Posted on 10/15/2012 7:40:37 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
College admissions is a mysterious process, and admissions offices do their best to keep it that way. To get the real story on affirmative action and other hot topics, we talked to a former admissions officer at Dartmouth College, who shall remain anonymous.
Here's what we learned:
1) It sucks to be a middle class white applicant, with no affirmative action and intense competition from elite whites.
2) East Asians can be disadvantaged too, as they are perceived as one-dimensional studiers. Our source blames culturally insensitivity at the high school and college level.
3) Athletes bring down the quality of the class—to a degree that really annoyed our source. So do legacies, but not as much.
4) Early admission is less competitive, despite what the College claims.
5) Most college essays are too boring. Our source says students should take bigger risks
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
AND IN RELATION TO THE CURRENT CASE OF UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS BEFORE THE SCOTUS, HERE’s ANOTHER CONFESSION FROM THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE:
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On Race
“We’re taught to think about diversity openly and look at the needs of the school and also admit kids on that basis. No matter who the person is you’re told to measure academics contextually. If it’s an African American you know the median SAT score for that demographic and you read the application in that context. You’re supposed to do it holistically so race is not the only guiding factor, but can it be significant.”
“As for white kids, there are a lot in the possible category. Most white applicants will be from wealthy suburbs of the Mid-Atlantic or New England, pretty well-off, from strong schools, so even if the kid is a 7 academically that might not mean much in their personal context.”
“You want to find a kid who stands out given what they’ve been given. If you see a black student with extremely high SAT scores, you’re thinking already this kid is doing pretty well relative to his peer group. i can understand why people have a problem with this process. The demographic that gets squeezed is the white middle class, but then you don’t see as many applications from that demographic, period.”
“There weren’t many people I knew at Dartmouth who were white middle class. A lot of student come from the top quartile of the income spectrum, which makes it an elite institution not just in academic quality but also in pedigree.”
East Asians can be at a disadvantage too.
“There was one girl who sued Princeton claiming she was discriminated against for being Asian, so you do find that some Asians can be disadvantaged in the process, and not only because admissions committees think about Asians in a specific way, but because recommenders do too. When reading recommendations you see these words—”diligent,” “hardworking”—because people tend to see East Asians in a certain way. You rarely see “creative” or “strong intellectual bent,” and they are less likely to be seen as “freethinking.”
Same with issues of character. A lot of secondary teachers find it difficult to connect culturally with Asian Americans and the type of things they end up doing, so they won’t see as much talk about character. But at Dartmouth there was not much discrimination against Asian Americans, since they were considered a historical minority at the school.”
The dean and director of admissions keep a close eye on demographic numbers.
“I don’t know if they do something at the tail to boost numbers. It just ends up being roughly same numbers every year. It can’t be a complete accident.”
Still the College could be doing more.
“Institutions pay a lot of lip service to diversity, but aren’t really willing to put money where mouth is in terms of recruitment of minority students.”
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/secrets-of-dartmouth-admissions-office-2012-10#ixzz29NXWhMMy
Best thing to do:
1. Get black any way you can.
2. Get ‘poor’
3. Lose your transcripts, claim lost from your home country.
4. Get homo, transexual or transvestite - any will do.
I wouldn’t pay for a child of mine to be brainwashed in an Ivy League school
What a load of liberal hogwash. There were several Asians in my design class and they can be unbelievably creative and brilliant besides. Especially in the areas of industrial design and architecture.
My brother was offered a basketball scholarship to Dartmouth and turned it down because he didn't want a BS in liberal arts BS. He went to an engineering school and now builds things - BIG things - that have a positive impact on the city where he lives. I really don't get what the big deal is about these liberal arts Ivy League schools. You don't get much but a huge tuition bill and a free ticket to work in government or university.
Get them to believe you are liberal with a RAT outlook on life.
At my sister’s graduation as a civil engineer we all noticed that most of her classmates were Asian. There are also quite a few Hispanic engineers. The engineers in our family are all doing better than the ones with liberal arts B.A.s
Agree about the liberal arts - waste of time to get this degree unless you don’t care about having a career.
What a load of liberal hogwash. There were several Asians in my design class and they can be unbelievably creative and brilliant besides. Especially in the areas of industrial design and architecture.
LOL. You missed the point through no fault of your own.
They mean they aren't open-minded on social issues. It has nothing to do with their ability to ratiocinate in the context of their studies.
I was just talking with some MIT folks about admissions. These people have intimate inside connections. The general consensus was that connections do no good, great academics and almost perfect test scores are essential. The deciding factor is going to be the eclectic stuff on the side. i.e something like won a Classical Piano competition, ran political campaign for a senator, started own tech company at 15, etc. Also, a slight edge goes to geographic diversity... Montana, for example might be better than Arlington, Ma.
The only reason whites are admitted is because the colleges need their money to pay the tuitions of non-whites.
This state-school grad with a B.A. in English begs to differ. I'm working in Pharma on the production side, mainly on the strength of my tech writing skills. Next step is management. The money's not bad at all, thank God.
Check that Native American box, baby — all you have to say is you “thought” you were Native American if anyone cries foul.
RE: My brother was offered a basketball scholarship to Dartmouth and turned it down because he didn’t want a BS in liberal arts BS. He went to an engineering school and now builds things
_____________
Where did he eventually go? I believe Dartmouth does have an engineering program, no?
All you would have to do is look at my daughter-in-law’s harvard yearbook. She stands out like a sore thumb..blue eyed blonde.
bkmk
Isn’t that bit about judging minorities on their respective academic score demographic scales expressly forbidden post-Michigan?
Yes, check “Native American.” Just say, ‘My grandmother used to talk about our Indian heritage.” Or “I have some Indian recipes from my grandmother.” Worked for Elizabeth Warren.
Yes, check “Native American.” Just say, ‘My grandmother used to talk about our Indian heritage.” Or “I have some Indian recipes from my grandmother.” Worked for Elizabeth Warren.
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