3 ms·

My ideal admissions system would consist of highly weighting standardized test scores and grades along with community impact and other extracurriculars as well

My ideal admissions system would consist of highly weighting standardized test scores and grades along with community impact and other extracurriculars as well as letters of recommendation from teachers and other community members. ...oh, wait, we have that admissions system. That's the admissions system of every flagship state school and the US Service Academies. Why does Dartmouth (and before it, MIT's) flip-flop on this matter to 99% of us again?

gnicholas 3y ago
That’s not what the UC system does — they refuse to consider SATs.
- laidoffamazon 3y ago
  I’ll admit I forgot they kept test optional - I’ll celebrate when they bring it back, not when elite schools whose purpose is to segregate and enrich the few do it.
  - gnicholas 3y ago
    They are not test-optional; they refuse to consider it. They previously toyed with the idea of making their own test, but IIRC they gave up on it (probably because they realized it have the same features/bugs as the existing tests). They may be forced to bring mandatory testing back in the future, but currently there are no rumors that will happen. They have other priorities for admission these days.
costco 3y ago
Extracurriculars are by and large a scam. I became vice president of a few clubs, started a UNICEF chapter at my school, etc. But I made almost 0 impact on the world because we only raised like $200, most of which was from me and my family. The proof that most people don't actually care about these things is that they quit them the day they start college. Maybe participation in something like ISEF is a better signal. But not National Honor Society membership (which I of course had, because that's what you do). No one can verify the accuracy of letters of recommendation and teachers routinely break the rules by showing them to students. In some cases I have heard of teachers asking students to write them (!).
- laidoffamazon 3y ago
  Yeah, that kind of extracurricular isn't enough for top schools unless you have some other kind of hook. Winning ISEF/placing high (not 100% how it works) already is a pretty good hook, I'm sure most of the MIT entering class won some equivalent national prize like this. > In some cases I have heard of teachers asking students to write them This is very common in college, most professors don't have the time to write letters of rec for all of the students they do research with etc. They may edit it and sign off after.
  - costco 3y ago
    I got into University of Michigan which I think is T25. I would not have gotten into an Ivy. But I'm just saying that based on my experience for a large number of people, their high school extracurriculars are "fake" in that they have little actual interest in them and that they are an overweighted admissions signal.

gnicholas 3y ago

That’s not what the UC system does — they refuse to consider SATs.

laidoffamazon 3y ago
I’ll admit I forgot they kept test optional - I’ll celebrate when they bring it back, not when elite schools whose purpose is to segregate and enrich the few do it.
- gnicholas 3y ago
  They are not test-optional; they refuse to consider it. They previously toyed with the idea of making their own test, but IIRC they gave up on it (probably because they realized it have the same features/bugs as the existing tests). They may be forced to bring mandatory testing back in the future, but currently there are no rumors that will happen. They have other priorities for admission these days.

costco 3y ago

Extracurriculars are by and large a scam. I became vice president of a few clubs, started a UNICEF chapter at my school, etc. But I made almost 0 impact on the world because we only raised like $200, most of which was from me and my family. The proof that most people don't actually care about these things is that they quit them the day they start college. Maybe participation in something like ISEF is a better signal. But not National Honor Society membership (which I of course had, because that's what you do). No one can verify the accuracy of letters of recommendation and teachers routinely break the rules by showing them to students. In some cases I have heard of teachers asking students to write them (!).

laidoffamazon 3y ago
Yeah, that kind of extracurricular isn't enough for top schools unless you have some other kind of hook. Winning ISEF/placing high (not 100% how it works) already is a pretty good hook, I'm sure most of the MIT entering class won some equivalent national prize like this. > In some cases I have heard of teachers asking students to write them This is very common in college, most professors don't have the time to write letters of rec for all of the students they do research with etc. They may edit it and sign off after.
- costco 3y ago
  I got into University of Michigan which I think is T25. I would not have gotten into an Ivy. But I'm just saying that based on my experience for a large number of people, their high school extracurriculars are "fake" in that they have little actual interest in them and that they are an overweighted admissions signal.