Academic competition. Upon hearing this phrase, 9 out of 10 people have a string of numbers running in their heads. 95, 98, 99..and so on. The one thing common in all these numbers: they all range from 90 to 100.
Such has been the scenario. 89 and people(you know who) start believing that a student has missed out on something.
Well, the reality cannot be farther away.
I mean, I’m not saying that marks don’t carry any value. They surely do.
It is just that they do not carry enough value.
And I cannot stress this enough.
The National Education Policy 2020, is a clear testament to that.
The NEP is all set to introduce vocational courses into the mainstream education curriculum.
Pottery, painting, ethical hacking, electricals, you name it.
So, the big question is, if high scores were all that mattered, why this paradigm shift?
Well, that’s exactly what we are going to learn in this article today.
The Academic Competition- 2021
Going back 5-10 years, a score of 90% carried great merit. Today, as our introduction states, a score of 90 carries overwhelming normalcy to it.
The academic competition as understood in “popular opinion”, isn’t about where amongst the 90s, but how close to the perfect 100. We’re talking about decimals here.
Amidst this flurry of high marks, the one obvious question that pops up is, ‘how do colleges choose their candidates’? It’s almost like splitting strands of hair, isn’t it?
Well, actually the inflation of marks has had colleges develop their selection criteria over time. And why not, a college is as good as its students, right?
And believe me, beyond a point these adaptations have rendered the credibility of high scores completely insignificant in an admission selection process.
As a parent, to be able to guide your child in the right direction, you need to know this.
The Admission Selection Process
When it comes to top colleges, think of scores as the pass to enter the college premises.
That’s it. The role that “high scores” play. Helping a student scale past the elimination criterion.
One might argue that my child has secured a 95, how’s that not going to have any impact?
Well, past the elimination criterion, there are at least 10 students with 99.33, 99.64, or 99.77 marks.
Not to mention, there are scores of 96, 97, 98 too.
Additionally, in no way am I stating that a student with a 99 point something score is certain to land an admission. To get admission into a top college or university, you need a strong profile beyond an impressive scorecard.
Check your profile strength and assess if it is good enough to land you into your college of choice.
Such are the margins of the academic competition for a seat in a top college today!
So, what do these colleges look for?
It’s in our general knowledge that a college or university has multiple disciplines for a student to choose from.
History, Literature, Mass Communication, and many more.
Ideally, the qualities colleges look for in their candidates range from basic to extreme specifics.
Let us go through them one by one:
1. The Real-Life Skills
In total there are 5 elementary real-life skills that any confident individual should possess. Not just to secure admission, but to excel through life itself.
They are:
- Communication skills
- Critical Thinking skills
- Analytical skills
- Problem-Solving skills
- Decision Making Skills
The presence of these 5 skills is the first factor based on which the selection committee evaluates its candidates.
To be honest, it is a completely fair first stage.
An individual begins to excel when he/she has the ability to identify, plan, communicate through, and eventually face the many adversities across the various tracks of career, and life.
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2. Dedication to the applied field
If not any field, then this field.
The above kind of situation has never favored anyone. Neither a student and nor a college.
And for this very reason, top colleges for every seat of theirs are keen to discover how committed a candidate is to the field he or she is applying for.
This generally includes:
- A candidate’s knowledge of the subject matter
- The extra-curricular involvements and achievements in the relevant field
- The relevant interest demonstrated in the field
And collectively both the criteria are termed as profile building.
How can your child build the ideal student profile? Check Now.
Well, that’s about it.
The academic competition in today’s times, and how your child can beat it.
Is your child’s current profile good enough to get admission to top colleges like St. Stephens, Oxford, Stanford, or IIM?
Ashit Kumar Samal
A wanderer in every sense of the word, Asit’s love for biking is mostly on full throttle. As a writer, he feeds on satire and sarcasm in every possible way he can manage. Asit’s vision is to explore every aspect of Content Creation, from his laptop, on a warm beach, sipping on sweet Coconut water. Well, ideally!
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Ashit Kumar Samalhttps://www.univariety.com/blog/author/ashit-kumar-samal/
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Ashit Kumar Samalhttps://www.univariety.com/blog/author/ashit-kumar-samal/
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Ashit Kumar Samalhttps://www.univariety.com/blog/author/ashit-kumar-samal/
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Ashit Kumar Samalhttps://www.univariety.com/blog/author/ashit-kumar-samal/
