Prep Talk

Are College Admissions Changing for the Better?

Posted January 27th, 2016

There is little doubt that the college admissions process can be stressful and consuming for students, and it might seem to some that the “deck is stacked” in favor of affluent students who have more time than their lower-income counterparts to pad their college resumes with extracurricular activities that colleges look for.

However, an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education called “Wanted: High-Character Students,” discusses something new that’s on the horizon—a push to get higher education institutions to change their admissions requirements to place more weight on community service and less on personal success.

A new campaign called “Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good Through College Admissions,” is being circulated among admissions leaders, proposing broad recommendations and specific changes in applications, such as limiting the length of “brag sheets” to describe two or three “high-quality” extracurricular activities, and changing metrics to assess applicants’ record of “sustained, meaningful and team-oriented service.”

Some colleges are jumping on the bandwagon, such as MIT, The University of Rochester and The University of Washington, and have already started making changes in their applications. However, some schools are not thrilled with the document, stating that the wording is too broad and too critical, assuming the worst about students and suggesting that colleges don’t really care about ethical development.

The dust is far from settling on this campaign, but it’s clear that there is a movement to put more weight on community service and “altruistic pursuits,” something that the Prep has always valued highly. The Caritas projects that Prep students take on are clear examples of the kind of sustained service to community that builds character and gives our students a chance to make a habit of thinking of the well-being of others ahead of themselves. Far from being just a “required” community service credit, Caritas projects encourage life-long commitments to service.

Many colleges and universities may be taking a closer look, but our students always exemplify the values that make them good citizens and caring individuals–traits that are welcome at all higher education institutions. It’s exciting to see how each of our boys develops his own as well as a team approach to service—so stay tuned to hear more about upcoming Caritas Projects.