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Admissions Confidential and Reflection
In the article “Admissions Confidential How the Process Can Make a Fool or Liar Out of Anyone,” author Jason England shares with us his observations during his three-year tenure as a college admissions officer. Coming from an economically disadvantaged background, England was fortunate to have been raised by a single mother that was bright and intelligent and despite their challenging financial circumstances who made it a point to expose him to books and culture as much as possible. England shares a memory of a conversation between him and his mother when they were discussing Monet’s painting series featuring the Rouen Cathedral. In this series of more than thirty paintings, Monet explores changes of an object due to the different light throughout the day. Curious and not understanding why someone would paint multiple pieces depicting the same object, England questions his mother, who explains that Monet was trying “to bring it back, to think of it in a new way.” I believe that England shares this memory in his article on the college admissions process because he is challenging the reader to question the system and the intentions of its policies. By looking at the effects and outcomes of college admissions policies, he guides the reader to look at the admissions process differently and to question what we see so that the truth is exposed. He describes and substantiates a “system of affirmative action in place for wealthy white people.” He outlines an admissions process that “exists chiefly to replicate the elite, privileged class of society” where Early Decision, standardized test scores, Division 3 sports, and private schools all provide advantages against which no affirmative action can compete. If we believe his words, and we have no reason not to, the entire affirmative action process is just an illusion of fairness that does not give a leg up for those that come from less fortunate backgrounds. As such, the cycle will continue, and the haves will continue to have more while the have nots will continue to have even less. Moreover and more alarmingly, many continue to believe the fallacy that affirmative action is helpful when, in fact, it is not and that there is no motivation for colleges to change the system. Early decision is the binding application program favored by those that know where they would like to attend school and who do not need to wait and see what type of need-based aid offers are available. Because Early Decision is binding, applicants apply to only one college. However, more qualified applicants may not be able to take advantage of what many believe is a program that rewards on the basis of merit and proper fit. In actuality, it favors applicants with the ascribed status of being from wealthier families who are fortunate enough to not worried about need-based aid. More qualified candidates whose families cannot pay the full tuition are disadvantaged by Early Decision programs because they must wait to compare all offers of assistance offered. Because of this, it also means that the Early Decision program is utilized by private college counselors or those at elite private high schools who know that the Early Decision applicant pool may be less competitive. Unfortunately, there is no reason for the colleges to do away with the Early Decision programs because it is advantageous to them by helping to protect their yield and by guaranteeing a certain number of full tuition-paying students. England also discusses Early Decision II and Athletics, where under-qualified white males are favored over other more qualified candidates just because they might play sports. More lenient academic standards judge these candidates with high athletic scores. They could also be judged by different admissions committees that would allow coaches to “tip” a play that they need into being accepted. More qualified African American athletic applicants could be deferred to the general decision pool to free up more “tips” spaces for coaches, and in general decision cases could be made for admittance based on diversification. This process at liberal arts colleges served to displace minorities or women that were potentially more qualified applicants over less qualified applicants with higher athletic abilities. Nevertheless, why does athletics at Division Three liberal arts school matter? It should not, but it does because there is an ugly truth that no one wants to admit or discuss. Accepted because of money, kids believe it was due to merit. Reading and thinking about the college admissions inequities outlined in England’s article is alarming and uncomfortable. While one would still not condone these practices, they may not be as offensive if limited to private colleges. However, the unfair practices that favor the wealthy are present in our public schools as well, and taxpayer-funded higher education programs should allow equal acceptance opportunities for all residents. Nevertheless, that does not fix the problems that begin in preschool, where those that can afford better preschool programs have children that are more prepared for Kindergarten. There are so many places between birth to college where money provides advantages to those children. The author was so fortunate to have had an intellectually curious mother that did her best to educate him beyond what he learned at school despite their challenging financial circumstances. If not for her many interventions, England may not have been able to overcome the disadvantages of his ascribed status. In order to make the admissions process more equitable, there should be full transparency of all criteria upon which applicants are judged. Moving toward a test-optional or not test application process for all colleges would be a positive step to help address these inequalities. Students are burdened in time and money to prepare for these standardized tests. Yet, they provide no useful indicators to colleges of preparedness beyond first-year class success. Athletic teams should be made up of players that are qualified to attend the school to which admitted, or perhaps the programs should end entirely. European colleges do not have this cultural idea that ties collegiate sports to a good college experience. Somehow schools need to address the fact that better-qualified candidates may be losing spaces in highly selective colleges because of the advantages given to athletes. If the purpose of college is education, there is no place for athletic ability to impinge on the admission process. Works cited England, Jason. “Admissions Confidential The Process Can Make a Fool or Liar out of Anyone.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3 Dec. 2013
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For this reflection, I will be looking back on my work for the assignment titled "Education and Inequality." For this assignment, we learned about two high schools in Chicago, Illinois, one in the suburbs, and the other located in a Chicago inner-city neighborhood. In addition to comparing and contrasting these two schools, we considered whether or not the statement "education is the great equalizer" held. We explored findings on the "teacher-expectancy effect," views of symbolic interactionists in education and consequences of tracking and credentialism.
I enjoyed this assignment because it made me see inequalities in education that I had not previously realized existed. I had mistakenly believed that various funding programs that are designed to level the playing field in public school educations were doing their job. Because the topic was of great interest, the research and background investigation I performed was more extensive than it would have usually been. It is in this manner that this assignment helped to develop my research and analysis skills while also continuing to refine my sociological imagination allowing me to better see the challenges of these two schools through the lens of the functionalist perspective. Satisfied with the work that performed by me for this assignment, so while there is not much I would change, I will carry my success and sense of accomplishment on this assignment into different projects in the future. My research was done with plenty of time that afforded me the chance to look perform much more in-depth research. Ultimately, I think the project felt so successful primarily because of the large amount of time that I spent on the front side of the assignment, doing my research and developing a deep understanding of the material. My methods were highly successful, and I will continue in this manner. Sociologically this assignment inspired me to take a more active role in education funding. Since I completed this assignment, I signed up for a campaign committee that is working toward the passage of a school parcel tax measure during the March primary election. I see the hard work of the teachers and students but this exercise showed me that without proper funding, there is little movement to the achieved status of students in underprivileged school systems. I hate to imagine the reality of it, but this exercise made me think deeply about how a conflict paradigm theorist sees education and that schools serve as a filter to fill positions of unequal status. My learning process has improved because I took an interest in the topic. I read many different sources and took heavy notes. For the analysis, i made handwritten charts and found that the hands-on aspect kept me more focused and held my attention. This artifact is similar and connected to a Geography project I did that evaluated weather and economic effects on residents. What I see now is the sociological implications of that Geography assignment to which I was previously unaware. I have been enlightened and now see that we need to look deeply at everything, look under the hood and kick the tires, and then question everything. We can strive for more from our schools and we need to do better but mostly, we need to remember that most things are not exactly as they appear. Looking back at the goals I set for myself during the first part of this class, and I feel confident that I did achieve my goals. My goals included being thorough, timely, engaged, proactive, and organized. While this class had an intense research requirement and tested my time management skills, I recognized that early and was able to stay on top of everything. Each Monday morning, I would start my week by reviewing the instructions for each assignment to assess the amount of work required for each. I also looked for overlapping topics so that I could be mindful of the information that would be helpful for both as I was doing the research. My goal to be thorough was so that I could ensure I learned and mastered the concepts and material, but also in the hopes that my efforts reflected in my grades. To keep my Sundays free for leisure activities and downtime, I had to use my work time wisely, and I feel that I was successful in doing so nearly all the time.
The sociological concepts that I have learned in this class have opened my eyes to many social issues that I had not considered before. Seeing things in the world around me through a sociological lens will make me more conscientious of the biases and systemic discrimination that are less obvious than the gross offenses that we all recognize. I have a new appreciation of sociologists and their value in enlightening those around them. I am grateful that my research skills have improved. While I would have previously considered myself an astute researcher before this class, the nature of the assignments has pushed me beyond my abilities where I now dig deeper, read more and keep better track of information and my sources. I will use these skills going forward and expect to continue to improve upon those skills. My reflection for ePortfolio check-in number two is based on the writing analysis that I did for the Delancey Street Video Project. This essay was the first project that I completed for Sociology 001 where I felt that I was starting to grasp some of the concepts that I had been learning about in the curriculum. In the video provided, I was able to recognize in the process employed by Delancey Street the sociological concept of resocialization and identify examples of the theory of the “looking-glass self.” Because I had done additional research and read a good deal of information about the Delancey Street Foundation, I had a greater understanding of what the organization was employing as their process. This caused me to have an easier time seeing the sociological concepts in the example video we were provided. This combination of extra research and thorough analysis of more video material than just what was provided helped me develop my skill to identify sociological concepts in real life.
Going forward, I will intend to employ these new research processes so that I can continue to develop my sociological imagination and see the concepts and theories that we are learning. The main difference that allowed me to “get it” when analyzing the material for this project was the depth of my research. By continuing to investigate beyond the textbook and reviewing additional materials, I am practicing my skills, and it is my hope that with practice, I will continue to refine my abilities. |
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