WSJ: The Admissions Police

Parent Cafe
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<p>
[quote]
Both prefer clarity, brevity, accuracy. They favor the use of vivid but simple language.

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I think it would be a pretty safe bet that most adcoms prefer it, too.</p>

<p>The NY Times article on "High Anxiety" makes a great companion piece to the the WSJ article because colleges are ushering in this "new age of vigilance in academia" citing incidents of foul-play by guidance-counselors, blatant plagiarism, EC padding caused in great part by the anxiety of "getting in' or - more pointedly these days, not getting in. - so it is hardly surprising that colleges want and need to vet and "shore up their admissions process" - both to level the playing field and to try to repair the process. </p>

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[quote]
Ms. Buchman tries to explain to families that the second- or third-choice college is also a wonderful place, that the child will make friends, get a good education and life will go on. In six months, that first choice will be a vague memory.</p>

<p>But given all the angst surrounding college admissions, it can be a difficult message to sell. Emotions run high this season, and the anxiety level is testament to a process that many educators believe has spiraled out of control.</p>

<p>The frenzy over college admissions is well known. Stories abound about overstressed students who race from Japanese calligraphy classes to hockey practice to SAT tutors. Anecdotes about out-of-control parents - who write college essays, monopolize questions at college information sessions and hound their children to make every moment a resume-building one - are plentiful.</p>

<p>Those aren?t even the really crazy ones. One Westchester guidance counselor described a student who was applying to a college that required a graded high school paper. The child brought in an ?A? essay with many enthusiastic teacher comments. The counselor took a closer look and asked why the teacher had written comments in two different inks. It turned out that the student?s mother had added a few thoughts of her own.</p>

<p>It?s easy to criticize parents for the current state of affairs, but you can also point to other culprits ? the infamous college rankings, ambitious high schools, colleges that brag about all the students with perfect SAT scores whom they reject, colleges that market themselves aggressively and then proudly declare low admission rates, and a culture that values performance over character. ..

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</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/08wecol.html?_r=1&oref=slogin%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/08wecol.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Back to the WSJ article:

[quote]
...when applicants seek an edge with $500-an-hour "admissions consultants" and online essay-editing services, schools are using their own new methods to vet prospective students. Much like corporations that have been burned by CEO r?sum? scandals, universities are tapping into the burgeoning background-check industry to verify what's written -- or not -- on applications.</p>

<p>The University of California system, which enrolls more than 30,000 college freshmen each year, now conducts random spot checks, asking about 10% of applicants to verify activities, grades or facts from personal essays. Last year, five Division I athletic programs began using a law firm to conduct background checks on high-school recruits. And this school year, Harvard's undergraduate admissions staff added a former professional background checker. "We look at essays with a certain degree of skepticism," says Harvard College director of admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis. "We're not shy about checking further."

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</p>

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<p>
[quote]
The child brought in an ?A? essay with many enthusiastic teacher comments. The counselor took a closer look and asked why the teacher had written comments in two different inks. It turned out that the student?s mother had added a few thoughts of her own.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I've never written comments on my kids' papers, but I've had plenty to say about them in addition to what the teachers wrote (or failed to write). I can actually be more stringent than teachers who focus on the struggling students must do not seek to challenge higher-performing kids to achieve as high as they can.</p>

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<p>The police coats are lined in gold.</p>

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<p>"But one has to be aware that one's essay needs polishing. And lots of students, including at top colleges, don't know that they're using "their," "there," and "they're" indiscriminately"</p>

<p>Perhaps a better question is why hasn't the English language had a major spelling reform like most othe civilized languages. For crying out loud there is no reason to have there, their, and they're. The part of speech each "word" represents is determined by context not by any phonemic differences.</p>

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<p>SAT's can be prepped over and over (enough money yields decent results). Exciting EC's developed by a strong family support system will thrill the Adcoms. Grades- you do have to work for but excellent grades in the proper prep schools happen if Mommy and Daddy contribute $$$$. And colleges say "oh well grades are not everything lol" The 'Poor' and 'Diverse' group of the moment dont have to struggle much to excite the Adcoms because they are needed in percentages. In fact I bet a double bonanza is a Poor diverse kid who is in a prep school- all fixed up for the Adcoms. The middle class is where you look if you want to watch some serious competition. But in the end the Adcoms have the final say and are even throwing in Facebook and google police to weed out the Middle class to make room for extra "foundation" (read RICH$$$$) kids. Nothing has changed in a hundred years except the numbers of kids applying and the methods used to make room for more $$$$ kids. Transparency will never happen in the IVY League because money makes the world go round. I think you have a better shot at Lawyers cutting back on litigation in the USA. Look at the big business of education- application fees, PSAT and SAT fees, Prepping schools, Private Tutors, College coaches, transfer of credits to and from colleges, Private schools, competition breeds $$$$ - Do you honestly think there would be a reason for fairness and transparency.
Sorry YOUR generation is all about $$$$ and EDUCATION means $$$$. Please dont blame the ambition you created! Please dont blame the kids, and teams of consultants you created. The golden prize we are told is Ivy League. And the Adcoms who are the gatekeepers walk on water terrifying everyone. Read THE CHOSEN. Nothing has changed. SO WHO CHOOSES the ADCOM TEAM?
The Trustees, The President of the Univ - ???? That is my response to "The Admission Police".</p>

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<p>Well it looks like hedoya has found his/her voice, at least on this topic. But what are the chances that essay would be favorably viewed by an admission committee?</p>

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<p>I already attend college thanks. But I do care about a system that is driving kids crazy.</p>

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<p>Because no one is in charge of the English language. Unlike French, with its official French government ministry in charge of controlling and defending the language, English is an anarchy. Nobody (or everybody) owns it and nobody can reform it by fiat. It evolves on its own, keeping (or not) confusing and outmoded spellings at is goes.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
And this school year, Harvard's undergraduate admissions staff added a former professional background checker. "We look at essays with a certain degree of skepticism," says Harvard College director of admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis. "We're not shy about checking further."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>A good start would be to let the dogs sniff around the scientific competition "mills" masquerading as university labs. Unfortunately, when money is no object, it is much easier to hide the trails. </p>

<p>Fwiw, do the adcoms really think that anyone who charges $300 or $500 has not learned to mask the packaging and the creative development of one's resume? After all, from where do the "good" Ivy-something counseling shops recruit, or obtain their insiders' data. Unfortunately, the private industry will remain ready and willing to spend a lot more than the colleges as long as ... they get amply rewarded for their efforts by the same colleges. People pay the packagers because it works. </p>

<p>Only the truly greedy and callous --read Kavvya and Blair-- do get caught! The pseudo scientists and beneficiaries of ghost writers are pretty safe, and so are the KC's interns at the Met!</p>

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<p>
[quote]
And the Adcoms who are the gatekeepers walk on water terrifying everyone. Read THE CHOSEN. Nothing has changed. SO WHO CHOOSES the ADCOM TEAM?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Are they really terrifying everyone? From a distance, I see a group of people who is asked to do a thankless job that only satisfies the truly dedicated. From a distance, I see a group of people who is asked to balance the demands of a wealthy past with the demands of a new society with changing demographics. From a distance, I see a group of people who are asked to do this job under huge time and money constraints.</p>

<p>How would you like to do a job that pays very little and has the direct attribute to displease 75% to 95% of your customers year after year, and this no matter what you do?</p>

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<p>"Does the author think that the SAT essays can be written by proxy when he STATES "their SAT essays -- more or less guaranteed to be their own work?" Where does the less stand for."</p>

<p>There are people who get coaching for the essays. The "expert" will suggest a number of topics which work for past "prompts." The kids write 5-10 essays on these topics. They then have these reviewed by the "expert" who gives "suggestions" for strengthening them and corrects spelling and grammar. The kids then practice writing them out until they can do it perfectly. If they are lucky, one of the prompts will "work" and they can then write out one of the prepared essays during the exam. </p>

<p>Oh, and Marite, I have a kid who did read Wiggenstein in high school and who cannot spell grammar. It happens. Kid's English grades in high school would substantiate that. They weren't very good, but the kid genuinely excelled in philosophy in college.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
"Does the author think that the SAT essays can be written by proxy when he STATES "their SAT essays -- more or less guaranteed to be their own work?" Where does the less stand for."</p>

<p>There are people who get coaching for the essays. The "expert" will suggest a number of topics which work for past "prompts." The kids write 5-10 essays on these topics. They then have these reviewed by the "expert" who gives "suggestions" for strengthening them and corrects spelling and grammar. The kids then practice writing them out until they can do it perfectly. If they are lucky, one of the prompts will "work" and they can then write out one of the prepared essays during the exam.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Of course, that's the method that originated in Newton in answer to the prompts offered in the now defunct SAT Writing II!</p>

<p>However, the essay written at the test center is STILL 100% the work of a student. You simply cannot penalize a student who prepared for an exam or a test with ... extra diligence, be it through personal practice or via the help of a coach. How do you separate students who never saw a teacher returning a paper that had detailed comments from the students who attend schools where this is the norm? </p>

<p>Here's a different reality: the SAT essay is an extremely simple proposal --if not simplistic. While it may not be a cinch to earn a 12, it should not be too hard for students who have ambitions to attend a selective school to earn a 9-11. Since those same students should have few problems acing the 8th grammar that completes the Writing test, the difference between a 9 and a 12 score becomes entirely trivial in the grand scheme of admissions.</p>

<p>When one gets to the bottom of this, it is hard to understand why so much ink is and has been spilled on this. In the past the SAT II Writing had little significance outside the boundaries of a very select world; there is no evidence that the boundaries have been extended very far, as most schools ignore the current results. </p>

<p>In the end, the SAT Writing may shed some lights on the abysmal state of what is taught in HS. The drama is not to be found among students who score a 10 or 12, but is at the other side of the range. The same drama that forces many universities to offer remedial english courses to a quasi illiterate freshman class. This is quite a parallel to what happens in the transition from middle school to college admissions. All the ink is spilled debating why a few hundred thousands cannot pass the gilded gates of Ivyland. Yet little is said about the millions who drop out of HS and never contemplate a college life.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
How would you like to do a job that pays very little and has the direct attribute to displease 75% to 95% of your customers year after year, and this no matter what you do?

[/quote]
You've just described bedside nursing. That's why I no longer practice.</p>

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<p>Jonri:</p>

<p>There are genuinely bad spellers (my H), and some who can spell well in several languages (me) without much effort. But a lot of misspellings one sees is sheer laziness on a student's part, and usually the symptom of something far worse than a few misspelled words.
But, hey, in France, Wittgenstein or not, an essay with 5 misspellings would be tossed out. And in my days, there were no spellchecks. There were at least three essays on the bac.</p>

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<p>Spelling makes more sense in French. English words are crazy. I don't think spelling reflects intelligence or critical thinking skills in any way. My dad has a PhD in English literature and can't spell. My mom typed and proofed all his papers for him - better than a computer. With my kids - 2 are natural spellers and one isn't. He's improving as he gets older, but it is still not something that he'll ever feel secure about.</p>

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<p>Unless a genuine learning problem is involved, I believe that misspelling common words is a sign of sloppiness, as are apostrophes scattered with great abandon and usually in the wrong places. There are far too many people who depend on others to do their proof-reading, thinking it's beneath them, as their minds are preoccupied with profound thoughts. </p>

<p>But misspellings are only a small part of the general disregard for style that I've noticed in American education. Heaven forbid that Johnny's creativity be quenched by pointing out Johnny's mistakes! So Johnny is allowed to give full rein (not reign, please!) to his desire for self-expression, using invented spelling.
In my school, students got graded separately for substance and for syle. Style included not only spelling and grammar but also essay structure and organization. French may be less crazy than English but there are still plenty of opportunities for making spelling mistakes. I believe that attention to spelling in French carried over to my learning of English.</p>

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<p>Policing?
I found these from another thread on CC.<br>
Food for thought.........................</p>

<p>The first is about giving As for any score of 70% and up. Hence perfect GPA.
<a href="http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/175976.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/175976.html&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/176484.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/176484.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Next is cheating at SAT centers by the said schools that administer the tests.
<a href="http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/176737.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/176737.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>ETS cancelled 90 scores of SAT taken this January.
<a href="http://chronicle.com/news/article/1792/ets-cancels-900-sat-scores-in-south-korea-after-security-breach%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://chronicle.com/news/article/1792/ets-cancels-900-sat-scores-in-south-korea-after-security-breach&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Of course there are also the perfect ECs and letters of recommendation from these schools.</p>

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<p>I have one for you all: I just heard that a student who had gotten an ED admission to a top national university with a full ride scholarship was found to have plagiarized portions of a major project. The teacher, who had written a rec for the student, wrote to the university and retracted the rec. The student lost the acceptance and the scholarship. Some people's reaction to this is, unbelievably IMHO, that the teacher was "mean." My son's reaction, I'm happy to say, is that it was a major breach of trust and the teacher's action was the correct one. What do you think?</p>

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<p>The student deserved what s/he got. The teacher had good ethics.</p>

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<p>^^. Agree with above.</p>