College admissions is really messed up. Both colleges and students are ranked numerically, and the each tries to get the highest scoring counterparts.
This is dehumanizing to students, and makes all colleges look the same.
The advantage of legacy admissions is they aren’t going to the college because it’s the best ranked one. They’re going because they know that college specifically, and want that specific experience.
This obviously doesn’t apply to top tier colleges, but few colleges are top tier.
There are ways around this. Many colleges have “side door” admissions policies for students who clearly are interested in that specific college.
For example, “I want to study nuclear engineering, and your college is the only one in the country that has a live reactor for students to use” gets you fast tracked to Reed.
This is completely legitimate.
Of course a legacy admissions would know the side doors. Nothing wrong with that.
But I think these rules are really intended towards elite colleges, ignoring the fact that few colleges are elite.
I actually think that a national entrance exam (ministered by individual colleges or by a region is okay) is a better way for admission. My fundamental assumption is that the simpler a rule is, the harder it is to game. I understand that many people believe that a holistic admission is more fair to minorities or to economically challenged families, but I'd like to question that belief. Holistic admission is so opaque and complex that families with means will have more advantage over those who don't. Remember the Varsity Blues Scandal? That's just one example. How about getting recommendation letters from a congressman? Which families have a higher chance to get them? And all the consideration about sports? The reality is that sports are expensive. A family who can afford private coaches and frequent travel will have a huge advantage over those who can't. In contrast, everyone can afford a good library to get access to world-class study materials.
BTW, the ivy schools introduced holistic admission to reduce the admission rate of Jewish students back in the 1920s, per Malcom Gladwell. Just because a process is institutionalized does not mean that the process is fare or efficient.
The problem with non-holistic assessment is that each college is a very different thing.
Can you imagine West Point admitting students based solely on their SATs? That would be insane.
Many other colleges have similar identities. Some have specific religious identities. Others have unique cultures and curriculums.
It’s totally legitimate for a school to try to find someone who knows and matched the ethos of the school.
For example, one college I know is does not compete with other colleges in athletics, but they offer “athletic-type scholarships” for competitive chess players.
> The problem with non-holistic assessment is that each college is a very different thing
I was actually comparing holistic admission with entrance exams. Individual colleges can certainly have their own entrance exams, just as colleges in Korea/Japan/India do. I'm sure holistic admission has its merits. It's just that I doubt that holistic admission can pick more suitable students than entrance exams more fairly
If you have a single national exam, that all the schools are going to teach is this one exam, an example of horrible overfit. If, however, you have a diverse amount of colleges with different entry exams, then schools will have to teach the knowledge and skills required to pass all the different exams — which is closer to knowledge and skills you want to be taught at schools to begin with.
> If you have a single national exam, that all the schools are going to teach is this one exam, an example of horrible overfit. If, however, you have a diverse amount of colleges with different entry exams, then schools will have to teach the knowledge and skills required to pass all the different exams
Well, no. You'd just choose which schools you wanted to apply to before fixing your pre-exam curriculum. Don't bother covering material you won't need.
> you have a diverse amount of colleges with different entry exams,
Yeah, that's what I meant by saying individual colleges ministering their exams. This is also what Japanese/Korean/Indian colleges do. My key point is that holistic admission is full of backdoors and unfairness when compared to entrance exams.
This is dehumanizing to students, and makes all colleges look the same.
The advantage of legacy admissions is they aren’t going to the college because it’s the best ranked one. They’re going because they know that college specifically, and want that specific experience.
This obviously doesn’t apply to top tier colleges, but few colleges are top tier.
There are ways around this. Many colleges have “side door” admissions policies for students who clearly are interested in that specific college.
For example, “I want to study nuclear engineering, and your college is the only one in the country that has a live reactor for students to use” gets you fast tracked to Reed.
This is completely legitimate.
Of course a legacy admissions would know the side doors. Nothing wrong with that.
But I think these rules are really intended towards elite colleges, ignoring the fact that few colleges are elite.