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Not sure you want that, because then you end up with something like the Iowa system. (Basically, everyone is admitted, because every school optimizes for gettin

Not sure you want that, because then you end up with something like the Iowa system. (Basically, everyone is admitted, because every school optimizes for getting the required score. It's nigh impossible to graduate high school in Iowa WITHOUT the required 245 points for the Iowa schools.) Giving an explicit formula for scoring, along with a required score, has historically been the same as letting everyone in, because schools, over time, will always "teach to the test" so to speak.

analog31 8y ago
Similarly in Wisconsin, and possibly any state with a flagship public university. Even if the point system isn't known, everybody gets into one of the Wisconsin system colleges. But everybody doesn't go to those colleges. First, the number of positions is limited, though I don't know how the limit is set or if it actually fills up. Second, the top kids at the top high schools in the state go to the Ivy's, or other selective private colleges, even if they could get into UW. This leaves positions open at UW for a wider variety of students. There is also a third tier system, consisting of community colleges that feed into the university system or provide shorter term job training. Disclaimer: One kid is at the flagship college, the other is in high school.
- bilbo0s 8y ago
  I went to UW. The Madison campus. And the limit is never technically hit. (Though if you want to live on campus, obviously, it's first come, first served. So you may end up having to live off campus if you dilly-dally.)
deleted 8y ago
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ssttoo 8y ago
Here’s how it was in the old country: Score = (score from exam at the school you want to go to * 2 + GPA + high school Math grade) / 4 That’s for engineering school. Every school has a different formula and holds its own exams. But the formula is public. Sort all candidates, draw a line. When some of the selected people chose different schools, draw another line after a month. We didn’t have an equivalent of SAT. But it can easily be plugged in a formula like this. There’s no studying to the test, since every school has a different test.
- blazespin 8y ago
  Juking the stats is pretty trivial.
- bilbo0s 8y ago
  That's not how Iowa works. You get the 245 points, you get in. Full stop. It's law. It's a system that can't be "gamed". (And, coincidentally, doesn't need to be gamed.) The idea was that it would take all the race, and the extra-curriculars, and the subjective stuff out of the system. And it did. But it also gave everyone admittance. Which is fine. Maybe everyone should get into college? I don't know? My point is, when you have a set target, it's pretty much guaranteed that after a few years nearly everyone will be hitting that target. It's the nature of the beast.

analog31 8y ago

Similarly in Wisconsin, and possibly any state with a flagship public university. Even if the point system isn't known, everybody gets into one of the Wisconsin system colleges. But everybody doesn't go to those colleges. First, the number of positions is limited, though I don't know how the limit is set or if it actually fills up. Second, the top kids at the top high schools in the state go to the Ivy's, or other selective private colleges, even if they could get into UW. This leaves positions open at UW for a wider variety of students. There is also a third tier system, consisting of community colleges that feed into the university system or provide shorter term job training. Disclaimer: One kid is at the flagship college, the other is in high school.

bilbo0s 8y ago
I went to UW. The Madison campus. And the limit is never technically hit. (Though if you want to live on campus, obviously, it's first come, first served. So you may end up having to live off campus if you dilly-dally.)

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

ssttoo 8y ago

Here’s how it was in the old country: Score = (score from exam at the school you want to go to * 2 + GPA + high school Math grade) / 4 That’s for engineering school. Every school has a different formula and holds its own exams. But the formula is public. Sort all candidates, draw a line. When some of the selected people chose different schools, draw another line after a month. We didn’t have an equivalent of SAT. But it can easily be plugged in a formula like this. There’s no studying to the test, since every school has a different test.

blazespin 8y ago
Juking the stats is pretty trivial.
bilbo0s 8y ago
That's not how Iowa works. You get the 245 points, you get in. Full stop. It's law. It's a system that can't be "gamed". (And, coincidentally, doesn't need to be gamed.) The idea was that it would take all the race, and the extra-curriculars, and the subjective stuff out of the system. And it did. But it also gave everyone admittance. Which is fine. Maybe everyone should get into college? I don't know? My point is, when you have a set target, it's pretty much guaranteed that after a few years nearly everyone will be hitting that target. It's the nature of the beast.