A number of scholars have proposed comprehensive strategies for reforming the college admissions process, ranging from the bold to the truly radical. The following articles explore some of these ideas.
Fishkin, Joseph. Bottlenecks. Oxford University Press, 2014.
While equality of opportunity is an intuitive and broadly celebrated goal, Joseph Fishkin argues that it needs to be reimagined.Rather than focus on literally equalizing opportunity, Fishkin offers a new theory of equal opportunity focused on what he calls “bottlenecks”--those places in our opportunity structure where the few are separated out and given greater access to opportunity than the many. Fishkin argues that policymakers ought to loosen the “bottlenecks” in today’s society—such as SAT scores, college degree, and class—that constrain the number of opportunities people have at all stages in their lives.
"One Way to Stop College-Admissions Insanity: Admit More Students"
Harris argues that elite schools should admit more applicants in order to reduce the prestige of an elite college diploma. Doing so, he believes, would reduce the mania around college admissions that fosters corruption in the system.
“How to Fix the College Admissions Scandal (Warning: You Might Hate It)”
Samuelson proposes a new, transparent system where elite colleges auction off a percentage of their seats to the highest bidders. Knowing that the idea sounds absurd, Samuelson adds nuance to his suggestion to justify why he believes that it would actually make the system more fair.
Questions for Discussion:
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Are any of the solutions developed in the texts linked above feasible? Which ones and why?
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Regarding Harris’s argument in The Atlantic article, what factors stop colleges from accepting more students?
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For some readers, Samuelson’s proposal in RealClearPolitics is unsettling. What about this proposal creates discomfort? How is it different from the admissions system currently in place? How is it similar?