I watched the press conference live two weeks ago as details of the college admissions scandal were described. I heard about very wealthy people paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure that their children were accepted to a handful of 'elite' schools. Test scores were falsified. Fake qualifications were submitted. Coaches and test proctors were bribed. And then I heard the worst part - many of these students were kept in the dark. At prestigious colleges around the country, students learned that they didn't earn acceptance to their college but that their parents committed felonies to get them admitted. I can't begin to imagine the damage done to these students. Not only did their parents believe they couldn't be admitted to college on their own, but they received the message that only a tiny handful of colleges are worthy. How do we as a society continue to accept this myth that only a few schools are good enough to attend? As if these elite schools sprinkle magic fairy dust on students to guarantee them a happy and successful life. As if attending another college would lead to disaster and shame upon the family. What's going on here?!?!?!?
I've been wondering if, given the means and opportunity, more parents would engage in these crimes to make sure their children were accepted to fancy schools. Sadly, I'm sure they would. Some parents would do it for the bragging rights, as parent ego is so very tied in with college acceptance. But some parents would do it out of intentions to give their students a good education. Somehow we have bought the lie that these schools are the only means to a life worth living. I want to scream from the rooftops that THIS IS JUST NOT TRUE! I have visited hundreds of colleges around the country, and I know that high-quality teaching and learning is happening all over the place!
Here is my advice to families going through the college admissions process right now: Burn the college rankings magazines. They are full of nonsense. Instead, do the hard work of researching and visiting a wide variety of schools to learn about the amazing opportunities available to regular people with regular incomes and regular test scores. They are abundant.
College admissions in the US is a hot mess. But the education available at most of our colleges is quite wonderful. If only we would stop obsessing over the famous schools and notice.
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Here is a few link to the official response from my professional organization, the Independent Educational Consultants Association, plus some information about our ethical guidelines:
I've been wondering if, given the means and opportunity, more parents would engage in these crimes to make sure their children were accepted to fancy schools. Sadly, I'm sure they would. Some parents would do it for the bragging rights, as parent ego is so very tied in with college acceptance. But some parents would do it out of intentions to give their students a good education. Somehow we have bought the lie that these schools are the only means to a life worth living. I want to scream from the rooftops that THIS IS JUST NOT TRUE! I have visited hundreds of colleges around the country, and I know that high-quality teaching and learning is happening all over the place!
Here is my advice to families going through the college admissions process right now: Burn the college rankings magazines. They are full of nonsense. Instead, do the hard work of researching and visiting a wide variety of schools to learn about the amazing opportunities available to regular people with regular incomes and regular test scores. They are abundant.
College admissions in the US is a hot mess. But the education available at most of our colleges is quite wonderful. If only we would stop obsessing over the famous schools and notice.
****************************************************
Here is a few link to the official response from my professional organization, the Independent Educational Consultants Association, plus some information about our ethical guidelines:
- Official Statement of IECA: https://link.iecaonline.com/statement
- Why Choose a Member of the IECA? https://link.iecaonline.com/Choose-IECA
- 10 Important Ways IECA Members Are Unlike Other IECs: https://link.iecaonline.com/IECA-Members
- IECA Principles of Good Practice: https://link.iecaonline.com/POGP