Is Technology Making High School Admission Better or Worse?
The effect of technology on high school applicants is a topic that doesn’t get examined enough. Technology is now becoming an integral part of their academic lives, as students use it almost every day to submit assignments, write essays, create PowerPoint presentations, or do research for their assignments. Its role is even more prominent today, now that students are forced to stay in their homes and study on their own during this pandemic. Taking this into consideration, it is safe to assume that technology will also be important for the application process in the future.
While many people oppose this notion, as they believe that interpersonal communication is an indispensable part of the high school admission processes, it wouldn’t hurt to try and look at the merits of technology in this case and review how it makes up for the interaction gap. So, read on to know how technological tools can aid high school admissions.
Application Forms
Some high school applications are made directly to the school council, while other schools require that you apply via their website. Some schools even require that you send applications via MySchools, on which you create an account and receive high school offers and review the list of high schools on which you are waitlisted. So, instead of going to the council, you can do all of this online.
Online Courses
Using technology helps students who need certain courses to meet any further requirements made by high schools, such as the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) or the Test for Admission into Catholic High Schools (TACHS). If you visit the site, you will find that there are multiple prep courses for SHSATs, TACHS, and even SATs that cater to students’ needs. Because their primary goal is for you to study from the comfort of your own home, specialized online platforms will provide you with virtual one-on-one tutoring, giving you the preference of video chatting, and providing you with a screen-sharing option for exercises and doing assignments.
Smartphone Applications
If you go through your phone’s app store, you will find millions of applications in all fields. It would be no surprise to find applications that can help you with your high school examinations. SHSATs and TACHS can be challenging, even if you spend your summer taking online courses to pass them. Doing extra training on your own might be helpful. Using these apps will provide you with mock exams, brain training exercises, and other various tools that can be easily accessible through your phone. You can also find these tests and exercises on online websites if you don’t prefer using your smartphone for practice. While using apps and websites for practicing is useful, you can’t use them alone if you want to be well-prepared for your SHSATs or TACHS. Instead, you can take prep courses online and use them for practice along with your courses.
High School Interviews
If the high school you’re applying for requires that you do an interview, then you’ll need to be well prepared for it, as these interviews are designed to measure your performance, skills, and commitment, even if you’ve already gone through their own set of examinations. However, lockdown is forcing everyone to stay at home. So, this leaves high schools with two options: either to conduct these interviews through online platforms, or they can omit admission interviews from their regulations altogether. The first option, though, is the best one to go with, as it doesn’t involve altering the original criteria and may even help make the process of conducting interviews go faster.
Technology Is Reliable
If you think about it, using technology to write your assignments, fill out application forms, etc. is more reliable than writing hardcopies of them. For example, soft copies will always be saved on your computer, even if you lose the copy you printed. Using an original copy of your file, on the other hand, means that you can easily lose it without having any backup plan. Sure, you can have multiple hard copies of your file, but using technology will help you stay on top of things without having to think of backing up your files every time you print them out.
With these factors in mind, it is safe to assume that technology can definitely make high school admission better for students, especially during these trying times. Many think that using technology is equivalent to cheating and is a shortcut to difficult tasks but, considering the leaps and bounds that technology has helped us achieve so far, most people would argue otherwise.
