The College-Admissions Process Is Completely Broken
The Atlantic | Jeffrey Selingo
Selingo argues that the current application process is in desperate need of an overhaul: “While piles of applications and an ultra-low acceptance rate are certainly marks of popularity [Harvard accepted a record low 3.19% this year] , these things are in truth indications of a poorly designed system in need of long-overdue improvements.”
Selingo has a number of recommendations, including turning the admissions process upside-down by having colleges invite students (“direct admission”) rather than having students apply, getting rid of binding early decision, reducing the amount of materials submitted for an application, submitting materials in a staged, “iterative” process, and, easiest of all, colleges being more straightforward about their admissions criteria.
