[Thread: 1]So this came in the mail today. Forprofit admissions consulting for colleges. Before we get to the politics and ethics, the false advertising is impressive: making #causal claims about the admissions risk ratio for their clients vs. average college admissions rates. 
[2] Is it their services, parental wealth, willingness to spend middle & high school grooming for college, or other factors? (and they say odds for probabilities, but we'll give them that). When I say middle school I'm referring to "pre-application coaching" starting 8th grade
[3] They also teach you "strategic positioning" so your life history can match the alleged search image of the admissions officers: "each applicant stands out from the crowd."
[4] Then there is the Team. Like the CIA, first names only please. They were admissions officers, often high-level, at famous universities. Most of these universities say they value diversity and equity in admissions collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/campus-life/di… for example.
[5] It seems that the people they hire on the other hand think a good use of their talents when they leave is to amplify privilege by selling services to tailor already advantaged kids' applications to appeal to their former colleagues.
A small way that these top universities could show their commitment to opportuinty and equal access is to put clauses into their admissions officers' contracts limiting this kind of activity as a golden parachute.
As many noted when the admissions fraud scandal broke , the "permissible" schemes like this that amplify inequality in college admissions are arguably worse than the illegal ones, bc more common & more distorting of lives, for those who take advantage and those who don't or can't
[last] and yes I know much worse things are happening than this right now, but there is little new to say on most of those things, and I work for a university that could help make these businesses' work harder if it chose.
