Chapter 14

Each year, the difficulty of the college entrance exams changed, which meant the cutoff scores varied as well. Simply using scores to determine which schools to apply to wasn't always accurate or scientific. What truly mattered was the ranking. At Linkon First High School, about four or five students reached the cutoff for Northsdale University each year, but only two or three actually got in. Nathan's rank, seventh among the entire senior year, left him about ten points short of Northsdale University's acceptance line. To Oscar, those ten points seemed impossible to make up. But Nathan was confident. Everything hinged on the essay of the college entrance exam. Writing had always been his weak point. His essay rarely scored higher than the 30s. Now that he knew the essay topic of the college entrance exams in advance, he could easily gain an extra 20 points. Getting into Northsdale University wasn't out of the question. However, Nathan wasn't sure if those elite academic inst