Princeton's Admissions Policies Investigated
Reader Comments
Princeton Fair??? Hah!!
The chances of Princeton coming out of this investigation without embarrassment are slim. The point is NOT if standardized tests are a good measure, and Alan of MA must NOT realize Princeton does not have a medical school! The point IS that as a nation we have a hard time accepting the fact that elite families control power, and send their kids to Princeton despite blemishes on their records. If you visit Princeton, you cannot miss the strong smell elitism and racism, but I doubt that even the embarrassment of this investigation will change things.
What are colleges looking for?
I don't think SAT's should be so heavily emphasized from experience. When I was enrolling in an AP course collegeboard said I wasn't qualified to take it based on my PSAT scores, but my teacher rec's and previous grades got me in and I Aced the class and I'm getting college credit from my AP exam.
Truth is though that colleges are telling us what student body they are looking for. Yes, many people disagree on the admissions process of many colleges, but they have clearly let it be known how they are shaping incoming classes. Colleges are looking for more blacks and latino students, women in the sciences, and people that express an open, pluralistic worldview. Grades and SAT scores are very important, but schools are focusing on making their student body diverse in cultures and worldviews. As the future of America we have the power to change or keep these policies ourselves. Also the school you come from can effect the college's decision. If you come from an inner-city school with a low graduation percentage you probably have an advantage cause the college will use that to recruit other high achieving students in struggling schools. If you come from a prestigious private school with a lower than average GPA the college may still feel that you are still better prepared for college b/c of the school's reputation for rigorous classes.
Also remember that grades and tests scores sometimes mean a person is good in spitting back theory, but it doesn't always show how well one can apply knowledge. Look at our government. It's full of Ivy League graduates, but I like many Americans have not seen them apply that education so well in their policies. Some students may have average grades but interned or founded a business or placed in science fairs like Intel and Siemens that impressed admission officers.
I don't want a doctor who was a straight A student during college. I want a doctor who was a mediocre student but participated on tons of "extra-cirricular activities".
This is why the American education system is failing, and is behind the rest of the world. This is why tech companies in California are importing engineers from ASIA to work for them!
Let's put less emphasis on grades and "stupid biased standardized exams", so students can put less emphasis on getting top scores on exams and straight A's.
GET REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too bad that it is truly not all about grades/tests! How is a stupid biased standardized exam supposed to determine how smart I truly am?! And my success at a university? Some people are truly better test takers than others. I was admitted to the number 1 public institution in the country--Berkeley even though I scored a 1290/2400 on the SAT twice!!!!! Even though I scored slightly better on the ACT (after my 3rd time) my scores were of no comparison to the average of the student body! Even though I am pro affirmative action, my African descent was not accounted for I'm sure! But my pretty decent GPA of 3.8 and my dedicated and unique extra-cirricular activities gained me admission...I was never a straight A student but I worked hard! And still working hard as an upcoming junior!
That's what colleges want to see: committment, hard work, overcoming obstacles (if you have any), dedication, uniqueness, and variety! Who just wants a bookworm? Colleges and universities comprehensively review students---c'mon you guys!
Reverse discrimination
When I graduated from high school a few years ago, I knew a white male with a straight A average, scored 1400 on the SATs and was rejected from UNC. A black female, on the other hand, who had average grades and scored in the 900s on the SAT was admitted to UNC. What gives?
I agree with Bob from New Jersey. I think affirmative action does not benefit Asian students. Affirmative action seems to benefit blacks and Latinos at the college level. We need to get rid of affirmative action and start looking at grades rather than race. Schools should admit applicants based on grades not color of skin!!!!!!!
Many students are driven by parents to be high achievers, and a subset of those don't have an internal purposeful goal of their own, beyond a compulsion to please the parents, Be Successful, and drive a status car. I'd rather have a student that is curious, self-motivated, and willing to try classes in which they are not guaranteed a top grade, than a student who aims to please and to game the class for the top grade, but who doesn't seem to have her/his own opinions or ideas.
Jenny from CA is right - passion, self-direction, and a bit of maturity are all qualities that can outweigh test scores and GPAs.
Some of these parent-directed students might benefit from a year of 40 hour week menial work to pay a share of the family's household expenses, or if parents can afford it, near-full-time volunteering in the community. Let the high school graduate decompress for a year and have free time to think and to do something the student has been too busy to do. A year can make a big difference in maturity and self-direction.
What I am concerned with is not Jian Li's perhaps unique or not so unique extracurriculars. Instead, I am concerned with the strand of belief present in the response to this incident that seem to imply that Asian-American students are incapable of making valuable contributions to extracurricular activities. Unfortunately, there is still a presumption that Asian-American students are only defined by "general and bland academic merit". An incident like this only shines light on how far we still have to go to erase typecasting in American society. Racism has no place in America, and especially not in its elite institutions of learning.
