Admissions Officers on Future Skills: Do Not Teach Only to the Test
Short answer: In video 6, “Future Skills,” admissions officers remind families that the most durable preparation for college is not learning one test strategy or one soon-to-expire technical skill. Colleges are looking for students who can read closely, write clearly, discuss and debate, consider multiple perspectives, think critically, and keep learning across fields. This article is based on the public LJCDS Advanced Studies / The College Perspective materials, not an exclusive EdComm interview.
Hello parents and students,
In the last few pieces, we have been unpacking a question that creates a lot of anxiety in high school planning:
How should families really understand AP, Advanced Studies, and other rigorous courses?
Video 6 moves the conversation one layer deeper. Instead of asking only whether a course has the right label, “Future Skills” asks a more important question:
What abilities should high school coursework actually build?
The answer is not “take more tests.” It is not “optimize one narrow skill as quickly as possible.”
Source note: This video is part of the LJCDS Advanced Studies / The College Perspective series. This article is based on video 6, “Future Skills,” and EdComm’s observations from helping Chinese-speaking families plan high school coursework for US college admissions. The public webinar series is hosted by La Jolla Country Day School; this is not an exclusive EdComm interview.
This piece focuses on three practical questions for families: Why do US colleges keep emphasizing reading, writing, discussion, and critical thinking? Why is “teaching to the test” not enough? And how can high school course planning help students build skills that will not become obsolete quickly?
Background: many families define “useful” too narrowly
When parents ask whether a course is “useful,” they often mean:
- Will it raise the GPA?
- Will it convert into college credit?
- Will it help the application?
- Does it directly match a future major?
These are reasonable questions. Families are trying to make smart choices with limited time, energy, and money.
But if we only use those filters, a student may become very good at completing tasks without necessarily becoming strong at handling change.
One point from the video is especially important: if college only trains a student to master one specific skill, that skill may become outdated.
That is a hard truth for families to sit with — but it is also the reason colleges keep returning to broader academic habits.
The admissions officer says
Close reading, writing, discussion, debate, considering different viewpoints in an argument, becoming excellent critical thinkers — these are the core abilities colleges emphasize deeply. Do not teach only to the test. — Paraphrased from video 6, “Future Skills,” in the LJCDS Advanced Studies / The College Perspective series
The skills named in the video are not short-term test tricks:
- close reading — being able to understand complex texts carefully;
- strong writing — explaining ideas with structure, evidence, and clarity;
- discussion and debate — engaging with others, not just repeating memorized answers;
- considering different perspectives — understanding an argument before rejecting or defending it;
- critical thinking — judging evidence, assumptions, and logic;
- flexible thinking — adjusting when the problem changes;
- analyzing different kinds of knowledge and data — moving between fields, methods, and forms of evidence.
These are the tools students use again and again once they enter college.
They are also the tools that remain valuable when industries, majors, technologies, and job titles change.
EdComm’s read: future skills are not about adding one more skill — they are about transfer
When many families hear “future skills,” they immediately think of coding, AI, finance, data science, or some other practical field.
Those areas can absolutely matter. But the admissions point here is not that every student must chase the same “hot” tool.
The deeper question is whether a student can transfer learning across situations.
A skill that looks valuable today may be automated tomorrow. A major that sounds hot now may look different by the time a student graduates from college. But a student who can read difficult material, write clearly, discuss ideas, analyze evidence, and connect knowledge across fields is much harder to make obsolete.
That is one of the core ideas behind a liberal arts education.
It is not “study random subjects because they sound nice.” It is training the habits that let a young person keep learning when the world changes.
Three reminders for families
1. Do not make test efficiency the only goal
A course designed entirely around exam techniques may look efficient in the short run.
But if the student only learns how to recognize answer patterns, memorize predictable content, and perform under one test format, the learning can become thin.
What students truly need is slower and deeper:
- reading difficult material;
- writing longer arguments;
- asking better questions;
- meeting views they disagree with;
- revising their own judgments when the evidence changes.
That training is not always fast. But it is much more durable.
2. STEM students need reading and writing too
We often hear a version of this question from families:
My child will probably study engineering or computer science. Is writing really that important?
Yes — often more than families expect.
The more complex the technical problem, the more students need to explain assumptions, write proposals, communicate trade-offs, work with teams, understand users, and connect technology to human consequences.
A student who can solve a problem but cannot explain the problem will eventually hit a ceiling.
For students aiming at engineering, computer science, data science, pre-med, or any other technical path, reading and writing are not decorations. They are part of the professional skill set.
3. Leave room for interdisciplinary learning
Do not lock a high school schedule too early into one narrow lane.
An engineering-oriented student may still need humanities and social science training. A business-oriented student needs math and data literacy. A life sciences student benefits from writing, ethics, statistics, and social understanding.
Colleges are not usually looking for a teenager who has already sealed themselves into a single adult identity.
They are looking for evidence that the student can keep growing.
That means a strong course plan should show both direction and range: enough focus to make the student’s interests believable, and enough breadth to show that the student can think beyond one track.
A better way to evaluate a course
Instead of asking only, “Will this course help the application?” families can ask:
- Will this course make my child read more carefully?
- Will it require serious writing, revision, or presentation?
- Will students have to discuss, defend, and reconsider their ideas?
- Does it expose the student to unfamiliar perspectives or methods?
- Does it connect to the student’s interests while also stretching them?
- Is the course teaching a habit of mind, not just a test format?
If the answer is yes, the course may be doing real college-preparatory work — whether or not its value is immediately visible through a test score.
Source and data verification notes
| Content type | Source | How this article uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Admissions officer remarks | Video 6, “Future Skills,” from the LJCDS Advanced Studies / The College Perspective public webinar series. | The admissions perspective is summarized and paraphrased from the public video. It is not from a private or exclusive EdComm interview. |
| EdComm’s read | EdComm editorial team | Clearly labeled under “EdComm’s read” and the family-advice sections. These are EdComm’s interpretive takeaways for families planning high school coursework. |
| Admissions policy | Public discussion only | This article does not represent official policy from any one university. Course expectations, testing policies, and application review processes change. Families should consult each college’s current admissions website and their school counselor for authoritative guidance. |
FAQ
What are “future skills” in college admissions?
In this context, future skills are not one narrow tool or technology. They are durable academic habits: close reading, clear writing, discussion, debate, critical thinking, flexible learning, and the ability to analyze different kinds of evidence across disciplines.
Why do admissions officers warn against teaching only to the test?
Tests can measure certain kinds of readiness, but they should not become the whole purpose of learning. If a course only trains students to perform on one exam, students may miss the deeper skills colleges expect: open-ended thinking, evidence-based argument, communication, and intellectual flexibility.
Are AP courses still useful if colleges care about broader skills?
Yes, AP courses can be useful when they are taught deeply. A strong AP class can build reading, writing, analysis, discussion, and college-level discipline. The problem is not AP itself; the problem is treating AP only as test prep or a transcript label.
Do STEM-focused students really need humanities skills?
Yes. Technical fields still require reading, writing, communication, teamwork, ethics, and the ability to explain complex ideas to different audiences. For many STEM students, those skills become a major advantage in college and later careers.
How should parents choose courses with future skills in mind?
Look beyond the title. Ask what students actually do in the class: Do they read challenging material? Write and revise? Debate ideas? Analyze evidence? Complete projects or research? A course that builds those habits may be more valuable than one that only adds another exam score.
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