Educational Consultant. Bringing the lens of 38 years in elite US higher education to the mission of student access, centered on students from developing countries and diasporas.
Predictions are dangerous, but the reporting and investigation about UCLA Medical School admissions strike me as ominous for any highly selective admissions office that is 1) relying on essays and proxy values to continue seeking racial diversity at the review stage; 2) defending a decision to restore required testing as a means to (contextually) aim for diversity. Broader educational reform, wider definitions of excellence, and deeper engagements like recruiting: these are the answers. Not workarounds parenthetically teased by a conservative Chief Justice, and not delusional “wow, we were surprised” to discover contextual admissions practices that were both well known and yet not satisfying enough prior to 2020, and that amount to a “Kick Me!” sign taped to the back of admissions offices now.
Director of College Advising at St. Joseph's Academy
5moReally appreciated your webinar with Adam Ingersoll on trends, predictions, and other thoughts on the world of college admissions (and testing and higher ed and AI and so on) last week. And, I concur that the UCLA Med news is a (seemingly) foreboding canary.