Colleges aim to paint a pretty picture of the ideal student they desire walking through their campuses: academically bright, involved, and driven – a standard seemingly attainable by any individual should they wish to put in the effort. However, what colleges actually look at when admitting students into their institutions generally boils down to grade point averages, test scores, and course rigor. At face value, those who excel in these areas seem to correlate with those who are most academically gifted, but a closer look shows that there may be further financial matters involved. This doesn’t even begin to disclose the absurd amount of money needed to attend a university, much of which must be paid before one is even admitted in the form of application fees or release of test scores. Though colleges may be selling to the public that academics are what they put first, the data simply doesn’t seem to support this.

Judging a student by test scores and grades nowadays is a complicated endeavor. There are merely so many attributes to be taken into account. While there are some students naturally born booksmart, the high emphasis placed on SAT and ACT scores cause students to turn elsewhere to ensure their success. Tutoring or professional classes are becoming more common ways to prepare for standardized tests, and the truth is that those with extra money in the bank are the ones with these resources more readily available to them. This can skew scores in favor of wealthier students. Along with this, advanced classes offered in high schools are designed to be college-level, allowing students to earn AP and SUNY credits. These courses are cheaper than courses administered at universities, but still require money that certain individuals may not possess, and thus may limit their ability to enroll in challenging classes. Lastly, it is no secret that one of the biggest issues students face when picking a school to attend it being able to afford tuition for all four years. Student debt is in enormous numbers, and for what? Tuition prices need not be so high, which yet again encourages the small percentage of financially upper class students to attend over the others. Colleges may say that they value the best and the brightest, but their actions really only benefit those of financial value to their institution.