College admissions departments and the techniques they use to measure, distinguish, and admit students have varied over time; even today, admissions departments are trying to adapt and change for the betterment of their colleges. In the 17^th century, colleges and universities began to develop along with the growing scientific revolution and the introduction to the Age of Reason (also referred to as the Enlightenment). During this time of growth, colleges began admitting men on the terms that their main priority was their education; majority of the early colleges had a religious affiliation and were associated with the education of priests. Clearly that has changed from the 17^th century to today because now there are hundreds of colleges that have no religious affiliation and they do not admit students to become priests. In fact, today’s college application process is continuously changing as college admissions departments are constantly seeking better ways to “holistically” determine the best candidates for admission to their programs. Standardized college readiness tests, written essays, letters of recommendation, GPAs, transcripts, and even interviews are all used to distinguish who is deemed acceptable for a college program. The multiple formulas used by different colleges in combination with the increasing search for diverse applicants makes the holistic approach to the college application process both challenging and expensive.

The American College Test, more commonly known as the ACT is one of the few standardized college readiness examinations that are widely used by colleges and universities in the United States. The test is comprised of four sections—English, math, reading, and science—and it has an optional writing prompt. It is given multiple times throughout the year across the country. Although the ACT is used by many colleges as a measurement of students’ preparedness for college, many times it just reveals two measurements: how well a student can take a test and the student’s socioeconomic background. Some say the ACT is only a measurement of how well a student can take a test (Delbanco). Evidence of this is suggested by the hundreds of books published for how to succeed on the ACT. Yes, almost all of those books include practice problems, but the problem is they also include testing strategies that, in some ways, can be seen as ways to beat the test and score maximum points. Secondly, the ACT averages since 1995 reveal that if the test taker is white or male, they will, on average, perform better on the test (National Center for Education Statistics). Another way to look at this is by combining the two previous measurements and seeing the correlation. Socioeconomic background has an impact on how well a student can study and prepare for these tests. For example, if a student comes from a poor family, they are probably less likely to obtain the proper preparation for the test, however if the student stems from a wealthy background, they will have had a better opportunity to get the preparation and practice for the test. That most likely will cause the wealthy student to do better.

The former Scholastic Aptitude Test, now known simply as the SAT is another standardized test that is supposed to test students’ readiness for college (Cloud). Like its ACT counterpart, it has multiple testing sections, an optional writing portion, and it is used by colleges across the United States. As seen with the ACT, the same problems happen with the SAT. It is not a flawless test that tests students’ knowledge and readiness for college. This test just shows how well students are able to study and prepare right before taking it. Preparatory books, study guides, and preparatory classes are all ways that students get ready for the test. For example, on the cover alone, Cracking the SAT* states that it has proven techniques and practice problems. As stated before, this has a heavy correlation with students’ background. If students are not able to practice such testing techniques, how are they able to do well on the test? Additionally, a problem is created by the high schools that students are attending. School systems across the country have different curriculums, standards, and classes that they offer. Some of them offer test prep courses, which are designed to help students develop good test-taking skills before they take the ACT or SAT. Again, access to materials is essential for doing well on the test—that is of course, unless a student is an exceptional test taker. The SAT is flawed just like the ACT. It does not adequately test students’ preparedness for college because of the way it is designed.

The Common Application (also referred to as the “common app”) is a website/portal that is used by almost one million students every year (About Us). It was designed to make the college application process easier on applicants so they would be able to send out their colleges’ applications from one central application. Currently, the “…organization is comprised of more than six hundred wonderfully diverse colleges and universities from across the world” (About Us). This idea makes sense for both organizational, business, and equality purposes. It provides a friendly user interface that is easy to use, it saves time and effort that would have been put towards filling out multiple applications separately and it provides equality because it is easily accessible. The common application is a remarkable tool that is available to college applicants around the country. Although the Common Application already works effectively, the idea behind it can be built upon and improved.

The college application process for every college and university is different. Some colleges require essays and interviews, while some only require essays. Every college tries to come up with the best and most efficient way of choosing which students are acceptable for admittance. Finding the proper balance between numerical scores and applicants’ experiences is necessary (Bruni).

Over time, diversity has become one of the magic words in the college world. Colleges strive for diversity because it has both proven to yield better learning environments and it helps people see issues from multiple viewpoints (Delbanco). On the SAT and the ACT, however, diversity has shown to be a deciding factor. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, from 2009 to 2013, white students have outperformed every other race by 10-100 points on the SAT with the exception of the writing portion—Asian/pacific islanders took that category. Additionally, on the ACT, Asian and white students also show superior average testing composite scores (National Center for Education Statistics). Diversity is not just related to the students’ race, but also their family’s yearly income. In a measurement by the National Center for Education Statistics, students’ whose families rake in $160,000 or more are more likely to score over 100 points better than students whose families make less than $40,000.

While test scores are important, many colleges have been increasingly looking at their applicants’ experiences and activities outside of their school and test scores. According to Frank Bruni in his article Hidden Gold in College Applications, test scores alone do not reveal what a person’s back story is or who they truly are. He gives an example about a girl who had to practically raise her brother while her single mother was constantly working to make enough money for the family to get by. Davidson College looked past her 25/36 score on the ACT and decided to admit her on the grounds that her story showed her character because of what she had to do outside of the classroom. This idea of character and experiences over tests scores is crucial to both Davidson College and that girl.

Like Davidson College overlooked test scores to admit an applicant based on her life experiences, many other colleges aspire to follow the same suite; however, interviews and other means of finding out about their applicants’ personal lives is quite challenging to organize and it costs money.

A new policy for college admissions stems from Davidson College’s example, the Common Application, and the ACT/SAT. Using a new test named LIFE in addition to an interview and the standard college essays, letters of recommendation, and other items used in the Common Application, this new policy provides a better way to analyze applicants in a holistic way and it provides an easy and user friendly way of getting the job done.

Instead of using a test that requires time efficient quick thinking, the LIFE test will be composed of four parts. The “L” stands for Life; this part of the test gives the student ample time to write about and answer questions regarding their life. It is open to everything the student wants to talk about. This is their opportunity to tell the colleges who they are using their writing skills. The “I” stands for Intellectual abilities. Unlike the ACT or the SAT, which use time as their challenge, this part of the test gives the students unlimited time to try and finish. Additionally, it will start off with very easy questions in all subjects and transition to more in-depth college level questions by the end. There will be a penalty for students who guess so they will be encouraged to answer only the questions that they know how to do. The further a student makes it on the test with correctly answering the questions, the higher their score will be. The “F” represents Finances. This gives the students the opportunity to give information on their families’ finances and how they view money in the world. Again, by using a combination of multiple choice and explanation questions, this will provide both a subjective and objective response. Lastly, the “E” portion stands for Experiences. This is where students can tell colleges about the three experiences that shaped their lives the most. This gives control to the students to share their story and how they view the world with colleges.

While this new test will—without a doubt—take longer to complete, it will be more beneficial to colleges because it provides both and objective test score and it also provides colleges insight to their applicants’ experiences. The only real numerical score will be provided for the Intellectual abilities portion.

Like the common app, this new test also comes with an online portal. This portal is free for use and it does everything the common app does and more. In addition to the Common Application’s abilities, this portal will also provide a way to organize an interview so the applicants and college admissions officers can meet. Whether it is an in-person interview or an online interview via webcam, an interview provides so much more than a conversation. This will give the admissions counselors the opportunity to see and talk to the applicant first-hand. When applicants turn in their essays, this shows their writing and thinking processes, but it fails to show how many times they edited and revised their work. In an interview, if the same questions are asked that are normally asked in an essay prompt, the applicants’ responses will be more genuine and they will reveal the interviewees’ character and personality.

In Howard Lyman’s book Test Scores and What They Mean, he states that all standardized tests need to be checked at every stage and process to ensure they are clean of mistakes and they are doing their job correctly (130). This is crucial to maintaining the credibility of any standardized test, because bad tests result in bad scores and that can damage the college application process. To maintain the LIFE tests’ credibility, no tests questions will be released to the public and no test questions will ever be repeated. The tests will be given once a month and it will be completely rewritten with different variations of questions and different questions altogether.

This new application process comes with some slight disadvantages for both the applicants and the colleges. First of all, much of the process is easier to do on a computer. If an applicant does not have access to a computer, they can’t access the portal. Therefore, there will be a written alternative that students may use to send in their information. Additionally, the interviews will be given no weight and they can only help applicants on their application. Lastly, interview trips can be costly for college admissions officers. To combat those costs, in addition to having college admissions officers conduct interviews, there will be an organization that uses alumni from the institutions as interviewers. Also, there is the opportunity to do video chat or webcam interviews.

Ultimately, since as early as the 17^th century, colleges and universities have been constantly searching for better ways to analyze their applicants and determine who will make their next class. The ACT and the SAT have flaws that are shown by the differences in the scores of people from various racial and financial backgrounds. The need to prep for these tests rather than to gain knowledge and demonstrate it with application is one of the major problems. To improve upon the current college application processes—including the Common Application, ACT, and SAT—a new policy will combine them all and include a different style of test. The LIFE test will provide both a standardized test score and it will also allow the students to discuss their experiences and their diversity. Using the portal that is in coordination with the LIFE tests, applicants and colleges will be able to communicate faster and more efficiently. This policy is designed to increase equality in the process, reduce the test-prep biases, and make the college application easier.