When I was applying to college, I wanted to go to one of the best schools. At the time, I thought of “the best,” as the colleges that were the most selective. I applied to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton—schools whose reputations are burnished as much by the huge numbers of applicants who are denied admission, as the privileged few who are let in.
But over the years I’ve learned that there are many other ways to measure what makes a school great.
Institutions like Harvard (where I ended up going) have an important role to play in higher education. They do amazing research (which is something I support, enthusiastically) and can have their pick of the top students from around the world.
But equally impressive to me are the universities that take on the students who haven’t had a great high school experience. The students who graduate with low GPAs and poor SAT scores and might have trouble getting accepted to college. These students, many of them first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds, know a college degree is the surest path to the middle class. But they are also the ones who are at the highest risk of dropping out.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
2 comments:
Better yet, bring back the high standards for entrance and then the dummies won't get in.
The late Justice Scalia said what nobody else dared to: that some students should go to less rigorous schools, so they CAN succeed. Instead, better schools are supposed to expend resources giving remedial tutoring to those who are less college-ready. Meanwhile, tuition costs for everyone who has to pay their own way skyrocket.
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