Lost within the counter-punching op-eds and fiery public debate over holistic admissions are the voices and opinions of current University students.
The University’s transition to a holistic admissions process relaxed decades-old minimum admission requirements of a 22 ACT score and 3.0 unweighted GPA. The University previously rejected applicants who did not meet those standards. Under holistic admissions, the University reviews an applicant’s essays, recommendation letters and extracurricular activities to determine the student’s chance of success before making the final admissions decision.
The ensuing combustion of public discourse pitted LSU President F. King Alexander against Louisiana Board of Regents member, Richard Lipsey. The Board of Regents announced an audit of statewide admissions practices on Sept. 26.
At the student government level, there is great support for the holistic admissions policy change. LSU SG president Stewart Lockett said in an interview with The Daily Reveille that he holds reservations about holistic admissions and SG is entirely behind the policy.
“Student Government supports holistic admissions because it gives opportunities to students who, in certain situations, wouldn’t have those opportunities,” Lockett said. “It doesn’t define a student to a piece of paper or test score. It makes them real.”
Lockett believes the fall 2018 freshman class, the first of which to be admitted under holistic review, to be something special. He attributes every SG executive branch position being filled, for the first time in his four years on campus, to the freshman class’ participation and drive to be part of the University community.
Not all University students echo the opinions of SG though. Opponents of holistic admissions fear the relaxation of minimum admissions requirements will lead to lowered standards for the University. Marketing senior Shakti Gilotra views standardized testing scores as important and necessary tools for universities to evaluate applicants.
“I think that the ACT score requirement should be there,” Gilotra said. “We have all had to submit our ACT score to meet the requirement. Our application was judged on it. It is necessary for college to take that test and score well on it.”
Some freshmen appreciate the same holistic admissions process they faced last fall as high school seniors. Pre-physician assistant freshman Breann DeLee supports the process that allowed the University to better gain an understanding of her high school experience, as opposed to just looking at her GPA and ACT score.
“I’m not against holistic admissions because, personally, I met the academic requirements,” DeLee said. “In high school, I did a ton of volunteer work and so it is great that the University takes that into consideration as well.”
The public debate on holistic admissions has briefly subsided with the Louisiana Board of Regents’ audit and the announcement of the LSU Board of Supervisors’ unanimous support for holistic admissions during its Oct. 4 meeting.
“It’s an alleviating feeling for me that we have wait-lists of freshmen who want to be involved in Student Government,” Lockett said. “I have never seen engagement like this.”
