
Arguably, "qualified" (at least as defined by GPA and standardized test scores) functions as a threshhold test rather than something to be maximized in the admissions process at these schools.
There are an abundance of qualified kids (i.e. kids who can obviously do the work and who could benefit from this kind of education), so they choose among them on other bases. Some of those other factors involve decisions about what makes a good school (diverse student body with a mix of strengths, interests, backgrounds) and what makes an economically viable school (what keeps alumns giving, faculty loyal, the feds from taxing your endowment). And some involve placing bets on which kids are likely to end up powerful, famous, influential, or otherwise likely to sustain and enhance the school's reputation in the future. A lot of subjectivity goes into making that last batch of decisions, but I suspect that's what's interesting and rewarding about the job for admissions officers in these positions. They're trying to sift through thousands of applications and find kids that they think look really special and promising. SAT scores and GPAs don't help much in that regard. Again, such indicators work well as a minimum standard (and it's a minimum standard that could be quite high) and maybe a limit on the discretion of admissions officers and their subjective preferences, so they aren't useless. But college admissions at selective private schools is not (and probably shouldn't be) a best numbers wins scenario. |
You need to take a basic course in logic. |
Funny -- triple and quadruple negatives don't make a positive |
Wow, what discrimination, and everyone thinks it is OK Have you ever lived? I know children of highly educated parents who do not care what their kid does in school. They have reached that level of society, so they do not need the social advantage of a brand name college for their kid. Brand name college is important for the poorer people, for whom the only way to improve themselves is through education. |
You obviously didn't attend a "brand name college" pp -- you don't seem to speak English properly. |
I hope all of you end up at the same cocktail party and recognize one another. And then realize there are no mirrors nor exits-- |
You sound like the proud parent of a dum kid. Nanny, stop looking at life through the lens of your employer. |
I like this image! |
I'll try to stay out of the side discussion going on here and make the following comment: This may be true if the family is so privileged that the kid will be able to make his/or her way in any field, just by relying on family money and/or connections. Think the kids of famous actors, british nobility and the like. Nobody ever cared whether Princess Di went to college. But if your kid will have to earn his or her own living, a "prestige" education might open the necessary doors. |
Academic excellence should be a goal for anyone who is going to have to have to earn a living. A big-name university certainly helps. |