The Future of College Admissions

September 1, 2023

Thaden Community,

 

With the arrival of September, our seniors in the Class of 2024 have an eye on their future as they prepare applications to a broad range of colleges and universities. We applaud the pioneering spirit that has now carried our first 72 graduates to 46 different institutions in 24 states and one foreign country (having gained admission to 160 different institutions in 40 states and three foreign countries). The quality and variety of these institutions reflect well on our students' talents and the diversity of their interests as well as the great extent to which our faculty and programs have already gained recognition among college admissions offices across the nation. Today, in anticipation of our September 25 panel on The Future of College Admissions, I offer a few reflections on this critically important process and the recent controversies surrounding it. 

 

The Varsity Blues scandal in 2019 raised troubling questions about the integrity of admissions processes as many colleges have become more selective than ever. The arrival of the pandemic then escalated the debate regarding the value of standardized tests, leading to a dramatic increase in the number of colleges that have adopted “test optional” policies. We have also seen recent and increasingly heated debate regarding the criteria behind college rankings and their susceptibility to manipulation: in words attributed to Einstein, “not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.” At the same time, continuing escalation in the price (and cost) of a college degree has many Americans questioning the intrinsic value of the education as well as its earning power in the marketplace.

 

This summer the landscape of college admissions was subject to another upheaval when the United States Supreme Court overturned more than fifty years of case law allowing colleges and universities to take race into account as one factor among many in a holistic admissions process, the type of process commonly practiced among selective institutions. Notably, the decision constrains these institutions only in the methods by which they may advance their ongoing efforts to create diverse educational communities. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts emphatically confirmed that “nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” 

 

Accordingly, many institutions have now revised their applications to invite essays regarding applicants’ cultural backgrounds and experiences as well as their views on the educational value of diversity. While it remains unclear how the Supreme Court’s decision might otherwise impact admissions policies and practices, one thing is clear: these colleges remain unwavering in their commitment to building diverse educational communities within the limits of the law – a commitment they have resoundingly affirmed in a wave of public letters and statements. Our college counselors, Phil Hooper and Jessica Williams, will continue to follow the effects of the decision and are well-positioned to help our students and families navigate this latest shift in the nature of an already complex process.

 

At Thaden, we also remain committed to the foremost principle articulated in our mission statement: “The diversity of a school is essential to the quality of the education it provides.” Indeed, our diversity is a prerequisite to offering a “balanced and challenging education” that enables our students to investigate complex questions and issues from many angles, and that prepares Thaden graduates for “success in college” and “lives of responsible global citizenship” in our pluralistic world. Of course, our commitment to this principle is expressed in many ways, including our financial priorities: thanks to the generosity of our principal funder, the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, we offer a robust tuition assistance program that makes a Thaden education affordable for all families in our home region.

 

Together we explore and navigate the landscape of opportunity awaiting our students.

 

Clayton K. Marsh

Founding Head of School