I, as well as other students, will agree that the stress that is put on students to perform well on tests can oftentimes be overwhelming. While we don’t necessarily want to stress over tests, when it comes to the SAT and ACT, it’s understandable why one would feel stress: our futures are determined by these standardized tests. The college admission scandal that happened a few months ago helps to bring light to how important these tests are in getting into a college to pursue your education. What has happened was that wealthy parents paid thousands of dollars for someone to take the test for their teen or to correct some of their answers all in pursuit of a better score. Without those high test scores, it would have been far more difficult for these students to be accepted to the colleges of their choosing, thus prompting their parents to pay to, essentially, cheat the system and tip the scales in favor of their children. With the overwhelming importance of test scores in mind, this case calls for a change in the college acceptance system.

According to the report Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements Through 2020, from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce “By 2020, 65% of all jobs in the economy will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school.” This means that there will be more students applying to colleges and will require a better system to correctly place students in the school that is meant for them.

While a person may not need a college education for the job they want, many of the fastest growing occupations require one.  Software Developers, Nurse Practitioners, and Mathematicians, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BSL), places under its “Fastest Growing Occupations,s” which lists 20 occupations with the highest percent change of employment between 2016-26. All have a typical entry-level education of a master’s or bachelor’s degree. This means that some high school students will be planning to go to college to get a job that has a growing need for qualified workers.

To fix the college acceptance system, I propose that each college have their own entrance exam. It should be tailored to what each individual wants to major in. That could let colleges see if that student would be able to succeed with the type of work that that school would have them do. If a student is undecided about what they want to study there should also be a test covers a good variety of subjects to help determine where the student would be best suited. Also the exam for undecided students should be up to the same learning standards that most of the classes are at, and should still cover basic subjects that all students will need like reading and writing.