The most significant innovation in recent years is enrollment per website and an ever-increasing offer of virtual university training. Simplify the admission process and save as well as avoid much inconvenience to young applicants.
However, the issue is how to resolve the aspects of admission to university centers.
The most common are the coverage of vacancies for those who take the knowledge tests, a modality that confronts us with levels of preparation in secondary school and the degree of difficulty of the test that is applied to applicants.
The first cannot the university, at least in the short term, solve and; The latter is a necessary requirement that the university has and should not only establish but demand.
An admissions strategy should focus on selecting the most talented and academically competitive candidates to achieve levels of development that guarantee academic, professional and personal success, as well as eventual university and career evaluation and accreditation.
That is, to achieve successful levels of academic quality, it is also necessary to incorporate academically superior students.
The problem lies in the applicant's selection and evaluation methodology and strategies. In some cases, the admission test or exam weighs, in more than 90%, the aspect of knowledge, obviating or minimizing academic aptitude to less than 10%.
Indispensable academic skills, much more important than knowledge, to develop basic skills in university education. In Table Nº 1 we observe that out of a list of 10 most important basic professional competencies, the first three competences that occupy the first priority of importance are the capacity for analysis and synthesis, for learning and the ability to solve problems; competences of an aptitude and attitudinal nature and not necessarily of knowledge.
Knowledge is not always a guarantee of academic or professional success. Albert Einstein said: "Imagination is more important than knowledge." As is known, science discovers and explains what already exists while imagination, innovation and competitiveness create what does not exist. Imagination linked to thought and various types of intelligence, including emotional intelligence.
Knowledge is acquired, transferred or bought, it is learned; not so thought and talent. Knowledge changes, expires or loses validity or is created; not so thought, talent or intelligence. Academic aptitude, talent and imagination are inherent in the person; that is why they are more important for academic and professional training and for the creation of knowledge.
The current and future trend is towards training by competencies, general training and what the student needs to learn and not specialization and what the teacher wants to teach.
Table Nº 1: Top Ten Most Important Professional Competences
| No. | Ranking | COMPETENCES |
| 12
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
1st 1st
1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 4th 4th 5th 6th |
Ability to analyze and synthesize Ability to learn
Problem resolution Ability to apply knowledge to practice Capacity for adapting to new situations Quality concern Ability to manage information Ability to work autonomously Capacity for teamwork Ability to organize and plan |
Other strategies for selecting and evaluating applicants must be adopted; those that guarantee talent selection and not only the knowledge aspect. Universities can choose between: a talent selection program; preferred selection; segment talent selection; selection for aptitude and personal profile or opt for other non-traditional methods. Each will provide their results. Obviously different. The goal is and should be to select the fittest and most talented in addition to the personal profile. It is about training academics, scientists or professionals with sensitivity and human values.
Among the various selection strategies and methods developed lately, are selection by aptitude and personal profile.
Method that basically consists of applying tests to measure the applicant's academic aptitude. Two types of tests are applied: an academic aptitude test, with a weight of 60% and another test via personal interview, with a weight of 40%. The aptitude test includes verbal reasoning and mathematical reasoning. The personal interview includes evaluation of three aspects: reading comprehension (15%); student life history (15%) and personal presentation (10%). (Table 2).
Table Nº 2.- Aptitude Selection Test Structure
| Aspects to evaluate | Weighing |
| ACADEMIC FITNESS a) Verbal reasoning 30%
b) Mathematical reasoning 30% PERSONAL INTERVIEW a) Reading comprehension 15% b) Life history 15% c) Personal presentation 10% |
60%
40% |
| Total | 100% |
A variant of this method consists of replacing the personal interview with a knowledge test (30% weighting); supplemented by a personal interview (10%);
Table 3.
The second variant consists of substituting a personal interview for a knowledge test but with a higher weighting for the aptitude test (70%).
Table Nº 3.- Aptitude Test Structure (First Variant)
| Aspects to evaluate | Weighing |
| ACADEMIC FITNESS a) Verbal reasoning 30%
b) Mathematical reasoning 30% KNOWLEDGE PERSONAL INTERVIEW |
60%
30% 10% |
| Total | 100% |
Another method, more systematic but much more time consuming, is the talent selection program.
Program that the university institution develops from three selection lines:
a) identification of young talents through a search program in institutions and student groups (Young talent selection program);
b) summon secondary students located in the upper fifth of the last three years (3rd, 4th and 5th) and; c) selection of talents from a selective and successive academic aptitude test.
A third selection and evaluation strategy, in addition to those indicated, is the preferred selection. A comprehensive evaluation of the applicant based on three tests: 1) evaluation of academic quality (70%); 2) Evaluation of life history (20%) and; 3) personal interview (10%). Tests applied successively or simultaneously between the first two evaluations and the third only to those who have passed the minimum scores or are in the segment of applicants who qualify for a personal interview.
Each stage of the process prioritizes (or prefers) the academic aptitude and the positive attitude of the applicant among the knowledge.
The academic evaluation comprises four aspects with differentiated weightings and covers 70% of the evaluation. It prioritizes academic aptitude by assigning it an 85% value on the test.
Table Nº 4: Assessment of Academic Quality (70%)
| Aspects to evaluate | Weighing |
| 1) Logical-mathematical reasoning 2) Verbal reasoning
3) Reading Comprehension 4) Knowledge |
30% 30%
25% fifteen% |
The life history assessment, aimed at selecting those applicants who show dedication and achievements, in their student life, in the academic, cultural, artistic and sports aspects, covers up to 20% of the assessment. Weigh 80% the applicant's merits, aptitude and academic attitude. Further; rewards cultural and sports skills and activities with 20%.
Table Nº 5: Life History Assessment (20%)
| Aspects to evaluate | Weighing |
| 1) Student academic record 2) Academic awards and merits
3) Artistic and cultural activities 4) Sports activities |
50% 30%
10% 10% |
The personal interview seeks to evaluate and select applicants based on the positive skills and attitudes that guarantee the development of various personal, professional and academic competencies in their future university life. Covers up to 10% of the evaluation.
Table Nº 6: Personal Interview (10%)
| Aspects to evaluate | Weighing |
| 1) Personal traits and positive skills 2) Positive personal and mental attitudes
3) Skills and talents |
60% 20%
twenty% |
Probably; The most significant constraint in the implementation of this strategy is time and cost. But the results are optimal and well worth the investment.
