Admission plan goes beyond numbers

This article was retrieved from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Admissions Plan Goes Beyond Numbers. By: Hoover, Eric, Chronicle of Higher Education, 00095982, 9/14/2007, Vol. 54, Issue 3

I was most interested in this article because it addressed the fact that Northeastern University was actually evaluating their students' potential by looking beyond their test scores from the SAT. As we all know the SAT scores are scores that many colleges look at when accepting you into their program. Like Mr. Hoover indicated in the article, many people have trouble with tests and many times score low. In fact low enough that no college will look at them. For many Native people this is very true. From my reservation we have individuals who are very smart but when it comes to tests, they do poorly.

This article addressed how Northeastern had adopted a program which consisted of a 10-step evaluation process, which included extensive interviews and a personality test. This college took the initiative to look beyond the grades and made the effort to see what this individual could contribute. It was a very innovative approach to a non-traditional way of recruiting students.

It appears this way of identifying students from disadvantaged backgrounds is a success. These students are all talented but not in the traditional way. Many of the students would not qualify for the college's regular admissions process, but through this program, individuals are able to overcome many challenges and succeed.

For many of our Tribal colleges, this is sometimes the case. We have a program at United Tribes right now that is similar to this. We began a program for the underemployed and the unemployed. Admission into the program did not require these students to take an entrance exam, but did need to have minimum qualifications such as a high school diploma or a GED. These individuals are so far successful and hope to enter into the workforce by this summer.