Letter to the College Board

Phoebe Smolin, a senior at Hamilton High School, writes:

Dear College Board,

It’s over. My long-running battle with you and the numbers you seek to define me by is finished. As my final act of surrender, I seek to prove, once and for all, that your tests say nothing about me or any creative student who submits to them.

First of all, to assuage my terrible relationship with math, every day for one month last year I went to my math teacher at six o’clock in the morning to mend it. I go to one of the top and most intense magnet schools in Los Angeles, take challenging classes, and am in the top 10% of my class. I read because I love to read, not because I’m forced to. I respect my teachers and I am absolutely addicted to learning. I am in multiple clubs and hold several leadership positions. I voluntarily wake up early and stay out late on Saturdays to protest for equal rights. I do community service around my city and around the world. I’m highly curious about everything. I play three instruments and write my own music. I have amazing friends from multitudes of cultural backgrounds and I am simply and enthusiastically passionate about living — qualities that don’t amount to a College Board number.

High school trains us to find our own voices, to figure out in our own innovative ways how to make a difference. Colleges advertise themselves as wanting to accept individuals willing to challenge themselves and be involved in their communities. How, then, does it make sense to judge us each by the same exact test?

College Board, I have taken your SAT twice, both times receiving the same score. The first time, I spent a fortune for a tutor, the second, I didn’t. Now, my results on that test can very possibly negate my exceedingly hard work and great grades I’ve earned over the last four years. They have the possibility of diminishing evidence of the radiating passion I have for learning and living. My results on this money-hungry test will tell the institutions I want to attend that I am not good enough; that I am not “prepared for college,” as you so kindly script in your introduction to the test, even though I am positive I will do just as well or even better than anyone who is paired with a higher set of numbers than mine, and my teachers would agree.

I understand that money is an issue to you. But I feel that it’s becoming the sole reason you administer this test. Today, for example, I wrote the College Board to ask a question about one of my Subject Test scores. In response, I was called a “customer” — not a student, not a person, but a customer. If that is not enough evidence for the nature of this test, then I don’t know what is.

Your numbers do not reveal a person who wants every opportunity to learn, to contribute and to change the world. While all other aspects of my life assure me of my abilities, your test negates them. For $45, you invalidate my commitment of hard work and you do the same for millions of high school students around the world who contribute great things but are not wired to do well on your tests. So, College Board, I hope that you hear me and those I speak for. Rather than treat us as customers who fill your coffers, regard us as the inspired students you claim to cultivate.
Thank you for listening and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Phoebe Smolin

Comments

[Eric]

Couldn't have said it better myself! Now about that date...

[Zoe]

I do not mind being represented in this letter at all.

[Alan Shusterman]

Phoebe,

If certain colleges are foolish enough to not accept you because of your SAT scores, it's their loss, not yours. There a plenty of excellent colleges in this country that recognize the limitations of the SAT and other College Board products.

Please be assured that, despite what others may tell you, the reality is that the particular college you end up attending (especially with respect to its ranking) is not what will ultimately lead to success and satisfaction in your life; rather, it's who YOU are and what YOU take away from your college and other experiences. And, if your "Dear College Board" letter is an accurate indication, you are a remarkable young woman.

I wish you the best of luck wherever you end up.

Be well!

Alan

Alan Shusterman, Founder
School for Tomorrow
www.schoolfortomorrow.net

[Robert McCullough, Dean of Admission, Ursinus College]

Phoebe,
Well said. You sound like a terrific student and human being, and you may be pleased to learn that there are a number of fantastic colleges, Ursinus among them, that have some form of test optional policy. At Ursinus, you can waive your SAT by merit of your top 10% ranking. As a result, you can be assured we will focus on your outstanding qualities that are not measured on a 200-800 point scale.
More test optional schools are listed at:
http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional

[Patrick Mattimore]

The SAT is a rite of passage. No, it doesn't define who you are as a person, but it does provide some standardized information to the colleges which must choose between you, Phoebe, and thousands of other Phoebes.
It's also helpful to remind yourself over and over about a couple of things when you apply to college. First, and most important, college is a great deal more about who you are than who they are. The bottom line is that you can get a great education at Los Angeles City College and an abysmal one at Harvard.
Second, about two days after you arrive at college the status thing (or lack thereof) disappears.
Third, if math ain't your thing, look for a school that won't care or, at least, will want you because you have an outstanding English resume or are steeped in public service. Think about your application process as an audition for the schools, not for you. They have to make your list of where you want to go.
Finally, my daughter had outstanding English scores and lousy math scores. I encouraged her to think unconventionally. She ended up at one of the top universities in ...Canada. There are lots of great places dying to get California kids-you just have to go looking for them.

[Erin]

There is no real reason why this posting *should* appeal to me (I have small kids, it's been ages since I was in college and I'm admittedly out of touch with the current college application process), but I LOVED this missive. Phoebe, I wish you the best, but I have a feeling that, in 10 years, your life will be rich in experiences that extend far beyond anything your chosen college can offer you. I would not trade places with you in terms of going through this grueling process, but I am happy to have lived it vicariously through your words. Hear, hear!

[Gerry OBrien]

Phoebe,
I am willing to bet that if you used this as your essay/personal statement, there are many colleges and universities that would accept you.

[Caroline]

No sympathy. I have never met a truly smart person who did badly on standardized tests. If you can't do the simple math that's on the SAT, something's wrong with your brain.

I do well on the tests because I am smart enough to know the answers to the questions. Funny how that works.

[Horton Brown]

Dear Caroline,
This is what you say to Phoebe? I guess this is what I would say to you:

“I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strangely, I am ungrateful to these teachers” Kahil Gibran

[Zoe]

Phoebe you are amazing. You put what I wish I could say beautiful eloquent words. I am happy to be one of your friends from a diverse ethnic background.

screw the college process