Exploratory Essay

Preparing for the college admission test was one of the biggest parts of my high school. Since my college admission test scores would decide which college I will be attending, I started to prepare for college admission test as soon as I entered high school. Moreover, I spent my summer vacations and winter vacations practicing for college admission tests instead of using that time to relax. Many incoming freshmen college students would relate to my story. College admission tests are the tests students take to apply for colleges. Most of the colleges in the United States consider college admission test as a mandatory part of the application. The two popular college admission tests are the SAT and ACT. The college admission tests aim to access

Researchers have found out that making the colleges test optional or excluding the requirement of college admission test would increase the admissions of black and Latino students and working class or financially incapable students. This means that the colleges will have more diversity regarding race, culture, and socioeconomic background. Forty-seven colleges and universities have announced test-optional policies, which includes Temple, Wesleyan, George Washington University and many more. According to a 2014 study at the University of Georgia, after dropping the requirement of SAT and ACT the university has received additional 250 applications on average. When it comes to students, they often relate the SAT and ACT being expensive and stress causing. Some students cannot afford to pay the college admission test fee and preparation courses fee which discourage them to apply to colleges but making the colleges SAT or ACT optional open doors for every student

However, in a study, William C. Hiss, former dean of admissions at Bates College, has proved that SAT or ACT score does not predict how the student will perform in college. He studied 33 private and public test-optional colleges with a sample of 123,000 students, of which 30 percent of the students had got enrolled without test scores. He found out that there is no difference in the graduation rate of students who submitted the test score and the student who did not. Although some colleges think SAT and ACT are not very effective in measuring the success of student based on the above studies, other colleges still believe SAT and ACT do predict the future success of students at some level. For instance, executive director of admissions and financial aid at the California Institute of Technology, Jarrid Whitney said: “The SAT is still just one part of the entire package, it doesn't drive our decisions.” Maybe for college SAT and ACT scores are just numbers but for some students, they are the predictor of their career and future. Many students fear of being rejected by the society because of low scores on college admission tests, and even some think the college admission tests are ineffective ways of measuring the potentials of the students. Mara Meijer, a student at Calif., high school told National Public Radio that many of her teachers have told her that if she does