As i  pour my every waking hour into college applications i cant help but begin to question the system. Every college I've applied to has an overall acceptance rate of 25%. To get accepted into these school's BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) programs is an average of 15-12% acceptance rate, with my top school The University of Southern California being at 6%. I'm aiming high because i want the best education i can get my hands on. As i filled out each application i researched statistics and strategies to into the top universities. As i researched i became inclined to realize exactly what each college was looking for. Money. Yes, it may seem that these Ivy league schools are after the most intelligent students in the nation, but is it a coincidence that the students who get accepted are also students whom can somehow afford the 60,0000-80,000 a year tuition cost?
 What most colleges base their acceptance on? SATS. Standardized Academic Testing. The SATs  were formulated to create an level playing field for students providing college boards a format to evaluate student's academic level.  Our education system has become consumed with this 3 hour test. A test that is supposed to tell a school every ounce of your mental understanding. When I researched how to get my SAT score up to scale with the rest of the IVY league hopefuls i found that required ALOT of money. Classes to learn how to ace the SAT range from $100-$200, study guides for the SAT are $60-$80, and although you can take the SAT however many times you wish the SAT itself costs $50. Yes, you can get a high score on the SAT but that would require 2 things; either invest hundreds of dollars,or have the same mind as the people whom wrote the test. These are corrupted ideologies.

Because of the competition surrounding the SAT the students getting into Ivy League schools are more often than not students with money behind the pencil. I don't think I am far off in assuming that this is a scheme. Ivy League schools need the "pretty penny" tuition to back their name. Who can afford this tuition? The high class. Who often has the highest SAT score because of their financial  access to SAT? The high class.

The second corrupt ideology is the basement of a student on a single test. Anyone I repeat,  ANYONE can ace the SAT with time and effort. To score high on the SAT does not require effort on the brain creatively. Throughout my high school education I have been taught how to write an essay that agrees with the author, how to answer a test based off of your best guess, and overall how to conform with historic authors, scholars and scientists. I receive an A on my English papers in which I don't state my TRUE opinion but rather agree with the piece of literature.  If I dare state my opinion or create a piece of work never done before; I receive a poor score, and am told "the readers of your essay in the SAT will maybe give you a 3/10." William Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Lin Manuel Miranda, did not reach their fame by conforming to the level of education set before them but rather created a NEW form of education.

The SAT tests students on Math and English. I believe if we are to be tested on our mental compasity of knowledge additional testing needs to be included. Students should be tested on economics, business, government, the arts, politics, anatomy and the history of our nation. A corruptness will/ and has consumed our nation. Most reaching an Ivy league education only posses the known knowledge of Math and English. Ivy league education often leads to successful/higher ranking jobs, often including; political figures, lawyers, doctors and business men. Ivy league school's educating the next generation should select student's based off of more than Math and English if we are to have strong leaders.

Yes, i believe the SAT needs to be obliterated. It is a filter weaning out the middle class, and creative thinking individuals. Many of my high school classes have been spent preparing for the SAT rather preparing me for making a difference in society. A generation who gets a high score on the SAT but does not know who the Vice President is. A generation knowing how to ace a test but oblivious to the political affairs of our nation.


I have a passion to learn and grow and get the best education out there, sadly i don't know if i can get my hands on that because of the acceptance process of Ivy league schools. True education must be hard to get. However, stumping the creative thinking of the mind in pursuit for higher logical thinking will only create a nation of robots. Without an advancement of a testing system, the rich will continue to earn the highest education leaving the middle class without of reach.