If you’ve had your finger on the SAT/ACT phenomenon lately, you may have noticed that over the past 18 months or so the content of the ACT has become more varied and difficult, likely in response to the many students who chose to take it instead of the SAT. More kids with higher scores means the test has to get tougher.
So kids are switching back to the SAT, which is great, but it’s leading to a lot of conversations about vocabulary, which ultimately leads to conversations about reading. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that many of the students who work with me directly are very privileged in their educational backgrounds: many of their parents hold several degrees and they attend excellent schools. One would be naïve to think that I’m not having conversations like “seriously, you need to start to reading” with presumed young scholars. However, blame You Tube, blame the television, blame our culture, or blame bad writers… I don’t know, but we’ve got kids who want to go to Brown and Penn who don’t read. I suppose this doesn’t strike them as unusual, as so few of their friends seem to read, but the fact is this:
The most prestigious colleges in the country (and frankly, many colleges that are not so prestigious) don’t give students big homework assignments and expect regurgitation; instead, they intend to challenge students’ thinking, to broaden their intellectual horizons, to encourage them to develop new ideas. If you’re mulling over new ideas, you’re going to need to write to express your thoughts, and you’ll need to do that well if you want anyone to take you seriously. Moreover, if you’re not a reader, your vocabulary will likely suffer as well, which means your SAT score is going to suffer.
All those coveted seats at Top Institutions? They’re going to readers.
Which means you need to go pick up a book or a copy of Vanity Fair, stat.
And if you’re not reading, whether you’ve realized this yet or not, you’re going to struggle to eek your way into the top institutions, no matter who you are. Hate to be heavy-handed, but these are the facts, kids. Now go pick up a book!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
As always, Elizabeth is “right on!”