Iâve always been an average test taker.
If I had the choice to do anything besides a test, I would.
Memorization and spitting information onto a page doesnât work for me.Â
Iâll do absolutely anything instead. A dance routine, sit in an ice bath for an hour, perform a skit, a presentation, virtually anything to get me out of a testing environment.
Once I heard institutions were putting tests on hold for the foreseeable future and offering them as an option, although thatâs a foolish option in itself, I was elated but also frustrated that I didnât get the chance to seize it!
The last 2 years of my high school experience couldâve been 100x better since tests, not even grades, fun, activities, learning or college were the main focus.
Although I was fortunate to have the means to pay for tutors, attend bootcamps and purchase endless resources, I couldnât accept. I didnât see any point frivolously throwing away thousands to businesses that have wasted students and parentsâ lives with the most ridiculous nonsense test. I tried my best to study and landed on a score I accepted.
And if youâre wondering, no one cares about your ACT or SAT scores in the real world. It doesnât matter and donât brag about it, along with your IQ. I believe itâs worse to have a higher ACT score without character or social skills to actually progress in life.
Due to the pandemic, on-site testing was canceled. This brought a huge sigh of relief for millions of students who planned on taking their 6th attempt at the SAT and now could put their parentâs hard-earned money back into their pockets.
If the pandemic didnât hit, I bet these test behemoths wouldnât budge to consider the purpose of these examinations. Yearly, they (AC T/SAT/Subject Tests) cash in billions in revenue since education is the best investment and parents will pour anything into it, especially international parents even if the scores arenât indicative of anything.
According to extensive research on students, the more money one has, the more they can gain into the system and as a result, do better. Just look at the rigged system inside Netflixâs documentary, âVarsity Bluesâ. The rich got in because daddy donated a building and got a 24/7 full time tutor nanny while testing companies and institutions that admitted these âfake athletesâ stayed quiet.
Finally colleges are realizing this unfair game of tests and removed entrance exams for now. Hopefully for good. Although Iâve clearly never been a fan of tests and never encourage more since they donât test real knowledge rather regurgitated memorized information, for once I do recommend an exam in 2 places, 1 we will dive deep into as it seems realistic.
Possible Test #1: Before opening a portfolio to start investing, there should be some sort of financial literacy 101 test to remind investors why they are really investing. Hopefully this will help them better understand what investing entails, how it can help them achieve their short/long term goals and what it means to be an active/passive investor so retail traders specifically on Robinhood or WeBull donât become addicted to gambling with meme stocks and get themselves into debt on the first trade.
Possible Test #2: Prior to real life after graduation, students can test themselves if their $300k tuition was put to good use.
The Case of the Degree
Attaining a degree is the conventional, traditional safe path towards success. Stellar grades and talent wonât guarantee a student an easier life yet a shy of 20 million college students enrolled in the U.S. have high hopes those attributes do. This is roughly 10% of American adults (16+) and out of this amount, 70% take out student loans to graduate which leads the average debt load to be roughly $29,900. Sadly, thousands of graduates from prestige Ivy League institutions areât able to pay off their debt within a few years of working since their earnings are so low. This is mostly in part due to working in grueling competitive fields of the arts/film/writing departments where luck, talent and timing is on the line. Read here where the most indebted college students come from.
This is a serious problem considering we go to college to earn more. To earn more, we have to learn more.
In general, since colleges and the education system neglect the key skills in life which include:
-Mental Health
-Networking
-Consulting
-Personal Finance
-Digital finance (slow but improving)
There is undeniably a tough road ahead for graduates, including myself. Iâm worried about the future. Gen Zers are the most anxious generation in history. From climate change to dealing with debt, social media and the impact of inflation, thereâs no guarantee smooth sailing.
During the age when my parents went to college, those who attended were almost certain to get a stable job that would last them a few decades, unless they wanted to leave which no one wanted. Now many graduates from the best institutions with prized majors are overwhelmed and canât make up their mind. Abundance is throwing them off. With the fancy skeptical options in the gig economy from freelancing to influencing, graduates donât feel prepared coming from a classroom to the DIY world.
Ironically although thereâs a labor shortage and employers are offering benefits such as higher wages, signing bonuses, Pelotons and more time off to lure top talent, this isnât an easier time to graduate and get employed.
Read here why teens, not graduates are benefiting the most.
Why is this so?
Graduates took college for granted and didnât learn outside of the classroom. Graduation all of a sudden approached them and they realized all the sororities and fun majors they chose freshman year wonât pay off. They didnât take calculated appropriate risks, utilize their time wisely, take advantage of their youth to make more mistakes, experimentâââin the right ways, connect with a variety of students to professorsââânot just those who are identical to them and invest, invest, invest since nothing beats time in the market!
Thereâs a divide that is keeping students unprepared. Colleges need to take a turn into the real world by preparing students with the basics.
The basic skills outlined above could be tested to entice them to actually learn and become interested about money to taking care of their health. Mental health consequences of workaholism and burnout would decrease from the escalating pace they are at and more students would be knowledgeable on how to handle their debt load they carried on from college.
Testing Time
Now Iâm not one to say how to structure or compile a test. I dislike them and they give me anxiety whenever I think about them yet I decided to write this article to at least persuade you, no matter if youâre an adult in your 60s or an incoming high scholar to take priority over learning outside of the classroom and expect something you paid for to set up your life.
Overtime although this trend has reversed, females still tend to be reliant on the bread winner, conventionally the husband of the household to keep them afloat. Yet whatâs crazy is that women live longer than men.
Without being prepared about the finances to contact lists, emergency plan, etc. how do you expect to live without him?
Same thing with students. Once admitted into the most prestigious school, donât expect to be all set. You need to put in the work for the work to work for you.
As a result, what you put in is what you get out.
Who knows if this system will exist as students at this stage are sick of tests. If we could ideally tests ourselves that would be beneficial yet realistically I only see a handful of mature students trying it out.
Down the road, weâll see what happens. It will take time but this is arguably a priority as students are riding a slippery slope with wages not keeping up with rising prices, one of which is tuition and only utilizing a sliver of the information they were tested upon in the real world.