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Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

reuters.com

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Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#21

Post by vagabund »

Analemma_ wrote: post #17

To the people complaining about this: this is actually a very positive development that I welcome and you should too. This entire time, elite U.S. colleges have been carefully steering conversations about admissions in the direction of racial quotas, to avoid talking about how by far the largest driver of unfairness in the admissions process is legacy admissions and donation quid pro quo arrangements. If you want to…

> U.S. colleges have been carefully steering conversations about admissions in the direction of racial quotas, to avoid talking about how by far the largest driver of unfairness in the admissions process is legacy admissions and donation quid pro quo arrangements.

A lesson that generalizes well. Remember Occupy Wall Street, Piketty's tome, the Bernie primaries? It all feels like distant history now.

Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#22

Post by toomuchtodo »

paulpauper wrote: post #13

I think federal funding should be contingent on full transparency of everything. You do not get money unless everything is disclosed.

Hedge funds with a college attached aren’t beholden to federal dollars.

Edit: I stand corrected, and I rescind my assertion.

https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/7/Oversight_IvyLeagueI...

Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#23

Post by AtlasBarfed »

Analemma_ wrote: post #17

To the people complaining about this: this is actually a very positive development that I welcome and you should too. This entire time, elite U.S. colleges have been carefully steering conversations about admissions in the direction of racial quotas, to avoid talking about how by far the largest driver of unfairness in the admissions process is legacy admissions and donation quid pro quo arrangements. If you want to…

And this will be very very good popcorn-munching drama.

I mean, I do think that students getting in because daddy gives a couple million isn't the end of the world.

The college I went to 20 years ago went away from need-blind admissions, which basically meant if you can pay you get some preference. Now THAT was bad, because it affected the general student population. If instead you have a reserved number of "bribe" students and that means pure-merit admissions can be done with the rest of the students, well, ok.

I love how admissions of athletes to play sports gets a total pass. Probably because it putatively is a good means for minorities to get into schools, even if they are separated off into purely sports training tracks and joke academics.

The real issue is the MBAs running the colleges as a profit industry. Except there's no profits, so they pay... themselves.

Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#24

Post by zumu »

Analemma_ wrote: post #17

To the people complaining about this: this is actually a very positive development that I welcome and you should too. This entire time, elite U.S. colleges have been carefully steering conversations about admissions in the direction of racial quotas, to avoid talking about how by far the largest driver of unfairness in the admissions process is legacy admissions and donation quid pro quo arrangements. If you want to…

> the largest driver of unfairness in the admissions process is legacy admissions and donation quid pro quo arrangements

From my personal experiences, I suspect the restriction of financial aid based on arbitrary cutoffs affects more people. I know several people who got into ivys, but didn't go because they didn't qualify for financial aid and chose not to take on large amounts of debt, coming from frugal lower/middle class families.

Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#26

Post by lotsofpulp »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #22
paulpauper wrote: post #13

I think federal funding should be contingent on full transparency of everything. You do not get money unless everything is disclosed.

Hedge funds with a college attached aren’t beholden to federal dollars. Edit: I stand corrected, and I rescind my assertion. https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/7/Oversight_IvyLeagueI...

They are receiving plenty of dollars from federal taxpayer guaranteed student loans, that they otherwise would not without the government.

Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#27

Post by mistrial9 »

sidlls wrote: post #14
Overtonwindow wrote: post #2

Universities these days seem to contain a lot of social gangs, roaming around, looking to see where they can exert power and influence. Generally through outrage and cancelling of others. Truly, this is not what university is supposed to be.

Social and class cliques are a real thing. The so-called networking benefits at elite schools like Princeton and Stanford don’t translate as well or as often to poor students, for example.

your bias is showing here -- guaranteed plenty of elite athletes, intellectual talents, hard workers or charismatic individuals have a whole new life after participating in those places or others.

Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#28

Post by at_a_remove »

remote_phone wrote: post #19
Analemma_ wrote: post #17

To the people complaining about this: this is actually a very positive development that I welcome and you should too. This entire time, elite U.S. colleges have been carefully steering conversations about admissions in the direction of racial quotas, to avoid talking about how by far the largest driver of unfairness in the admissions process is legacy admissions and donation quid pro quo arrangements. If you want to…

I agree but I’m always wondering how admissions departments and those who are in charge benefit from donations. I understand bribery, but this is a bit different. If the money goes to universities for a donation, do people somehow get rewarded for this?

Used to work in a university, pretty close to the data. The Alumni & Donations people played things very close to the chest, to the point of near irrational paranoia (wait, you want us to give alumni access to this stuff but ... not let us know who the alumni are?), so I think the fight for this kind of information is going to be quite intense.

Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#29

Post by colechristensen »

paulpauper wrote: post #13

I think federal funding should be contingent on full transparency of everything. You do not get money unless everything is disclosed.

Let’s be careful with this kind of thinking. I accepted federal funding in the form of student loans, should they get full transparency for everything in my life as well?

I drive on federally funded roads, should they get recording devices to see and hear my every move?

Re: Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

#30

Post by Telemakhos »

Analemma_ wrote: post #17

To the people complaining about this: this is actually a very positive development that I welcome and you should too. This entire time, elite U.S. colleges have been carefully steering conversations about admissions in the direction of racial quotas, to avoid talking about how by far the largest driver of unfairness in the admissions process is legacy admissions and donation quid pro quo arrangements. If you want to…

Imagine what would happen if colleges fired their admissions departments, set aside all considerations of wealth and race, and had a database admit students with a single query on a result of standardized test results ordered from highest score to lowest, accepting students in that order until the year's class was filled.
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