What Colleges(ˈkälij) Want in an Applicant(ˈaplikənt) (Everything)

What Colleges(ˈkälij) Want in an Applicant(ˈaplikənt) (Everything)

The admissions(ədˈmiSHən) process(prəˈses,ˈpräsəs,ˈpräˌses,ˈprō-) is a maddening(ˈmadn-iNG,ˈmadniNG) mishmash(-ˌmäSH,ˈmiSHˌmaSH) of competing(kəmˈpēt) objectives(əbˈjektiv), and an attempt(əˈtem(p)t) to measure(ˈmeZHər) the unmeasurable(ˌənˈmeZH(ə)rəbəl): you. No, it isn’t fair(fe(ə)r), and likely never will be.

By Eric Hoover(ˈho͞ovər)

The admissions process is out of whack((h)wak). Just ask the heartbroken(ˈhärtˌbrōkən) applicant, rejected by her dream school. Ask high school counselors(ˈkouns(ə)lər), who complain that colleges don’t reward promising(ˈpräməsiNG) students for their creativity(ˌkrē-āˈtivitē), determination or service to others. Even the gatekeepers(ˈgātˌkēpər) at some famous institutions(ˌinstiˈt(y)o͞oSHən) acknowledge, quietly, that the selection system is broken.

Ask five people how to fix it, though, and they’ll give five different answers. Sure, you might think colleges put too much stock in the SAT, but your neighbor’s(ˈnābər) kid with the near-perfect score thinks it should matter a lot. More than half of Americans say colleges shouldn’t give children of alumni(ələmna) a leg up, according to a recent Gallup(galəp) poll; yet nearly half say parental connections should be at least a “minor(ˈmīnər) factor(ˈfaktər).”

The debate(diˈbāt) about who gets into the nation’s competitive(kəmˈpetətiv) colleges, and why, keeps boiling(ˈboiliNG) over. The Justice(ˈjəstis) Department has confirmed that it’s looking into a complaint, filed in 2015 by a coalition(ˌkōəˈliSHən) of 64 Asian(ˈāZHən)-American associations(-SHē-,əˌsōsēˈāSHən), charging discrimination(disˌkriməˈnāSHən) against high-achieving Asian-American college applicants. Also, students for Fair Admissions, which opposes(əˈpōz) affirmative(əˈfərmətiv) action policies(ˈpäləsē), has filed discrimination lawsuits(ˈlôˌso͞ot) against Harvard, the University of North Carolina(ˌkarəˈlīnə) at Chapel(ˈCHapəl) Hill and the University of Texas(ˈteksəs) at Austin(ˈôstən).

Although the Supreme(so͞o-,səˈprēm) Court(kôrt) affirmed(əˈfərm) last year that admissions officers may consider an applicant’s race among other factors, polls show that a majority(-ˈjär-,məˈjôrətē) of Americans disagree with that decision(diˈsiZHən). Critics(ˈkritik) of affirmative(əˈfərmətiv) action see plenty(ˈplentē ) of room for future legal(ˈlēgəl) challenges.

Whatever happens, age-old questions about fairness in admissions will surely endure(enˈd(y)o͝or).

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/education/edlife/what-college-admissions-wants.html