COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

1. COLLEGE ADMISSIONS Samuel Buyers English 1302

2. Introduction/Thesis • Introduction- • College admissions is a process that almost everyone has to go through. While according to the New York Times in the College Report 2013 Acceptance Rates schools are lowering their acceptance rates to around 5-10 percent with the prospect of growing lower in the next few years. One of the most stressful times in any high school senior’s life is during the college admissions process and with the acceptance rates growing lower and lower while the amount of college students applying has been rising eight percent in the last few years. This growing struggle for applying college students is becoming more and more difficult and putting more stress on people who feel the need to be accepted by the college standards. I have researched the college admissions process by looking at several articles from academic journals and top newspaper articles about how much more difficult it is becoming for being accepted into a college. While college admission rates are going down due to competiveness, some say that the growing competiveness is adding to the prestige of universities across the United States • Thesis- • Despite this view of adding prestige, the difficulties of being admitted into college is a growing concern that hurts some of the most “standard” students who do not participate in AP or advanced placement classes while in high school, and have lower SAT and ACT test scores.

3. Advanced Placement classes • “Standard” high school students are becoming more and more obsolete with the growing amount of students enrolled in AP (advanced placement) classes. This is giving AP students a distinct advantage over those who do not take AP classes. • Patricia Gándara and Gary Orfield have said that since “so many students now taking substantial numbers of AP and other honors courses in order to improve their chances of admission to college, high school grade point averages have soared… the mean HSGPA (high school GPA) was 4.31” (Gándara and Orfield, 79). • This is causing the “standard” student population to be out of reach due to the “increasing [of] the grade points” (Gándara and Orfield, 79). • He notes that “… the rising importance of signaling through taking AP exam can be seen by looking at the correlation in the change in participation rates and that change in passing rates” (Bound, 14).

4. Standardized testing • There are several types of standardized test that a student must take in his or her lifetime, the ACT, SAT I, SAT II, and In-state exams. Yet, nothing is more important than the ACT and SAT I/II exams when it comes down to college admission requirements. • According to Melissa Clinedinst, and Richard Atkinson along with the recommendation of AP class, college are also looking more heavily at the ACT and SAT I/II scores are more heavily weighted than almost any other college application assignment. • The National Association for College Admission Counseling, shows on a table representing different levels of importance in admission decisions that the top two things that schools are looking for are “Grades in college prep courses” with 79.9 percent and “Admission test scores (SAT, ACT)” with 58.5 percent of considerable importance (Clinedinst, 35). • SAT is used by “… more selective institutions [that] also placed more emphasis on subject test scores (AP and IB) and SAT II scores” (Clinedinst, 39). Richard Atkinson says that “standardized tests provide a measure of a student’s achievements that is independent of grades” (Atkinson, 16).

5. Counter argument • The college application process is considered by several to be flawed in their criterion standards but there are some who believe that the competition between students is the driving force behind the prestige of college institutions. • In 2001, the NACAC reported that “average admissions counselor was responsible for reading 622 applications, up from an average of 359 in 2005” (Jaschik, 8). • According to Volkwein and Sweitzer, “We found that a handful of studies concluding that two “inputs”--- institutional size and selectivity--- are the primary drives of reputation” (Volkwein and Sweitzer, 130). • With more and more students applying to more colleges the admissions department is becoming more able to reject students in order to maintain or improve prestige which leaves the “average” student at a complete disadvantage.

6. conclusion • The college admissions process is something that almost everyone has to go through and is a process that is becoming more and more competitive with each year. However, due to the competitive nature of college admissions it is leaving the “standard” high school student behind due to advantages of AP classes and the heavy influence of ACT/SAT test scores. However, some suggest that the selectivity of a school is what makes prestigious institutions prestigious. The research, however, suggests that these colleges are becoming better not because of intelligent students but rather because they are selective in their admissions process and add above average families and “important” students. Due to this, it is pertinent that action be taken to lessen the influence of grade inflation in AP classes and a lessening importance of standardized test. Instead, put the influence on character of applicants and the strength of the curriculum that students are taking in high schools.

7. Work cited • Atkinson, Richard. “Achievement versus Aptitude in College Admissions.” Rethinking the SAT: The Future of Standardized in University Admissions. (2002): 15-32. Print. • Bound, John. “Playing The Admissions Game: Student Reactions TO Increasing College Competition.” NBER Working Paper Series. August, (2009): 1-54. Print. • Clinedinst, Melissa. “State of College Admission 2008.” The National Association For College Admission Counseling. September, (2008): 33-47. Print. • Gándara, Patricia and Gary Orfield. “The Role of Advanced Placement and Honors Courses in College Admissions.” Expanding Opportunity in Higher Education. (2006): Print. • Jaschik, Scott. "The (Needless?) Frenzy." INSIDE HIGHER ED. N.p., 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 23 July 2014. • Volkwein, J. Fredericks and Kyle V. Sweitzer. “Institutional Prestige and Reputation among Research Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges.” Research In Higher Education. Vol. 47 Issue 2, (2006): 129-148. Web. 22 July 2014.