Thunderstorms, some heavy during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..
Tonight
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
I have a relatively simple way to fix Harvard admissions: They ought to help public-school kids.
As you probably know, the way Harvard decides who gets in and who doesn’t has been under the microscope. First came a Supreme Court decision against the use of affirmative action. Then this past week came an announcement of a Justice Department investigation into preferential treatment for “legacies,” meaning the kids of people who went there before. And also the release of a major study of Ivy League and similar colleges’ admissions practices, indicating that they systematically favor the rich.
As you might know, I’m an alum. I got in there, coming out of Manhattan High, in 1986. I’d like to say it was entirely on my own merit, but that’s silly. My dad, two uncles, and two cousins went there; another cousin followed a year after me. None of us were the super-rich, but we were certainly legacies. My oldest son also got in; he’s the only one from that generation.
Ending legacy advantages? It’s hard to argue against it. I’m in a conflicted position, since it directly benefited me. You could also try to tip the scales away from the advantages conferred in the admissions process by youth traveling sports, but that’s also an uphill battle.
To me the simplest fix is to deal with what’s called “private school polish.”
There were a disproportionate number at Harvard in my day, and there still are now, who came from private schools. I recall the girl across the hall, when discussing “Catch-22” and what Joseph Heller meant in a certain passage, saying, “Well, when Joe came over for dinner, what he said about that was…” She was a New York private school product.
Just so happens I had breakfast with her the other day as she was in the area. Great person, lots of professional success. She said her kids now go to a different NYC private school, where they all take classes on how to take standardized tests, they take classes on how to write admissions essays, and they take courses on how to do college apps generally. There are five counselors dedicated to that job in that school.
Private schools can do that because people pay a lot of money to get into them, which means they amount to a disproportionate advantage for the rich.
Manhattan High? Great school, great teachers, great staff and administrators. But kids have to do most of that polishing on their own. That has its own value, of course, but it doesn’t help you get into Harvard.
I’ve seen other kids from here get in, including Tracy Britt, who is now a rock-star in the financial world, at one point Warren Buffett’s right-hand-woman.
How to take the thumb off the scales that helps private school kids get in? How to tip the scale back in the direction of public school kids? I’m not entirely sure about that, but my guess is admissions committees could figure it out pretty quick.
The point is that, if colleges want to equalize the playing field, that’s a pretty good way to start.
