Sunday, February 01, 2009

College Admissions Atrocity in California Continues


By Justin Greshawn

There is a proposal being considered in California that is of critical importance to all young people concerned about the quality of students graduating from college today. The UC Board of Regents, the governing body for the 10 University of California schools, is considering a proposal that will lower standards for admissions into the UC system and eliminate the SAT II subject tests as a requirement.

As a product of the UC system, both for my graduate and undergraduate degree, I find this proposal absolutely horrific. At a time when there are more qualified applicants to the UC system than ever before, the UC Board of Regents is seeking to make more students eligible in the name of achieving a more diverse student body. In this historic year when we witnessed the inauguration of an African American president, the UC Board of Regents is trying to set us all back a few steps by lowering the bar. Obama did not get into college because of affirmative action, he did not graduate from Harvard Law because of affirmative action and he certainly did not become president because someone handed it to him. People of all races need to learn that the only way you achieve anything in life is by working hard. College admissions are supposed to be hard, not everyone is going to get in and most people are not going to qualify. At a time when the UC system is cutting enrollment and there are more applicants than ever, why would the regents want to lower standards to help more people be eligible?

Furthermore, looking at CA Assemblyman Van Tran's op-ed from the LA Times, the SAT II is of vital importance to minorities. He writes, "In 2007, there were 10,010 UC applicants who scored below 550 on the SAT yet scored more than 700 on one or more subject tests, showing tremendous knowledge and aptitude in particular areas of study. Among this group of applicants, more than 3,700 were Asian, Asian American or Pacific Island students. An additional 3,350 were Mexican or Mexican American, and more than 1,500 were other Latino students."

This makes sense because many minorities need the SAT II to show that gpa and other factors do not show their true intelligence. The SAT II is geared toward high school curriculum and allows each student to distinguish themselves from their peers by excelling in a specific subject. Eliminating this test takes away that opportunity and makes those students just like the rest of the applicants.

This proposal will mean that all of my hard work to get into school will not be as valuable, rather than achievement being a primary criteria, it will shift to things like life experiences and recommendations. Students who do not have a consistent record of excellence will soon be freshmen at the top public universities in the nation. The consequences of this would be disastrous as schools are forced to have more remedial classes for students who should not have been admitted in the first place and the reputations of the once fine UC schools are slowly chipped away at.

This does not even take into account how much it will cost California and current UC students in the middle of a budget crisis to completely redo the admissions process. For those not in California, remember, 'as California goes, so goes the rest of the nation.' Your diploma's value, your education and your livelihood could be next…go to
www.saveucstandards.com for more information.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel for you.California has been a backwards liberal experiment for years.

Anonymous said...

Ideology has nothing to do with this,Since I am California and in college I knew this would happen. This is because today's youth are not that bright..in order to get revenue you get students...not to get students you have to make it easier for them to get in...now in days "every child wins a trophy"

Anonymous said...

Not that bright, you sound like the old folks from around the way... next thing you'll tell me is people back in the day didn't have sex and you used to walk to school in 4 feet of snow. Kids are smarter today then they've ever been, but if you keep telling a kid he's stupid eventually you get a stupid looking kid.

Anonymous said...

"but if you keep telling a kid he's stupid eventually you get a stupid looking kid."

Then if you really screw their heads up they'll become Republicans.

Anonymous said...

OMG......Good one........at least you didn't call anyone an Uncle Tom.......Not yet anyway..... When a limo liberal like Obama sends his kids to public school that will be the day the system changes

Anonymous said...

Damn can't have one post without the term uncle tom...Yeah "foreign kids" are smarter and brighter than ever ...They are just running circles around native students...The fact of the matter kids aren't that bright here and yes I know that the California system is broken and yes there are many contributing factors. Many students today can not pass the CAHSEE.More students equal revenue.