Some people hold the opinion that universities should only offer places to qualitative students. I agree that academic success must be considered by universities but I don’t think it should be the only criterion. Of course, high school grades and test scores are important but your extracurricular activities and your personal traits also matter during the admissions process.
Some people believe that hardworking students make much more effort than other peers and that these top players will gain a stronger sense of self-motivation to reach a higher goal in the years to come and also set a good example for other students. However, higher education does not solely focus on straight-A students. Instead, some universities have begun searching for comprehensive talents rather than bookworms who concentrate on academic knowledge alone. Here are some questions that Harvard University has on its website explaining ” What they are looking for.”:
What have you learned from your interests? What have you done with your interests? How have you achieved results? With what success or failure? What have you learned as a result?
- Do you care deeply about anything—Intellectual? Extracurricular? Personal?
- Have you reached your maximum academic and personal potential?
- What sort of human being are you now? What sort of human being will you be in the future?
- What about your maturity, character, leadership, self-confidence, sense of humor, energy, concern for others, and grace under pressure?
As seen above, by looking at the questions, we can see that during interviews universities will look at you as a whole person an not just as a student. So it’s obvious that, apart from getting high scores, other qualities such as teamwork, interpersonal skills, organizing abilities and speciality in a field are of equal importance in enrollment standards.
To conclude, with the advances in technology, universities no longer need students who can memorize everything in a book because everyone can easily reach any information they want from the internet. What is important now, is our differences in talents, interests and our ability to communicate effectively. Therefore, I believe that all universities should carry out interviews on applicants to see whether they will be beneficial for our society, rather than just concentrating on academic success.
Bibliography:
https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/what-we-look