Shock and Aw, Shucks
Daniel Golden's book is out, it's called "The Price of Admission," and it's been written about all over the place, including (GASP) The Economist.
(You can link here to Amazon for more info about the book. I'm not trying to sell you on it, nor am I trying to dissuade you from purchasing it or reading it. Link as a public service.)
The crux of the book is that selective colleges and universities go out of their way to get the right kids, but the definition of right kids may vary depending upon what cache (or cash) these students can bring with them.
According to the book, some shocking things go on. Children of Congressmen getting admitted to selective schools because of who they are. Schools courting students because they have wealthy or name parents -- and these parents may be apt to donate to the school down the road.
What's shocking is that people don't know this kind of thing happens.
The backlash should be a series of shoulder shrugs, followed by a collective "yeah, and?"
Let's put one issue to rest once and for all: higher education is a business. Welcome to the real world, where companies hire star performers to be rainmaker sales people because they have a good track record and might bring clients with them. Or where it's highly probable that the actress on television is actually easy on the eyes.
Here's another secret, and one that we hope all kids and all parents will use to their advantage in the college search process. This could be your year. Yes, that's right, if you are a person of color, if you are from Wyoming, if you are 7 feet tall, if you are the best fencer in the USA. This could be your year -- where the right school might just save a slot for you, even if you wouldn't qualify otherwise, just because of what you bring with you. Yes, you might bring dollars with you down the road, and that's great. But, actually, you might be the right person for another reason entirely, and you'll add to the image of the University, and that's a good thing.
And someone may well resent you for it. Bummer.
(You can link here to Amazon for more info about the book. I'm not trying to sell you on it, nor am I trying to dissuade you from purchasing it or reading it. Link as a public service.)
The crux of the book is that selective colleges and universities go out of their way to get the right kids, but the definition of right kids may vary depending upon what cache (or cash) these students can bring with them.
According to the book, some shocking things go on. Children of Congressmen getting admitted to selective schools because of who they are. Schools courting students because they have wealthy or name parents -- and these parents may be apt to donate to the school down the road.
What's shocking is that people don't know this kind of thing happens.
The backlash should be a series of shoulder shrugs, followed by a collective "yeah, and?"
Let's put one issue to rest once and for all: higher education is a business. Welcome to the real world, where companies hire star performers to be rainmaker sales people because they have a good track record and might bring clients with them. Or where it's highly probable that the actress on television is actually easy on the eyes.
Here's another secret, and one that we hope all kids and all parents will use to their advantage in the college search process. This could be your year. Yes, that's right, if you are a person of color, if you are from Wyoming, if you are 7 feet tall, if you are the best fencer in the USA. This could be your year -- where the right school might just save a slot for you, even if you wouldn't qualify otherwise, just because of what you bring with you. Yes, you might bring dollars with you down the road, and that's great. But, actually, you might be the right person for another reason entirely, and you'll add to the image of the University, and that's a good thing.
And someone may well resent you for it. Bummer.
posted by Dave Van de Walle at
8:48 AM
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