<p>Good read.</p>
<p>Interesting.</p>
<p>Good article. USN should clearly make note or at least a footnote that this is what they do when a school does not provide all the data that is asked for. I have noticed this with some schools that are missing data. Maybe this is why some schools are reanked lower than I thought they would be. Though the magazine is clearly a guide and starting point, it should be used with "a grain of salt" so to speak.</p>
<p>Nice article.</p>
<p>"I was recently informed by the director of data research at U.S. News, the person at the magazine who has a lot to say about how the rankings are computed, that absent students' SAT scores, the magazine will calculate the college's ranking by assuming an arbitrary average SAT score of one standard deviation (roughly 200 points) below the average score of our peer group."</p>
<p>In other words, USNWR is not so subtly asking (demanding) that Sarah Lawrence College change its policy of not accepting SAT scores. In an age when colleges and universities are quite protective of their academic freedom, all of them should be alarmed at USNWR punishing Sarah Lawrence for failure to conform. </p>
<p>If the ivies wanted to show solidarity with their sister, these influential institutions could force USNWR to back down in a minute. Perhaps President Myers' article was an attempt to rally such support. It seems that Sarah Lawrence should not be alone in having to make a decision as to whether or not they provide data to USNWR.</p>
<p>As a form of protest Sarah Lawrence should have given USNWR SAT data where every applicant has perfect scores. That would be really funny. Come to think of it, all schools should report perfect scores, that would totally throw off US News' numbers. ;)</p>
<p>The writer of this article stands upon a shaky soapbox. A school that says to students, "Do not send us SATs; we don't want them; we feel the test tells us nothing," is attracting students who, on the whole, probably don't test well. Not testing well is not a virtue; it is a flaw. It may not be a fatal flaw, but a flaw nonetheless. If another school requires high grades, a challenging hs curriculum, AND high standardized test scores, that school most likely will be selecting from a pool of more talented applicants.</p>
<p>lol, I like SimpleTruth's idea.</p>
<p>To 4th house: who's the say that SAT's are an accurate measure of a person's ability? Sure, you won't find many stupid people who get high scores, or geniuses who fail it, but really, what does the SAT tell that the rest of the application -- courseload, grades, rank, recommendations, extracurricular activities -- don't? Why make them send the scores if they won't be of much help? (Note, also, that the student probably did take the SAT, because SLC most likely won't be the only college he or she is applying.) And anyway, saying that they, on a whole, don't test well is presumptuous. I'm sure that if it did ask to have them sent, they'd be at a pretty high level.</p>
<p>I disagree that the SAT is a good indicator of talent. Again, I know not-so-intelligent people tend not to get good test scores, and extremely intelligent ones don't tend to get low ones, but the SAT just gives you the general ballpark of where the student stands -- and again, doesn't the whole app itself paint that picture already?</p>
<p>And let's not get started on why one would need to be able to answer a bunch of questions in 25 minutes, when in college, you'll most likely have more time to figure it out. (Sharpness of mind? Sure. 25 minutes? No, since the SAT is supposed to measure how well you'll do under the workload.)</p>
<p>What a tremendous article. Sarah Lawrence should pull out of the USNews survey, as should other colleges. Everybody in the industry knows that the ranking are exceptionally flawed, and until colleges protest this system in the name of fairness we won't be able to put a better ranking system in place, or even better, get rid of the rankings all together.</p>
<p>As flawed as you think it is name some names outside of SLC and other protest schools that are way overrated or underrated and why.</p>
<p>Excellent article.</p>
<p>More colleges should stand up to USNWR... of course, its the classic prisoner's dilemma and nothing is likely going to change...</p>
<p>I never said that the SAT should be the only criteria for admissions. That is a straw horse. What an application w/o it will leave one wondering about is: what is this high school's grading criteria? What level are they working at? Can you get through this particular high school w/o knowing how to write a proper essay, for example? </p>
<p>Remember...you can BUY an application essay. You can go to a crappy hs, get great grades, and be miles below kids at another hs. You can get along well with 2 teachers and get 2 great recs. But without SOME sort of standardization, you could be a drain rather than an asset to a college classroom. And my point is still...if a college proudly eschews the SAT or ACT, they are creating a niche where they shall attract students who either do not or cannot test well.</p>
<p>4th House makes some excellent points.</p>
<p>The whole point of the SATs, despite my own reservations about them, is to set standards in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Students from different schools clearly do not have the same educational opportunities nor do they study under the same rigorous curriculum. It may be more diffcult for an exceptionally bright student to get straight As in his/her school because he/she attends a challenging school with very high-standards. You cannot possibly compare As in one school to As in another school.</p>
<p>Use of the SATs as well as APs allow colleges to reasonably compare its applicants since grades evidently do not provide a good enough picture of the capabilities of the student.</p>
<p>SATs, however, should not play a large role in the admissions process. They should be used merely as a way of comparing students. </p>
<p>It is also true that some students cannot afford to pay for SAT tutoring services, which could be seen as a disadvantage. Yet, those who are deserving of a college education should be able to do well in the SATs without having to fork over thousands of dollars for tutoring.</p>
<p>"SATs, however, should not play a large role in the admissions process."</p>
<p>SAT's can play whatever role in the admissions process colleges and universities want them to play. SLC doesn't give them any role. Other schools give varying degrees of weight to them. The common datasets show what that weighting is and its relation to other factors in the admissions process. Why shouldn't a school be allowed to do as they please with standardized test scores?</p>