<p>An insider at a less selective college told me that admissions ignores the part of the application that asks for history of arrest, conviction, etc. The college’s overriding concern is filling seats and collecting tuition. So even if an applicant has an alarming past that they disclose on the application, they will be accepted.</p>
<p>It would be ridiculous if all colleges rejected applicants of bad character. That would mean that such teens would have no way of improving themselves and would have a lack of job options, which possibly could lead to their getting involved in even worse activities as they tried to support themselves.</p>
<p>^^True, NSM, but I could substitute “applicants of low intelligence” for “applicants of bad character” and make a similar argument. </p>
<p>Colleges are trying to build the most wholesome community they can build and I hope that character is at least one of the factors that is looked at. Character is perhaps too vague a word as it means different things to different people. For instance I won’t care if my D’s roommate is a ‘slut’ but I would not like her to be a thief. I would hope the college is not filled with students who cheat on exams, and I would hope that there aren’t too many date-rapists on campus.</p>
<p>When Son was a sophomore, a group of students in one of his AP classes were involved in a cheating scandal. Because these were the “top of the class” kids, the teacher dealt with it himself, requiring community service instead of having a suspension or whatever appear on their permanent records. At the end of the next year, the same group of students filched some info off another AP teacher’s computer…again, since these were “top of the class” kids, their only punishment was that they were not allowed to attend any National Honor society meetings first semester senior year or wear their NHS t-shirts. </p>
<p>While I’m all for second (third, and fourth) chances, it was painfully obvious that the penalties would have been more severe for students whose GPAs were not in the strastosphere. Like they didn’t want to spoil a kid’s chances to get into Harvard or Duke but it would be fine to spoil a different kid’s chances to get into Tech or UNT.</p>
<p>On the jerk front…</p>
<p>One of the most successful kids in my S’s class was universally regarded as a major jerk by the peer group. Enormous ego, dedicated grade grubber, the kind of kid who asks everyone else what they got on every test and paper but doesn’t reveal their own grades…but really, really, really expert at sucking up to adults. Obviously elite Us just adored the “I’m just SO special” vibe this kid threw off, coupled with stellar grades and so forth. If they had asked classmates for their opinion, they would have gotten a different story. But they don’t.</p>
<p>One of the coaches who was recruiting my son (top 10 school) shared a story. I asked him about his record of having his recruits accepted after the “early” read that was done in the summer. He said in 30 years he only had one or two students not accepted after a favorable early read. In one instance the kid had stellar stats (in this sport you had to be in the range for admission without a tip) and the coach anticipated no problems. However, the kid did not get in. The admissions director reported to the coach that the prep school headmaster had called him confidentially and said, “DO NOT take this kid. He is a jerk and just a bad kid. You will be sorry.”</p>
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<p>That is a valid point. Is society better off with uneducated cheaters and jerks, or well-educated cheaters and jerks?</p>
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<p>Would you like to give unethical people a lot of influence or no influence?</p>
<p>I mean, really, do you think corruption in government and the corporate realm is a minor issue?</p>
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<p>It’s very hard to know if a high school cheating infraction was due to terrible pressure of the moment, or if it’s a life-long character flaw. As for jerky personalities, there are a lot of people who have done some pretty great things in the world with whom you’d probably not want to be best friends.</p>
<p>"s society better off with uneducated cheaters and jerks, or well-educated cheaters and jerks?
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<p>I believe that education helps everyone including jerks and cheaters. Part of the education at most colleges is gaining critical thinking skills and learning about ethics. I would not want to bar jerks and unethical people from gaining the opportunity to broaden their critical thinking and learn better ethics.</p>
<p>Another issue to consider is that - believe it or not - some PARENTS display poor character. If a child is raised in a household that practices, encourages or tolerates cheating, theft, or jerky behavior to get ahead, it would greatly benefit the child to be exposed to people in the college or work environment who DON’T behave that way. </p>
<p>I know a guy from a rough and tumble working class background. After college he worked in the building trades and helped himself to unattended tools and materials on occasion. That is basically how he was raised - if it’s lying around, it’s fair game. He has now worked for the same company for many years, around terrific, honest people and he would be mortified if I reminded him that he used to steal.</p>
<p>It can be really helpful for some kids to get away from their families.</p>
<p>Okay, so the OP said he knew of ( I’m thinking attended) a high school where more than one student made HEADLINES for something they’d done, AND they were subsequently admitted to a prestigious school. Not just once , or maybe not even twice but “oftentimes”, these headline making high schoolers had “powerful” parents, were athletes, AND didn’t make it through their first semester. </p>
<p>One again I am struck by how people on CC’s communities vary. What kind’s of things make “headlines” in that community? Around here, it would have to be more than a character flaw, and college doesn’t tend to be in their future! And to have more than one student make headlines and follow this pattern ? Where IS this?</p>
<p>Isn’t there some self-selection involved in terms of what the kids are like at various schools? I must say I’ve drawn comfort from the fact that my oldest is tucked away in a nice little LAC in Smalltown, Ohio just from a safety aspect. Didn’t really occur to me about the other benefits, though, until recently. I dropped him off at the beginning of this semester and within 12 hours he’d lost his wallet. I’m mentally freaking a little, thinking about all the hassle of replacing driver’s license, credit cards, . . . when I’m heading out of state. A buddy of his said to him, “Don’t worry. If someone from <> finds it, he’ll do the right thing.” The wallet showed up in his mailbox the next morning absolutely intact.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are some jerks at this school, and probably some kids who got in trouble in high school. I don’t think there are any I don’t trust to be around my kid.</p>
<p>^^My daugther is in Pittsburgh and has lost her phone twice and her wallet once–returned all three times. It’s not just the small towns.</p>