It’s a historic heatwave, and we don’t know about you, but we’re wanting to veg out by the pool or catch a movie in the theaters. At Mindspire, we know that applying to college can be a source of many things — excitement, stress, a newfound sense of autonomy — so in the spirit of the season, we’re reviewing ten films or TV shows from the past half-century to examine how the culture of the transition from high school to university has — or hasn’t! — changed.
Get your popcorn, and dive in!
1. Animal House (1978)
Animal House was a period piece when it was released — set in 1962, the brothers of the Alpha Delta Fraternity went to college in a completely different environment from the Ivy League of today. This was pre-Vietnam, pre- coeducational, and a world where the drinking age of 21 was largely ignored.
One thing wasn’t so different — Faber college was based on the screenwriter’s alma mater, Dartmouth, which had very selective admissions for its freshman class of 800, being just behind Harvard/Yale/Princeton on expected SAT scores. Here’s what the SAT would have looked like in that era:
”Starting in 1958, time limits became more stable, and for 17 years, until 1975, students had 75 minutes to answer 90 questions. In 1959, questions on data sufficiency were introduced to the mathematics section and then replaced with quantitative comparisons in 1974.”
Stupid is no way to go through life, indeed, but this over-the-top comedy satirizes a world in which privileged (male) youth were less concerned about their futures. No Facebook wall to memorialize your screw ups!
2. Risky Business (1983)
Greed, for lack of a better word … is good? It’s hard to think of a more 1980s scheme to get into Princeton than “open a brothel while your parents are away” … but that’s what Tom Cruise’s character, Joel, hatches up.
We agree with the commenter on the realism of his getting into Princeton with these SAT/GPA stats in the ‘80s … And how his, uh, entrepreneurial venture might be seen now.
But as a legacy student? His father could definitely have pulled some strings.
3.14 GPA and 1150 on SAT might have gotten you in the University of Illinois in 1983, in 2024 4.14 GPA and 1450 SAT needed to get in. In 2024 Joel would be going to Community College and living at home.
3. Real Genius (1985)
In the 1980s jocks-vs-preps-vs-nerds culture war, Real Genius is a clear win for nerds. Mitch Taylor, the protagonist, scored a perfect 1600 SAT, and attends a fictionalized version of CalTech (the same institution that inspired the show the Big Bang Theory), however, Val Kilmer’s Mitch Taylor is much more wryly funny in this exploration of the implications of technology in the real world. Points for the realism of the concurrent enrollment, although MythBusters proves the final scene is still the realm of science fiction for the capability of lasers.
4. Scent of a Woman (1992)
College acceptance is a secondary story to Charlie’s bond with Al Pacino’s blind, retired Army officer character, but it is a vital one. The protagonist, Charlie Simms, is a scholarship student at a prep school, and the moral dilemmas he faces in his aspirations to the Ivy League are significant.
Much like Operation Varsity Blues a generation later, this movie explores the different routes that the ultra-rich and the merely aspirational take on the path to the Ivy League, although what happens to Charlie is more ambiguous.
5. The West Wing (1999-2006)
President Jed Bartlet might be one of the most impressive figures on this list — from his commitment to excellence on the SAT and his Ph.D. at the London School of Economics means he would only ever be elected in Aaron Sorkin’s fever dreams.
Bartlet scored 1590 (ten points shy of a perfect 1600) on his SAT, retook the test, and again received 1590; many thought it strange that he took the test again after receiving a near-perfect score. After high school, Bartlet was accepted to Harvard University, Yale University, Williams College and the University of Notre Dame [where he attended].
In Season 1, episode 18, his daughter Zoey is admitted to Georgetown, and there’s a debate whether as the daughter of POTUS, she’s the ultimate nepo baby, or was admitted on her own merits. The idea of “merit” being strictly numerical, and that it is perfectly natural to casually drop your test scores decades after the fact, seems to be both a Sorkin-ism and a real reflection of how college admissions started to change drastically in the 21st century.
6. The Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
Getting into college, specifically, Harvard, is the Central Dramatic Question of the early seasons of the CW series the Gilmore Girls. Rory, a gifted daughter of her young high school dropout/innkeeper/bestie mother Lorelai, navigates the tension of going to Chilton, a hyper-competitive prep school, reconnecting with her wealthy grandparents, and juggling a series of romances with young men who may or may not keep up with her banter.
Hailed for its witty dialogue, accurate portrayal of academically-minded teens, and refreshing focus on female friendship, the series has had a long afterlife on streamers, including a revival where we find out where getting a stellar PSAT score can land you as a Millennial. Tough luck, Gilmore, graduating with a J school degree in 2007.
7. Orange County (2002)
Another Millennial cult classic stars Tom Hanks’ son Colin, playing the sort of “well-rounded” alpha nerd who believed his 1520 SAT makes him a shoo-in for Stanford. This reflects two shifts compared to the older films — you can’t party your way into a top college by the 2000s, and the West Coast was growing in both population and prestige.
The movie’s ending strains credulity, but that’s Hollywood, baby. And even if you’re literally the dead son of the Stanfords themselves come back to life … don’t apply to only Stanford, even if your SAT is in the 99th percentile.
8. Zoey 101 (2005–2008)
Zoey Brooks and her crew get to live in a picturesque coastal boarding school, filmed at Pepperdine University in Malibu. She’s portrayed as kind, optimistic, loyal, and a natural leader — and the will-they-won’t they story with Chase Matthews lets you know this is a show inspired by classics like Friends.
But a little-known fact is that Zoey is killing it academically — she gets a 1510 on the SAT! With a score like that, we’re also optimistic Zoey has a great college career ahead of her … better, hopefully, than the reception for the spin-off film Zoey 102.
9. Accepted (2006)
In this satire of high-stakes college admissions, Justin Long’s Bartleby — he would prefer not to do test prep — only ekes out a 940 on the SAT, a bit below the median. These unimpressive scores and a general aversion to authority means he’s rejected from every university he’s applied to.
The twist is that he bands together with other misfits and does an extracurricular project that very well might impress future employers (or blacklist him, depending on their take): he creates a fictional university. Bartleby is well positioned to create a MOOC based on his commitment to disrupting Big Higher Ed and experience in front of congressional committees.
10. Superbad (2007)
We come full circle — Evan, played by eternal nerd Michael Cera, has been accepted to the real Dartmouth, with a 4.0 (presumably unweighted) GPA and 1560 SAT. His slacker friend Seth is offended that his Ivy League ambitions mean they won’t be attending college together.
They’re spending a single day speedrunning the shenanigans that Evan’s test prep time meant they didn’t get to as high school students. The real Seth (Rogen) and Evan (Goldberg) have gone on to collaborate on many other projects.
In conclusion, these shows and movies do a decent job portraying that the SAT is an important piece of getting into college — as is your grades, the geography of where you’re applying, and the era you’re born into.
Comment with your favorite fictional story about college admissions. We promise not to tell about any hijinks that would add some twists to your plot on the way to your dream school. If you need a high SAT on the way to Dartmouth, Harvard, Cal Tech, or a Zoom university out of a Whole Foods (kidding!), respond so we can get you matched to a leading SAT tutor!
