The Fourth Estate

Is the SAT Outdated?

Aden Meisel and Claire Tolles • November 17, 2021

What is the point of using the SAT? And why do we students still take it? Until recently, standardized testing, specifically the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), held a significant influence in the college...

SAT vs. ACT : A Comparison of Two Standardized Tests

October 30, 2014

You’ve been sitting at the same desk for two and a half hours. Your breakfast has worn off, and your stomach is grumbling. The erasers on all three of the pencils you so carefully selected last night...

Breaking Out of the Application Checkbox

December 16, 2013

There’s one section of every college application that seems to brand a label on students. Those little check boxes listing ethnicities, which attempt to summarize you in one word: White. African-American....

Making Your Mark

September 5, 2013

Across the nation, students enter the stress and paranoia of SAT testing rooms with facts and formulas racing through their heads. The last thing they need to worry about is their handwriting. Some students...

Changing the Face of Standardized Testing

November 1, 2012

I recently changed my name on Facebook. I don’t have anything to hide, and I am not entirely sure what swayed me to do so, but for some reason I felt like I should. So, with the submit button on my...

I am Not Just a Number

December 2, 2011

Budget cuts force California State Universities to cut readers of applications. When visiting the California Polytechnic University, I fell in love with the campus, the programs,...

Standardized Testing: Finding a Method to the Madness

October 20, 2011

Much of the stress inflicted upon high school students has originated from the idea that a near-perfect score on the SAT is a necessity in the college admissions process. A problem arises when literal...