A new high-profile analysis of the college admissions process makes a lot of healthy suggestions for change. It's discussed in today's
New York Times.
It asks colleges to send a clear message that admissions officers won’t be impressed by more than a few Advanced Placement courses. Poorer high schools aren’t as likely to offer A.P. courses, and a heavy load of them is often cited as a culprit in sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression among students at richer schools.
The report also suggests that colleges discourage manic résumé padding by accepting information on a sharply limited number of extracurricular activities; that they better use essays and references to figure out which students’ community-service projects are heartfelt and which are merely window dressing; and that they give full due to the family obligations and part-time work that some underprivileged kids take on.
It would be wonderful if the colleges implemented even these two suggestions. I'm not sitting on my hands waiting for it...but maybe, just maybe, they'll change to a system that won't be gamed in a way that puts too much stress on kids.
