Skip the SAT -- Study in Europe

system
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:12:28 +0000

In line with post #3, it’s not as if places in Europe or elsewhere have better admissions policies. I’ve heard in India it’s almost entirely test-based for the IITs, with those getting the highest scores going to schools like IIT-Bombay. In Germany you must pass a final high school exam called the Abitur even to be considered for university. Then you rank your preferences for the public schools (they are all public), and you are told which one you’ve been selected for. And of course in the UK you have specialize much earlier than in the US.

For US schools, I wouldn’t confuse students’ obsessession with test scores to be a reflection of admissions policies. I don’t believe colleges care as much as students do. It’s just a very easy way for students to know what’s going on and to make sense of their chances and the whole admissions process.