Unconventional College Fair Questions to Ask
These are the questions I would ask elite universities that claim to value diversity yet enroll a predominantly wealthy student body. If you have the courage, give some of them a try on your next college tour or Zoom information session. Some may be more applicable than others, depending on the context:
Why does your institution enroll so few transfer students, and the ones you do admit, why do they come primarily from four-year universities?
How can you claim to have sincere concerns for decreasing the wealth gap when you admit students through legacy, early decision, development cases, and professors’ children, among others?
Do you think deferrals and waitlists are in the best interests of the mental health of your applicants?
Why do you maintain the same number of enrollment spaces despite great strides in technology aiding the delivery of educational services? I’ve heard the enrolling class has been the same for over a hundred years. Can’t you expand enrollment some without diluting the quality of your university?
Do you publish the demographics of your student populations in full and make it easy for me to find your admissions statistics, or is this something I’m going to have to hunt down?
Do you require any essays beyond the Common Application? If so, what role do they play in your process? Are those additional essay requirements part of your commitment to college access?
Did you offer refunds or waivers for students whose semesters were disrupted due to COVID and therefore couldn’t continue living on campus or pursuing their courses?
What percentage of your applicants are admitted or denied during the “shaping” process?
Does your marketing and recruitment CRM systems factor into how many scholarships I may or may not receive? Does my opening your emails or attending official events in any way impact how I’m evaluated, beyond a rigid definition of “demonstrated interest?”
How does offering multiple applications such as the Common and Coalition applications and one unique to your institution make this process clearer and more transparent? It just seems more confusing.
I read your institution’s commitment to diversity. I agree that an exchange of ideas and having beliefs challenged is a net benefit. Do students across the political or religious spectrum feel welcome on your campus?
Since we agree that Black Lives Matter, why don’t I see any black people on your admissions staff or as student tour guides?
How can I know your holistic review process is fair?
I notice that the application has essay requirements that aren’t published anywhere on your website. What accounts for this discrepancy?
When you offer first-year scholarships, presumably to convince us to enroll, do you provide reasonable pathways to renew that aid in subsequent years?
Do you think recommendation letters and interviews increase access to your institution or reinforce perceptions that it’s an exclusive club where only students with the best resources have a chance of getting in?
If you could wave a magic wand and change anything about the admissions process as practiced, what would you reform?
I’ve been deferred. Do you think it serves the interests of my mental health to require a letter of continued interest? What can you possibly hope to gain by yet another essay and piece of information? Would it be compelling to write about the lack of equity and access that such a requirement entails? I see that your university has a commitment to social justice, after all.
I understand college applications are reviewed quickly and rapidly. How does holistic review allow you to “get to know me?” Aren’t most applications largely the same, anyway?
I see that your admissions rate is 10 percent. How many applicants are admitted for “hooks” such as athletes and legacies, and how many are “unhooked?” Even an approximate ratio would be helpful.
I see that you brag about how many nationalities are represented on your campus. Does your university primarily recruit international students because they pay full tuition or because they bring diversity?
Everyone wants to go to your university. Why did we just listen to a sales pitch?
Asking questions that demonstrate critical thinking, if articulated thoughtfully and tactically, may provide an added admissions advantage by leaving a memorable impression on the admissions counselor.
In my book Surviving the College Admissions Madness, I present the many ways that the college admissions system is so thoroughly broken as to constitute a public emergency. Some teenagers commit suicide each year due to the pressures borne from holistic review admissions. Most elite university counselors and administrations shrug their shoulders and carry on with business as usual.
Critics who push back on these suggestions and the reforms I propose and questions that I ask have the burden of justifying how our current admissions madness status quo is both more reasonable and better than any alternatives.
