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“Standardized tests reveal inequality, they don’t create it” - I never thought of it this way

I don’t get when kids with perfect GPAs say they are bad test takers. If you were a bad test taker, you wouldn’t have a perfect GPA. That’s why I am not against standardized testing- it’s a universal quantitative academic measure.

I agree especially with the standardized tests part. Everything else is even more biased and unfair so I don’t understand the hate towards it.

Also, impressive extracurriculars show wealth. Sports, instrument lessons, all cost so much money. I really don’t get what is so special for ex. about playing piano at Carnegie Hall. Admissions people think that’s so great, but all that shows me is that their family had enough money for a piano and pricey lessons for years. Even being a part of a school club costs money in many schools. Students are asked to pay for competition, travel, and bus fees that add up to $1000s per year. I really think the admissions people are out -of -touch with what high school is like today. If they understood I don’t know if they would place such high value on extracurriculars.

Standarized tests are definetely much more fair than GPAs. Is it perfect? No. Is it the best it can be? Probably.

I agree with your stance on standardized tests. As someone who goes to a below average public high school, the SAT and ACT were some of the only ways for me to stand out. Thank you for your videos. They helped me get into my dream school.

First video in a while. I graduated last year with the class of 2021. I’m at Tufts university now and I got in through my Questbridge application. Thank you for all your work! It helped a ton along my college process and my senior year of high school

Very good point made about standardized tests. It frustrates me that some schools are test-blind. ACT/SAT is the only objective and comparative aspect of an application. Everything else is subjective to the viewer. I understand they were trying to solve a problem, but that was not the way to do it.

In countries like Iran, China, India, UK, Turkey, etc there are standardized tests which are the main factor in college admission. There’s no grade inflation or wildly inconsistent grading systems in those countries.

#4 is one of those opinions that should be popular but are for some reason very unpopular. The SAT is a test where everyone gets the same test, same questions, same amount of time, and same venues (high schools). Sure the kids from private schools and tutors have a preparation advantage but compare that to GPA"s or even EC's where a kid from a private school can have a 4.0 whereas if they went to the local public school they would have got a 2.3. Or even that private school kids participate in EC's and that even middle class kids have never even heard of. The private school kid not only has an advantage in the EC that they participate in compared to the middle class public school kid but also have a larger variety of activities to choose from. That is like giving the private school kid 20 questions on a test and saying that they can pick the 10 questions they want to answer and giving the middle class public school kid a 10 question test and saying that they have to answer all 10.

I was a tutor and SAT test prepper, and I can tell you that Brooke really hit this one out of the park. I agree that yes, standardize tests aren't perfect nor totally objective, but they are the MOST objective of all the other college admissions criteria. After all, ALL students took, basically, the same test so all competed against each other. What could be MORE fair than that. And yes, the schools get to choose who gets in. Nothing wrong with that.

Some good points. I would take issue with one item - these elite private universities shouldn't be able to do as they please. As stated eloquently by others: "All these elite private schools are 501(c)3’s. They’re charities. That means that alumni donations are tax deductible, and it means that if they have endowments, endowments can get income without paying taxes. That’s a huge deal. It’s a massive subsidy to these schools - and even a bigger subsidy to elite, private universities. Just to give you an idea of the size of the subsidy, in a recent years someone calculated that Princeton University’s tax exempt status amounts to a public subsidy of $100,000 per Princeton student. State University of New Jersey at Rutgers spends about $12,500 per student per year. And the local community college spends between $2,000 to $3,000 per student per year. So the allegedly private Princeton is getting a public subsidy that is much bigger than the public universities in its neighborhood." That' simply not right. So, a fix is to eliminate this tax gift that all of us pay for. Then, and only then, should these "elites" be allowed to do as they please with their sham meritocracy.

The last 3 years has not treated me kindly, so a standardized test proving I'm as smart as I say I am is a great thing. Had I been a perfect high school student I'd be scoring the same as I am now as a not so perfect student. It's fair.

All hail Brooke! The best source of college admissions advice we’ve found! To those high school students worried about getting into college. Stress not! As a former corporate recruiter in NY, i saw how the careers of graduates of elite high schools and colleges often played played out in the real world. Private industry has always been a better judge of a person’s capabilities and potential than our university system. Grades and test scores don’t correlate well with a person’s ability to excel in private industry. 5-10 years out of school, a candidate’s work performance, character, likability and determination always trumps an Ivy League degree. Over educated academics who don’t function well in corporate America are far more common than elite colleges would like to admit. The smartest candidates from the best universities were not what my clients wanted. In fact, I saw hiring managers as more often biased against graduates from top schools, because they were rarely graduates of top colleges themselves. “I saw she went to Harvard. So can she walk on water AND turn it into wine?” It’s a crime that these colleges are in a position to have so much influence on our children. They’re just not that good at it in my experience. To accurately assess people takes a lot more than 8-10 minutes per application…,go figure. Brooke’s best advice, IMO…..seriously consider state schools and community college; Because the school you desperately want to go to you isn’t as good as they’re leading you to believe; And hiring managers are tired of this system just like everyone else. When you graduate, try to find a company with quality people because corporate America is filled with people who’ve ‘found their passion’ but work for an asshole. 😊

You’re awesome! Thank you for what you do. Love your diversity of topics.

This is a really good video. I think everyone should take this into consideration when applying to college, especially for the ivies or top tier colleges, and for international students who are often left behind no matter how qualified they may be. Personally, I have been really stressed lately because I'm an international student applying this year, and I have been thinking a lot about the things you said. I appreciate the way you explained everything and the sincerity too! Thank you!

I agree with you, my daughter is Jr high in a good public school. Some teachers are very hard on grading and don’t hand out A’s. I think SAT is a good indicator where a person stands. Essay’s are paid too. CA might not agree with SAT for lame reasons but they don’t have an alternative either.

One test score really shouldn’t be more predictive than the 4 years of “mini college” in High School. But here we are with a single test considered a better predictor than the 4 years of High School. Schools need to stop encouraging inflated GPAs. We really shouldn’t be ok with a single test being better than the High School Grades.

Thank you for this honest take on the college application process.

Very interesting analysis on test scores. It was interesting to see my peers who are straight A students getting 1100s. You make a good point

Excellent, Brooke. Probably the best video you've done.

You are a breath of fresh air. When I graduated HS overseas a few decades ago, I had no idea there were tricks to the trade to studying for the SAT. It was months of torture, and self study was super hard. Now my senior used resources such as yours and others, and did alright. Your advice will come in v handy for my next students in tow.

A video everyone needs to see before applying to college

IMHO, this was one of your most informative vlogs ever. Thank you.

Brilliant analysis, Brooke!

"That must be a tough job... good thing it's not mine" got me dying 😂. But all jokes aside, this was really good insight! Thank you so much!

This is actually one of the best videos you have done. “Unpopular opinions”? We need those!

TEST ARE A FACT OF LIFE . if you want to be a CPA LAWYER DOCTOR or go to grad school etc . get ready for many test . if you want to look at unfair test , look at college admission test in asia india etc . those are the people you are going to compete against in life . taking a test is a skill that everyone should learn

Straight up facts! Best video on KZfaq about college admission process 👏🏼👏🏼

Thanks a lot, Brooke! Makes a lot of sense.

I enjoyed this video ,it's very informative

Thank you. I’ll have to watch this again. and again.

This is the best video you ever made!

Brooke Hanson is a great counselor because the 2022 reality because the Admissions Commitees have their own rules that applicants must fulfill. Overall they do a good job and the their best to tap out the students from the crap and the list.

Adding this video to my favorites!

Impressed with your honest thoughts.

Bold and well reasoned!

Your advice on SATs enabled me to do so much better in my digital SAT tests. I am very happy to have received a 1570 SAT score in my recent test. ☺

This was a very important video, Brooke.

Thank you for sharing. I will share this with my sophomore daughter. One of her big concerns has been whether her GPA would be higher if she had gone to the local public school versus her private Catholic high school. It’s not so easy say and I remind her of my public school experience and how the admissions office saw that versus the private school GPAs. Thank you again

Brooke pulled no punches in this one lol. Great video!

The awkward pauses Brooke does are funny AF.

Wow - love this video! An adult telling children they are not entitled to something - what a concept. From a 52 year old trying to help his nephew get into college.

If you've never looked at them, the Germans actually have quite a good system. You are examined on five subjects, however two you do at a 'major' level and three you do at a 'minor' level. That keeps the range of subjects broad but also allows for some specialisation. The exams also differ a bit from State to State in Germany, so there is a bit of leeway in the system.

7:31 completely agree. Can't understand why the US doesn't have external exams like A-Levels or Scottish highers like we do in the UK (Although they have problems as well).

I completely agree with you!

Brooke spittin’‼️ 🗣🗣🗣

Well said

Agree with all these unpopular opinions! Also wanted to add that grade inflation puts MORE pressure on students. When 20% of the student body gets straight A's (like my son's large public school), getting one B is a calamity... as well as it doesn't let the real stars shine. So then there is more pressure to take AP courses (which at our school you have to pay for the very expensive texts since it's an AP course (can be over $200) and the AP test) which adds to the pressure and further pushes grade inflation. I graduated HS in the 80's and there were only 3 AP classes available and we only had a handful of kids with over a 4.0 and you knew who they were. (I had a 3.86 and decent SAT scores for the times (1240! so there's SAT inflation too) and got into an Ivy League school. Would not cut it at all in today's insane world).

Thank you for just stating the truth!

You know College Kids ought to apply to lesser known Schools than the well know ones for Admittance because one is bound to struggle and snuggle. Low SAT scores have been the reason why so many black students have not been able to make it unto the School or system.

I understand your first point but actually Google can't just hire whoever they want to hire. There are anti-discrimination laws they have to consider. It's even worse for private Universities which take federal funding, student federal loans, and tax exemptions, and therefore are subject to even more federal regulations and public scrutiny.

Hi Brook, thanks for the tough love! Elite universities are built for the self preservation of their elite status. This means life is not fair. Stanford took a football player that went to the same high school of another student that was the quitessential great kid, top student, good athlete, great leadership, top 1 percent SATs and was rejected. I told him Stanford needed a star athlete more than it another highly qualified great kid. One factor that is driving the supper low acceptance rates among elite universities is that many strong candidates will apply to over a dozen elite universities wich inflates the application pool as well as the encouragement you indicated for less than qualified students to apply. Seems to be a bit of a game to me and I am very happy I don't have to traverse this minefield any more. Keep up the great content and thank you for providing a realistic and pragmatic view.

I'm glad u r makin money & career brooke. This "elite" college iadmission is the biggest hustle goin. 95% of these kids can attend state Us .. have great careers and in whole lot less DEBT..

What do you think of the idea of testing someone on material that has not been taught? There are a lot of questions on the SAT that do just that. Is that fair? After all, everyone takes the same test. I think it's fair, in the sense that randomness is fair.

totally agree on gpa. it even matters which teachers you get in hs, not how smart you are

I don't agree with the Standardized test one. I take 5 A-levels which is more than 99% of students in the UK. I have no time to do SATs, and also when I did try (which was flipping hard because I had my school exams at the same time) my SAT exam was cancelled twice. But hey I see people agreeing in the comments...i guess it's different depending on each person and how many difficult courses they take at school

I disagree with standarized tests because testing in general is harder for some kids. I go to a really good high school which focuses heavily on STEM and the classes there are more advanced than most high schools. When it comes to standardized testing, I do really poorly. It's not because I didn't study or pay attention. I know how to answer the question, I know the steps and formulas. But it takes me a long time to absorb the info which results in me guessing or leaving blank 50% of the test. Some kids just aren't good at taking tests even though they're really smart

Isn't point 1 kinda obvious? They are currently not a meritocracy. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be meritocratic. But I don't think it's unpopular or controversial to state the matter of fact that they are current unmeritocratic.

1:05 Not legally, but wouldn't you agree that it would be immoral exclude or discriminate against students based on their income, race, gender, family heritage or sexual orientation? Wouldn't it be unfair to knowingly limit the opportunities of students based upon unfair criteria?

It's difficult to get a high GPA in college because there are a lot of C's for everyone and B's for everyone instructors, and you might not know who to take and who to avoid.

Agree wholeheartedly with every take, I would hope that the hype towards elite colleges dies down tho.

1:03 that was a big truth bomb

my school has grade inflation, but they dont send the percentages, they send the letter grades only. Would that help me or still hurt me if i get usually A-'s and As?

100% agreed.

Truth!

I completely agree! I just don't understand how they are going to evaluate students with SAT for all the reasons you cited. One interesting note about test anxiety. My son has severe test anxiety. So, I just made him take the test every time they offer it. He took it 7 times. That is a lot considering there was no SAT administered for about 1 1/2 years. After a few times, taking the SAT just became a Saturday chore. He wants to go to law school, so I figure I will make him take LSAT every chance possible.

luv it. wait, I thought you were not allowed to be brutally honest and straightforward on youtube! just kidding. What's even more brutally true- colleges matter less than the student's motivation, discipline, goals, and plans. If you don't have one or more of those - it matters little which college you go to. Also, picking the right major/career choice is so so much more important than which college you go to. Lastly, for some, cost of college should trump more than the rankings so you are not overburden with debt when you graduate with a communications degree that pays little or confer very little advantage in job search when you graduate.

They should rather use the Standardized Tests to select the right applicants their various Campuses and facilities,

Omg she said everything I’ve been thinking. Some may not like SATs but they’re the fairest part of the whole application process. Like she said, it is much easier to coach a kid on the essays and essays reveal inequality in wealth. I know kids who had $$ college counselors “help” them on essays and by the end, we really don’t know who wrote it. And with recommendations - kids at private schools get inflated recs from both teachers and counselors. My counselor has over 100 seniors to write recs for, while taking care of 250 underclassmen. I doubt he wrote any of us excellent recs.

So many enrollment professionals are unnecesarily weeping and gnashing their teeth about the methods of what they call "highly rejective" universities.

do you counsel kids for college admission, college selection, application help and essay help?

Wait, doesn't USA have some sort of board exam like A-level or international baccalaureate ? That would surely eliminate the problem of grade bias right ?

The source you cited says that wealth correlates with essay CONTENT and not the strength of the essay. Also, writing "stand out" essays are a lot harder to do than getting a good SAT score... so I strongly disagree on that one.

In my area the public schools have highly inflated GPAs, while the private ones are often slightly deflated.

What is the link to inquire about essay prep services?

Brooke on her menace arch 💀

SAT before around 1995 was a very good proxy for IQ. I think it still is pretty good from what I have read but not as good as before 1995. What do you think?

I have literally seen a person score above 1400 on an SAT, and nearly fail the standardized CBSE test in India.

Brooke sounds so done with the rat race for college elitism lol

I fully agree with what Brooke said in this video. I don’t believe in test blind. ACT or SAT should be one of the criteria for admission considerations. GPA and Essay without standardization test give room for more unfairness and increased chance of mistakenly select a lousy apple coated with shinny wax!

Like it or not, the standardized test are standard. The GPA has no standard. Schools should use a numeric grade on a 100 pt scale because letter grades are inconsistent from district to district. Great video. 👍

Are you ok?? You're looking a little sad? Or perhaps tired, upset..sick?? Hopefully just my impression

Brooke is having her joker moment

Oh damnnnnnnn, the energy I used to feel while watching her videos, isnt there. Get well soon

Unpopular opinion: complaining about the SAT is a loser's thing. My POV: I am an international student who comes from a country with absolutely no standardization even among my school's teachers. We do not have ranks nor do we have any way to compare each other. Some students in my class do way better than others just because the teachers' grading policies vary so much. Since nobody from my high school ever went to the US (top school), there is absolutely no way to compare myself to other, and the SAT was the proof that I was qualified. I do not understand the people who complain about the SAT not being "fair". It is SO fair, since there are so many-a plethora ;)- of free resources on the internet that allow everybody to have access to test prep. Neverhteless, there are still people complaining about rich kids having access to private tutoring... You know what? that's just life. Obviously, kids from rich families will have a headstart in everything in life, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Regarding the argument that you are wasting time, I do not agree with it either. The SAT truly teaches you to be critical, it helps you read faster, solve math problems quickly.... As I progressed on both sections, I saw my abilities and understand of english and math improve tremednously. After all, I just think that people prefer to complain instead of work hard. Let me know what you think ;)

Hey Brooke! Why does it look like you are not happy and you are a little sad. It looks like you have cried before filming this video. Is your health alright. Are you okay??❤

The GPA opinion is facts

A whole lotta reasons to homeschool.

Is there a way I can contact you ?

I don’t hear anyone whining that the LSAT is “unfair!!” Or that the GRE, MEDCAT or VETCAT are “biased!!” These complaints are socio-political yammering that didn’t even happen until fairly recently. The SAT/ACT are no more “unfair” than graduate aptitude tests. In my experience only inferior students complain about aptitude tests being stacked against them. Even the fact that nobody is saying this out loud confirms the social /political nature of such claims and complaints. School selection processes aren’t democracies and they want to know who is up to the task of academically succeeding. If you don’t like these tests then you’re very likely concerned that you’re in that group. If someone experiences a lack of privilege and this should influence their academic performance that is an entirely different issue that cannot and should not be addressed by the SAT. That person can locate a school that will not give weight to their test score and can worry about not getting a job they want 4 yrs down the road.

Based

Hard disagree on standardized testing

I take no issue with any of your opinions but GOOD LORD you're so hostile in this video. This is the first time I've ever watched a video of yours and was glad * not * to be in the room with you. Sheesh. I also counsel teens through their college admissions process and this is something else. You could express these same opinions in a professional manner, if you choose.

u sound kinda sick today brook

UC is a test-blind joke. UC will pay for this.

People who don't like the SAT and ACT plain and simple are people who score poorly on the tests. It is the one objective thing for college. I never studied for it at all and blew it out, so I liked them. Essays are a joke. You have no idea who wrote them and proofed them.

Brooke are you okay you sound very glum now

First lol