LETTERS: UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS

To the editor:

Once again, Speak Out has given unwarranted credence to misinformation. The first big of misinformation is the caller's statement that Southeast Missouri State University's leadership is "trying to build a Yale or Princeton." The second is that "there are a lot of kids who would be good students who cannot get into" Southeast. The third is the caller's "understanding" that "they're going to raise qualifications (at Southeast) next year to match or surpass the ACT that is required to get into Mizzou at Columbia."

The university's admission requirements are not elitist at all. To gain admission a beginning freshman just out of high school must have taken a certain set of high school courses. That core curriculum is required for admission to all of Missouri's four-year college campuses. A Southeast applicant must have C average in high school and must achieve an ACT score of at least 18. These minimal requirements are not even remotely comparable to those of Ivy League schools, although Southeast is proud that many excellent students choose to attend this university.

Southeast does not deny admission to applicants "who would be good students." The policy denies admission only to those students who are not likely to profit from attending the university because of low ability, poor academic preparation or lack of academic motivation. The university must admit only well-prepared students in order to meet state goals.

Finally, there are no plans to make admission to Southeast more difficult than the University of Missouri. In order to make the best use of tax dollars, the University of Missouri system has decided to become highly selective at Rolla and selective at the other three campuses. Southeast will remain in the moderately selective category, which allows students with lower ACT scores and lower high school rank to enroll.

Applicants who almost but do not quite meet the admission requirements are welcome to enroll in Southeast's summer preparatory academy where they are given special help and allowed to prove their ability to do college work. Another option is the university's new partnership at Perryville with Mineral Area College. Information about these courses is available from the Office of Extended Learning on the Southeast campus.

ART WALLHAUSEN

Assistant to the President

Southeast Missouri State University

Cape Girardeau