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Students Gain Access to Files on Admission to Stanford

nytimes.com

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Re: Students Gain Access to Files on Admission to Stanford

#22

This has the potential to be really devastating, and not because of a few stray lawsuits (if that) that won't go anywhere. It threatens to put the most powerful brands in this society on trial. People understand that there's some socioeconomic corruption in the process, but still have the idea that admissions are 85-90 percent academic. If contrary information gets out there, it could have a major effect. What will b…

Seems a bit conspiratorial sensationalist. There's probably some subtle bias (humans are fallible, impossible to be purely objective) common to reviewers that could be brought to light with large-scale stastical analysis. Admissions have a tough job because they are inundated with candidates that appear good but the signals of quality, if known, would tend to be easily simulated... Defeating their use.

Re: Students Gain Access to Files on Admission to Stanford

#23
For grad school, working at the dept in which one would wish to enter is a popular, lower risk approach. The admissions for grad school tends to be either multi-tiered (uni & dept) or defers entirely to the department's admission folks. This tends to be one or two people for smaller programs. If they know you and you work in the same dept, you're probaly already friends by this time, so you'll at least have more intel on what's expected, if not some bias in your favor.

(Former Stanford affliate here. Ask me anything.)

Re: Students Gain Access to Files on Admission to Stanford

#24

It would be interesting if a group of students applied for their applications en mass (say, the entire 2012 admitted class to a University in the US) and performed statistical analysis on the resulting data. I wonder if any great numbers of students would be willing to breach their privacy to allow such a study to be run.

Would like to see this too. I'm sure they could do this without breaching their privacy, maybe have one person validate the data, then redact name, social, and other identifiable information.

Re: Students Gain Access to Files on Admission to Stanford

#25
> “The things they write, it’s clear that they never expect them to be read,” said the Fountain Hopper staff member. “They’re very frank.”

I guess that'll now change. It'll become like what employers do when asked about a former employee's job performance - name, rank and serial number only.

The admissions committee may also become closed door meetings, with nobody allowed to take written notes or minutes. Verbal only.

Re: Students Gain Access to Files on Admission to Stanford

#27

> “The things they write, it’s clear that they never expect them to be read,” said the Fountain Hopper staff member. “They’re very frank.” I guess that'll now change. It'll become like what employers do when asked about a former employee's job performance - name, rank and serial number only. The admissions committee may also become closed door meetings, with nobody allowed to take written notes or minutes. Verbal onl…

> I guess that'll now change.

Why? So long as they don't do anything illegal in the selection process they shouldn't have to worry about anything. This is only for people who get accepted, not rejects.

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