Still, in reality it could have been worse, especially when compared to the experiences of other young people. In Asia, students are groomed for college entrance exams almost from their day of birth. Chinese parents often move to different cities to better advantage their children in the college process (scores on the Chinese national college test are measured relative to the strength of one's province or municipality).
South Korea's college system is almost entirely based on the results of the College Scholastic Ability Test. The all-day exam covers English, Korean, science, math, and more at a college level and largely determines the future prospects of students as entrance into a prestigious college is a guaranteed path to advancement in the Korean economic and social system.
On the day of the exam, trading is suspended at stock markets, mass transit authorities add additional capacity, the police force deploys 4,000 motorcycles to ensure late students arrive on time, taxi drivers offer free rides to testing centers, government offices and businesses open late, and the national power utility deploys a team of 4,000 electricians to monitor all power lines leading to every high school in the country. During the English listening portion of the exam, in order to forestall complaints that outside noise interfered with students' ability to hear the listening tracks, the military ceases all live-fire exercises while Korean air traffic control authorities suspend all airport operations nationwide and order all inbound flights to circle above 10,000 feet. Concerns about cheating led the Ministry of Education to sequester the test writers in a remote and mountainous region of the country without access to electronic devices. The writers are not even permitted to tell their families why they have been called away from home. Even beyond academic preparations, students go to extreme lengths to ready themselves. One kid swallowed small amounts of cough syrup daily in the week leading up to the exam to prepare his body in the event that he became sick and actually needed to take cough syrup. Perhaps the Wall Street Journal's anecdote captures the national mood best:
One foggy morning last November, officer Kang Jin-jin heard the distress call on his police radio: An 18-year-old girl about to take the national college-entrance exam had left her admission ticket at home. Mr. Kang dashed off to the girl's apartment, got the ticket from her father, and raced across town on his motorcycle, arriving at the school just in time for the test. "I had to ignore traffic signs and turn on the siren," he said. "It was a bit risky, but I tried my best."
Compared to this kind of pressure, our admissions system -- while tough -- is hardly excessive. What is most gratifying about the US system is that your life does not ride on a single day of testing. The compromise position of evaluating grades and test scores in addition to teacher (and sometimes peer) recommendations, extracurricular accomplishments, and essays helps provide a fuller picture of the student. In the end, it may also reduce the amount of work and stress involved as well. Thus, despite the fact that O'Hare remains as congested as ever on ACT Saturdays and 911 isn't available to test takers who forget to bring their Number 2 pencils, America's universities are tremendously well equipped with a wealth of information on each applicant. It is a compromise best for both the students and the schools.
I really enjoyed reading this post, as it put the American college application process in context. However, while I agree that the American application process is much more holistic than that of many countries, I am not sure that essays are really a major contributor to this. For one thing, essays are just as much of a one time metric than a test. Even if a student spends a few months editing an essay, which can be unlikely given the amount of essays sometimes required, this does not compare to time spent in school and activities over the course of high school.
ReplyDeleteMore worrying is the issue of essay tutors. Many parents now hire professionals to help their children brainstorm and even help to draft essays with them. It is likely that some essays aren't written by students at all. Of course, this is an issue that extends to standardized testing and classwork as well. Wealth plays a huge part in all aspects of the college application process, even down to the amount of time students are able to spend on applying, based on whether they do or do not need to work. So while American universities do have much information, much of it can be misleading.