"Holistic Admissions"... translation: we'll do whatever we feel like and...

[Anonymous]

Translation: holistic=easy manipulation. It’s exactly how it’s being used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:there's not a dang thing you can do about it.

That's pretty much it, right? Mainly it seems to be a term used as a catch-all CYA by the admissions office at many schools around the country.

Yeah, it's used to admit the mediocre lax bros.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's standardless admissions. And a double whammy when you add in Test Optional.

100%.
It is annoying and it went off the rails for the HS classes 2021-2024 but it will start to be more predictable as TO ends for almost all elites.
Even in the rough years it was still possible to get into ivies and similar unhooked. For those that make it in and belong there it is nice to have a solid chunk of hooked kids that are always below the mean. Someone has to get the Cs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone so bitter?

Because they want to hack college admissions like they did the SATs or math tests and can’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would remove the aspects that a kid can never change..race, gender, zip code, rural, parents education etc. These new categories are all driven by social mobility points in the ranking systems.

SAT score is something a kid can easily change / improve by working hard. But a high stats kid will often be mocked on DCUM. DCUMers will tell you that 1590 is no different from 1490. TO kids are better than strivers, blah blah.

It’s surreal yet it’s the reality.

You are being disingenuous. People will tell you that a 1490 by a student from a remote rural title I school with a 980 SAT average that sends 20% of their students to local and community colleges is a considerably more significant accomplishment than a 1540 from a top prep school with a 1520 SAT average who was raised by parents with advanced degrees. And in context it is a bigger accomplishment. It's not surreal and it is the reality.

We will also tell you that there is no significant difference between a 1540 and a 1590 because there isn't. Both scores show complete mastery of the material and it is highly probable that the difference in score was a simple mistake and not meaningful....because it wasn't.

Agree with both points here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SAT score is something that can be fairly easily changed and without money, but most won’t. It’s easier to complain about race, rural, gender, etc.

The same group of people, they are saying sat presents an obstable to certain races/groups, then at the same time in different posts they are saying sat is no more than a basic review of rudimentary math thus is useless for selecting students. If it's so basic, why can't they just spend some time studying it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone so bitter?

There are no clear "rules" or standards for admission. Two seemingly identical applicants can have two very different outcomes, leading to very logical feelings of unfairness.

No kid is more “entitled” to admission than any other.

Colleges aren’t obligated to admit students based on the criteria that YOU want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone so bitter?

There are no clear "rules" or standards for admission. Two seemingly identical applicants can have two very different outcomes, leading to very logical feelings of unfairness.

So. That’s how job interviews work too.
You need a baseline. Then everything else is vibes.
This is life.

+1. Life has a high degree of randomness. You can either process that as unfairness and stew about it or not, but nothing you can do can change that.

+1

Your kid isn’t entitled to a seat at any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone so bitter?

There are no clear "rules" or standards for admission. Two seemingly identical applicants can have two very different outcomes, leading to very logical feelings of unfairness.

No kid is more “entitled” to admission than any other.

Colleges aren’t obligated to admit students based on the criteria that YOU want.

Noboday believes they’re entitled to it. They just deserve the admissions more than others who are given advantages for factors other than merit.

[Anonymous]

Agree!

[Anonymous]

Holistic is an end run to avoid transparency. Universities need far more students applying than they can take. If students realized what their chances were based on things they had no control over and could not change, they wouldn’t apply there.

Test optional increases the pool of applicants substantially which gives schools leeway to pick based on the demographics they want, the financial implications and how it will impact their ranking.

First generation is total bullshit. DH and I grew up UMC and neither of our parents did anything to help with our college apps. The majority of kids who have one parent with a US bachelor’s degree do not have access to expensive SAT prep, private college admissions counselors or any other resources than the kid whose parents don’t have a degree, yet they get screwed over.

[Anonymous]

My kid’s last name, zip code, and activities practically screamed “UMC-Asian-kid”. It is what it is- none of us change our kids’ life experiences, interests, or backgrounds. If it’s not enough for T-25, so be it. No one is entitled to anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid’s last name, zip code, and activities practically screamed “UMC-Asian-kid”. It is what it is- none of us change our kids’ life experiences, interests, or backgrounds. If it’s not enough for T-25, so be it. No one is entitled to anything.

Again, it’s not about entitlement. It’s about fairness and anti-discrimination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, AA is basically dead now anyway. But you can thank Grutter v. Bollinger for the "holistic admissions" schtick. Michigan Law won that case basically by arguing that no "points" were assigned during the admissions process and rather applicants were looked at holistically with race merely being one piece of the puzzle. Ever since then, "holistic" has been the name of the game. It makes a it a lot harder to claim any one group was not treated fairly - because there are no set "standards" being applied in a logical fashion.

Silent execution with a smiling face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the same troll posting the same race baiting stuff ad nauseam.

+1. There is definitely one person here commenting repeatedly.

You don’t sound very smart or are just coping with the fact that a lot of people understand the truth and disagree with you.

Hey everybody, we found the person commenting repeatedly.