Good catch! Of course I don't advocate a Swiftian solution to any problem! But "Modest Proposal" has come to mean not only horrific, satirical ideas but also ideas that are so crazy they just might work.
I had a similar thought for the UC system in California. When the second-tier UCs have acceptance rates at about 20% (and the top tier less than 10%—but these are public schools, not Ivies!) there’s clearly a problem.
There are simply way more qualified kids than there are spots, so there’s a lot of pressure to take MORE AP classes, do MORE clubs, MORE volunteering, MORE sports. It’s become ridiculous, and there’s no balance for these kids.
Instead of everyone trying to get an edge and game the system (joining more clubs than the next kid; proclaiming the ethnic identity of one’s great-grandmother; etc.), California could just decide what the admissions criteria are for these rare coveted spots, and then hold a state lottery. Simple.
Benefits:
1) Kids who don’t get in would no longer feel they “failed” or should have done more to stand out.
2) If it’s not your kids’ “failure” to take the 20th AP test or join the 10th club or start a “nonprofit” that’s to blame, it becomes more obvious that a lack of space is the problem. Let’s discuss that.
3) It takes pressure off UCs to create a “diverse” class — a lottery of everyone who qualifies would tend to be diverse.
4) It takes pressure off the kids to do more than is reasonable to get into their public universities. They can have more balance in life.
It’ll never happen, for reason #2. It’s much easier for the state to blame it on the kids themselves than on a ridiculous shortage of space.
Thank you for opening my eyes to what sounds like a nightmare time in many students’ lives. I enjoyed the article and found your suggestions so practical. Is it possible to publish this for those who make these decisions and could implement change? Congratulations for such a good fine article!
Thanks for the compliment! Please feel free to share the article with anyone you know who might be interested or could help change the way admissions are done!
Yes—rich international students have an advantage in admissions over low-income American kids. It’s another way that elite college admissions favors the rich.
Thank you for this article. I got quite a lot of insight for US college admission. I like the idea to cap the number of schools kids can apply for certain schools. Also to publish the clear threshold is a must (I didn't know there is nothing like that in the US!!!) for kids not to waste time.
Well, that's in part because there AREN'T clear thresholds. All of the selective colleges Mari is talking about employ a very holistic admissions procedure in which precisely the things she's talking about (unusual accomplishments, hardships, community service, non-academic accomplishments) are used to enrich the picture of applicants, and potentially admit students with lower GPAs or test scores (and this is before we even get to the concept of test-optional admission, which has skyrocketed as a practice in the COVID era, but was gaining some serious traction before). Students with the acumen to look at such things can also go to college advice websites that display scatterplots showing the likelihood of students with their particular matchup of GPAs and test scores being admitted to a particular school. Now, this obviously doesn't address the problem that many students don't have the cultural capital to look at such sites—but the problem is not generally that unqualified students waste their time applying to "reach" schools, but rather that students assume they couldn't possibly get in, when they very well might.
Thank you for your comment. Further learning for me. I'm from completely different background in terms of the college admission (from Japan). And yet, my son will go to either European or American college. (We live in Europe) So many things to learn to navigate through this maze. I still have time, but better than later to start to figure out.
Mom, don't you know a modest proposal is supposed to be something we SHOULDN'T do?
Good catch! Of course I don't advocate a Swiftian solution to any problem! But "Modest Proposal" has come to mean not only horrific, satirical ideas but also ideas that are so crazy they just might work.
If you read between the lines, I think your mom was advocating for eating the surplus students.
Ha! You caught me! ;-)
I had a similar thought for the UC system in California. When the second-tier UCs have acceptance rates at about 20% (and the top tier less than 10%—but these are public schools, not Ivies!) there’s clearly a problem.
There are simply way more qualified kids than there are spots, so there’s a lot of pressure to take MORE AP classes, do MORE clubs, MORE volunteering, MORE sports. It’s become ridiculous, and there’s no balance for these kids.
Instead of everyone trying to get an edge and game the system (joining more clubs than the next kid; proclaiming the ethnic identity of one’s great-grandmother; etc.), California could just decide what the admissions criteria are for these rare coveted spots, and then hold a state lottery. Simple.
Benefits:
1) Kids who don’t get in would no longer feel they “failed” or should have done more to stand out.
2) If it’s not your kids’ “failure” to take the 20th AP test or join the 10th club or start a “nonprofit” that’s to blame, it becomes more obvious that a lack of space is the problem. Let’s discuss that.
3) It takes pressure off UCs to create a “diverse” class — a lottery of everyone who qualifies would tend to be diverse.
4) It takes pressure off the kids to do more than is reasonable to get into their public universities. They can have more balance in life.
It’ll never happen, for reason #2. It’s much easier for the state to blame it on the kids themselves than on a ridiculous shortage of space.
Thank you for opening my eyes to what sounds like a nightmare time in many students’ lives. I enjoyed the article and found your suggestions so practical. Is it possible to publish this for those who make these decisions and could implement change? Congratulations for such a good fine article!
Thanks for the compliment! Please feel free to share the article with anyone you know who might be interested or could help change the way admissions are done!
Or not take so many applicants from China who’s tuition is paid by the gov’t.
Yes—rich international students have an advantage in admissions over low-income American kids. It’s another way that elite college admissions favors the rich.
Thank you for this article. I got quite a lot of insight for US college admission. I like the idea to cap the number of schools kids can apply for certain schools. Also to publish the clear threshold is a must (I didn't know there is nothing like that in the US!!!) for kids not to waste time.
Well, that's in part because there AREN'T clear thresholds. All of the selective colleges Mari is talking about employ a very holistic admissions procedure in which precisely the things she's talking about (unusual accomplishments, hardships, community service, non-academic accomplishments) are used to enrich the picture of applicants, and potentially admit students with lower GPAs or test scores (and this is before we even get to the concept of test-optional admission, which has skyrocketed as a practice in the COVID era, but was gaining some serious traction before). Students with the acumen to look at such things can also go to college advice websites that display scatterplots showing the likelihood of students with their particular matchup of GPAs and test scores being admitted to a particular school. Now, this obviously doesn't address the problem that many students don't have the cultural capital to look at such sites—but the problem is not generally that unqualified students waste their time applying to "reach" schools, but rather that students assume they couldn't possibly get in, when they very well might.
Thank you for your comment. Further learning for me. I'm from completely different background in terms of the college admission (from Japan). And yet, my son will go to either European or American college. (We live in Europe) So many things to learn to navigate through this maze. I still have time, but better than later to start to figure out.