Colleges face the unfortunate reality that they cannot accept every student that applies, which effectually creates a competition for the seats the college can offer. In any competition, the participants can only hope for an equal opportunity to compete. Recently, the University of California school system has revised their admission process by dropping the requirement that applicants take two SAT II subject tests, and have lowered the number of automatic acceptances based on grades and standardized test scores (to take effect at the start of the 2012 school year).
The school board made the changes in hopes of creating a more dynamic range of applicants by eliminating the costs of the SAT subject tests and test preparation, as well as opening additional seats to students that bring a more diverse set of skills than grades and test scores alone can represent. However, some Asian-American representatives feel that these changes are unfair to Asian-American student particularly because it will theoretically lower their numbers in the school system—currently, Asian-American students represent around 40-50 percent of the California school system student body.
The question of minority representation in schools is certainly a topic worthy of revision, but the changes made by the UC School Board address a much broader topic: complete students. The schools are redefining the competition of the admissions process by eliminating some of the extra costs and examining students full profiles before accepting them. These changes are not meant to punish students but rather to ensure that students have an equal opportunity to present their case to the college.
Although the removal of the SAT II subject tests and their costs is helpful to students experiencing financial hardships, it pales in comparison to the lowering of automatic acceptances. Students that are accepted solely based on their grades and standardized tests scores slip past the rigorous examination into their background, which allows such students to hide deficiencies they may have in any other aspects—things that students with slightly lower test scores are unable to demonstrate.
For students that do not meet the automatic acceptance numbers, this change is not a redeeming alteration but a fair shot to compete. A person is much more than what they accomplish the morning of a test or throughout an academic career. Rather, a person is the culmination of what they have done, whether that includes extra-curricular activities, work, grades, tests or any such combination. The Asian-American representatives against the change are falsely accusing the UC school system of targeting Asian-American students; clearly a school system that has such a high proportion of Asian-American students has no problem admitting students with diverse backgrounds. Representatives should realize new admissions standards seek to redefine the competitive field for college applicants to avoid accepting students only on the criteria of excellence in one area of life.
Patrick Johnson is a freshman majoring in philosophy and english. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
