College Admissions: Looking Behind The Curtain

A blog by Rachael Fishman on the New American Foundation’s website entitled “The Dark Side of Enrollment Management” has created quite a storm in higher education. It has also angered a lot of parents.

The article reported that George Washington University has been lying about its admissions practices for years. They have actually even admitted it.

To make matters worse, other reporters on higher education are discovering that GWU’s deceptive practices are being emulated by many other private colleges across the U.S.

So what’s all the fuss about? It’s about favoring students from wealthy families who are willing to write very big checks to get their not-so-stellar students accepted at a prestigious private university.

After all, it takes a whole lot of cash to pay for the lavish dormitories, sport facilities and other country club amenities that colleges think they need to attract today’s students.

Is it really necessary for respected institutions of higher learning to lie to us–just to raise the money they require to give our kids a cozy life style?

So what is going on behind the college admissions curtain?

Private colleges claiming for years to be “need-blind” in their admissions practices, are actually favoring students from wealthy families who can afford to pay full-freight.

Unfortunately, this is causing them to reject many middle income students with great qualifications. That’s something for middle income families with students who have worked hard to get accepted by one of these prestigious universities to get angry about!

According to CNN Money, researchers have found that only 14% of students admitted by GWU came from the lower 50% of families by income. Doesn’t sound like a “need-blind” admissions policy, does it?