How Tests Open Doors
Life throws all kinds of tests at us, the ones we feel ready for as well as the ones we’d rather avoid. Sometimes we can choose our challenges, and sometimes they choose us. More often than we’re willing to admit, the biggest and most fearsome tests turn out to be the ones that change our lives for the better. When Deepak Chopra said, “Obstacles are opportunities in disguise,” he may well have been talking about entrance exams. Many schools and academic programs in the U.S. and around the world use entrance exams as part of their admissions process, not as barriers to entry so much as screens to ensure that extraordinary opportunities accrue to extraordinary applicants. My friend and colleague David Blobaum of Summit Prep sought extraordinary opportunities when he was in high school. To reach his goals, he had to pass all kinds of tests of tenacity, intrinsic motivation,…
Benefits of a College Education
Higher education has long been recognized as the doorway to opportunity. A college degree represents far more than proof of extended academic inquiry, which carries, of course, its own rewards. We connect undergraduate and graduate education to highly coveted outcomes like better careers, more money, and increased job satisfaction. College graduates even enjoy better health. Sure, college entails a steep investment that increases every year, but that investment pays off tremendously generation after generation. Yet, even though American higher education attracts the best and brightest from all over the world, a rising number of citizens doubt its value. According to Pew Research Center, a majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (58%) now say that colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country. Evidence, of course, proves otherwise. Colleges themselves drive regional prosperity. For example, Rochester’s largest employer is no longer one of the giants of old like Xerox…