Raising Standards to Maintain Prestigious Status of Universities by Jasmine

Raising Standards to Maintain Prestigious Status of Universities by Jasmine - May 2020 Scholarship Essay

When looking toward the future, the first thing that comes to mind for the majority of people is advances in technology. Science fiction works of literature and cinematography often contain things like flying cars and teleportation. When really, what we should be focusing on is the interaction and roles of different people. In 50 years, in the year 2070, education is without a doubt going to be different than it is today. And yes, due to the rate at which the human race has been developing, there will be new advances in technology that can be used in the classroom. However, the most influential alterations to the education system will be in the methods of teaching and standards of education at all levels.

As the field of applicants to prestigious colleges and universities becomes more and more competitive with each passing year, the number of qualified students for these institutions is also growing. Entrance exams like the SAT and ACT help to keep these top-tier schools as competitive, but every year students with perfect scores and perfect GPAs are still being denied from these schools. Due to this, I believe in the next 50 years, things like Advanced Placement courses will become much more difficult to succeed in, and standardized tests will also become more difficult. This way, the admissions process is a little bit more predictable as to which students can be admitted, because there will be less students in that top-tier category of GPA and test scores.

Another aspect that I believe will be different is the shift to a unified, international curriculum. My high school in particular just transitioned from the AP program to the International Baccalaureate, commonly known as IB. I believe this is a shift that America will be making overall in the next 50 years. An international curriculum provides an education with a more equal opportunity for success after high school. This also globalizes education and allows students to potentially connect with fellow students from, quite literally, the other side of the globe and allows students to understand the world as a whole. Also, students in areas of the world with less opportunities in education can know that they are being taught the same curriculum as more educationally powerful nations. This program I believe will also be made much more difficult, because now the whole world has a greater chance at being admitted to prestigious universities.

The future is something we can never fully predict. For instance, merely six months ago, nobody expected the nation to enter a global pandemic. However, due to patterns and evidence occurring in the past and present, it is possible to predict possibilities in the near future.