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Harvard report: Refocus the admissions process

Harvard report: Refocus the admissions process
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Could the future of college admissions change drastically over the coming years?

That may be the case, if a new report[1] from Harvard gets traction. “Turning the Tide,” from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Making Caring Common [2]project, believes that the college admissions process should focus on a student’s engagement with his or her community, not on personal successes. And it has recommended ways to achieve this.

Endorsed by more than 50 colleges nationwide, the report says its findings show college admissions should send “compelling messages that both ethical engagement — especially concern for others and the common good — and intellectual engagement are highly important.”

Some high school students soon to enter the admissions process are giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up to the proposals.

“From the second my day begins at 7 a.m., to the second it ends more than a dozen hours later, I’m immersed in learning for the test, studying for the test, and being tutored for the test,” Justin Weiss, a high school student from West Hempstead, N.Y., tells USA TODAY College.

“Are pieces of paper with 100 questions going to really help us in the future?” he asks. “Should someone with more money and a better tutor than me be able to attend the college of their choice while I’m at a disadvantage? College admissions should be based on your ability to better the world — not to outperform someone on a test, and I hope that colleges will take this report to heart and level the playing field for us all.”

AMONG THE RECOMMENDATIONS:[3]

Decreased emphasis on standardized testing, including SAT and ACT exams: Arguably the most stressful aspect of the admissions process for students and their parents alike, the report recommends that admissions offices “should work to relieve undue pressure associated with admission tests,” including making standardized testing optional [4]and “discouraging students from taking an admissions test more than twice.”

Encourage students to engage in meaningful, sustained community service and get involved in causes that speak to them: Even some of those who do community service sometimes do so only to “game” the process, it notes. “The admissions process should clearly convey that what counts is not whether service occurred locally or in some distant place, or whether students were leaders, but whether students immersed themselves in an experience and the emotional and ethical awareness and skills generated by that experience.”

An emphasis on contributions made at home: To level the playing field for low-income students, the authors of the report recommend that admissions offices place a higher value on the contributions students make for their families — including babysitting, performing chores and working jobs after school to supplement the family’s income.

Prioritize meaningful quality over laundry-list quantity: Some students have a tendency to overload on extra-curricular activities that mean little to them, it notes, while others go over the top on rigorous college-level coursework, including AP classes, in an effort to impress admissions officers. The report instead encourages students to partake in activities and select courses that interest them.

Encourage students to find their “best fit”: It suggests that students not to go for the biggest name brand school, but to find one that fits them best.

“I think our students are just doing too much,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology Admissions Director Stuart Schmill, who endorsed the report, told the Today show[5] on Wednesday. “They feel like they have to do too much and they really don’t. We want to send this message that they can pull back on that a little bit.”

Some schools are already taking action on suggestions made in the report.

Yale, for instance, has added a question on next year’s application asking students  “to reflect on their contribution to family, community, and/or the public good,” Jeremiah Quinlan, the dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale University, said in a statement[6].

Yitzchak Carroll is a member of the USA TODAY College community network

This article comes from The USA TODAY College Contributor network. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of USA TODAY. You understand that we have no obligation to monitor any discussion forums, blogs, photo- or video-sharing pages, or other areas of the Site through which users can supply information or material. However, we reserve the right at all times, in our sole discretion, to screen content submitted by users and to edit, move, delete, and/or refuse to accept any content that in our judgment violates these Terms of Service [7] or is otherwise unacceptable or inappropriate, whether for legal or other reasons.

References

  1. ^ new report (mcc.gse.harvard.edu)
  2. ^ Making Caring Common (mcc.gse.harvard.edu)
  3. ^ AMONG THE RECOMMENDATIONS: (mcc.gse.harvard.edu)
  4. ^ making standardized testing optional (college.usatoday.com)
  5. ^ told the Today show (www.today.com)
  6. ^ a statement (mcc.gse.harvard.edu)
  7. ^ Terms of Service (www.usatoday.com)
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