Mustakim Choudhury

5/19/19
2nd Hour

Should scores only be used to determine whether you get accepted to college?

What if you got accepted to one of the most prestigious universities only to find out that

there has been an error and you are no longer able to attend. You find out the one area you fell

short in was the GPA section. You needed a 4.0 but instead, you got a 3.9. All those years of

hard work only to be dismissed because of a point one difference. Does it even make a big

difference over a 4.0? This should never be the case, colleges shouldn’t limit the criteria they

check for a student to be accepted to a well-known school. Colleges should look for other strong

characteristics such as leadership skills and improvement in scores other than just the score itself.

There is more to a student then the number or letter representing them.

Top tier universities should check for important qualities like leadership skills when

deciding whether a student gets accepted. Universities should look at how the student performed

in extracurricular activities and if they were a leader. Being a leader is very important because it

shows that you can lead a group of people to success by strategically planning. You can learn a

lot from a student based on the fact that they work under pressure and be able to deliver. A good

leader has many good qualities that make them a good candidate for a top tier university.

Universities should look at this type of score to determine who really has the ability to get

accepted. Leadership skills can tell a lot about a student other than the fact that he or she just

studies and aims for that high number. It can show that the student is creative and is capable of

performing high demanding tasks.

Another criteria universities should check for is the amount of improvement. Colleges

can take a look at the student’s grades from his whole high school careers and look at turning
points. You can see if the student is capable of dramatically improving within a short amount of

time. This can show how determined a student really is. Colleges can learn a lot from a student

based on their improvement. Behavioral improvement should also be checked to find out how

serious the student is and if they care or not ever since elementary. Some kids may still get good

grades, but once you look at their behavior report, you’ll realize that they can’t bring anything

promising to a university. They’re advantages and disadvantages to a student if colleges check

this criterion in conjunction with the multiple other criteria.

Universities shouldn’t limit their criteria they should check in a student to determine if he

or she gets a chance to get accepted. Test scores are proven to only show a small area of the

student's capabilities. A shouldn’t have to forfeit their chance into getting into a university of

their choice just because of a thoughtless score. Universities should check other areas such as

leadership and improvement in scores. These criteria can really help a college determine which

student has a multitude of skills and talents. Just because a student may fall short in one criterion

that doesn’t mean you should completely give up on them. By digging behind their score and

looking at what really builds up the muscles of that student, colleges can see what really makes a

student deserving in being accepted.