What’s Missing From Your Child’s College Application?
With the recent news that UC schools will no longer accept SAT or ACT scores even on an optional basis1, and as more and more universities turn away from standardized test scores, what metrics are schools using to select their future students?
Education systems in East Asian societies place a large focus on testing and numbers to determine a student’s success. Historically, in China, written examinations have been used to select state officials since as early as the Tang dynasty. To this day, China continues this high-stakes testing tradition with the “Gaokao,” their national college entrance exam.
Therefore, it is difficult for students and parents who grew up with this testing tradition to understand what American universities want to see in a college application. Many parents are asking,”if universities are not looking at my child’s test scores, how will they decide who gets admitted?”
According to an article by the U.S. News & World Report, “Admissions officers...want students to understand the college’s mission and have a clear idea of how the school can help them meet their goals.”2 Students need to show that they are purpose-driven and goal-oriented in their applications — and that they have an intrinsic motivation to succeed. This will come across not in their test scores, but instead in their out-of-school activities, personal statement, and awards. In this new age of test-less college applications, having an overarching theme and purpose in your application is much more impressive than a string of unrelated activities and singular awards, no matter how impressive they might be.
Stay tuned for more information on purpose-driven college applications.
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