Paying for your admission test score

Note: if you like standardized tests- mostly admission tests- MAYBE DON’T READ THIS. Oh and also- I’m just going to warn you directly- this is strongly opinionated!

I wake up in the mornings and it kills me to think that what I will become in the future relies on standardized tests. Those dreams I had of possibly wanting to become a doctor? Crushed. You know why? Because I am required to take the dreaded MCAT’s to then possibly get into graduate school. And what do these MCAT’s require? They require me to spend money on textbooks, and tutors so that I learn by heart every strategy possible and tricks to get the best grade.

I want to go back for a bit into my past and explain to you why I don’t believe in standardized tests. Having just moved to New York for highschool, I was new to the whole standardized testing scene, especially coming from France. It wasn’t until 10th grade when I started thinking about University that I realized all my friends had been tutored and studying for the SATs. I had good grades in highschool, if this test is supposed to show my knowledge why not just go for it? And I did.

And guess what? Definitively wasn’t going to get into any University with that score. And so I caved in, got tutors, got the books, took practice SATs. After making my parents spend ridiculous amounts of money on me, I took the SATs again.

**Drum Rolls** .. and got a better score! Why? Because I was spending the money!

The mission of admission tests is often to give equal opportunities to everyone. Individuals who weren’t able to get the same type of education as a top-school person, or for example were not able to afford a good highschool can thrive in admission tests. And still be considered. BUT, unfortunately that is a lie.

Admission tests are based upon money, practice, tricks and techniques. Getting a good score if quite highly correlated with the money you put in which is really an indicator of how much your family can spend on this and their income. Did you buy the right books? Did you pick the right company? Is your tutor really good?

NOW do you understand why I hate admission tests so much? Where is the fairness in all of this? Do you still think these tests give equal opportunities to everyone?

If you answer no, then I did my job, but if you answer yes just look at this graph from the college board:

Now I hope you changed your answer to no, these tests do not give equal opportunities to everyone (or else you really should have read the title because you are hard to convince!)