This is gonna sound like a weird thing to get hung up on, but just bear with me here.
When I was in high school, I absolutely despised the very idea of the SAT. I hated that you could maintain high grades for years, yet one single exam could still make or break where you could go to college. Regardless, I sucked it up, studied hard for it, and got a score I was proud of. I was accepted into the university I wanted.
Flash-forward to college. Just as I settled into my major (a technical field), the pandemic hit. Remote learning was of significantly worse quality than in-person, yet my tuition remained the same. Worse yet, I was unable to secure an internship because of how bad the job market became during COVID lockdowns. I graduated a year ago with a high GPA, but was unable to secure a full-time job in my field due to lack of experience, which wasn’t my fault. I’ve been stuck working retail since and it feels like I may never get my career back on-track.
What stings the most is how much better things were handled for college applicants during the pandemic. Much like how I was unable to get an internship, they were unable to take their SATs, but instead of being shut out of the colleges they wanted, universities simply lifted the testing requirement. As someone who followed the rules and took the SAT, only for COVID to ruin my college experience and job prospects, this felt like a huge slap in the face when I realized employers haven’t given similar leeway towards people like me.
Anyone else feel this way?