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NEWS
Thursday, July 26, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Admissions drops
ACT and SAT writing
U-M seeks to reduce
costs for applicants
By GRACE KAY
Summer Managing News Editor
Following the lead of uni-
versities such as Harvard, Yale,
Princeton and Stanford, the Uni-
versity of Michigan will no longer
require students to complete the
optional writing component of
the SAT or ACT when the Univer-
sity’s application goes live Aug. 1.
Kedra
Ishop,
vice
provost
for
enrollment
management,
explained in a University Record
press release there were several
reasons that made the optional
writing component expendable
for the University.
Erica
Sanders,
director
of
undergraduate
admissions,
explained the new SAT structure
developed in 2016 was a contrib-
uting factor.
“With recent changes to the
SAT, we realized that this addi-
tional writing score was no lon-
ger needed,” Sanders said. “We’re
confident in our holistic review
process, which is both individual-
ized for each applicant and com-
prehensive.”
In 2016, the new SAT switched
to more evidence-based writing
and reading sections. In the new
SAT, scored from 400 to 1600
points instead of 600 to 2400, the
test also no longer categorizes
reading and writing individually.
In addition to reporting one’s
SAT or ACT score, the U-M
application requires students to
submit multiple writing samples
in response to several different
writing prompts.
“We believe we have suffi-
cient evidence to assess an appli-
cant’s writing ability without the
optional portions of these exams
that add cost and time to student
testing,” Ishop said.
Fewer than two dozen schools
still require the optional writing
component, which was developed
in 2005 for both the SAT and
ACT in an effort to promote the
importance of clear and effective
academic writing. The University
adopted the additional require-
ment the following year.
According to InsideHigherEd,
about 70 percent of students who
take the SAT each year take the
writing test even though many
will attend universities that do
not require the additional com-
ponent.
The article quotes James Mur-
phy, director of national outreach
for the Princeton Review, who
wrote in response to Ivy League
universities eliminating the com-
ponent.
“We are really pleased to see
Princeton and Stanford join not
only six other Ivy League univer-
sities but also more than 1,600
other schools across the country
in their decision not to require
the essay,” Murphy wrote. “This
is good for students and does no
harm to schools. Writing well is
an essential skill for college and
beyond, but these assessments
do a poor job in evaluating writ-
ing skill. We look forward to the
23 schools that still require the
essays coming to see the light.”
The 2018 SAT costs $47.50
without the essay component,
requiring an additional $17 to
include it. Similarly, the ACT
costs $50.50 with the writing
test an additional $16.50. While
some students can qualify for
fee exemptions based on family
income, the total price of the SAT
and ACT does not include the cost
to send test results to more than
four universities.
According
to
The
Univer-
sity Record, the Office of Under-
graduate Admissions has already
updated its website to reflect this
change and shared the news with
all deans, associate deans, unit
liaisons and campus communica-
tors.
Currently,
the
University
requires prospective students to
submit their high school tran-
script, school report – includ-
ing their GPA and class rank
– one teacher evaluation and a $75
application fee alongside their
ACT or SAT score.
The early-action application
deadline for the University of
Michigan is Nov. 1 and the regu-
lar application deadline is Feb. 1.
Democratic gubernatorial candidates
talk healthcare, recreational marijuana
By ALICE TRACEY
Summer Daily News Editor
Michigan’s Democratic guber-
natorial candidates gathered at
WDIV Local 4 in Detroit Thurs-
day night for their final debate
before the Aug. 7 primaries.
Abdul El-Sayed, former execu-
tive director of the Detroit Health
Department, entrepreneur Shri
Thanedar and Gretchen Whit-
mer, former minority leader of
the Michigan Senate, discussed
healthcare, tax reform, marijuana
and partisan division, and clashed
over corporate involvement in
their respective campaigns.
Moderators Devin Scillian and
Kimberly Gill launched the debate
by asking candidates to provide
opening statements. Thanedar,
who currently holds an estimated
19 percent of the Democratic vote,
emphasized his underprivileged
upbringing in India, his climb to
success in the United States chem-
ical industry and the fact that he
created jobs through his company,
Avomeen Analytical Services. El-
Sayed, who lags Thanedar at 17
percent, focused on his opposition
to corporate favoritism, saying he
values real Michiganders.
“It is time to go back to a gov-
ernment for the people and by the
people,” El-Sayed said.
Whitmer, the leading candi-
date with 40 percent of the Demo-
cratic vote, said she loves the state
of Michigan and is dedicated to
improving
its
infrastructure,
insurance systems and education.
She also brought up her opposi-
tion to leading Republican candi-
date Bill Schuette.
Unemployment
The moderators acknowledged
Michigan has gained half a mil-
lion jobs and is now at its lowest
unemployment rate in 17 years
since current Gov. Rick Snyder
took office in 2010. Scillian and
Gill invited the candidates to
share how they will keep those
improvements in place.
Thanedar said the key to boost-
ing Michigan’s economy is invest-
ing in education, giving people the
skills necessary to succeed in the
workforce. Specifically, he men-
tioned his plan to make commu-
nity college tuition-free.
“I’ve created jobs, and I know
what it takes to create jobs,”
Thanedar said. “Corporate incen-
tives don’t create jobs, giving skill
sets to the people of Michigan will
create jobs and I will focus my
efforts on bringing technical and
skilled education.”
According to El-Sayed, employ-
ment has increased in Michigan,
but not all jobs are highly skilled
or well-paid. He accused corpo-
rations of not valuing the aver-
age worker, and promised to help
small businesses thrive.
“I’m not going to be taking a
dime of corporate money, so I’m
not going to be in a situation where
those same corporations come to
my office and ask me to use the
Michigan economic development
corporation to pass them off these
subsidies,” El-Sayed said.
Like Thanedar, Whitmer men-
tioned the importance of invest-
ing in high-quality education,
saying she hopes to provide debt-
free, two-year college to Michi-
gan residents.
Tax Reform
Referencing the fact that the
Republican gubernatorial candi-
dates aim to cut taxes, the mod-
erators asked the Democrats how
they will convince people that tax
increases could benefit Michigan.
El-Sayed suggested the reason
people feel overtaxed is because
of inefficient government spend-
ing of tax dollars. When the
Republicans mention tax cuts, El-
Sayed added, they mean tax cuts
for corporations rather than mak-
ing business pay their fair share.
Whitmer agreed with El-Sayed’s
point about government spend-
ing, saying the state’s refusal to
invest in resources like clean
water and high-quality educa-
tion forces people to spend more
money day-to-day.
“We’re paying an education
tax every time you hire a tutor
because your kid’s teacher is so
overwhelmed with kids packed
into the classroom,” Whitmer
said. “We’re paying a water tax
— if you are in Flint, or if you are
in one of the 71 communities with
lead in your water, or the tens,
maybe hundreds of communities
with P-Phos in your water, you’re
paying a water tax because you’ve
got to pay bottled water because
government’s not getting the job
done.”
Thanedar proposed eliminat-
ing the state income tax for any
family making under $50,000
annually and said he will tax cor-
porations in order to fund educa-
tion and infrastructure.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Whitmer, El-Sayed criticize each other’s campaign finances
COURTESY OF WDIV