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Thoughts on high-stakes college admissions

dynomight.net · 2,325 words · saved by 1 readers

I wouldn’t suggest literally dismantling Harvard. (Caution is advised before destroying your most successful institutions.) My real thesis is more like: College admissions are (1) highly competitive and (2) consequential. Maybe those alone are bad? Maybe we should think about them instead of exclusively arguing about admissions criteria? When I tried to write that down in an even-handed way, I kept getting tangled up in counterarguments, which is why I resorted in the last post to having the evil twin write a primal scream. Thankfully, most of you interpreted as close to the real thesis anyway ♡. I only half-believe that high-stakes college admissions are bad. But I think it’s weird that this view is so absent from public debate. Any critique of college admissions should acknowledge one central fact: Most of the reason Ivy grads do so well is not because they learn so much in college, nor because they make powerful friends in college, nor because Ivy degrees have magical gold star sign

dynomight · Aug 2023 · policy The thesis I wouldn’t suggest literally dismantling Harvard. Caution is advised before destroying your most successful institutions. My real thesis is more like: College admissions are (1) highly competitive and (2) consequential. Maybe those alone are bad? Maybe we should think about them instead of exclusively arguing about admissions criteria ? When I tried to write that down in an even-handed way, I kept getting tangled up in counterarguments, which is why I resorted in the last post to having the evil twin write a primal scream. Thankfully, most of you interp

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