More Than a Test Score

Dear Middle school Zinchers, do we have good news for you.

We know that plenty of you are undaunted by the past few years' absurdly low admissions rates in the Ivy league. For the rest of you, fear not. In half a decade, relief will be at hand (and I'm not talking about the expected drop in total applicants).

New Haven's prestigious Yale University, an institution that has produced as many US presidents as the office of the Vice President, is preparing to open a couple more doors. In a recent letter to alumni, Yale president Richard C. Levin announced that the school intends to increase their undergrad enrollment by a hefty 15% thanks to the establishment of two new residential programs slated to open up in 2013. The increase marks the first such move by the university's administration since women were admitted as students in 1969. While 2013 may be too far off for a good number of you (even with repeated deferrals), fear not, our friends at Yale send as much love as anyone and definitely believe you are more than a test score.

By the way, Zinch has a new fan page on facebook, and you're friends are already there. What are you waiting for? Find it here.

Zinchers, put down those SAT guides — you're going to want to read this.

Well, not all of you should put them down, but before you spend any more time cramming, you might want to check if your schools of choice even care about your math and verbal test taking abilities. Maybe that's overstating it a bit, but to a growing number of college admissions officers the SAT's are fast becoming just another Saturday Afternoon Test (Could it be that they're finding out about Zinch and realizing they now have a better way?).

What was once a tool used religiously by selective and not so selective schools alike for weeding out the students that weren't quite up to snuff is now facing a future of reduced relevance in higher education.

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