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Do current admissions strategies result in the top colleges choosing the best and the brightest?
Results so far:
| Yes | 42% | 48 votes | Total: 115 votes | |
| No | 58% | 67 votes |
Yes
by D Blakemore
Created on: August 11, 2008
The whole question of whether top colleges choose the brightest and best is presented as if it is wrong for colleges to choose bright students. I have a problem with the whole idea that it is wrong for colleges (top or otherwise) to select their students. The whole point of college is to educate and the best and brightest students are the ones that are more likely to benefit from this process. If a student does not have the ability that is required on a course then they should not be allowed to take that course and if they are allowed it is just setting them up to fail. If colleges admitted any student just because they were capable of filling in the form for admittance, but were not capable of actually learning the material that the course required, colleges would be accused of simply taking the money without regard to students welfare.
The students who are at college for the education are usually the ones who will gain good results and go on to work with a good attitude. This usually means that they work hard to pass exams and to do that needs dedication and commitment, both are qualities that are usually found in the best and brightest students. Some people are very bright but do not have the dedication and commitment that is needed and would find the work hard because ultimately that is not what they want to do, they therefore should not go to college at all. These are the people who will party instead of completing assignments and if they were in a place of work would be told to either buckle down and work or face the push. Colleges do not do this and so the people that are most likely to party are the ones that the good colleges are likely to filter out.
College is usually taken at a time in life when it is important for the individual to socialise and spread their wings. This is an important part of the development of each person and college is an ideal place for this socialisation process. However, socialising can be done while still studying and this is where the brightest and best come into their own. They prioritise what needs to be done and do it and this ensures success for them and good results for the college. This is what makes the college a top one.
If the top colleges were not allowed to filter out the slackers and had to take them, the brightest and best students may be put off academic life as the emphasis would change from academic success to that of party and social success. This would create a slide from which there would be no return and the education of the country would decline.
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No
by Frances Simon
Created on: September 19, 2008 Last Updated: September 09, 2010
Do current admissions strategies result in the top colleges choosing the best and the brightest?
In deciding whether or not current college admissions strategies result in the top colleges choosing the best and the brightest, it is essential to determine some basics. What do we mean by "the best and the brightest?" What criteria should be used to determine who the best and the brightest are? And what strategies are colleges currently using?
Let me start out by saying that this article is not sour grapes about not being able to attend a top notch college. This is about how colleges have reverted to the decision strategies of old, where it was not who would make the most of their education, who could best use it to make an impact on the world, but who would do the most for their school.
Currently, colleges rely heavily on three factors in making admissions decisions: SAT scores, fame and legacies. While colleges justify these factors, I'm not convinced. SAT scores are the best predictors of success at school they say, fame shows achievement, and legacy well so many students present equal records so how else are they supposed to decide?
It should go without saying that celebrity status and being born with a silver spoon in your mouth are not good ways to determine who is the best and the brightest. The problem with using SAT scores to choose the best and the brightest is not so obvious.
In a multiple choice world, SAT's do equate with success. Perhaps not so unfortunately, the decisions and understandings we must make on a daily basis are not so black and white. SAT tests are great predictors of how students perform on SAT tests and nothing more.
Colleges counter this by stating that SAT scores equate with success in college. If this is so perhaps we should question the curriculum. If SAT tests measure a student's ability to think about something identically to test makers, then success at our very best schools is determined by a student's ability to think identically to his instructors. Is this what we really need to make advances in sciences, humanities, political science and economics, or do we need people who are innovative thinkers?
Should we be seeking people who come up with the same answers, or people who have the ability to build on these and go beyond? College admission policies at our top schools determine who will receive the best possible education. Who is best qualified to receive this education? Those who are skilled at following in other people's footsteps, or those who have the ability to carve out new and innovative directions?
I'm sure by now it is obvious where I stand on this issue.
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