I woke this morning to a story on the news that I never thought I would see. The FBI had conducted an investigation of a scam among parents, counselors and college officials that enabled wealthy and influential people to cheat their kids' way into elite schools, showing that if you are rich or powerful your kids stand a much better chance of getting in. Now, those of us who have been through the college prep system always knew that this was so. What came as a surprise was that the Justice Department had actually gotten proof and indicted fifty people. From what I have read, the college admissions officials were not involved - it was they who were scammed - and the schools themselves have not been charged with anything. In other words, so far it seems that the admissions departments at these prestigious institutions were not corrupt, but individuals did corrupt the admissions process.
I never wish anyone ill, but I must say that, as someone who has been through the college application derby four times (and soon a fifth time), I am glad this has happened, and I hope those responsible get what they deserve under the law. But there is a larger problem here, of which this sorry scheme is only a part, and that is the process itself. Applying to college, especially to the best colleges, has become a shameful industry that preys on people's hopes, fears and the natural desire that their children succeed. Let's start with the standardized testing scam. And it is, in my view, a scam.
There are two tests for undergraduate admission, the SAT and the ACT. In effect, the companies that administer them have a monopoly on the process. You either take them and do well or you can pretty much kiss your dreams goodbye. I was relieved to learn this year that the SAT is slowly dying; I always thought it was a boondoggle, a way of milking a hefty test-taking fee in return for a number that, for good or ill, will haunt a child all his or her life. I took the SAT fifty years ago, and I still remember my score. But what purpose does the SAT, or for that matter the rather more empathetic ACT, actually serve?
Colleges will answer that it gives them a means of judging the overall readiness of students across the nation and across the board. But the fact that standardized testing is mandatory (a few colleges no longer require it), ascribes far too much importance to the results, and, in turn, applies far too much pressure to students. I have, as I said, had four occasions to deal with the standardized testing companies, and I have found them in general to be impersonal, uncaring bureaucracies staffed by people who give not a damn for individual students, their hopes, dreams, real-life abilities, and actual preparedness for the rich and variegated experience of college. Some of the best-qualified high school students I have known have not done well on the SAT and ACT, and have had their prospects dimmed as a result. The fact is that some students simply don't do well on standardized tests. Yet they are saddled with a number that may or may not determine their futures for years to come.
As I mentioned, a few colleges have foregone the tests and look instead at the applicant's resume, academic performance, extracurriculars, life experiences and so on. They consider his or her personality as revealed by the essay and an interview. They look at the whole person, not just the numbers he or she has accumulated. And this is as it should be, because you are not admitting a robot, but a human being. However, the process has been muddied by recent developments; I speak specifically of the discrimination practiced by some elite institutions to keep out - imagine this - students who are too qualified. And for that, you may read Asian-American students. I was very pleased to learn of the lawsuits that have been brought against such schools as Harvard and Yale for this reason, and I hope they succeed.
But there is another factor as well. Many state schools, for example the UC system, in order to avoid reverse-discrimination decisions by the courts, have actually fallen back on a numbers-based, student-blind admissions policy. Those with the highest GPA and test scores go to the head of the line. You might as well have a computer make the admissions decisions and fire the human staff. Anybody could do this math on the back of an envelope. But what about the students involved? The ones who have done their best, worked hard and deserve a chance? The problem with machines is that they don't care.
I am now just starting my fifth trip down Application Lane, and as far as I am concerned, the whole process is a pretty big scam itself. It is a game our children are forced to play, a lottery in which numbers determine who wins and who doesn't. I try to explain to my high school junior that there are simply factors which we cannot control in the process, as this latest scandal proves. A lot depends on who your parents are, where they went to school, how much money they have to contribute, and what the schools are looking for to balance and diversify their freshman classes. Do they need another kid of color, do they have too many kids of one color, are they looking for kids whose parents can pay the full freight, do they need a few from the inner city who can't? You never know - only they know, and they never tell you.
So what should we do? Get rid of the standardized tests for a start. Some colleges manage without them, so why not just jump off the number-go-round and focus solely on applicants as human beings? Of course we have to look at their academic performance, but we also must take into account how they've lived their lives, what they want for the future, what kind of people they are, what they have to contribute to a college, what obstacles they have had to overcome, what promise they show. Sure, this will take more time than just looking at numbers, but all of us - parents, students and colleges - will be better off for it. And the crippling artificial pressure now being put on children will perhaps not be removed, but it will be relieved to the point where it is manageable.
There is one more point I would like to make, and that concerns the malicious and destructive myth of the prestige institution. Many parents succumb to this debilitating illusion - that your child has to get into one of the top ten schools or his/her life is over. I have seen the phenomenon many times, and I always cringe at it. I have seen kids suffering and even broken by the pressure it entails. The fact is that the truly prestigious college is the one best-suited to a student's personality, abilities and needs. And there aren't just a handful of them, there are dozens. What is the point of browbeating your child into going to Yale or Stanford if he or she will be miserable there for four years? Do you want a fancy paper to hang on the wall or do you want a child who is happy, productive and fulfilled? The fact is that the Ivy Leagues may be unable to deliver that for your particular student, and so it is your responsibility as a parent to help him/her find a setting that will.
It starts with a good high school counselor, and a willingness to put in the hours to do your research. Chances are that the best school for your child is one you've never heard of, so take the time to go and look for it. Make a short list and visit each campus where you and your student think he/she might be happy and productive. If you can't afford to do so, take virtual online tours and talk to people who know the institutions. Find the college that fits your child, and not one that fits your ego. And then work like crazy, you and your child together, to get in. The payoff will be enormous in the student's future. And never forget: It's not your life, it's your child's, and so college is ultimately his or her choice, not yours.
