|
BOOK EXCERPT
�Declining by Degrees�
[ BACK TO EXCERPTS ]
From �COLLEGE ADMISSIONS: A SUBSTITUTE FOR QUALITY?�
by James Fallows
... A more open market for college admissions, no matter how fevered, is still fairer than the old system, which petered out in the mid-1960s, whereby Exeter�s headmaster could earmark a few dozen of each year�s seniors for admission to Harvard. But as in these other increasingly market-minded fields, some of the changes undermine what had been fundamental ideals and values. Some aspects of this have been widely publicized�for instance, the rise of costly admissions counselors, especially in New York, who charge tens of thousands of dollars to advise students on where and how to apply. The most publicized of these is Katherine Cohen of IvyWise in Manhattan, who in 2001 was profiled at length in New York magazine. She offers a �platinum package� for students that lasts two years and at the time cost $32,995. Colleges themselves have turned to enrollment-management firms for advice on how to attract the students they want. The best known of these is Noel-Levitz. As of early 2005, its Web site is almost beyond parody, with consultant-speak applied to the business of recruiting, admitting, and retaining students. For instance, the company�s consultants can provide �Institutional Image and Competitive Positioning Analysis ���a �complete enrollment research package [that] offers comprehensive decision data for image enhancement and strategic market positioning.�
The marketization of the admissions process has intensified at both ends of the process. High school guidance counselors report that they are under ceaseless pressure to �produce� by getting students into exclusive colleges. This pressure is greatest at the most elite private schools, where parents feel they are paying extra for results. A sense that high school counselors are not doing enough has also led to booming business for private admissions consultants, most of them hired by relatively affluent families. ...
|
|
MEET ADRIANA, JASON, MATT & BRITNEY
|
|
