James S Murphy Profile picture
Nov 2, 2019 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
College admissions and enrollment management woes:"the doubling and trebling of students who are frenziedly competing to get into about 35 to 50 of the most selective [schools]." Forecasts of nationwide enrollment crises to come.

The year: 1962. #emchat Image
More college admissions woes: HS transcripts aren't standardized and they're a total mess. School counselor loads are way too big.

The year: 1962 ImageImage
More college admissions woes: is class rank a useful metric or just unfair?

The year: 1962. ImageImage
More college admissions woes: College admissions officers should pay more attention to social-emotional skills.

The year: 1962. ImageImage
More college admissions woes: Colleges need much better school profiles.

The year: 1962.
@MichaelBastedo @kkglasener Image
More college admissions woes: Students who go to certain private schools have an advantage over other students just by virtue of going there.

The year: 1962. Image
It sounded like it was really bad in 1962. Thankfully, all the problems bedeviling college admissions 57 years ago have now been solved.
It’s too bad that a standardized transcript wasn’t created in 1962.

I think standardization of transcripts, school profiles, & applications would make college admissions fairer & more efficient.

But Americans love liberté more than égalité; might be why it’s still 1962.

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More from @James_S_Murphy

Nov 16
This is such good reporting from the @harvardcrimeson:

There are about 27,000 high schools in the U.S.

Over the past 15 years, 1 in 11 students at Harvard have come from just 21 high schools.

So 9.1% of Harvard students come from 0.07% of US schools. @nytdavidbrooks Image
This is no accident. It's a stated priority of Harvard admissions.

The longtime dean of admissions said they're in the business of creating 100 year relationships with schools. He said this in a trial where Harvard was, believe it or not, trying to show it's fair. Image
Legacy, too, plays its role, as these are the kind of schools where wealthy alumni send their kids.

Here's a link to the Crimson piece: interactives.thecrimson.com/2024/news/feed…
Read 6 tweets
Jul 31, 2023
Some pointers for people who work with students on college applications:

1. The @usedgov will be releasing resources to colleges and universities addressing lawful admissions practices by Aug 15.

2. Don't listen to anyone's advice on how to advise students too much until then.
3. Yes, the @CommonApp opens tomorrow, but students can get to work on everything but the essay while we wait to see what ED says.

4. Chances are, little changes for students or their applications due to the SFFA decision.
5. Students should not be afraid of identifying themselves by race & ethnicity anywhere in their application.

6. Students can & should check the race/ethnicity box. It's up to colleges to redact that info if they don't want readers to see it.
Read 8 tweets
Mar 12, 2023
2023
College freshmen no longer know how to read literature.
2013
College freshmen no longer know how to read literature
1999
College freshmen no longer know how to read literature
Read 5 tweets
Mar 10, 2023
What's extraordinary about the @usnews Best Colleges reputation wurvey is that ANYONE FILLS IT OUT AT ALL.

Let's take a look 🧵
The most heavily weighted single factor in the Best Colleges rankings is Undergraduate Academic Reputation, which USN calls "Expert Opinion." Image
Here's the thing: there is absolutely no way the presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions they send the survey to can be qualified to answer the questions, let alone claim expertise. Image
Read 13 tweets
Mar 6, 2023
Let's talk about some dumb stuff people say about test optional admissions. 🧵
This might take a sec, so here's the tl;dr:

TO policies, in and of themselves, are neither a cure-all for what's wrong with American higher ed nor the end of what's good about it, but the evidence points to their doing some good and no harm.
Let's define TO first.

A test-optional policy is one that allows applicants to decide whether they want their test score to be considered. It does not "get rid of tests" or "ban tests."

Almost every 4-yr college in the US is currently test optional.
Read 28 tweets
Mar 4, 2023
When your flex shows just how weak you are. Image
For decades, colleges, med schools, and law schools have all made the point that standardized tests exist to show readiness to succeed in college or grad school.
Rankings were one of the incentives to focus on scores well beyond the readiness threshold and overemphasize tests. That emphasis has excluded lots of people who were highly qualified to become lawyers and doctors.
Read 4 tweets

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