class size).

[lookingforward]

I think the greatest "lie" is that someone has the exact formula, all you need to do is discover it. And, gosh, if those heartless adcoms would just 'fess up.

Do people forget they are buiding a class for their college? You know, in life, some people think we're super smart and destined for greatness and should join their team- and some don't. Why can't we say the same is true for adcoms? You put yourself out there and not all will find your particulars impressive. That's the down side to holistic.

A good college search has a heartily realistic component- academically, your personal fit there, and financials. Plus other things. It's not all about "I like" or "I want."

[falcon92mom]

Erin's Dad: Well it's been a few years so I don't remember all the particulars, but it seemed like every school my D applied to required the FAFSA and most private schools also required the CSS Profille. It did not matter that my D was applying for merit consideration only, not financial aid. Northwestern and Juilliard were at least upfront enough to state that they consider all of their applicants to have merit, therefore awards would be determined by financial need. Unfortunately for us, however, Rice was not upfront about their policy. My D was accepted by Rice, but we were told that she would not be considered for merit scholarship because my exH never submitted the CSS Profile. Eastman was one of the few schools which offered a true merit scholarship (separate from financial need) but unfortunately even with their top merit award that year, we would have been expected to pay over $32K per year and we just couldn't justify paying/borrowing that much when she had another offer from a high ranking state school. By the way, you may have noticed that I used the term "true merit". I don't consider merit scholarships to be truly merit if they are tied to financial need. Why should the higher ranked student be offered less merit money than a student from a family with a lower income? Merit is supposed to recognize the student's level of ABILITY, not the level of the parent's bank account.

[chaosakita]

Whoop-de-doo, this article won't have any effect on 75% of the people who are applying for college right now.

Why can't people realize that selective college admissions is something that applies to very few people? For its lack of relevance in society, people sure love to bring it up a lot.

[jandjdad]

/\/\/\/\/
With 1.3 million people taking the SATs and going to college, if it even affects 10%, that means it affects 130,000 people. When you add up all the applicants at the top tier schools and discount for the multiple applications per applicant, it could well be 100,000 or more who are affected, not exactly a drop in the bucket.

[AlmaPater]

Great article, perhaps the most truthful expose I have read recently. Wake up people. Higher education is big business. In the end, most people are purchasing an experience more than anything else. Find the best fit for your child that is the best fit for your wallet.

[kelsmom]

Some merit scholarships do have a component of need, because they are endowed scholarships & those are the terms of the scholarships. They ARE for merit ... but the merit is limited to those with need. In addition, many schools do not have any aid that is not need-based ... and even though these schools are very upfront about it, people do not take heed. For example, you may pick up a catalog in which many scholarships are listed. In this same catalog, you may read that the school does not offer merit scholarships. Huh? Well ... the scholarships are awarded to students with need, and they may well be the equivalent of a merit scholarship for this group of students.

When I attended elite-school recruitment events, the adcoms did mention that they only have need-based aid. Yet I still heard parents discussing among themselves people they "knew" who got scholarships to this school, so somehow they still weren't taking the adcom's words to heart.

[spartanc24]

interesting read.