A call for new ethics in the admissions process

Applying to College
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<p>I want to caution you that some of what I will say here might not make any sense—it’s late at night in my town and I’ve just regained my ability to speak and think rationally. Some more disclaimers: I already have a CC account, but I’ve made a new one so that readers will not be able to identify me by my name or college. I’d also like to state that I’m not just a bitter high-school senior—I got into my top choice school, a top-ranked Ivy, so I have no reason to be bitter.</p>

<p>I’m writing this to call for a higher plane of ethics in the college admissions process. This might sound totally naively epic—but I really, seriously, have reached my limit in terms of the caliber of students colleges can accept in comparison to those whom they reject. </p>

<p>I can’t believe—fathom, consider—the almost incestual hypocrisy that goes on in admissions offices. Colleges that flout their diversity, their ingenuity, their adherence to the quintessentially American ideal of meritocracy accept students for reasons that have nothing to do with intellectual curiosity, or with the type of diverse experiences that colleges seek to fill their dorm rooms with. </p>

<p>Another disclaimer: I have just graduated from a school that sits in the shadow of a top-ranked university, so my high-school experience is most likely different than others’. I went to a school where kids drove Porsches to school and went home—most likely a super sized mansion a few blocks away—to their professor daddies and venture-capitalist mommies. The types of kids who go to my high school are not comparable to those from, say, crime-laden urban areas or West Virginian mining towns; no—they were born privileged and will most likely die privileged. </p>

<p>I’ve seen a girl who has confessed to have not read a single book her four years in high school get recruited to play for an Ivy; I’ve seen another girl who would’ve gone to a low-ranked UC end up getting into an HYP off the waitlist because the dean of admissions there was a good friend of her aunt; I’ve seen a guy who would’ve gone to a top 30 liberal arts school get into Harvard off of his double legacy. </p>

<p>And yet what are the untold stories behind these admittances? How much money did these kids’ parents have to fork over for them to get into unbelievably prestigious schools? Other questions: How could college admissions officers live with themselves knowing that they turn down thousands of startlingly incredible applicants for donating legacies with no tangible talents other than their remarkable birth into money? I might be generalizing—in fact, I am—but, from what I’ve seen, those millionaire students are replacing much more qualified students in HYPSM + others, simply because they have the ability to donate or because they have a previous association with the admission office in question.</p>

<p>Not only is it unfair to those qualified students who are rejected, but it is unfair to those students who are accepted—to the qualified ones who have to attend classes with undeserving students who have nothing interesting to offer to a school’s experience other than their wealth. It devalues the education that they are receiving and dilutes the ingenuity, the talent, the power of the experience that they’re paying for.</p>

<p>Colleges that accept donations from parents and offer the kids a sharp edge in the admissions process are doing their qualified students a disservice. It is truly a sad state of our education system if colleges cultivate corruption in their offices in order to grow their endowments. </p>

<p>I apologize for the really badly-written rant. I haven’t even read it over since it’s so late over here. I hope this post sparks a discussion on the corrupt policies of college admissions and would perhaps help change the inner workings of these institutions. A college degree is worth so much nowadays and I don’t think it’s fair how colleges cheapen our education through these policies.</p>

<p>In short, I’m mad as hell and I can’t take it anymore. Hopefully you can’t, too. </p>

<p>YouTube</a> - ‪I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take this anymore‬‏</p>

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<p>Nothing new. Developmental admits (aka big donors) have always been and will always be welcome at ANY school. Their donations make it possible for low income students to attend. I’m not sure what your beef is? Many students have a hook, being rich is just one of them.</p>

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<p>If they didn’t take the rich kids with donating parents, internationals like me without a real income would have no chance.</p>

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<p>Curious that a poster who is taking others to task for supposed ethical breaches so brazenly ignores the terms of service that s/he agreed to when signing up to use this free service.</p>

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<p>"Colleges that flout their diversity, their ingenuity, their adherence to the quintessentially American ideal of meritocracy accept students for reasons that have nothing to do with intellectual curiosity, or with the type of diverse experiences that colleges seek to fill their dorm rooms with. "</p>

<p>Top private colleges don’t state that. They KNOW that diversity and an “interesting” class does NOT mean meritocracy. That’s left for the public schools, to be blunt. Development admits will always exist-- and I’m glad for them. They don’t “take away” spots from others (who, by the way, will go to other spectacular schools since they are so talented) but rather are instrumental to the financial well being of the colleges themselves. </p>

<p>Also, if you want to make a compelling argument, send a letter to the Chronicle of Higher Education or the Wall St Journal or even your college newspaper. A single post on CC will be read by how many people???</p>

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<p>Agree with GA2012Mom, this is nothing new under the sun, so to speak!</p>

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<p>Yale announced recently that they rejected more than half the legacy kids whose parents had been donating at the highest category of annual alumni giving. A friend of mine at another HYPSM school with seniority in the development office told me admissions never calls the development office to check on alumni donations. You would need to give so much (ie. have a building named after you) to have instant name recognition to the adcoms or perhaps some personal contact in the development office you could call to advocate for you. Most wealthy families letting kids driive Porsches to school out of their McMansion garages don’t have this kind of money and certainly don’t have the pull you assume.</p>

<p>Before you assume that your intellectual meritocracy will be sullied by the few developmental admits that got tipped into the admit pile, understand that hundreds of millions of endowment dollar income are spent each year to run the school to allow the tuition/room/board to “only” be $50K+ and support financial aid. Whether you are full pay or not you are benefitting from this. While I share your frustration that so many great kids are turned away each year, the developmental hook makes more sense to the university’s mission than many others talked about here on CC and is here to stay.</p>

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<p>The ends justify the means…get over yourself. My D was in an Integrated (half special ed / half regular ed students) classroom for two years in elementary school. A number of the students in the class didn’t really have the intellectual capacity that my D did, but she never felt that it " devaluated the education that she received and diluted the ingenuity, the talent, the power of the experience" …</p>

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<p>^ I don’t have a problem with people whose parents donated a lot of money to the school getting in because they are helping the community as a whole but what you’re saying about classes with students of a lower intellectual capacity not making the overall education work is completely false. All through elementary school I was in the gifted and talented program but it was only for an hour once a week so the rest of the time I was in a classroom with the regular kids including some special ed kids. It was terrible. The majority of the time I was sitting at my table doing nothing because I had finished my work but we couldn’t move on until everyone was finished. When you are in a class with people whose abilities are low the class revolves around accommodating the people that are least likely to succeed while neglecting the people of higher skill levels.</p>

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<p>…didn’t seem to hurt my D , she was admitted to Cornell & used her experiences of growing up & being in classes with a wide range of students (some with disabilities) as part of her admissions essay. She never viewed it as a hinderence but rather saw it as an opportunity to get an insight into others and their experience.</p>

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<p>A girl who is legacy at both Y and H and is the val of my school got rejected from every single Ivy she applied to this year</p>

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<p>These developmental admits likely have at least a 2000 SAT score and 3.5 GPA. That will lead to rejection unless you have a strong “hook” which in this case is institutional generosity. No one wants to send their kid to their alma mater that does not have the intellectual capacity to be happy and succeed. To think you could pick out those admits after meeting them or have them hamper the overall academic experience is rediculous.</p>

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<p>^
I agree, absolutely “rediculous.” It’s so absurd that it’s almost bluediculous.</p>

<p>And yeah, no way top colleges can claim to be meritocracies with their targeting of Asian-Americans and legacy advantages. I think developmental admits are definitely justified, though, because the donor would have to give in the millions.</p>

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<p>But so many admission decisions are so absurd to the point where, developmental or not, they are taking the place of more qualified applicants and are thus robbing them of the opportunity to study and receive a diploma from the college. </p>

<p>But I’m also frustrated by connections in the admissions office. A girl just got off the wait-list from an HYP at my school; she was going to go to a lower-ranked UC. It was a surprise to all of her friends that she got waitlisted at all–but, she said, her aunt was a close friend of the dean of admissions during their undergraduate years (in a different college.) I had two classes with her this year: no ounce of intellectual curiosity in her whatsoever.</p>

<p>And we saw this type of admission much more than one time this year; most of the kids who got into the prestigious college next to our school either acknowledged or were rumored to have some type of association with the admissions office. </p>

<p>That’s not a mark of meritocracy–it’s a kleptocracy. And I think it needs to stop.</p>

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<p>newethics, I think you need to take a stand against these corrupt elite institutions. Decline your top-ranked Ivy today. Take your brain and your money someplace else.</p>

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<p>These are the old and current ethics of Ivy schools.</p>

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<p>How so? Higher GPA or SAT score? What about the compelling life story beautifully written on the application? What about the teacher recommendation that says the applicant may not score as well as some others but s/he is the warmest and nicest person she has ever taught and can’t think of anyone else she would rather share an afternoon together.</p>

<p>Admitting a class on objective measures would seem fair to you and would explain why some kids got in and others didn’t. It would also make a very boring college environment and I’m thankful this is not done. Without reading essays, letters of recommendation, interviewer reports, and seeing outside non-school based ECs, you have no way of knowing the relative qualifications of these applicants you think got in by connections. Even if that were true, consider it part of your ivy league education that connections matter. </p>

<p>Newethics - I congratulate you on your “top-ranked Ivy” acceptance. You will be surrounded by amazing classmates - all of them. Don’t use your time worrying about why “qualified” applicants like yourself are better than others.</p>

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<p>YaleGradAndDad–sorry if I made myself unclear; qualified means GPA, essays, recs, SATs. Unqualified would be students who would not get into the college in a million years if their parents weren’t wealthy legacies or had top connections in the admissions office. I think I was admitted to my university on the strength of my essays and uniqueness of life experience. </p>

<p>I have no idea why I’m taking it this hard–maybe it’s because I’m not as cynical, or maybe it’s because I’m starting to doubt whether admission into these types of colleges really matters at all. Maybe it’s because, after getting to know these over-privileged kids, the idea of their acceptance totally demolishes my faith in the fairness of the process.</p>

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<p>Whatever, it’s a private institution, stop complaining. If they really wanted to, they could set aside special admissions for children of charitable parents, and lower the admission rate for everyone else.</p>

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<p>But you didn’t read their essays or teacher recommendations. You didn’t sit in on the interview. Why not just say you are not in a position to judge why the admissions office thought those students to be qualified since you were not privy to the information they had at their fingertips?</p>

<p>No process that turns down 93% of applicants can be entirely fair and no one has ever said that the majority of rejected students are undeserving of admission. In fact, I have heard from one HYPSM Adcom that if the admissions office secretly discarded the applications of the 2000 or so admitted students and then sent offers to the next group of 2000, nobody but the admissions office would know this or see a difference in the quality of the student body. That is why it is not believable that these schools will admit “unqualified” hooked applicants. There is just too much depth in the applicant pool to choose from.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure what you mean when you say this. How does admission to HYPSM or the equivalent supposed to “matter”? You have been gifted the opportunity to spend four years with perhaps the most amazing cohort of peers you will ever be surrounded. You will have nearly every academic resource imaginable. If it is not clear that this matters to you, then who are you to even begin to wonder if other less academically intuitive students have been admitted to your class?</p>