Hangzhou Zhejiang Education Guide 2019-2020

SCHOOL FEATURE
environments. The question for
most colleges and universities is
not so much whether applicants
are academically qualified,
that is easy to see, but rather
whether or not they fit into the
unique environment so lovingly
constructed and painstakingly
maintained by the university.
Research shows that despite
the dramatic rise in applications
in recent years, admissions
personnel from a wide range
of colleges estimate that 80-
85% of the applications they
receive are from academically
well-qualified candidates[1].
In real terms, this means
that of Harvard’s 34,000+
applicants last year, 28,900 of
them would fit the academic
profile of admits (3.8 GPA and
combined SAT scores ranging
between 2070-2320). As only
2,032 students were admitted,
26,860+ students were
necessarily rejected[2]. This
example is given to highlight the
fact that grades and scores only
determine the range of colleges
and universities at which
the student is academically
competitive. Grades and scores
don’t determine who gets in
because the entire pool of
applicants is equally highly
qualified.
This is where the word fit comes
in and it is the reason students
get admitted to or rejected from
certain colleges.
Increasingly, colleges all over the
world want more than just smart
students. They want students
with a wide array of talents
and abilities. They certainly
accept candidates who play the
violin brilliantly, but they also
want people who are talented
accordion or tuba players. They
want students who participated
in student government, but they
also want theatrical students
and students who ran their
own businesses, saved puppies
or knitted sweaters. There is
no formula or preference for
what students should do; the
preference is only that they do
something for which they have
a passion for in a meaningful
way. In shoe shopping terms, all
students need to have shoes,
but colleges look for shoes in
every colour of the rainbow. It
is the diversity that makes each
class interesting, challenging
and able to force new thinking
amongst its members. After all,
if everyone were the same, the
dynamism and learning that
comes from different viewpoints
and experiences would be lost.
Fit comes in many different
forms, sometimes it is the
black boot, sometimes it is the
neon sparkly heel and other
times it is worn and scruffy
on the outside but amazingly
comfortable inside. This fit
cannot be determined by
casual observation, but rather
is ascertained slowly by the
individual student during the
42 Zhejiang Education Guide 2019-2020