By: Katrina Penaflor Managing Editor
The expectation levels for college admissions varies across the field. Typically, schools take a balance of GPA, SAT or ACT scores, and an accumulation of extracurricular activities.
In a recent New York Times article, OP-ED writer Frank Bruni addressed a study titled “Turning the Tide,” which discussed the flaws in the college admission process, primarily at the Ivy-League level. He went on to say how a university’s expectations and approval process may not benefit students at every income level.
Western’s application process, in comparison to non-Ivy-League or private universities, is primarily standard, meaning that when a student applies, Western takes into account their transcript, SAT or ACT scores, and a completed application.
SAT and ACT scores are not required for the WOU admissions process if the universities GPA requirement of 2.75 is met, but they are beneficial for scholarship purposes.
Like Western, “a growing number of colleges have made the SAT or ACT optional,” said Bruni in his article.
“Some of those alterations would simultaneously level the playing field for kids applying to college from less advantaged backgrounds,” said Bruni, who continued to point out the correlation between household income and standardized test scores.
An additional point “Turning the Tide” made was the negative effects college admissions have on high school students.
Not only can they cause a heavy workload with additional Advanced Placement (A.P.) courses—which are not available in all high schools—and extracurricular activities, but the pressure of becoming an ideal candidate can bring increased anxiety.
“Poorer high schools aren’t as likely to offer A.P. courses, and a heavy load of them is often cited as a culprit in sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression among students at richer schools,” said Bruni.
Western has tried to combat the stressful application process by heading directly to high schools and having students apply in an environment familiar to them.
“Something that we do to make it more convenient, and reduce that stress and make it more WOU focused, is we do instant Wolf onsite,” said Luanne Carrillo, admissions counselor and multicultural recruitment coordinator.
This means the university will work with the students’ counselors and faculty to ensure the necessary paperwork is acquired and the students only worry about their application and application fee.
This provides the opportunity for any questions about the processes to be directly answered and students will receive an admissions decision the same day.
Possible changes or reassessments can even go back to what is acceptable on a high school level.
Carrillo suggests, “looking back at the high school concept and saying ‘should you all still offer D’s?’ because D’s are not passing for a university.”
As “Turning the Tide” suggests, finding well-rounded students goes beyond the number of club activities and SAT scores. It is a university’s job to see how their admissions requirements can shape the behavior of potential students, and if that is happening in a positive or negative fashion.
