Comment by visarga
2 years ago
Apparently GPA distribution is less affected by adverse experiences. So doing college admissions based on GPA sounds more fair than affirmative action. Some people from disadvantaged groups also say they would rather be admitted on merit alone because it is more reliable in the long run, but they don't get this choice.
Problem is, GPA is incredibly subjective across different schools, hence the need for standardized testing. Do you rank someone that has a 3.5 at a boarding school where they were taking college level math classes at Princeton as less qualified than someone that has a 4.0 at a school where half the students aren't literate?
Agree. The place I went to HS had a 4.0 grading scale. There was no other high school in my town. Several towns over, their school district decided that AP classes should get weighted grades, putting me at a comparative disadvantage within the same curriculum.