How to Account for the Randomness of It All

I apologize that I have not posted as much lately. I would like to wrap up Barry Schwartz' opinion article that I have been going through for a month or so. Let us jump in!

5. Because there is so little measurable difference between students at the top of the statistical heap (a group that grows larger seemingly every year), colleges could lump all of the "acceptable" students together and then randomly pick the names of those who will be admitted.

Randomized selection of admits could potentially make the admissions process more fair. Today, a student whose parent(s) graduated from the college the student has applied to is given a slight preference over those whose parents did not attend the college. So-called legacy students get bonus points because they happened to be lucky enough to be born to a former graduate. I don't think this is particularly fair. If two students have the exact same GPAs, SATs, and extra-curricular activities, why would the legacy student be a better fit for the college? Wouldn't a flip of the coin be a more fair alternative?

6. Instead of students working to be the "best" applicant to Name Brand University, they could work to be good enough. Once you have reached the point of "good enough," you have as good of a chance of being admitted as all the other "good enoughs." According to Schwartz, this would allow students to pursue activities because they want to, not because they want to pad their application.

I like the train of thought here. We should be encouraging students to pursue their interests and passions rather than the things they think will look good on a college application. Colleges have a fairly good idea of the pool of applicants that they would be perfectly happy admitting. When you look at that pool, there may be some variation in background, but overall, an entering freshman class composed of a randomized group of these individuals would be acceptable. Admissions officers like to talk about shaping their incoming class, but mostly this is a crapshoot anyway. Colleges offer spots of admissions to many more students than they will enroll. The shaping is minimal at best.

In his origninal opinion piece, Schwartz makes note of dealing with special populations of students, like the above mentioned legacies, athletes, and students who come from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented at colleges and universities. I have already talked about my view of the fairness in specially valuing legacies. Athletes are a different class. Many, though not all, colleges treat athletes differently. Hint: Athletes aren't always held to the same academic expectations as their non-athletic classmates. The last group, however, is of special concern. If we hold the belief that college is about equalling or levelling the playing field, then we need to take care in not diminishing the opportunities for students who, because of their background, have historically been underrepresented and under-supported.

7. Such a system would have the effect of teaching students about the randomness of life. We all like to think of the American system as a meritocracy (those who work hard and are smart are rewarded), but in actuality, success and failure have a lot to do with luck and chance. Schwartz argues that this would imbue students with a newfound level of sympathy and empathy for the less fortunate around them.

Randomness does play an important role in life. Think about your parents. Then think about the parents of your other friends. How would your or your friends' lives been affected if you had the others' parents? You have no control over who you are born to, what happens to you when you are a baby, where you grow up, and a myriad of other factors. Now think about the homeless family that is struggling just to live. How easily that could have been any one of us. Most of us are closer to homelessness than we care to imagine. How would a lost job, mental illness, little or no familial support, or the a death of a parent affect your family. If you have not had to deal with these things, then consider yourself lucky. But, what if? We could all stand to gain a sense of compassion for the other. College is as good of a place to start as any.

Happy weekend!