How do you measure potential?

Applying to College
1

<p>How do you measure potential?</p>

<p>We all know it’s not race-based from the University of Michigan scandal way back when.</p>

<p>But how you/the college decide if a student’s up to par with your school? I mean if you base it off a student’s grades that’s completely BS-ed. I know plenty of students with VERY high gpa’s (3.8-3.9) that are not deserved. High School has been driven to the point where students think that only grades matter and cheating has become a second nature. Copying a friend’s homework seems ok to us now, because it’s all busy work. But then again, are we really learning? I know kids who have copied Calculus work packets day in and day out, trading answers and what did it get them? 4.0 GPA’s and a 3 on the AP exam. Nice…</p>

<p>But then can we only base a person’s potential on their standardized test scores? In my humble opinion. No. I know a guy who’s a completely druggie, (ex: stoned during homecoming game, where he played in the marching band), never does his hw, but completely rocked the ACTs. The ACTs only test your mathematical knowledge through Algebra 3-4. So most of my friends are going, “Why the F-- are we taking Calculus BC next year then?” Exactly.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars? Well, one of my best friends from XC literally got paid $10/per hour for volunteering at the hospital by her mom. My cousin ran track just so she could put it on her application. Seeing as she rarely went to practice, hated it, and completely sucked, what’s the point? The application.</p>

<p>So my basic rant is, WHAT THE HECK? How am I suppose to tell you that you should accept me? More like, I’m tired of this bull. Senior year is stressful enough, I don’t want to think about this, but this is all I’ve been thinking about. One of good friends, that I’ve know since like forever, is freaking out over if he’ll get into Umich or not. My best friends have different ambitions and all I can think about is how I might not get to see them that often after this year. So, what the heck? Tell me how to do this, so I can get back to thinking, “HECK YEAH, WE’RE SENIORS!”</p>

<p>sorry for the ranting… i had a lot on my mind…</p>

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<p>I find that those who are most stressed out about the process are very insecure and will only end up doing poorly. Top students, and my mean TOP students, are not sitting by the mailbox everyday waiting for the mailman. They are doing their classes, homework, ECs and other stuff that makes them the top applicants. I do truly believe you can tell someone who is just putting it on their application and who is truly passionate. It resonates in the essays and in the interview, and especially in the recommendations.</p>

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<p>Every school ranks applicants differently, depending on what they believe helps them identify students who will be successful. Admissions officers look at hundreds of nearly identical candidates per week, and it’s hard to differentiate or even remember a single applicant.</p>

<p>I believe that the college application procedure is significantly based upon chance. In fact, my college reevaluates their admission process pretty frequently. If you submitted the same application, and you got rejected or admitted, the outcome could certainly have been different if your application was read by a different admissions officer, or read in a different order, or if you applied for a different semester.</p>

<p>If your scores are within the typical range of a school you are interested in, APPLY!</p>

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<p>Wow. Well, I agree that the application process is completely not fool proof and there are definite loop holes. However, that seems to be the best way to gauge a candidate’s “potential”, right? How else could we do it? Like China, where one single test determines which college you end up going? I think not.</p>

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<p>^I agree. There are obviously going to be people who do things just for their application, or who take easier classes and end up with higher GPA’s… But, I don’t see how else the application process could be structured. Rec’s are usually how admissions officers can distinguish very passionate, dilligent students from those who simply show up and slack off. The same holds true for essays. After reading (literally) hundreds of thousands of essays, admissions officers must be able to easily tell the difference between true passion and manufactured interest. The application as a whole is meant to tell a story. Most of the time, the story matches up pretty accurately with reality!</p>

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<p>bump…</p>

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<p>Lori1122, a question you should ask is: “Potential for what?” High school grades have been proven to be a valid predictor of first year college success. That is, students with high high school GPA’s generally will not drop out, and will get reasonably good grades as freshmen in college. The University of California has decided to make HS GPA the primary admissions factor based on that analysis.</p>

<p>But that raises the question: is lack of failure in the first year of college an accurate test of “potential” for academic/life success beyond that first year? That’s a more complex question. Your stoned band buddy who rocked the ACT may dry out in time to avoid flunking out of college and go on to greater heights than the grade-grubbing students with high GPA’s. Or he may not. My overall general opinion is that a high GPA/average SAT/ACT applicant is a safe bet admit for a college (particularly a state school) because a high percentage of those students will continue doing what they did in high school throughout college, successfully graduate, and go on to have productive lives. The high SAT/ACT average GPA applicant probably is basically pretty bright, but may be lazy, or bored, or stoned, or unstable, or… whatever. That applicant is a riskier bet for a college. Those applicants may have more raw potential (there you go) than the other type of student, but they present a higher risk of failure, as well. My guess is that most colleges who don’t have the ability to cherry-pick between a variety of valedictorians with 2400 SAT scores pick a little of both types, and hope for the best. </p>

<p>So where does that leave you? Apply to a variety of schools that seem to be a fit for you; include a safety you like so you don’t accidentally fall through the cracks, and then choose between the ones you’re accepted to, understanding that you may never understand why one college is a yes and another a no.</p>

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<p>Extracurriculars? Well, one of my best friends from XC literally got paid $10/per hour for volunteering at the hospital by her mom.</p>

<p>^^if you’re getting paid then thats not volunteerting</p>