(Image retrieved from NBS Los Angeles)
As the University of California board voted to end the use of SAT and ACT for the college admission in near future, many people are surprised by such significant decision from the largest public university system in the United States.
University of California may still take applicants’ SAT or ACT scores as optional sources but they will no longer be considered as the main standards to college admission. Instead, UC may emphasize more on applicants’ performances in high school, especially the scores of the last semester, as well as their experiences in extracurricular activities like community services or special accomplishment. Furthermore, students’ grades at freshman year could also become a very crucial determinant to their college admission.
Gaining experiences and achievement from civic engagement, extracurricular activities, and special programs could be the niches when applying to the colleges. For example, like owning proficiency of a second or third language. Not only can it benefit students from applying to good colleges but it also provides students the pathway to satisfy foreign language requirements in many US colleges.
US has a very diverse society, so does the colleges here. Learning a foreign language can also help the students to integrate with friends comes from different cultures on campus, which will greatly enriches individual’s experiences and connections in higher educational institutes.