See article:
The tyranny of holistic reviews
Thanks to “holistic reviews” college admission in the US is complex and unpredictable. Originally introduced as a way to limit the number of Jewish people in top colleges, holistic reviews have made the system unnecessarily complicated for both colleges and students. Besides holistic reviews, colleges also engage in “yield protection” and “shaping the student body”, all of which makes the admission process unpredictable.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t click on links without descriptions and more info. I like how this site generally gives previews too.
Scammers want people to click on links to put viruses on computers.
Your title sounds interesting. Can you discuss it a bit more and provide the typical preview with the link?
Edited and added first paragraph from the article.
There’s a whole book about this: “Who Gets In And Why” by Jeffrey Selingo. It’s a really good read and covers all three things you mention (the history of limiting Jewish people, yield protection, and shaping the student body) in depth. I was so impressed that I bought a hardback copy (I originally bought an electronic version) just so I could share it with friends.
I wouldn’t call it an “article”. It’s something a person wrote (or ranted) and found a free place to post it.
It reads like someone who got a 1600 and didn’t get into the college of their choice.
Employers don’t use “holistic reviews”
And obviously a person who’s never worked in a real company.
Curious how you happened to come across this obscure college admissions posting on a personal/family organizing site.
Id guess their mom or dad.
Employers care whether you can do the job, and whether you can work in a team. Of course it depends on what job too. Some jobs may require more. What has been your experience? Does extra-curriculars matter in the job you are in?
@petilon What is your point? You challenge what others write, but don’t provide your own perspective. Perhaps, you can describe your experience with the jobs you’ve had in your career and why you think this does or doesn’t apply.
I agree that the linked essay sounds like someone who is just disappointed that things didn’t turn out the way they wanted and now they are complaining that the system doesn’t work.
The writer writes that “Employers don’t use “holistic reviews””.
Actually, for many desirable jobs sought by college graduates, hiring processes are very opaque to the applicants, have little or no consistency in how applicants are evaluated, and ask interviewers to give a holistic rating of the applicant to the person or group making the decision.
Employers don’t use holistic reviews?
Sort of I suppose, but many jobs are filled first from within and they already know the person. Many other jobs are only technically listed with obligatory interviews even when they know ahead of time who they are going to hire. Many jobs require references who get called. At least some employers check social media regarding an applicant. Absolutely nothing holistic with any of that, right?
“I got my job because of my test score”
Things never heard.
I provided my perspective: “Employers care whether you can do the job, and whether you can work in a team.” This is very much true in the tech industry. Your mileage may vary.
Could be. I can share what I have observed in the tech industry: Interviewers have to write down their feedback. Interviewee is given a coding problem to solve. Whether he/she is successful is a large part of the determinant of whether he/she gets the job. In addition most companies also have behavioral questions. This is the other major component of the determinant. I have never heard of interviewers asking about extra curricular activities and so on. Other industries and jobs could be different.
Doesn’t this part match what colleges are doing? They are looking for those they consider the best for each class - who works the best within the class creating a team of sorts.
They have plenty of qualified applicants to choose from.
This is because most businesses don’t have bands, clubs, or sports teams they need to fill slots for. Most colleges do. Each is fine tuning their selection for their needs.
Many jobs wouldn’t need the coding test your employer uses. That doesn’t make your employer wrong to use it.
Is that the right thing to do though?
Yep
If they have more than enough qualified applicants, it makes perfect sense to choose those who best fit the “team” they are going for, including diversity and other factors.
It doesn’t make sense to put them all into a hat and pull some out, then find out they don’t have enough for the band, clubs, various research projects, or whatever.
No company I know of would want to put all who could pass the test into a hat and pull one out. Everyone wants whoever they feel would best fit in who can also do the job.
That’s not my experience at all. Sure you need to be able to do the job which is the first cut, similar to how test scores and GPAs are used by colleges, but after that it’s how well you fit in, do people like you, etc. In my experience (as an engineer undergrad with an MBA who now works in the regulatory arena) job hiring is very holistic. And specifically to the EC question, experience in professional associations is valued as is leadership positions in those associations.
So if you play the violin like a virtuoso, or play basketball like Kobe Bryant that has little impact on your desirability to your employer, right?
But qualifications are not “binary”, right? It is on a scale.