After going to school for six hours, going to work for four hours and then competing homework for two hours I guess you could say I am a pretty stressed out teenager. The last thing I need to worry about is another test to study for. I want to get into a good college and that requires a good SAT score. Studying for the SAT consumes numerous amounts of hours a week and will either make or break someone’s college acceptance.
The SAT measures the math and verbal skills students have learned throughout high school. Most colleges will not accept students with a score below 1300. Getting above a 1300 requires endless nights of studying which busy students have trouble finding the time for. I believe there are more important things than just the SAT, like volunteering and making a difference in the community.
First off, colleges need to base a student’s intelligence off of their individual classes not the SAT. Many students already have challenging courses and deserve recognition for it. They do not need another test to prove their intelligence, and they certainly do not need anything extra added to their plates.
So many students consume all of their time for school and they do not have time for anything else. For example, many students take a prep class, such as Elite, which meets six days a week over the summer. That is beyond crazy! When will a student have time to do other activities? Colleges need to stop making this test a requirement. Instead, when colleges decide who gets accepted, they should look at unique things such as being involved in sports and clubs.
If colleges did not require the SAT, everyone would have so much more time to join more clubs and volunteer. Colleges will base their acceptance on people who managed to have good grades and balanced meaningful extracurricular activities.
Colleges want well-rounded individuals to join their campus, but how will they determine that when students spend ten hours during the weekend studying for the SAT. If colleges stopped requiring the SAT then scholarly students would put their free time into good use.
Lancer • Jul 16, 2012 at 10:34 am
If colleges use only individual classes to determine a student’s intelligence, how would they be able to distinguish an A in Carlsbad High vs. an A at one of the nation’s most elite schools? The SAT is universal. Everyone takes the same test. A college can determine an A at CHS vs. at an elite school by looking SAT scores. Colleges need an objective factor when determining admissions, but they also look at a variety of subjective values, like character and leadership.