Poking the Bear: College Admissions is Broken

The 50-Year Fall of the Educational Country Club

So much for an educated citizenry…

A lot has changed since the establishment of the Ivy League. Following the civil rights movements of the 1960s and the creation of the US Education Department (RIP) in 1979 the “College for All” movement of the 1990s has turned the country club on its head. Americans tied education so deeply to the American Dream that sending everyone to college was how the conversation naturally evolved.

Good or bad?

Not what we’re here to talk about…

Only 50 years ago a college education was something sought by the most hard-working, disciplined, and curious minds. Academia could afford to gate keep as the point of an education was not to fill seats in lecture halls and turn a profit from tuition dollars.

Oh, how times have changed!

In creating a positive and rigorous academic culture institutions can no longer be as selective as they once were. The Harvards and Stanfords of the world will always be competitive, but what about the thousands of other institutions who struggle to recruit applicants? How do they fill seats and still keep the level of academic rigor at a place where they can advance their mission and purpose?

One answer might be more musical than you expect.